Decent budget build?

[Instant Mix]

My old computer has decided that blowing up half way through playing a match would be a good idea, so i've decided to exploit this as a good time to actually get a new computer. I've been used to an HP Media centre, so any form of upgrade is useful right now, as I'm pretty sure a budget desktop would be more powerful than that 7 year old computer.

So far I've got a good idea of what I'm looking for, but wether there's a cheaper alternative or if some of the hardware I want to use is already quite outdated, I have no clue. That's where I'm hoping you may be of assistance. But anyway, this is what I have so far as an idea:
[img_thumb]http://www.lordofthe.net/image/cache/data/malabs/I5-3570BOX-500x500.JPG[/img_thumb][B]
Cpu: [/B]Intel i5 3570
[B]Purchase Location: [/B][URL="http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007RUZKK6/ref=asc_df_B007RUZKK610528868?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&tag=googlecouk06-21&linkCode=asn&creative=22206&creativeASIN=B007RUZKK6"]Amazon[/URL]
[B]Estimated Price: [/B]£169.37
[img_thumb]http://www.2dayblog.com/images/2010/october/550x-Xigmatek-LOKI-SD963-CP.jpg[/img_thumb]
[B]Cpu Fan:[/B] Xigmatek Loki
[B]Purchase Location: [/B][URL=http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-018-XG&campaign=pcm/googleshopping&pup_c=gs]Overclockers.co.uk[/url][B]
Estimated Price: [/B]£15
[img_thumb]http://media.bestofmicro.com/Z77-Express-Ivy-Bridge-Value,I-G-345400-13.jpg[/img_thumb][B]
Motherboard:[/B] Asus P8Z77-V LX
[B]Purchase Location: [/B][URL=http://www.waeplus.co.uk/product/1288468/ASUS-P8Z77-V-LX---1155-Socket---Z77-Chip]Waeplus.co.uk[/url][B]
Estimated Price: [/B]£80
[img_thumb]http://brain.pan.e-merchant.com/8/9/00019298/l_00019298.jpg[/img_thumb][B]
RAM: [/B]Kingston Value-Ram
[B]Purchase Location: [/B][URL=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kingston-1333MHz-DDR3-Non-ECC-Memory/dp/B002K27KW2/ref=sr_1_23?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1352648522&sr=1-23]Amazon[/url][B]
Estimated Price: [/B]£29
[img_thumb]http://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/nvidia-geforce-gtx-650-580x442.jpg[/img_thumb]
[B]Graphics Card:[/B] GeForce GTX 650
[B]Purchase Location: [/B][URL=http://www.awd-it.co.uk/evga-nvidia-geforce-gtx-650-1gb-gddr5-hdmi-graphics-card-pci-e.html]Awd-It.co.uk[/url][B]
Estimated Price: [/B]£90
[img_thumb]http://www.dabs.com/images/product/uni2/DigitalContent/78/78ZN_DE8E2D62-D3EE-4F91-8101-D44DEDEF82DE_large.jpg[/img_thumb][B]
PSU: [/B]Alpine 500W
[B]Purchase Location: [/B][URL=http://www.waeplus.co.uk/product/827389/Alpine-PSU-500WATT-230V-CE-APPROVAL-24PI]Waeplus.co.uk[/url][B]
Estimated Price: [/B]£11
[img_thumb]http://www.rapidpcs.co.uk/media/raw/ezcool-na-705b500w-psu.jpg[/img_thumb][B]
Case: [/B]Ez-Cool NA-705B
[B]Purchase Location: [/B][URL=http://www.dabs.com/products/best-value-ezcool-na705b-case-500w-psu-7810.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=product%20search&utm_content=Q200]dabs.com[/url][B]
Estimated Price: [/B]£22[B]

The reason I don't have an optical drive or hard drive is simply because I've got a bunch of perfectly fine optical drives as well as the HDD inside the busted computer, which is only a couple of months old.[/B]

All in all this adds up to about £430 which is perfect for me, but I was just wondering if any of you tech-savvy genuises knew of anything that's a cheaper alternative..
.. and if this actually works

[wickedplayer494]

Care to provide links to where you'll be buying these parts from?

[editline]11th November 2012[/editline]

Alright, we got links. What's your absolute maximum budget?

[Shadaez]

what is this going to be used for? you're most likely better off with a cheaper CPU (i3) and motherboard and getting a better GPU.

[editline]11th November 2012[/editline]

and yeah you're going to need a better PSU than that

[Instant Mix]

[QUOTE=wickedplayer494;38408121]Care to provide links to where you'll be buying these parts from?

[editline]11th November 2012[/editline]

Alright, we got links. What's your absolute maximum budget?[/QUOTE]
No greater than £500 simply because i'm not made of money. I can veer slightly above that by £15 or so, however.

[editline]11th November 2012[/editline]

[QUOTE=Shadaez;38408315]what is this going to be used for? you're most likely better off with a cheaper CPU (i3) and motherboard and getting a better GPU.

[editline]11th November 2012[/editline]

and yeah you're going to need a better PSU than that[/QUOTE]
General use & Gaming, but not incredibly graphic-intensive gaming. Basically the old computer I have could run recent games, but had no support for DX10 and ran them at literally 10fps. I'm going for budget as in "Best around this price" rather than "Cheapest I can get" - From all the sites I've been on, computers around this spec go for £580+

[Shadaez]

[URL]http://www.scan.co.uk/products/500w-silverstone-sst-st50f-es-strider-psu-silent-80-plus-atx-12v-23-24x7-use-ready[/URL]!

[URL]http://www.scan.co.uk/products/intel-core-i3-3220-s-1155-ivy-bridge-dual-core-33ghz-3mb-smart-cache-retail[/URL]

[URL]http://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigabyte-ga-b75-d3v-intel-b75-s-1155-ddr3-sata-iii-6gb-s-pcie-30-(x16)-d-sub-(vga)-dvi-d-micro-atx[/URL]

[URL]http://www.scan.co.uk/products/cooler-master-elite-361-black-mini-tower-performance-case-w-o-psu-atx[/URL]

[URL]http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-(2x4gb)-corsair-ddr3-xms3-pc3-10600-(1333)-non-ecc-unbuffered-cas-9-9-9-24-150v[/URL]

[url]http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-msi-radeon-hd-7850-overclocked-4800mhz-gddr5-gpu-900mhz-1024-cores-dvi-hdmi-2x-mini-dp[/url]
Total 387.70

[editline]11th November 2012[/editline]

you can get a better CPU or GPU if you want to spend the rest of the money.

[wickedplayer494]

If you want to go the "spend the rest of the money" route:[URL="http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/niAm"]

PCPartPicker part list[/URL] / [URL="http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/niAm/by_merchant/"]Price breakdown by merchant[/URL] / [URL="http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/niAm/benchmarks/"]Benchmarks[/URL]

[B]CPU:[/B] [URL="http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/intel-cpu-bx80637i33220"]Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor[/URL] (£83.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
[B]Motherboard:[/B] [URL="http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/asrock-motherboard-z77pro3"]ASRock Z77 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard[/URL] (£75.90 @ Amazon UK)
[B]Memory:[/B] [URL="http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/gskill-memory-f310666cl8d4gbxm"]G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory[/URL] (£22.70 @ Amazon UK)
[B]Video Card:[/B] [URL="http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/msi-video-card-r7870twinfrozr2gd5oc"]MSI Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card[/URL] (£180.94 @ Scan.co.uk)
[B]Case:[/B] [URL="http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/fractal-design-case-fdcaarcbl"]Fractal Design Arc Midi Tower ATX Mid Tower Case[/URL] (£74.21 @ Scan.co.uk)
[B]Power Supply:[/B] [URL="http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/corsair-power-supply-cmpsu500cxv2"]Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply[/URL] (£43.98 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
[B]Total:[/B] £481.72
[I](Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)[/I]
[I](Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-11 16:06 GMT+0000)[/I]

You aren't going to need a cooler for an i3. The PSU you had in the build in the OP was probably going to become an IED anyways. Never ever skimp on the PSU.

You could save yourself a few bucks and get a Radeon 7850 instead, but compared to the 7870, it's neck-and-neck, but the 7870 does pull away in some things: [URL]http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/549?vs=548[/URL]

It's up to you really on 7850 vs. 7870. If you do go with the 7850 instead of the 7870, you'll have some more headroom for a cooler (if you wanted to, although it isn't necessary). The best air cooler for the price is the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO: [URL]http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rr212e20pkr2[/URL]

Again, cooler isn't necessary. The mobo leaves an upgrade path to an i5 once you have the money to upgrade in a few years.

[Instant Mix]

[QUOTE=Shadaez;38408426][url]http://www.scan.co.uk/products/500w-silverstone-sst-st50f-es-strider-psu-silent-80-plus-atx-12v-23-24x7-use-ready[/url]!

[url]http://www.scan.co.uk/products/intel-core-i3-3220-s-1155-ivy-bridge-dual-core-33ghz-3mb-smart-cache-retail[/url]

[url]http://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigabyte-ga-b75-d3v-intel-b75-s-1155-ddr3-sata-iii-6gb-s-pcie-30-(x16)-d-sub-(vga)-dvi-d-micro-atx[/url]

[url]http://www.scan.co.uk/products/cooler-master-elite-361-black-mini-tower-performance-case-w-o-psu-atx[/url]

[url]http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-(2x4gb)-corsair-ddr3-xms3-pc3-10600-(1333)-non-ecc-unbuffered-cas-9-9-9-24-150v[/url]

[url]http://www.scan.co.uk/products/500w-silverstone-sst-st50f-es-strider-psu-silent-80-plus-atx-12v-23-24x7-use-ready[/url]!

Total 387.70

[editline]11th November 2012[/editline]

you can get a better CPU or GPU if you want to spend the rest of the money.[/QUOTE]

Did you accidentally include the PSU twice or are you hinting at using the inbuilt GPU in the CPU?

[editline]11th November 2012[/editline]

[QUOTE=wickedplayer494;38408478]If you want to go the "spend the rest of the money" route:[URL="http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/niAm"]

PCPartPicker part list[/URL] / [URL="http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/niAm/by_merchant/"]Price breakdown by merchant[/URL] / [URL="http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/niAm/benchmarks/"]Benchmarks[/URL]

[B]CPU:[/B] [URL="http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/intel-cpu-bx80637i33220"]Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor[/URL] (£83.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
[B]Motherboard:[/B] [URL="http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/asrock-motherboard-z77pro3"]ASRock Z77 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard[/URL] (£75.90 @ Amazon UK)
[B]Memory:[/B] [URL="http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/gskill-memory-f310666cl8d4gbxm"]G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory[/URL] (£22.70 @ Amazon UK)
[B]Video Card:[/B] [URL="http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/msi-video-card-r7870twinfrozr2gd5oc"]MSI Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card[/URL] (£180.94 @ Scan.co.uk)
[B]Case:[/B] [URL="http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/fractal-design-case-fdcaarcbl"]Fractal Design Arc Midi Tower ATX Mid Tower Case[/URL] (£74.21 @ Scan.co.uk)
[B]Power Supply:[/B] [URL="http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/corsair-power-supply-cmpsu500cxv2"]Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply[/URL] (£43.98 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
[B]Total:[/B] £481.72
[I](Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)[/I]
[I](Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-11 16:06 GMT+0000)[/I]

You aren't going to need a cooler for an i3. The PSU you had in the build in the OP was probably going to become an IED anyways. Never ever skimp on the PSU.

You could save yourself a few bucks and get a Radeon 7850 instead, but compared to the 7870, it's neck-and-neck, but the 7870 does pull away in some things: [URL]http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/549?vs=548[/URL]

It's up to you really on 7850 vs. 7870. If you do go with the 7850 instead of the 7870, you'll have some more headroom for a cooler (if you wanted to, although it isn't necessary). The best air cooler for the price is the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO: [URL]http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rr212e20pkr2[/URL]

Again, cooler isn't necessary. The mobo leaves an upgrade path to an i5 once you have the money to upgrade in a few years.[/QUOTE]

Is there any MAJOR difference between the i5 and i3 that wouldn't be noticed by a graphicfile?
And I'm not really too sure about the AMD cards, I've never really gone near them. Are they considerably better for the price?

[wickedplayer494]

Those links 404 for me anyways.

e: woo-hoo, 5000th post

[Shadaez]

[QUOTE=Instant Mix;38408511]Did you accidentally include the PSU twice or are you hinting at using the inbuilt GPU in the CPU?

[editline]11th November 2012[/editline]

Is there any MAJOR difference between the i5 and i3 that wouldn't be noticed by a graphicfile?
And I'm not really too sure about the AMD cards, I've never really gone near them. Are they considerably better for the price?[/QUOTE]

oops [URL]http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-msi-radeon-hd-7850-overclocked-4800mhz-gddr5-gpu-900mhz-1024-cores-dvi-hdmi-2x-mini-dp[/URL]

[editline]11th November 2012[/editline]

I think that AMD is a better value right now with the 7850 series, you could go with nvidia if you wanted.

[wickedplayer494]

[QUOTE=Instant Mix;38408511]Is there any MAJOR difference between the i5 and i3 that wouldn't be noticed by a graphicfile?
And I'm not really too sure about the AMD cards, I've never really gone near them. Are they considerably better for the price?[/QUOTE]

There definitely is a bit of a difference between the i3 and the i5: [url]http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/677?vs=701[/url]

AMD's offerings are definitely better for the price when on a tight budget.

[Shadaez]

Yeah, the i3 is plenty powerful for (most) games, though, and you'll run games better with a lower range CPU and a higher range GPU than the other way around in most cases.

[Instant Mix]

[QUOTE=Shadaez;38408781]Yeah, the i3 is plenty powerful for (most) games, though, and you'll run games better with a lower range CPU and a higher range GPU than the other way around in most cases.[/QUOTE]
I can understand about the PSU as i've got a theory the problem lies within that, so I'll take the more expensive PSU.

Just wondering about the CPU now after you brought up those benchmarks..
Let's say I come across some dosh considering I've got a pretty busy work schedule coming up to christmas so the quids will be in, would having the i5 + the 7850 be useful or should I really just wait to save up for the i5 & 7870? (and have the 7870 & i3 in the meantime)

[wickedplayer494]

I'd say i3 in the meantime.

[Dizzlepro]

OP - DO NOT BUY FROM WAE+ they are a scam company [url]http://www.resellerratings.com/store/WAE_Plus[/url]

also i would avoid that alpine 500w PSU like a plague, a 500w psu with 30amps on the 12v rail is a NO GO. a quality 500w psu should have at least 35+ amps on the 12v rail

[Instant Mix]

I have finalised and already bought THIS list:
Intel i5 3570
Cooler master Hyper TX-3
ASRock Z77 Pro3
Corsair 2x4GB Memory
EVGA GeForce GTX 650
NZXT Source 210 (Good airflow, apparently)
Corsair Builder 430W (Took advice of investing in a decent PSU)

This came to just over £500 - A bit more than what I wanted to spend but at least it's not going to blow up any time soon.

Have I cocked anything up majorly? I'd still rather have the powerful CPU and not-so powerful GPU rather than the other way round, because I really do not trust myself with fucking about the motherboard and thermal paste and shit multiple times.
These are all from Amazon & Scan.co.uk - safe vendors.

[wickedplayer494]

Eeeeeee that 650 gets wrecked in the hands of even a 7850: [url]http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/681?vs=549[/url]

[editline]11th November 2012[/editline]

Even a 7770 beats out the 650: [url]http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/681?vs=536[/url]

[Taipan]

[QUOTE=Instant Mix;38413256]I have finalised and already bought THIS list:
Intel i5 3570
Cooler master Hyper TX-3
ASRock Z77 Pro3
Corsair 2x4GB Memory
EVGA GeForce GTX 650
NZXT Source 210 (Good airflow, apparently)
Corsair Builder 430W (Took advice of investing in a decent PSU)

This came to just over £500 - A bit more than what I wanted to spend but at least it's not going to blow up any time soon.

Have I cocked anything up majorly? I'd still rather have the powerful CPU and not-so powerful GPU rather than the other way round, because I really do not trust myself with fucking about the motherboard and thermal paste and shit multiple times.
These are all from Amazon & Scan.co.uk - safe vendors.[/QUOTE]

Good build, exept for that 650gtx.

[Instant Mix]

[QUOTE=wickedplayer494;38413472]Eeeeeee that 650 gets wrecked in the hands of even a 7850: [URL]http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/681?vs=549[/URL]

[editline]11th November 2012[/editline]

Even a 7770 beats out the 650: [URL]http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/681?vs=536[/URL][/QUOTE]

Got a bank statement today, turns out i've got an extra £240 than I thought I had..
Any suggestions for a <£200 card then, I'm going to guess the 7870 then?
I'll send the GTX 650 back for a refund.

[wickedplayer494]

[QUOTE=Instant Mix;38421671]Got a bank statement today, turns out i've got an extra £240 than I thought I had..
Any suggestions for a <£200 card then, I'm going to guess the 7870 then?
I'll send the GTX 650 back for a refund.[/QUOTE]

Yep. You could get a 7850 instead, but examine the benchmarks: [url]http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/549?vs=548[/url]

[Instant Mix]

[QUOTE=wickedplayer494;38421698]Yep. You could get a 7850 instead, but examine the benchmarks: [URL]http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/549?vs=548[/URL][/QUOTE]b

Only problem is now that the MSI 7870 Twin Frozr isn't actually available yet on scan.co.uk - it's due out at the end of november. As that's just a tad out of my schedule (and tolerance before withdrawl symptoms start kicking in ) , Does anyone know of any other UK website that sells these? I've found a bunch, but they are all over £200, and the ones under £200 seem a tad dodgy (ie. not very well known or unproffesional looking sites, not much customer feedback

I've got a £191 offer from eBuyer.com , the lowest "verified" site as previous experience from eBuyer has been pretty good.
The lowest cost one apart from scan.co.uk is from [URL="http://www.in2digital.co.uk/msi-nvidia-amd-hd7870-oc-1050mhz-4800mhz-2048mb-256-bit-ddr5-twin-frozr-dual-link-dvi-mini-dp-2-hdmi-pci-e-graphics-card.html"]in2digital[/URL] , but it's only got a handful of ratings and doesn't seem well known. Does anybody know if these guys are genuine or a decent site unlike WAE+ ?

[Instant Mix]

[img]http://filesmelt.com/dl/P1040497.jpg[/img]
Cheers guys!
May have fucked up slightly since my optical drives were IDE and the motherboard doesn't support it, going out today to buy one that , y'know , works. Still awaiting the 7870, but the 8800GTS will do in the meantime.