Glorious Escapism Roleplay

brix · Joined: 23 Jan 2012 Posts: 1

Right then, I've been told to put this up here, I've decided to put together a list of parts so that anyone thinking about building their own PC at a pretty damn affordable price point for what it is can use this as a reference of sorts.

So, first things first the idea was to get the rig around the £400 pricepoint, that is without cutting back on anything that would seem unimportant (RAM speed, PSU durability, et cetera), keeping all parts within their logical groupings. Meaning, there is still a certain amount to be saved on such a machine, though I wouldn't recommend it.

Simplified specs are to be as follows:

3GHz quad core processor
8GB 1600mhz dual channel ram
1TB 7200 RPM

Parts list:
APU: http://www.ebuyer.com/322109-amd-3870k-socket-fm1-retail-boxed-processor-ad3870wngxbox
RAM: http://www.ebuyer.com/264750-g-skill-8gb-2x4gb-ddr3-1600mhz-ripjawsx-memory-kit-cl9-9-9-9-24-1-5v-f3-12800cl9d-8gbxl
HD: http://www.ebuyer.com/173804-samsung-hd103sj-spinpoint-f3-1tb-hard-drive-sataii-7200rpm-32mb-cache-hd103sj
PSU: http://www.ebuyer.com/245675-antec-450w-psu-120mm-fan-vp450-4x-sata-1x-pci-e-0761345-06451-4
MOBO: http://www.ebuyer.com/320152-msi-a75a-g35-socket-fm1-onboard-graphics-cpu-required-8-channel-hd-audio-a75a-g35

This brings our current total to a decent £327

For the tech savvy of you out there, you may notice there is no GPU (also no enclosure, but we'll get to that in a bit). The reason for this is AMD are now making what they call APUs, these are supposedly a mixture of both GPU and CPU all running off of the same chip. Initially you might think integrated graphics and technically that's what it is, but this is the level of gaming that should be expected off of this chip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yz-m5pihZOE

All in all, high settings at ok resolutions on modern games, perhaps mid to high on some of the more demanding ones.

There is however an option to throw in an actual GPU that works together with the APU, the best on offer that is compatible is:
http://www.ebuyer.com/290511-xfx-hd-6670-1gb-ddr3-dvi-vga-hdmi-pci-e-graphics-card-hd-667x-zhf2
This should be a huge improvement and at only £57 it's great.
I would suggest seeing you you feel without before buying, or buying it a couple years down the line if you feel the need to.

This would bump our overall price to £385.66 (leaving about £14 for a case, doable, but not recommendable). So without the GPU £327 remains, leaving lots for a great case.

Now this is the point that is entirely subjective, as long as the case has good airflow and build quality is OK, it's up to the individual.

Now keep in mind, if people are willing to save up for such a system, some of these parts will be cheaper by a certain point and something of the same price may be out, so obviously research is needed, but in general this should be a pretty sweet machine for the price, as long as of course you have your own monitor.

Toutaku · Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2012 11:31 pm Post subject:

Thanks, bro! This is a really big help. I'll start saving up ASAP.
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Feral Dragon · Joined: 09 Dec 2010 Posts: 249 Location: Norwich

Useful to me too. Thanks.
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