£500 - £700 system build

lukesow

New Member
Hi guys,

I'm going to build a pc for my friend. He wants something super fast for daily processing such as programming in java and other daily chores. He works in ict himself but has not built before.

He is not a huge gamer but would occasionally play some old games but he hasn't told me which games. He said minimum spec graphics is directX 11 nvidia or AMD ati card, Nvidia GeForce 560 or ATI Radeon 6950, 1GB graphics card.

I know quite a bit about it but I must admit, I'm not ofay with graphics cards etc.

As I say, he isn't too fussed about gaming but wants a system which if he decided, could run a decent game.

I want to opt for an i7 if possible for quad core processing....high frequency ram and possibly an SSD.

I'm from the uk so I will be ordering of a uk website such as scan or ebuyer.

Can you help me out or even suggest a fully designed system.

Please note, he doesn't need a mo it or, keyboard or mouse. He may even be able to save on an optical drive but with is budget, I'd say he won't need to. Other than that, you should now have all the info you need.

Thanks,
Luke
 

Darren

Moderator
Staff member
Both video cards mentioned are a generation old. 7850 is roughly equivalent to 6950 and Geforce 650 TI should be about even with a GTX 560 (non TI version). I'll admit I don't know nVidia cards quite as well as AMD's but that's about the right comparison I think.

As for the CPU an i7 is total overkill unless you're doing some high end encoding, CAD, or other super CPU intensive tasks. "daily processes" such as programming and the like will need an i5 at most as buying an i7 is a waste of money. Performance gains from that won't be noticeable with what he plans to do.

As for building an actual list I'll let somebody better at that and more versed with your currency help with that. But that's my 2 cents.
 

lukesow

New Member
Thanks for your reply. The reason for i7 is that I know he will do some high end processing at some stages albeit not every day. i7 is within his budget but. Take inboard advice regarding overkill.
 

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
You probably won't be able to get a decent system with a 6950 and an i7 for £500-700 I'm afraid. The i7 3770K alone is over £200. The 6950 is old now, but the new equivalent would be a 7850 or 7870, both of which are quite expensive.

If he wants an i7, he'll have to up his budget.

I'll see what I can do for you though. :)

Edit:

For £736, here is a decent i7 system:

Core i7 3770K http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/...ncorei3,i5andi71155socket/bx80637i73770k.html
GA-Z77X-D3H http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/motherboards/intel1155z77chipset/ga-z77x-d3h.html
8GB 1600MHz RAM http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/...dr3-pc3-12800/1600mhz/f3-12800cl9d-8gbxl.html

MSI Radeon HD 7850 2GB http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/...aphicscards/amdhd7850series/r7850-2gd5oc.html

Zalman Z11 Plus http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/cases/cases/z11p.html
Corsair CX 600 http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/powersupplies/cp-9020048-uk.html
Samsung DVD-RW http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/opticaldrives/satadvdwriters/sh-224bbbebe.html

Seagate Barracuda 1TB http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/harddrives-internal/sata1tbto1.5tb/st1000dm003.html

There's no OS though. That'll add about £70-100 onto the build if he needs one.

If he's gaming it'd be better to go for an i5 3570K or an AMD FX-8320 and get a better graphics card instead. Both the i5 and the FX-8320 are powerful processors and both are great overclockers. He could afford to buy an aftermarket cooler if he got the i5 or the AMD and overclock to get more performance.
 
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lukesow

New Member
Thanks spirit. As I say, he is not a gamer as such and graphics aren't that important to him. I reckon we could get him a good system for his budget. Ill put together a list for you to scrutinise.
 

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
Go ahead, I'll take a look at it. :) You could go for a 7750 or 7770 if he's not bothered about games, then get a GA-Z77-D3H. That should put you into budget. :)
 

Darren

Moderator
Staff member
If he's not much of a gamer then you can knock the video card down for a i7 if he really wants one. Maybe a 7750 or even lower.


Edit: Dang it Jason. You beat me to it.
 
Last edited:

Twiki

Active Member
If he's really not that into gaming maybe the CPU's HD graphics will be good enough for him. You can eliminate the video card and with 8 gigs of mems he can set 1 gig for the video and have plenty left. The Intel HD graphics are quite good.
 

lukesow

New Member
I like the way you are talking. He could knock the graphics card down and if necessary later down the line he could upgrade maybe IF he wanted to. The i7 hd graphics most likely will be suitable for his needs.
 

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
Yeah the i7 has HD 4000 graphics which are pretty good.

OK, don't bother with a GPU for now. If he decides he needs one, he can get one later. :)
 

Twiki

Active Member
Right, he can upgrade the video later if he wants to and he might not have to. I have IHD Graphics 3000 in my i3-2105 which is close to the big boys, the i5 and i7. I'm doing fine with it.
 

Darren

Moderator
Staff member
Agreed with above. The 4000 series from Intel is actually a pretty good integrated graphics option.
 

lukesow

New Member
MB / RAM / CPU / Cooler (bundle) - £495.46 inc VAT
http://3xs.scan.co.uk/ConfigureSystem.asp?SystemID=1334

  • Asus P8Z77-V PRO, Intel Z77 Chipset (£124.77)
  • Intel Core i7 3770K, Ivy Bridge, 3.5GHz, Quad Core & Hyperthreading, 8MB Smart Cache (£215.17)
  • Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 - Performance CPU Cooler (£18.13)
  • 8GB Total (2x4GB) Corsair Vengeance - 1600MHz (£40.80)

Case - £43.18 inc VAT
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/silv...id-tower-performance-case-with-usb-30-w-o-psu

HDD 1TB - £82.92 inc VAT
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1tb-...7-35-hdd-sata-ii-3gb-s-7200rpm-64mb-cache-ncq

CD/DVD - £16.55 inc VAT
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/sony-ad-5280s-0b-24x-dvdr-12xdvddl-dvdplusrw-x8-rwx6-sata-black-oem

PSU - £53.52 inc VAT
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/600w...ronze-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-quiet-fan-atx-psu

Total = £691.63

I think I've covered everything i need.
I have an OS for him.
What do you think of this system I have put together?
 
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