Building a PC-complete newbie!-UK

[kayum]

Nothing wrong with that. I built my PC for £200 (before i upgraded the CPU) so i would say that it is easily doable. The components you chose are fine but i might suggest 4GB RAM. I'm a huge FM fan too (i'm playing in 2043 atm ) and i can tell you that it doesnt care about graphics cards but the better your processor and RAM the easier itl run. Since the E5200 is the best in that price range by a long shot (i bought it for my build) i would recommend pushing to 3 or 4 GB RAM (yeah, i know that 4GB isnt recognised but it tends to get sold in 2x2 or 4x1 packs).

EDIT- you won't need that CPU fan unless you want to o/c that chip past 3ghz. Since you said you're a beginner i can't imagine that you'll be wanting it. Also, don't you have any optical drives kicking about? From an old pc or anything? You can salvage old dvd drives to save costs. I've got 2 or 3 kicking about.

cheers for your help, what do you think of the motherboard? the only reason i picked it because it has an HDMI port, dont need a graphics card as i wont be playing games but i can always upgrade later on,i thought i needed the fan but as you said i dont i can use that money to buy more RAM

 

[LufbraDan23]

I bought a Gigabyte motherboard for £40 but if that one has HDMI and you need HDMI then you might as well. What is it you want HDMI for though? Is it because you think you'll get a better picture with an HDTV? Cos you won't Also, get some photos of the motherboard because my graphics card says HDMI ready or something but has two DVi outputs (you can convert them but its a bit misleading).

Get 4GB RAM since its about £40 and FM is one of the few things that it really makes a hella difference in (because of all those equations, processing and real time maths going on. Well i mean it literally creates the game world out of the thousands and thousands of variables). A cheap graphics card might take the strain off the CPU and RAM a little. Oh and, just to reiterate, if you were going to overclock i would definetely get a CPU fan but if you're keeping everything as it comes then you'll be fine with the stock fan they give you.

 

[kayum]

I bought a Gigabyte motherboard for £40 but if that one has HDMI and you need HDMI then you might as well. What is it you want HDMI for though? Is it because you think you'll get a better picture with an HDTV? Cos you won't Also, get some photos of the motherboard because my graphics card says HDMI ready or something but has two DVi outputs (you can convert them but its a bit misleading).

Get 4GB RAM since its about £40 and FM is one of the few things that it really makes a hella difference in (because of all those equations, processing and real time maths going on. Well i mean it literally creates the game world out of the thousands and thousands of variables). A cheap graphics card might take the strain off the CPU and RAM a little. Oh and, just to reiterate, if you were going to overclock i would definetely get a CPU fan but if you're keeping everything as it comes then you'll be fine with the stock fan they give you.

i want HDMI because i will be watching HD films and also i want the sound and video to come through my tv, is there an alternative which you think is good? ive looked at reviews of the CPU and a lot of people said they can overclock with the stock fan but i highly doubt i will be overclocking but i can add the fan later on can't I? do i really have to buy an graphics card? im an student and i need to keep the pricing to a minimum.

 

[LufbraDan23]

i want HDMI because i will be watching HD films and also i want the sound and video to come through my tv, is there an alternative which you think is good? ive looked at reviews of the CPU and a lot of people said they can overclock with the stock fan but i highly doubt i will be overclocking but i can add the fan later on can't I? do i really have to buy an graphics card? im an student and i need to keep the pricing to a minimum.

I'm a student too

Do you have a monitor or will you be using the tv? Because monitors can actually be better. Of course, if you have an HDTV already then HDMI is perfect for you.

You can buy a CPU fan at any point. All it is is a little fan or heat sink you place on top of the processor. The processor comes with one in the box, its just that ones you can buy will rotate faster etc and will cool more efficiently. Like i said though, overclocking is a great hobby but you dont need to worry about that just yet.

As for the graphics card, you don't need one, no. If you're keeping costs down then dont worry about it. I only suggested it cos they help a bit. Maybe get one for Christmas or something, you can get one for £20/30 and it would help a little with video encoding and things but don't worry about that for now.

To summarise- your build idea is fine, just drop the fan and get 4GB RAM.

 

[kayum]

I'm a student too, Loughborough uni, second year English

Do you have a monitor or will you be using the tv? Because monitors can actually be better. Of course, if you have an HDTV already then HDMI is perfect for you.

You can buy a CPU fan at any point. All it is is a little fan or heat sink you place on top of the processor. The processor comes with one in the box, its just that ones you can buy will rotate faster etc and will cool more efficiently. Like i said though, overclocking is a great hobby but you dont need to worry about that just yet.

As for the graphics card, you don't need one, no. If you're keeping costs down then dont worry about it. I only suggested it cos they help a bit. Maybe get one for Christmas or something, you can get one for £20/30 and it would help a little with video encoding and things but don't worry about that for now.

To summarise- your build idea is fine, just drop the fan and get 4GB RAM.

well i have a TV/Monitor, it has VGA, DVI and HDMI input, the motherboard i was looking has mixed reviews. do you have any suggestions on another motherboard around the same price bracket, doesnt have to HDMI.

 

[LufbraDan23]

my motherboard is £40 and has dvi. Gets good reviews too. You can watch in HD through DVi, there's nothing wrong with it

Are these going to be blu-rays or HD files you 'procure' from the net?

Either way, dvi to a good monitor is fine.

My motherboard- Gigabyte GA G31M S4L or something like that. I'm not on my pc at the mo but if you find one with those numbers in it then its mine lol.

 

[kayum]

my motherboard is £40 and has dvi. Gets good reviews too. You can watch in HD through DVi, there's nothing wrong with it

Are these going to be blu-rays or HD files you 'procure' from the net?

Either way, dvi to a good monitor is fine.

My motherboard- Gigabyte GA G31M S4L or something like that. I'm not on my pc at the mo but if you find one with those numbers in it then its mine lol.

"Are these going to be blu-rays or HD files you 'procure' from the net?" sorry mate dont know what your talking about,

how would transfer the sound to the monitor? as DVI only carries video and is your motherboard good for overclocking etc..??

 

[LufbraDan23]

"Are these going to be blu-rays or HD files you 'procure' from the net?" sorry mate dont know what your talking about,

how would transfer the sound to the monitor? as DVI only carries video and is your motherboard good for overclocking etc..??

Most motherboards come with onboard sound, like how you don't need a graphics card, you don't need a sound care. This onboard sound has a green connection for a jack cable which you connect from the back of your pc to the headphone slot in your monitor (presuming your monitor has little speakers built in) or if you use a little cable from your monitor into some speakrs, just run the one from the back of the pc into the speakers instead of the monitor.

The cable i'm talking about is one with two green ends, standard size jacks (the size of headphone jacks). You should have some in the house, if not you can buy them anywhere.

My motherboard is probably the most popular one to combine with that processor, so yeah its good for o'cing.

My laptop battery has hit 9% and i cant be bothered to go get the charger from downstairs so i'll reply tomorrow. Hope i've helped

 

[kayum]

Most motherboards come with onboard sound, like how you don't need a graphics card, you don't need a sound care. This onboard sound has a green connection for a jack cable which you connect from the back of your pc to the headphone slot in your monitor (presuming your monitor has little speakers built in) or if you use a little cable from your monitor into some speakrs, just run the one from the back of the pc into the speakers instead of the monitor.

The cable i'm talking about is one with two green ends, standard size jacks (the size of headphone jacks). You should have some in the house, if not you can buy them anywhere.

My motherboard is probably the most popular one to combine with that processor, so yeah its good for o'cing.

My laptop battery has hit 9% and i cant be bothered to go get the charger from downstairs so i'll reply tomorrow. Hope i've helped

cheers for all your help mate, is there any chance you can give the model number for your motherboard as i cant seem to find it.
thanks

 

[LufbraDan23]

Gigabyte motherboard GA-G31M-S2L Intel G31 Express LGA775 1333FSB micro ATX

If you go on ebuyer and go 'motherboards intel>all socket LGA 775 intel motherboards, its the top entry (cheapest first) at £36. Oh and on the review page- the guy at the bottom, i have no idea what hes chatting about. I guess with all products you sometimes get duff ones.

 

[kayum]

Gigabyte motherboard GA-G31M-S2L Intel G31 Express LGA775 1333FSB micro ATX

If you go on ebuyer and go 'motherboards intel>all socket LGA 775 intel motherboards, its the top entry (cheapest first) at £36. Oh and on the review page- the guy at the bottom, i have no idea what hes chatting about. I guess with all products you sometimes get duff ones.

perfect mate, i have seen reviews of your motherboard and its seems the best one, if i was to buy a cheap graphics care what will be the best one? and also i have been told i have a small Mobo but i big case, would this case be better as i have limited space:http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/INWIN-EM002-Black-Silver-Mini-Tower-Headphone-mic-In-USB-20-400-W-PSU

 

[kayum]

this is the computer i am going to order with some help from here, if there is any suggestions please let me no.

 

[ou_phidelt]

Get a decent PSU. I know you are on a limited budget but do not cheat yourself in that department. It is the backbone of your system. If you get a cheap PSU and it goes out you risk it taking you motherboard, CPU, and RAM with it. Is that worth saving a few bucks? You are from across the pond so CIT may very well be a decent unit but make sure you do your homework first. When in doubt go with a brand with a good track record: Corsar, Seasonic, Silverstone, PC Power and Cooling, OCZ, Antec, Spakle, etc. There are to many good units out there to risk your system on something sub-par.

I think you were on the right track to start with want HDMI. A single easy to connect cable is going to be much easier to work with than two. I could be wrong but I an betting the sound is going to be much better coming through HDMI than the headphone jack. Take a look at this Asus. Yeah its a good but more but worth a look none the less.

Another reason for an aftermarket heatsink is reduced noise. Those OEM units tend to be horribly load under load. Since you intend to use it in the living room I would recommend you stick with a 120mm based unit. I did the same on my server. It lives in the living room and uses a 45W CPU but I still added a nice 120mm HSF to keep the noise level down while it transcodes video to my media extenders.

I want to give you some advice I was given a long time ago and it has saved me a good bit a money over the years. Buy the right parts the first time instead of the wrong parts twice. Trying to save a few bucks now will likely cost you more in the long run due to them not working like you want or cheap parts failing.

 

[LufbraDan23]

Get a decent PSU. I know you are on a limited budget but do not cheat yourself in that department. It is the backbone of your system. If you get a cheap PSU and it goes out you risk it taking you motherboard, CPU, and RAM with it. Is that worth saving a few bucks? You are from across the pond so CIT may very well be a decent unit but make sure you do your homework first. When in doubt go with a brand with a good track record: Corsar, Seasonic, Silverstone, PC Power and Cooling, OCZ, Antec, Spakle, etc. There are to many good units out there to risk your system on something sub-par.

I think you were on the right track to start with want HDMI. A single easy to connect cable is going to be much easier to work with than two. I could be wrong but I an betting the sound is going to be much better coming through HDMI than the headphone jack. Take a look at this Asus. Yeah its a good but more but worth a look none the less.

Another reason for an aftermarket heatsink is reduced noise. Those OEM units tend to be horribly load under load. Since you intend to use it in the living room I would recommend you stick with a 120mm based unit. I did the same on my server. It lives in the living room and uses a 45W CPU but I still added a nice 120mm HSF to keep the noise level down while it transcodes video to my media extenders.

I want to give you some advice I was given a long time ago and it has saved me a good bit a money over the years. Buy the right parts the first time instead of the wrong parts twice. Trying to save a few bucks now will likely cost you more in the long run due to them not working like you want or cheap parts failing.

I totally back this. I forgot about the quality of hdmi audio.

As for the graphics card, i don't really know whether one for less than £30 would be a worthwhile improvement over integrated graphics. My integrated chipset could play Morrowind and Dawn of War on max graphics. Yeah theyre old games but since you won't be gaming much and a half decent card costs at least £50 i'm not too sure. Anyone want to jump in?