new build!

[theunderwaterbear]

Hi all. I am building a new pc soon - for the first time in about 10 years. Thus I need everything! I am going for matx or itx. Which of these builds would you say looks better, is there anywhere I could save money, is everything compatible, etc! Budget is tight, but I want high quality components. Even this mid-range stuff is going to be 10x better than anything I've owned lately. Thanks for your help!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-2120 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor (£89.99 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£25.79 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Motherboard: Asus P8H77-V LE Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£70.52 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£34.99 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£65.81 @ Ebuyer)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB Video Card (£94.52 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: Fractal Design Arc Mini MicroATX Mini Tower Case (£57.50 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Antec 520W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£55.82 @ Scan.co.uk)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer (£12.88 @ CCL Computers)
Monitor: Dell U2312HM 23.0" Monitor (£178.20 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £686.02

OR

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-2120 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor (£89.99 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£25.79 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Motherboard: Asus P8H77-I Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard (£81.98 @ Dabs)
Memory: Corsair 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory (£32.16 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£65.81 @ Ebuyer)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB Video Card (£94.52 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case (£64.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Power Supply: Antec 520W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£55.82 @ Scan.co.uk)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer (£12.88 @ CCL Computers)
Monitor: Dell U2312HM 23.0" Monitor (£178.20 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £702.14

 

[seumasbeathan]

What will this pc be used for? Why matx/itx?

 

[jamesriley94]

I'd say the second one, but changes will have to be made.

1 - due to the motherboard layout, you wont be able to fit a graphics card in with the Hyper 212 installed. You'll need to either get an all in one watercooling system, or settle with stock until you can afford an all in one watercooling system. There may be air coolers that will cut it, but unless someones physicallu tested it I dont think you'll know.
2 - May as well get 1600mhz RAM as it isnt that much more expensive:
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-...pc3-12800-(1600)-non-ecc-cas-9-9-9-24-xmp-15v

3) Change the power supply to a Silverstone 500w Strider: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/500w...ze-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-quiet-fan-atx-v23-ps
As it will be fully modular so easier to work with.

4) Get a Western Digital HDD - I've had 4 Samsung F3s all die within a year

 

[theunderwaterbear]

thanks for the replies! it will be used for everything, i use the computer a lot. browsing, watching videos, playing games. i don't care about playing on high settings or whatever, as i said any pc i get will be a massive upgrade, and i can't afford i.e. an i5 k and 7850.

i'm getting the cooler primarily to make sure it runs cool and quiet, and also i'm thinking if i ever upgrade again it will probably be a part i can reuse. should i drop it entirely, or look for a super low profile one?

i wanted matx or itx because i thought there were basically no downsides these days (except maybe marginally more expensive)? if somebody posted an atx build that was the same specs but much cheaper - with as reliable components - i could go for that. or another matx or itx build, i've been doing lots of research but i'm not an expert!