Opinions on builds needed.

B

Blarg

New member
So i am building a gaming pc in an original xbox case. My budget is around £400-£500.
Preferred sites are: Scan.co.uk ebuyer.co.uk dabs.co.uk and overclockers.co.uk

Components that are common to both options:
Disk Drive:Slim dvd-cd drive. Free
Slim ATAPI to SATA adaptor: £12
(http://www.ioi.com.tw/products/proddetail.aspx?CatID=101&HostID=2032&ProdID=1010104)
PSU: 300w cooler master tfx PSU: £45
(http://www.amazon.co.uk/Be-quiet-TFX-Power-BN136/dp/B002OCSQI0/ref=pd_cp_computers_1)
CPU Cooler: Coolermaster GeminiII CPU cooler: £24
(http://www.ebuyer.com/290462-cooler...eatpipes-120x15mm-1600rpm-pwm-rr-gmm4-16pk-r1)
RAM: Kingston 4GB 1600mhz £20
(http://www.ebuyer.com/272181-kingston-4gb-ddr3-1600mhz-hyperx-blu-memory-module-khx1600c9d3b1-4g)
Fans: 2 x 60mm fans by fractal £12
(http://www.scan.co.uk/products/60mm...lent-series-cooling-fan-inc-rubber-fan-mounts)
(Total: £113)

Option 1 (Dual graphics AMD):
MOBO: Gigabyte A75N-USB3 Motherboard AMD £72
(http://www.scan.co.uk/products/giga...-6gb-s-raid-pcie-20-(x16)-dvi-d-hdmi-mini-itx)
CPU: AMD APU A8-3870K £90
(http://www.scan.co.uk/products/amd-...ghz-gpu-amd-radeon-hd-6550d-600mhz-100w-retai)
SSD: Sandisk Extreme 120GB SSD £69
(http://www.scan.co.uk/products/120g...b-s-read-550mb-s-write-510mb-s-83000-iops-max)
GPU: Sapphire HD6670 1GB low profile £72
(http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0062CHL...de=asn&creative=22206&creativeASIN=B0062CHLYI)
(Total: 303)

Option 2 (Intel CPU AMD GPU)
MOBO: Gigabyte GA-H61N £64
(http://www.ebuyer.com/288743-gigaby...el-hd-audio-mini-itx-motherboard-ga-h61n-usb3)
CPU: Intel Core i3 2100 £90
(http://www.ebuyer.com/254976-intel-...-1155-3mb-l3-cache-retail-boxed-bx80623i32100)
SSD: SanDisk120GB Ultra £64
(http://www.ebuyer.com/288065-sandisk-120gb-ultra-ssd-sdssdh-120g-g25)
GPU: VTX3d 1GB HD7750 low profile £101
(http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VTX3D-1GB...-GDDR5-PCI-E-x16-/320934841191#ht_3173wt_1396)
(Total: 319)

Feel free to compile your own build, and advice would be much appreciated; especially on the first build and how good the dual graphics system works.

Thanks, Blarg ^_^
 
Even for a 6670 I would not feel safe running a 300w psu, also the temps are going to be very high in an xbox case

Edit : oh and as for the better build, The intel one
 
The hybrid crossfire is pretty useless, dude. Paraphrasing from Tom; you may as well spend the money buying a good standalone CPU and a good standalone GPU. The lower end AMD cards are far more expensive than the performance they provide.
 
You arent expecting it to be a good 'gaming' pc are you?

Credit to you for going ahead with the project and everything, but I just feel things get so constrained if you restrict space that much.
I personally think 300w would be fine running it all...
But, The CPU cooler is still wide, and it wouldnt surprise me if it covered the PCIE slot, on both of the boards. Go for the intel if you do do it, but leave the stock cooler on. You shouldnt really need more cause you'd be mad to overclock.

I just think unless you heart is seriously set on doing this, you should just go for it with a Bitfenix Prodigy and make a small pc like that.

The people that have done this have done it to show off on youtube and probably get money through doing that. Also they'll have been sponsored by manufacturers to do it. I personally wouldnt want to live with one, and especially not to use it as a gaming pc.

Good luck to you if you do do it! Be sure to post pictures, but I'd seriously consider your other options, and I probably wouldnt even both putting a graphics card in it :)
 
Hey guys, thanks for all of the input. I guess it is definitely go for the intel one and use the stock cooler as that is a good point with the cooler master one hindering pci slot space (what is it like sound wise though?). I would probably put the extra money towards a better mob: http://www.ebuyer.com/282034-asrock...d-graphics-cpu-required-8-channel-hd-h61m-itx
And get the san disk extreme rather than ultra. (Uses sata III and isnt too much more expensive.)

On the topic of PSU there is the option of getting a 400W tfx psu, however it is from a manufacturer that i have never really heard of. What do you guys think of it:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/EZCool-Power-Supply-Small-Factor/dp/B0056G8L4K/ref=pd_cp_computers_0

Also the games that i would be playing arent all that demanding, mainly being strategies, like civ 5, shogun total war 2, anno 2070, tropico 4. And hopefully the new sim city game and Rome total war 2 when they come out, but by then i might be able to upgrade, if there are any new low profile graphics cards out XD.
 
Blarg said:
Hey guys, thanks for all of the input. I guess it is definitely go for the intel one and use the stock cooler as that is a good point with the cooler master one hindering pci slot space (what is it like sound wise though?). I would probably put the extra money towards a better mob: http://www.ebuyer.com/282034-asrock...d-graphics-cpu-required-8-channel-hd-h61m-itx
And get the san disk extreme rather than ultra. (Uses sata III and isnt too much more expensive.)

On the topic of PSU there is the option of getting a 400W tfx psu, however it is from a manufacturer that i have never really heard of. What do you guys think of it:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/EZCool-Power-Supply-Small-Factor/dp/B0056G8L4K/ref=pd_cp_computers_0

Also the games that i would be playing arent all that demanding, mainly being strategies, like civ 5, shogun total war 2, anno 2070, tropico 4. And hopefully the new sim city game and Rome total war 2 when they come out, but by then i might be able to upgrade, if there are any new low profile graphics cards out XD.
Click to expand...

Civ 5 is pretty demanding for some reson, I only get about 30 fps which can be bloody akward
 
seumasbeathan said:
Civ 5 is pretty demanding for some reson, I only get about 30 fps which can be bloody akward
Click to expand...

What settings? I have been playing the demo on the machine (Q8300 6gb RAM DDR2 and a gt320) i am using at the moment and although i have had it on low settings (i dont feel it affects the gameplay that much for a game like civ 5) it seems to play pretty smooth.
 
Oh I had it on maximum and I would just find that when I tried to go to the other side fo the map it wasn't to smooth, although that could be down to my processor as I only have a dual core and you a quad
 
seumasbeathan said:
Oh I had it on maximum and I would just find that when I tried to go to the other side fo the map it wasn't to smooth, although that could be down to my processor as I only have a dual core and you a quad
Click to expand...

Haha, but i will be downgrading (not really) to a dual :(
 
I have to say a Pentium G860 would be the better option, how many games really utilise hyperthreading? From my perspective, I managed to game pretty smoothly using a Pentium G860. Are you going to be using any programs that can use hyperthreading? There isn't a gain that is big enough that makes it worthwhile going from dual core Pentium to dual core w/HT. From what I experienced there is ~5fps difference for ~£20 difference in price. If you do want an i3 go for something more like the i3-2130 or IF you can stretch your budget, a low end i5.

I wouldn't got for an AMD APU, their power draw is comparatively terrible compared to the G860.

But that's just me coming from personal experience, you choose what will make you happiest buddy. :D
 
The way I see it, when you compare an i5 with an i7 the the hyperthreading dosnt make that big a difference, if any. But with a Pentium compared to an i3 there is a difference, also the i3 runs at a higher clock speed
 
The Pentium G860 is only 100Mhz slower than the i3 2100. That doesn't equate to a massive difference for games. 3.0Ghz vs 3.1Ghz
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

X
My simple build(s).
Replies
13
Views
4K
xs2man
X
Feronix
£250 'Gaming' PC / Steambox
Replies
7
Views
6K
Logan
L
enRodjavel
Project "Black N Blue Typhoon"
Replies
6
Views
2K
enRodjavel
enRodjavel
Edge
£1000-1500 Video Editing / Gaming Build
Replies
7
Views
2K
Edge
Edge
P
Project Shelfie
2
Replies
24
Views
5K
pwal
P
Back
Top