Smaug

sheroo

New member
Smaug

This is a build for my little lad, who has been working extremely hard at school, and it’s his Birthday soon. He’s currently running an aging 775 rig with onboard graphics, which limits the games he can play. I could have just put a GPU in his current rig – but any excuse to build another rig.:)

Proposed Components:-

CPU – Intel i3 3220
Cooler – CoolIT ECO II 120 (already have)(updated 25/04/2013)
M/B – Gigabyte GA-B75N
PSU – Enermax Modu 82+ 625W (already have)
GPU – MSI 560 Ti 448 TF3 (updated 23/03/2013)
Mem – 8GB Corsair Vengeance LP (already have)
Drives – Corsair 120GB Force Series GT SSD (updated 25/04/2013)
Case – Bitfenix Prodigy
Fans – Xigmatek
O/S – Windows 7 64 bit (already have)
Monitor – 21.5" Asus VE228T LED (updated 25/04/2013)

Yesterday I ordered the M/B, CPU & Case from Aria, and together with their new courier DPD – they arrived less than 24 hours later – outstanding!!

casemotherboardcpu.jpg



I already have the PSU & Memory. Glad I had the memory, as the prices have doubled recently.

memorypsu.jpg


I have to keep a close eye on the budget for this build, hence the reason I chose the B75 M/B, but it’s nicely laid out and is all black (and it was less than £60). It’s not meant to be an uber rig, just something to keep him going for the next few years. I have still to decide on a couple of components, but they are dependent on me being able to sell some old bits and bobs to generate some more cash. I'm hoping that I can stretch to an SSD, but I have some old mechanicals if all else fails.:)

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

GPU Udate & Supply Drop (23/03/2013)

I managed to snag this MSI 560 Ti 448 TF3 on ebay for £96.

gpusy.jpg


Thought it was a bit of a Billy Bargain, what do you think?

Also got a supply drop from SpecialTech. Side panel window & front 200mm fan.

windowfane.jpg


_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

CPU Cooler, SSD & Monitor (25/04/2013)

I decided to use the CoolIT ECO II 120 CPU cooler out of my rig, which gave me the opportunity to upgrade to an H80i.^_^ I also plumped for the 120GB Corsair GT. I know alot of people are raving about the Samsung Pro's, but these drives are well proven & quick. I also pushed the boat out and got him a 21.5" Asus VE228T LED monitor as well.


coolerssd.jpg


Sleeving

I decided to sleeve all of the fans, even though the PSU cables are a bit meh.

In progress...

sleevinginprogress.jpg


Complete...

sleevingcompleted.jpg


Assembly

Nothing fancy here, pretty basic stuff...

Half way there...

Please note I did in fact remove the ODD, as I installed Windows from a USB stick (so quick). I also installed Steam for game downloads as well.:)

halfwaythere.jpg


Complete...

cpuside.jpg


Cables have got to go somewhere...

gpuside.jpg


backsideu.jpg


In Situ...

Before

prodigybefore.jpg


After

prodigycomplete.jpg


I decided to put the case on the floor as it gives a lot more desk room. Its actually his birthday today, so he'll see it for the first time today when he gets home from school. I'm sure he'll be playing Lego Star Wars III most of the evening.:)

The Prodigy case was lovely to work with and for its size is such a versatile chassis. I know its not as fancy as some of the builds out there but I hope you enjoyed seeing it coming together.:)
 
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Wish my father built me a rig back in the day :P well done mate obviously budget is a huge factor but try get the little fella a good dedicated gpu he wont believe the difference :D
 
Wish my father built me a rig back in the day :P well done mate obviously budget is a huge factor but try get the little fella a good dedicated gpu he wont believe the difference :D

I remember when I was a kid, begging my Dad for a computer - never happened. Back then all I wanted was a ZX81...

Looks good!
What's the build name from? first glance over the title and thought it was smough (dark souls):)
Smaug - I name all my rigs after characters in The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings.:) His current rig is called Frodo.
 
I was completely oblivious to the world of pc gaming until a few years ago I even remember when I was about 10 years old an older cousin letting me play resident evil 2 on his pc and after about 20 minutes I wanted to go home and play it on the console even though it had exclusive missions I wasnt interested :o the ignorance of youth :D
 
I'm not a massive gamer these days, but this build might give me the excuse to set up my Logitech G25 somewhere permanently.:)
 
Yay :D

I had one of those fake Alienware cases. It was as sharp as a knife :lol:

You're a good dad your kid must love you to bits :)

I had one of those Modus. It was barbaric lol. Easily one of the best PSUs I've ever had.

Looking forward to seeing this done, knowing it's making a kid's day :)

I remember when I was a kid, begging my Dad for a computer - never happened. Back then all I wanted was a ZX81...

I got one for Christmas. It broke down after two days so I took it back to WHsmith and got another. Then it broke down again so we sold it to my mate at school who got it replaced. He was luckier than me as his one lasted but we got a Spectrum the following Christmas.

You weren't really missing much haha. Centipede was about as far as it went.
 
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Yep, no rolled edges on that fake Alienware case and its a bugger trying to get the side panels off - it was only £20, but cases have come a long way in the last few years.

I remember watching some bloke on the TV with an Acorn and a BBC micro. All I wanted to do was write.

10 Print "Hello World"
20 GoTo 10

and watch it fill the screen, but the most technically advanced thing I ever got was an LED calculator and writing shell oil & bigboobs (oh the fun we had:lol:). Maybe not having tech growing up is why I love it some much now, and want my kids to embrace it too. It is the future...
 
Well he got a pack of stickers and went a bit mad, that was a few years ago though. No stickers allowed on this lovely Prodigy case. He's now into Lego Star Wars & Lego Batman. He might also be getting Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars - which his current rig wouldn't run very well, if at all.
 
Now that's what nice dads do for their kids! :)

This reminds me of when I got (bought) my first rig (I was about 14 ~ 15-ish).

I had been saving up money for quite a while and after getting everything and putting it together (an Athlon Thunderbird 1400 C, those were the days), it made noise like a vacuum cleaner (performance was awesome though; I even had a 10k SCSI drive which I later upgraded to a 15k Seagate that I ran from 2003 until 2010!).

After about a week my dad walks into my room and says: "Son, that noise is horrible, what can we do about it? I'll pay if you can't afford it."

And so I did a bit of research and my dad bought me my first watercooling equipment (an Aquacomputer Cuplex classic with an Airplex V1 radiator). I was very grateful for that, so awesome of him :). Unfortunately I no longer have the rad, but the Cuplex is still in a box around here somewhere.

Looking forward to the rest of this!
 
Its really nice to hear the stories of what we remember as kids and how it stays with us and shapes us.:)

Edited 1st post with an update on the GPU - what do you think?

Edit1: Added supply drop from SpecialTech. (Great quick delivery - thanks guys:)).
 
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Its really nice to hear the stories of what we remember as kids and how it stays with us and shapes us.:)

Edited 1st post with an update on the GPU - what do you think?

Edit1: Added supply drop from SpecialTech. (Great quick delivery - thanks guys:)).

Looks good to me mate. A good balance. Give it a bit of a push and you're looking at 570 speed which is good enough for near on all games at 1080p :)

Specialtech rule. By far and away my favourite company to buy from.
 
560 is a very sweet card imho. And that price seems pretty good, retail prices for 560 Ti's are still around 230 CHF here (about 160 GBP).

Specialtech rule. By far and away my favourite company to buy from.

I've bought a few things from them over ebay (otherwhise I mostly use the Swiss subsidiary of Aquatuning due to VAT and processing fees and stuff) and my experiences have always been highly positive.
 
good god. case badges are bad enough, but those stickers are a nightmare :O
i could never understand why people would do that, you cant peel them off properly and it just looks stupid. anyways, the new build looks nice.
hope your son enjoys his gift :D
 
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