Hi guys, I come seeking a little advice again.

I've decided to build a new rig, something I've never done before, usually preferring to get a factory model, then upgrade/tweak it further down the line. But shopping around I can't find any I like, in the configurations I'd like to set up, so needs must. I'm never going to own a high end gaming system (unless I rob a bank!) so budget is limited to as cheap as possible. £500-700 mark is about as far as I'd like to stretch atm.

Those of you that do build your own, how do you go about it, can you recommend any sites that are user friendly, put the components together for you, and are cheap? I've found quite a good site so far that does this, I'm not sure how good their prices are though. http://www.computerplanet.co.uk/index.html

On the site I've built a set up as follows, please criticize it in anyway, and tell me if I've screwed up somewhere:-

Specification

Computer Case - Sharkoon T9 Gaming Case (Red) - (3 case fans)
CPU - AMD Phenom II X6 1055T (6 x 2.8 GHz) 9MB (AMD to try cut the price a bit)
CPU Heatsink - AMD Heatsink & Fan
Memory - Corsair 8GB XMS3 PC3-12800 1600MHz (2x4GB) - (DDR3) (with 2 mem slots to spare)
Graphics Card - None or Motherboard Integrated Graphics (I have a PCI-E x16 Graphics card already)
Motherboard - Asus M5A78L LE (AMD 760G)
Sound Card - Motherboard Integrated HD Sound (I have a PCI soundcard already)
Networking - Motherboard Integrated Ethernet Lan (Broadband Ready)
Power Supply - Cooler Master 650W PSU - Low Noise (Shouldn't need any more, MB can only hold one good GFX card)
Hard Drive #1 - 500 GB SATA-II HDD 7200 16MB (FREE UPGRADE TO 750GB ORDER BEFORE 11:59 PM ON 08-01-12)
Optical Drive #1 - Samsung 24x DVD Re-Writer/Reader /- RW- Black - Lightscribe (SATA)
Card Reader - Internal Card Reader 50-in-1
Operating System #1 - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 BIT Genuine DVD & COA Included)
Office Software - OpenOffice 3.2.1 (Unlimited PC License)
Security Software - FREE - PANDA Anti Virus Pro 2012 - FREE FOR ORDERS PLACED 08/01/12 RRP £25
Backup Software - Restore DVD & Original Operating System DVD
Keyboard - Standard Slim Keyboard (PS/2)
Surge Protection - Belkin 4 Socket Surge Protector with AV protection
Free Gift - FREE - USB IP TV & Radio Player - Watch 5200 TV Channels
Gaming Mice - BLAZE Red/Snake effect laser Gaming mouse Mouse 800-1600 dpi shift

I can get all that, pre-built with installed software and delivered for £665.42 all in.

I plan to only put 1 graphics card in it (Asus 1GB GeForce GTX 560TI DirectCUII PCI-E), so the fact that the motherboard only has 1 PCI-E x16 slot isn't really an issue. Is that a mistake or should I really be looking at MB's with double x16 slots? Also I have a sound card to plug into one of the PCI slots, and plan at some point to get a new bigger monitor when I have the spare cash.

Any other advice you can give on the subject is appreciated,

Cheers,
Cam

Just in case you haven't tried these guys have a look here. Got my last rig from them and there are loads of customisation options. Service was great and never had any issues with the PC. They also give a waruantee which you dont get with self build.

http://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/

Sorry cant comment on the spec below as the last PC I built was about 10 years ago!

From a quick Google I can say the mouse is the ugliest mouse I've ever seen, much prefer Logitech but that's just me being fussy. For sound I've pretty much stuck with using the onboard sound nowadays, PCI soundcards just seem to come with a whole host of issues so I don't bother with them especially if you use a headset rather than surround sound. Other than that I can't really say too much, I've pretty much been using laptops exclusively for the last few years so know very little about decent desktops. I shudder at the thought of it but Nat is probably more informed than me now.

Cheers G, I'll check them out, also I should have mentioned that the site I used gives a guarantee as well as other stuff as standard

FREE - Nero 10 CD/DVD creator software.
FREE - 60 Day Collect & Return.
FREE - UK power cable.
FREE - Gift. Select from 5 products.
FREE - DVI or HDMI Monitor Adapter.
FREE - Insured UPS delivery.
FREE - Fully built & tested PC.
FREE - All Windows updates installed.
FREE - All drivers & component applications installed & updated.
FREE - Full manufacturers warranty upto 3 years.
FREE - No junkware installed on the PC.
FREE - Super fast Technical Support & Customer Services.

@ Beans

Cheers bro, yeah I hadn't looked at the mouse too closely they have alot of mouse options so I may stretch the cost a little to get a 6 button instead. As for laptops, I doubt I'd be able to get one with the same specs for the price yeah?

Probably not but then I would never recommend a laptop over a desktop for anyone that doesn't need one. I use mine for work so I use it at home and the office, if I worked from home full time I'd get a desktop like a shot. The only reason I said I used laptops was to explain why I know very little about desktop hardware.

I tried making a system to my spec on that site Pog but within a few clicks i was over £1000

I bought my last pc from Chillblast.co.uk, who were competitive back then and offered warranty, etc. When my gfx card broke, they replaced under manufacturer warranty and even drove it to my house (I live less than 15 miles from one of their offices). Don't even know if they're still trading but they might be worth a look.

Hi Folks,

So I spent a long time researching, tweaking, and playing about with the computer setup. Eventually I settled on this one, and ordered it.

Code: CFGAMHEXZ �667.00 x 1 �667.00
AMD Eight Core Configurator (NO MONITOR)
http://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/syste ... figurator/

*BASE_PRICE: [+488]
CAS: AZZA Solano 1000 Full-Tower Advance Cooling Case w/ Dual 230mm Fan + Extra 3 Fans
CD: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+/-R/+/-RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE. (BLACK COLOR)
CPU: AMD FX-6100 3.30 GHz Six-Core AM3+ CPU 6MB L2 Cache & Turbo Core Technology
FAN: Asetek 510LC / Xtremegear Liquid Cooling system w/ 120mm Radiator (Asetek CPU Water Cooling ***Overclockable XXX***)
FREEBIE_CU1: FREE! Battlefield 3 Game (AMD)
FREEBIE_OS: Free Microsoft(R) Office(R) 2010 STARTER EDITION
(Reduced-Functionality versions of Word and Excel that include dvertising)
HDD: 1TB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 7200RPM Hard Drive (Single Hard Drive)
MEMORY: 8GB (4x2GB) PC10666 DDR3/1333mhz Dual Channel Memory (Corsair Value Select or Major Brand)
MONITOR: NONE
MOTHERBOARD: Asus M5A99X EVO AMD 990X Chipset CrossFireX / SLI support for Socket AM3+ AMD CPU DDR3/1333 Mainboard ATX, PCI-E 2.0, DDR3 1333/1600/1800/1866, USB3.0, SATA-III /s, RAID, ATX ***Overclockable XXX***
MOUSE: Roccat Pyra 5-Buttons Plus Wheel Gaming Mouse [+24]
NETWORK: ONBOARD 10/1000 NETWORK CARD
OS: Microsoft(R) Windows(R) 7 Home Premium [+74] (64-bit Edition)
POWERSUPPLY: 850 Watts Power Supplies [+59] (CoolerMaster 850watt Silent ProModular Gaming Power Supply, SLI / Crossfire ready [+25])
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
UPS: Belkin 4-Socket Surge Protector [+7]
USB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
VIDEO: None, or On-Board Integrated Graphics [-27]
WARRANTY: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3 Year Labour, 1 Year Parts, 1 Month Collect and Return plus Life-Time Technical Support

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Coupon: 260973 (3% Discount) -�20.01
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Shipping: Standard Delivery UK mainland �25.00
SUBTOTAL �671.99
VAT (20.0%) �134.40
----------------------------------------------------------------------
GRAND TOTAL �806.39


It's a bit more than I wanted to spend, but most of the components are fairly decent the case should have more than enough cooling, power, and run fairly silent. I'll have to use my old monitor and keyboard, and possibly soundcard, but at least I have a GeForce 1GB GTX 560ti card to plug in when I get the system. Can anyone give me advice on how to OC MB/cooler, as it's been a very long time since I even looked at how to do it?

It's a shame I had to settle for a 6 core in stead of 8, but just can't stretch the budget anymore. In future when I have some spare cash again I will probably get a new monitor, additional GFX card to run 2, upgrade the RAM, and maybe a speed HD. Computer advancements have to start slowing down soon right?

Anywhoo, cheers for the advice guys, hopefully see those who are playing SWTOR in game soon.

Yeah, the system I just got would be well over that with a monitor and my GFX card inluded Still I hope it will last me a long time.

Just a quick review for anyone else looking to build a system soon off the web via sites. I looked at a number of the companies and the ones suggested here that others have used, some of the sites are just atrocious, bad design, expensive, or no signs of customer support.

The three best that I could find are these ones:-

Cyberpowersystem.co.uk
Computerplanet.co.uk
Chillblast.co.uk

All the sites seem to have pretty good customer service, a building team that can Overclock and do a neat job of wiring/water cooler mechanics, and they all offer a 3 year warranty as standard.

The one I ultimately went with and used to order my PC was Cyberpower. The reasons are:-

1) They have a lot of parts, tons of them, it can be a bit daunting going through the list trying to pick the one you want, but more choice ultimately gives you more options in your build that allows you tweak it to exactly how you want it. The user interface and running tally on side bar help a lot when working with a budget. Pick a starting computer of rough budget, or quality level you want, either AMD or Intel and then you can customise the list of components, adding or subtracting the ones you want. The parts they list in each bracket are of a similar budget so that you don't have a huge list of items to choose from, but slightly more expensive or cheaper options. The brackets are budget, mid-ranged, gaming etc.
2) They have competitive prices, not the cheapest on the market. You could source the parts yourself for cheaper online, but you'd have to put them together and you only have manufacturers warranty.
3) They have a great customer service, lots of support and options for cosmetically modifying cases, overclocking coolers/RAM/CPU etc and they even have a forum were you can pose questions about various parts/builds and get good advice/suggestions in return.
4) If you tell them you have some parts already, they will include those parts (or similar) in the build before they do the 24 hour stress testing so they can accurately make sure the system will work fine when the rig gets shipped out and you plug in your parts.

My only issue with the site is that is shows prices for all items before VAT, but there is the running total at the side which lists before VAT and after VAT, so no really a biggy.

Computerplanet is a great site, and their prices seem to be the cheapest of the three, support looks great too, however their customisation choices are a bit limited even if they do give good info about each part they stock.

Chillblast looks like a good site, with lots of the good stuff that the other sites have, the only problem I had with it, is that I couldn't build a system that was nearly the same as Cyberpowers, and even the closest replica was far more expensive.

If you are ordering a computer from Cyberpower, I found a couple of coupon codes to save a little cash.

CYBER10 - gives £15 flat discount
260973 - gives a 3% discount on the base cost before VAT (which is more than £15 on systems over £750 VAT inc)

The codes change all the time, so it's worth doing a quick google to see if there are any new good ones.

My self have only used Cyberpower once before but was very satisfied with all the service i got.

will be using them again for when i get a new machine.