My new desktop PC

[Toledo Man]

My current desktop PC is getting a bit slow so rather than upgrade it, I'm going to build a new one. This is the spec of my current PC:

Mini tower case.
350w generic PSU
Asus M2N-MX motherboard
AMD Sempron 3200+ CPU with a clock speed of 1.8 Ghz
4 GB DDR2 RAM
Main HDD - 111 GB (SATA interface)
Secondary HDD - 80 GB (SATA interface)
External HDD - 1 TB (SATA interface in a USB 2.0 enclosure)
OS - Windows 8.1 64-bit
Graphics - NVIDIA GE Force 210 1GB
Optical drive - LG CD/DVD rewriter (IDE interface)

For the choice of CPU, I've decided to stick with AMD only because you get more for your money. It will be a mixture of new and secondhand components. I will try to source as many of the new components from the same supplier as possible to avoid incompatibilities. I got this from one of my brothers for free and it has 3 fans inside the case.

The first part I've bought is this 850W PSU which is more than enough for my needs. It cost me just under £30.

I'm trying to future proof this PC as much as possible so I'm going for the latest AMD CPU socket (which is AM3+) and can take DDR3 RAM. The power supply, motherboard, CPU and RAM are at the heart of this system and will be sourced brand new from the same supplier.

One component which can be sourced secondhand is the graphics card. I've been researching benchmarks of various cards and comparing a few. I had budgeted about £60 for a brand new one but with a secondhand one, I can get more for my money so I've won a decent one on ebay. I just need to fit a new optical drive and I'll carry my main HDD over (this will be eventually replaced with an SSD) and the 1 TB HDD in my external HDD enclosure will be my secondary HDD. I will sell on my old PC as the remaining HDD has Windows XP installed on it. I reckon that it will cost me just over £400 once I've done.

This will be the final spec:

Midi tower case
850W PSU
MSI 760GA-P43 (FX) motherboard
AMD FX-4350 CPU - this is the Bulldozer one which is clocked at 4.2 Ghz and is Quad core.
8 GB DDR3 RAM
Main HDD - 250 GB SSD
Secondary HDD -1TB HDD
AMD Radeon HD6950 2 GB graphics card (just won this on ebay)
OS - Windows 8.1 64-bit.

I will be carrying over my keyboard, mouse and 24" widescreen monitor.
Microsoft Wireless

[Toledo Man]

I've now got my new PC up and running but it didn't work out quite the way I planned.

I said I was going to source the motherboard, CPU and RAM from the same supplier as the power supply (CCL). I went to the local IKEA and on the way back I swung by CCL. The MSI motherboard wasn't in stock and I didn't want to wait so instead I bought the Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 board instead. This was one I'd considered before and it has onboard graphics so I could get up and running until my graphics card comes. I said I was going to start off with 4GB but 8GB was only £50 so I ended up getting the 8GB.


On my way back, I remembered that I was going to need a bracket for my main HDD which is 2.5" wide so that it will fit in a 3.5" bay so I bought this from a local computer shop. It will come in useful when I eventually replace my main HDD with an SSD.


I fitted the CPU, RAM, the heatsink and fan in the motherboard. Once I'd fitted the motherboard into the case and connected everything, I powered up the PC to make sure it was working because it is easier to solve any problems at this stage with the minimum of components installed. It worked so I installed the hard drives and I now have a working and usable PC. The front fans were quite noisy so I disconnected them and just kept the rear fan and it is a lot quieter. There's plenty of space inside the case so I'm not too worried about overheating.

Jobs left to do:
Fit the graphics card when it comes.
Swap out the optical drives that are already installed (only one of them appears to be working).
Add more RAM.
swap the main HDD for an SSD (this will increase boot up times).

So far I have spent just under £200 on the parts that I've already got. The graphics card was just over £42. I'll get a new SATA optical drive from CCL. The IDE ones I have will do me until then. The SSD I want will be a 250GB which will come in under £80 and the prices might've dropped by the time I get one. The final cost will be about £400 when I've done.

[Toledo Man]

I've swapped out the optical drives. I've got a stack of them so I picked a DVD rewriter and a DVD-ROM drive that were working and they're now installed. I've spaced them (the case has four 5.25" drive bays) to improve air circulation and prevent overheating. I've reconnected the 2 front fans and with the side panels put back on the case, it doesn't seem as noisy as at first. My onboard graphics are WORSE then the Geforce 210 card in my previous PC so I might put that in until I get my AMD Radeon HD6950.

[tony g]

Good stuff I wish I understood half of that lol

Tony

[Toledo Man]

The upshot is that I've got a faster PC for not a lot of money. I'm not a hardcore gamer but I wanted something that would run newer games and the latest version of Windows.

[tony g]

Good skill there. I get stuck when I have to look for drivers lol

Tony

[Toledo Man]

If you know the exact make and model of your hardware then Google it or visit the manufacturer's website.

Had to put in the Geforce 210 graphics card out of my previous PC which is better then the onboard graphics and has it's own RAM. The onboard ones take some of the system RAM.

[Toledo Man]

I installed GTA IV and it has filled up my hard drive so I may have to get the SSD sooner rather than later, get a bigger HDD, use my 1TB hard drive as the boot drive or uninstall the game until I get the SSD. It seems to be running a bit slow which is down to the the graphics card. Once the Radeon I bought on ebay comes it should run a bit better. The CPU and RAM are definitely up to the job and my graphics card is weak by comparison.

Total spend so far:
Case - Free
Motherboard, CPU & RAM - £161
Power supply unit - £30
Graphics card - £42
HDD adaptor bracket - £5

I already had the rest of the parts I needed so to be up and running for £238 so far is good going. I've been offered £30 for the old PC so that's paid for my power suply unit.

[Toledo Man]

I'm still awaiting the graphics card. It should come in the post sometime this week. I've just picked up a 240GB Kingston SSD for just under £50 on ebay. CCL sell the exact same drive for just over £80 so that one was too good to miss. The SSD will give a boost to an already fast PC. The total spend takes me to nearly £300. I doubt I'd find a PC for this spec for what I've paid. If I included the parts I've carried over (monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, DVD-ROM, DVD rewriter & hard disk drives), I've spent less than £500 on the complete system.

[captain_70s]

It seems to be running a bit slow which is down to the the graphics card.

Did you update/patch it? Out of the box GTA IV is the worst optimised game I've ever experienced.

[Toledo Man]

I've lowered the graphics settings and the game runs a bit better. The graphics card in it is just a GeForce 210 which is pathetic by today's standards. I'm still awaiting my Radeon HD6950 card. Unfortunately I can't run to a GeForce GTX 780 Ti (or the Titan Black) as it would cost more than the rest of the system put together.

The graphics card and the HDD are the only 2 bottlenecks in my system which will be sorted when these last 2 components arrive. Another issue to sort out is the printer. I've no parallel port but I can connect one to the motherboard or get a print server. I've fitted a network card to my printer and I might even have some extra memory for the printer (HP Laserjet 2100M).

[captain_70s]

Ahhh, yeah. The graphics card is a bit pathetic.

I bought a new PC in May for £400, specs:

3.40ghz Intel Core i7-2600
DVDrw drive & BluRay RW drive
Scandisk 128 GB solid state drive
ASRock PS64 Extreme mrk4 motherboard
12gb RAM
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 graphics card
27" LG Flatron monitor

It was custom built by a friend of mine, but he split up with his wife a few months later and had to move out, so was selling it cheap. Offered it to me 'cause he knew my old custom built PC was on it's way out, bit of a bargain!

[Toledo Man]

The graphics card finally came in the post yesterday.

I couldn't get it to work at first even though I've got both DVI and VGA on my monitor. The VGA connection was a DVI connector so I had to get an adaptor so I could use my VGA cable and it now works.

Just the SSD to fit when it arrives. I've installed some cloning software in readiness for fitting the SSD.

[dursley92]

Those fans look like they could cool a Dolly Sprint!

[Toledo Man]

It is amazing how much heat the components generate hence the need for all those fans. My system has 7 fans in total including the PSU. I've bought a parallel port header so I can use my laser printer.

The link to CCL is HERE. I've no connection to the company. I'm just a very satisifed longstanding customer.

Just gotta upgrade my partner's desktop PC now. A motherboard transplant should suffice to speed it up.