Building new computer - novice in need of help

[Overload]

Hey, the computer i'm currently on is on its last legs and I am looking for a new computer, I was going to aim to build the new computer specificly for gaming purposes but because this is the first time I am building one, I have no idea what parts would be best for my budget (around £1200) and for a gaming purpose. I also would like to know the best places to buy and any other tips (I found a guide on the internet which goes through how to do it).

Thanks, Overload.

TL : DR

-Building gaming computer for first time
-Need advice on which parts to buy and where to get them (motherboard, CPU, RAM, case, everything ect.)
-Budget of £1200

(Sorry if this is in the wrong section)

 

[Yami]

Do you need an OS and monitor too?
Do you plan on overclocking?
How good of a case do you want - something adequate that'll get the job done, or something fancier (nicer looking, good cooling, etc.)?

-Need advice on which parts to buy and where to get them (motherboard, CPU, RAM, case, everything ect.)

http://www.techist.com/forums/f75/hardware-shopping-megathread-212899/?highlight=hardware+shopping+megathread

I can put a build together for you on one of the UK sites

 

[NoNameNY]

What I would do is buy a barebones kit from like tigerdirect (these usually include case, psu, cpu and mobo) and then just load it full of ram, video, etc

 

[Yami]

What I would do is buy a barebones kit from like tigerdirect (these usually include case, psu, cpu and mobo) and then just load it full of ram, video, etc

That's generally a bad idea because
a) There's no tigerdirect in the UK as far as I know
b) Barebones kits often come with cheaper, crappy PSUs, cases and motherboards, meaning you don't get your money's worth.

 

[NoNameNY]

That's generally a bad idea because
a) There's no tigerdirect in the UK as far as I know
b) Barebones kits often come with cheaper, crappy PSUs, cases and motherboards, meaning you don't get your money's worth.

Generally I would agree but I have gotten some great deals on cpu/mobo combos on that site. My current rig started life as a barebones kit and right now theres not a whole lot that can touch it. You just have to know what you are looking at/for

 

[Yami]

Oh, cool. Fair enough.
Anyway, I put a build together for the OP on eBuyer:

CPU - AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2.8GHz 9MB Cache Socket AM3.. | Ebuyer.com
Ram - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/173933
Mobo - Asus M4A89TD PRO 890FX Socket AM3 Gigabit LAN 8.. | Ebuyer.com
GPU - XFX HD 5870 1GB DDR5 Dual DVI HDMI Display Port Out.. | Ebuyer.com
SSD - OCZ 60GB Vertex 2E SSD 2.5" SATA-II Read 285MB/s.. | Ebuyer.com
HDD - Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB Hard Drive SATAII.. | Ebuyer.com
PSU - EXDISPLAY Corsair 950W TX Series PSU - 78A 12V Rail | Ebuyer.com
Case - Coolermaster HAF 922 Mid Tower Case - No PSU | Ebuyer.com
DVD - Sony AD7241S 24x DVD±RW DL & RAM with.. | Ebuyer.com
OS - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium - Complete package.. | Ebuyer.com
Total: £1167.08 inc. VAT, free shipping (next-day shipping is £14)

If you need to put a monitor in the £1200 budget, it's easy enough to change some parts around.

The case I chose is just a decent one for the price, if you're not fond of the look or price of it, I can easily recommend some more.

Anyway, with that build, you have a six-core processor, a good-quality SSD (if you don't know what an SSD is, please ask), and the third most powerful graphics card in the world (http://www.techist.com/forums/f76/graphics-performance-list-212331/), and so on.

That PSU (power supply) is a deal, so if the deal's gone by the time you get around to buying, go for this one instead (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/134677).

Any questions etc.?

 

[CalcProgrammer1]

I wouldn't put an SSD in a build unless I knew that he really wanted one. They're expensive and most people can pass on improved loading times for the price. And at only 60GB you won't be able to fit many games/apps on it so you'll have to deal with putting a programs folder on your 1TB HDD which would most likely mean partitioning it (programs and data partitions) and that can be a mess. I would either get a bigger SSD or just forget it for a faster HDD to eliminate having a second Program Files folder on a non-boot drive.

The HD5870 is an epic card though, very fast and has a lot of extra features (such as the triple-monitor Eyefinity system). I would definitely go with it (especially for an AMD build where you only get CrossFireX support). Having CFX allows you to add a second 5870 in the future should you need more performance (or more monitors).

If you wind up with some extra cash for your setup, adding a triple monitor setup is a great way to improve productivity and enhance games. The 5870 can run the monitors individually for multitasking or combine them for a surround-widescreen gaming experience. To me, this is a much more important and cool feature than a SSD, though 3 monitors can be expensive (mine cost $450 USD for 3 Dell 1080p monitors).

 

[Yami]

Indeed, the SSD is mostly optional, I agree with you entirely (except for the partitioning stuff, seems unnecessary) I figure, if he ends up needing/wanting a monitor in that £1200, then lose the SSD and that gives enough for a decent 1080p monitor.

 

[Overload]

Thanks for build, looks good.

-Can you explain what the SSD does
-I will be needing a new moniter as I will be using this computer too (Multiple users in house at a time :])
-Can you show me a few more cases just to see some other styles in that price range

Thanks, Overload

 

[Yami]

- An SSD - Solid State Drive - is basically a new type of drive which is much, much faster than ordinary hard disk drives. They make the system load times quicker, and anything that's on the SSD loads much quicker generally than if they were on a hard drive. The disadvantage to SSDs is that because they're a fairly new technology, their capacity is still much smaller (gigabytes per £) than current hard drives. For example, you can get a 1TB hard drive for £45, while the SSD I listed is 60GB for £120. There's a lot more I could tell you, but that about sums up the basics.
Note that since you need a monitor, it would probably be best not to get an SSD for now, so you have enough room in the budget for a decent monitor.

- What sort of monitor are you after? 24"/22"/20" etc.?

- Here's all the cases on eBuyer from £50 to £100 - you don't want to go much cheaper than that with a high-end CPU and GPU http://www.ebuyer.com/search?limit=50&store=2&cat=23&minprice=50&maxprice=99.99&condition=new&sort=custom&page=1