Solved Best computer for a value of £600 to £650

[essenbe]

I'm not sure what kind of case that comess in, but my advise is do not buy a slim case. I had one, and you are extremely limited on wht you can put in it. It is almost impossible to buy a graphics card for a slimline case, or any other card for that matter. I had a Dell and everything ignatzatsonic says is true. They use propiatary connections for their components so that you will have a difficult time upgrading a PSU. AlSo the video I see is on board video, it is not a card at all.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

This would be perfect

Novatech Barebone Bundle - Intel Core i7 2600K - Corsair Vengence 8GB DDR3 Memory - Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3P - Coolermaster Enforcer Case & Thermaltake 700W PSU | BB-I7264GT

If I could bump up the memory, SSD and GFX card, the reason I want plenty of RAM is because I'll be using Virtual Machines.

32GB Max Memory

That may be better than the Dell.

Did I miss the hard drive situation on that Novatech bundle?

I'm not excited about Thermaltake power supplies, but you may have to live with it or put it on your upgrade list.

Last question for you to answer:

Is Novatech reliable and honorable or are they THIEVES???

At least you would have standard parts and a full size case.

 

[theog]

GIGABYTE - Motherboard - Socket 1155 - GA-Z68XP-UD3P (rev. 1.0)

0.4 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 32 GB of system memory
* Due to Windows 32-bit operating system limitation, when more than 4 GB of physical memory is installed, the actual memory size displayed will be less than 4 GB.
0.Dual channel memory architecture
0.Support for DDR3 2133/1866/1600/1333/1066 MHz memory modules
0.Support for non-ECC memory modules
0.Support for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules

Box only.

Is Novatech reliable and honorable or are they THIEVES???

reliable and honorable

 

[Faceofjoe421]

This would be perfect

Novatech Barebone Bundle - Intel Core i7 2600K - Corsair Vengence 8GB DDR3 Memory - Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3P - Coolermaster Enforcer Case & Thermaltake 700W PSU | BB-I7264GT

If I could bump up the memory, SSD and GFX card, the reason I want plenty of RAM is because I'll be using Virtual Machines.

32GB Max Memory

That may be better than the Dell.

Did I miss the hard drive situation on that Novatech bundle?

I'm not excited about Thermaltake power supplies, but you may have to live with it or put it on your upgrade list.

Last question for you to answer:

Is Novatech reliable and honorable or are they THIEVES???

At least you would have standard parts and a full size case.

Looks legit to me

Novatech? - Multiplay Forums

However there are threads about phishing scams sent to your email or something.

How can I upgrade the thermal take power supply?

I can't see the hard drive either.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

How can I upgrade the thermal take power supply?

I can't see the hard drive either.

You likely wouldn't upgrade it unless it broke. If the specs are accurate, it's enough power, but you don't know who made it.

It's probably made by somebody like Fortron or Channelwell and may be of average quality. That's enough, unless you have bad luck.

It may be noisy.

You can change power supplies in 15 minutes with a screwdriver if need be.

But you need to find out about the hard drive situation.

 

[mjf]

As well as HDD - even spinners are expensive at the moment - you need a monitor, OS, keyboard/mouse, audio. It adds up on top of these base prices.

You can bolt your own together. I also don't think your budget is that large for a FULL high end side system.

 

[Faceofjoe421]

As well as HDD - even spinners are expensive at the moment - you need a monitor, OS, keyboard/mouse, audio. It adds up on top of these base prices.

You can bolt your own together. I also don't think your budget is that large for a FULL high end side system.

Maybe it doesn't come with a HDD which may be dropping the price

I'll upgrade each part step by step when I can afford.

I will get a cheap £50 monitor, and cheap mouse and keyboard.

 

[Faceofjoe421]

Another option is to build my own?

I have never had any experience and would be hard to get the parts I need?

I want something close to these specs
- 64+GB SSD
- 16/32GB Ram
- Fast enough GFX
- i7 Core Processor
- Quiet sound
- 64 Bit

And completely upgradable

 

[Faceofjoe421]

Novatech Barebone Bundle - Intel Core i7 2600K - Corsair Vengence 8GB DDR3 Memory - Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3P - Coolermaster Enforcer Case & Thermaltake 700W PSU | BB-I7264GT

Now is it me being an idiot, or has that just been reduced by £100 whilst I have been asking?

Submit A Review
2011-10-20
Product Rating: 5 out of 5
This is the first time I've ordered from Novatech and I'm very impressed. Everything was professionally bundled in the case and after I added my SSD and my DVD drive I was up and running in minutes. Best of all, even though this is 64bit 4GB DDR3 it seems to run faster than my 64bit 8GB DDR2 machine (also with SSD). Great value for money. Highly recommended.
Reviewed Posted by: Happy Customer, Worcester, UK

I'm guessing he had to add it because it didnt come with one

The only problem is a DVD drive, I don't know how to add it, I have an external DVD drive if I can install from that, I did that on my netbook.

With £100 spare I can get an SSD and a monitor then

 

[ignatzatsonic]

The parts are common and can be bought from many sources.

You probably would not save any money, at least for the first build.

It's the best way to learn, but most people start with a pre-built.

We could easily give you a good list of parts---but that's only half of the problem. You have to assemble it. People do it every day--you should figure on a day to get it right for a first-timer and be prepared to cuss and post to these forums when you have a problem.

About all you need is a screwdriver and the inclination.

There is all kinds of online info on building. Find those sites and print out instructions as best you can.

Quiet sound is relative and something of an art. You would need to go with low speed high quality fans. A gaming level video card is not likely to be quiet---fans become audible when you get much above 1000 rpm.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Novatech Barebone Bundle - Intel Core i7 2600K - Corsair Vengence 8GB DDR3 Memory - Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3P - Coolermaster Enforcer Case & Thermaltake 700W PSU | BB-I7264GT

Now is it me being an idiot, or has that just been reduced by £100 whilst I have been asking?

I thought it was 600 now and 600 then.

 

[Faceofjoe421]

Novatech Barebone Bundle - Intel Core i7 2600K - Corsair Vengence 8GB DDR3 Memory - Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3P - Coolermaster Enforcer Case & Thermaltake 700W PSU | BB-I7264GT

Now is it me being an idiot, or has that just been reduced by £100 whilst I have been asking?

I thought it was 600 now and 600 then.

It was 600 a minute ago and now it's 500

I'm using my iPhone it may have something to do with that.

 

[Faceofjoe421]

In brief, what I want and expect is:

- The £499/£599 BareBone Computer Bundle
- Seperate 64 GB SSD compatible (no HDD pre-added)
- A way to install 7 Ultimate without a disk drive (will external one work)
- A way to get 32GB of RAM that is compatible.

Better GFX Card Upgrade when I can afford.

Suggestions please?

Thanks, Joe

This one looks incredible
http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/harddrives-ssd/agt3-25sat3-60g.html

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Hmm.... I guess that Novatech bundle doesn't have a DVD drive either. Good catch.

There are ways to install from a USB stick. And I think you can install from an external DVD.

But, my first upgrade would be to buy an internal DVD writer. They are cheap and nearly indispensable and you will need one sooner or later for something.

You can buy the RAM later on from any reliable supplier in the UK. You need to pay attention to RAM specifications, particularly voltage. Ideally, you want to exactly match what you already have, down to the model number, but usually you can go with a different brand if necessary as long as the specifications match.

Re graphics: if you are going with a 2600K and a Z68 chipset, I THINK BUT COULD BE WRONG that you can use the integrated graphics on the CPU, which should work pretty good. YOU NEED TO CONFIRM THIS from other posters.

Looks like you are on track.

 

[Faceofjoe421]

Thank you so much, the only thing left is confirmation and if the SSD in the link I updated in my post is compatible, I would be happy with 500Mb read and write for £60 and what sort of RAM I need and what GFX card, which can always be asked later

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I would start a separate post about choosing an SSD if you don't get proper responses here.

That one will work, but there may be some fine points about it that would make another a better choice--like the controller it uses for instance.

In the meantime, Google for that particular model and see how much bitching you find.

Go to newegg.com and read user reviews of that model.

I have heard of some issues with certain OCZ models, but don't know about that specific model.

I use an Intel SSD.

The 2600K is a hellacious processor. You won't have to upgrade for a long time.

 

[Faceofjoe421]

Forgot to check the reviews, looks pretty poor after all despite the speeds, how about this one: is it compatible, how can you tell?

CT064M4SSD2 - 64GB, 2.5-inch Solid State Drive , from Crucial.com

I don't get hard drives: there are 5 bays, does that mean I can have 5 Hdd, or 5 Ssd or a mix of 5 (4 hdd/1ssd and do they all have to be used ?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Forgot to check the reviews, looks pretty poor after all despite the speeds, how about this one: is it compatible, how can you tell?

CT064M4SSD2 - 64GB, 2.5-inch Solid State Drive , from Crucial.com

All I know about the Crucial M4 is that it is recent and that Crucial generally is a good outfit for memory.

Pound google about it.

Don't be overly concerned with most of the specs on SSDs. They are all "fast". Worry about build quality and the controller.

The highly advertised sequential read/write speeds have little impact on actual day to day usage.

4-8 kb random write access is the single most crucial access that results in better visible ssd performance. If you are considering buying an ssd, look at transfer results at the 4-8 kb random access level.

Having said that, there are situations such as video editing where you might see the benefit of these high sequential benchmarks. The typical user may never come across a reason that higher sequential disk access will be utilized.

You want to focus on access time. Good SSDs have 0.1ms. Read/write speeds are of lesser importance because the system does not read or write big chunks of data - except maybe when you install a big program.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I don't get hard drives: there are 5 bays, does that mean I can have 5 Hdd, or 5 Ssd or a mix of 5 (4 hdd/1ssd and do they all have to be used ?

5 bays means capacity for 5 drives, although it may be a tight fit or awkward.

They are rarely all used.

You need enough connectors on the motherboard for however many hard drives you have.

You can mix up SSDs and HDDs. A 2.5 inch SSD would need an adapter to mount securely in a 3.5 inch bay.

So look for 3.5 inch SSDs if you don't want to use an adapter. But I think most are 2.5.

I've got my SSD taped to the bottom of my case. It can't move and has no moving parts to break anyway.

 

[Faceofjoe421]

I don't get hard drives: there are 5 bays, does that mean I can have 5 Hdd, or 5 Ssd or a mix of 5 (4 hdd/1ssd and do they all have to be used ?

5 bays means capacity for 5 drives, although it may be a tight fit or awkward.

They are rarely all used.

You need enough connectors on the motherboard for however many hard drives you have.

You can mix up SSDs and HDDs. A 2.5 inch SSD would need an adapter to mount securely in a 3.5 inch bay.

So look for 3.5 inch SSDs if you don't want to use an adapter. But I think most are 2.5.

I've got my SSD taped to the bottom of my case. It can't move and has no moving parts to break anyway.

What's the max capacity for each SSD/HDD?

If I wanted could I have 5 hard drives all at 2TB?