I want to build a computer tower - READ.

[Stylah]

Hey,
I want to build a computer tower for my birthday when it comes around.
I'm asking for money only so I'll buy parts on the day or soon after.
I'm not going to have a lot to start off with, about 200 pounds.
But, if I can get one going I'll sell my Xbox and games and then I'll have more money to get parts.
I want this tower for gaming/designing/editing.
I wouldn't worry about the Graphics card too much yet, but I just want to get the basics and get it running.

Also, I've never really built a tower before so I have some questions;
1. I believe you have to wire everything up to the PSU, is this easy?
2. Is it easy putting in the motherboard and processor?
3. And all the wires, easy or not?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

It's all relatively easy, but not something you just dive into.

The instructions that come with your parts will be nearly useless.

So you have to educate yourself in some other way---friends, the net, books, etc.

200 pounds is somewhere around $300 US. You won't do much for that. If you can get it up to over $500 maybe it would be worthwhile.

If you can't get up to $500 US, you are probably better off buying rather than building.

You need these parts:

RAM
Video card unless you use integrated graphics
Motherboard
Power supply
Case
Monitor
Heatsink
Fans if they don't come with the case
CPU
Hard drive or drives
DVD drive
Operating system
Mouse
Keyboard
Modem?

 

[whs]

I do not want to discourage you. But it looks to me that you need some basic education on the matter. Here is (a little older) tutorial in 5 parts which may be a good start. Building a New Computer – Part 1: Choosing Hardware - How-To Geek

I would hate for you to spend all your money and then end up with a bad result. We will be glad to help you choose the components. For building it, you may want to seek help from someone who has done that before.

 

[TVeblen]

Here's another how-to: Best Of Tom

When you do it all the time it's very easy. That first time you are on the learning curve.

 

[Colonel Travis]

Easy but frustrating if you've never built one. I built my first PC last year and not all parts are kosher with each other, which I didn't expect. Fortunately, there are a few good stores close to my house, which I visited constantly, buying & exchanging parts. I would have pulled my hair out if I did this whole thing mail order, plus it would have taken weeks instead of days. In the end I saved a lot of money, learned a lot and I'll never buy a PC from a store again.

Lots of knowledge on this forum, take advantage of it. Same with Tom's.

Good luck.

 

[Tepid]

I want this tower for gaming/designing/editing

I wouldn't worry about the Graphics card too much yet

You will need to make this a priority.
You will regret wasting money skimping here if that is the purpose for the build.

 

[Stylah]

Thanks for all the reply guys but has anyone got anything for basic parts?

 

[whs]

Thanks for all the reply guys but has anyone got anything for basic parts?

That will be a matter of your budget, the prices in the UK and availability in the UK. The mobo (board), the CPU and the RAM sticks have to fit together. But here you can spend 150 quid or 1000 quid. The GPU is a bit easier because there is a lesser compatibility issue.

The rest, PSU, the Box and ventilation, wires etc. are usually easy. Here it is usually good to start a bit bigger than minimum (especially for the PSU).

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I listed 15 parts in my first post.

Which of those 15 parts will you need?

 

[Colonel Travis]

You've got £200 (which, like ignatzatsonic said is a little more than $300 in the U.S.) That could buy you a CPU and nothing else. Or it could buy you a GPU and nothing else. Or it could buy you a mobo and 4GB of RAM and nothing else. It's not a lot to work with right now, but it's a start.

I'd decide on the CPU first. Scratch that. Decide what you want your machine to be able to do. Then start with the CPU. The new Intel chips have knocked down the prices of the ones they're replacing, so you could find good deals if you don't want the latest and greatest. After that pick the mobo. Then the other stuff. There are a gazillion permutations for this sort of thing, so it's not like anyone could give you a list of specific items until you've decided your needs and budget.

You could build a very good machine for £500, a great one for £750.

 

[Stylah]

I listed 15 parts in my first post.

Which of those 15 parts will you need?

Quoted it below.

It's all relatively easy, but not something you just dive into.

The instructions that come with your parts will be nearly useless.

So you have to educate yourself in some other way---friends, the net, books, etc.

200 pounds is somewhere around $300 US. You won't do much for that. If you can get it up to over $500 maybe it would be worthwhile.

If you can't get up to $500 US, you are probably better off buying rather than building.

You need these parts:

RAM
Video card unless you use integrated graphics
Motherboard
Power supply
Case
Monitor
Heatsink
Fans if they don't come with the case
CPU
Hard drive or drives
DVD drive
Operating system
Mouse
Keyboard
Modem?

Motherboard
Power supply - I've got a spare 450w one? :S
Case
Heatsink
Fans
CPU
HDD
DVD Drive - Optional for time being?

@Travis;
Okay, hit me up with some parts for 450 - 500 quid budget.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

450 quid is about $733 US.

You can do a fine job for that for that parts list. A powerful machine.

These are estimates:

PSU 70
CPU 225
Motherboard 150
Case 70
Fans 15
HDD 100
DVD 25
Heatsink 40

That's 695 US plus shipping

 

[whs]

Ignatz, you have to figure that the parts cost the same in Pounds as they cost in Dollars (because of a 20% sales tax, import duties and other factors). So figure 1 Dollar=1 Pound (as an approximation).

Here is a German mail order house (similar to Newegg) where I sometimes buy stuff. Notice the prices in Euro - but 1 Euro is 1.44 Dollar. http://www.alternate.de/html/index.html I would guess that the UK is not any cheaper.

 

[MadSupra354]

Here are the leading British retailers:
Scan (#1)
Overclockers UK
Novatech
Scan always sell products the cheapest, but the services are what sometimes make it more expensive than Overclockers UK to get to your house. They're great though, always next-day delivery. Overclockers UK have good delivery too, and they give you a choice.
On the other hand, Novatech I haven't seemed to buy any of my products from. I think right now out of Scan & Overclockers UK, they are selling Graphics Cards the cheapest.
Moving on to your budget: I'd recommend AMD since they're cheap and good. You can find a Phenom II X6 for £124 from Scan! http://bit.ly/dJ08BX
I'd recommend Corsair XMS 3 since it's the best cheap RAM. The only thing you can find better is Dominator GT. Here is 4GB @ 1600MHz for £40 http://bit.ly/fG024p
For the GPU, I was gonna recommend a 5770, but for allot more performance and a £10 more, you can get this http://bit.ly/hS1A3c or this http://bit.ly/efRC41
Asus motherboards are great (This one is the same on I'm currently using; overclocking is absolutely no hassle at all) http://bit.ly/dNfLUj
As for the HDD, I didn't know how much you would be needing, so I chose this 750GB one http://bit.ly/hm4cnk
CD/DVD Drive http://bit.ly/gUxCxJ
You don't want a cheap PSU. This Corsair one should be OK http://bit.ly/gu07ms
Sub-Total = £516 (Hopefully you can squeeze another £100?)
As for the case, that's up to your decision. Just make sure it's at least a midi-tower

I hope this helps. Again, you can check with other retailers and products around the same.

 

[Stylah]

Here are the leading British retailers:
Scan (#1)
Overclockers UK
Novatech
Scan always sell products the cheapest, but the services are what sometimes make it more expensive than Overclockers UK to get to your house. They're great though, always next-day delivery. Overclockers UK have good delivery too, and they give you a choice.
On the other hand, Novatech I haven't seemed to buy any of my products from. I think right now out of Scan & Overclockers UK, they are selling Graphics Cards the cheapest.
Moving on to your budget: I'd recommend AMD since they're cheap and good. You can find a Phenom II X6 for £124 from Scan! Scan.co.uk: AMD CPU Phenom II 1055T Six Core Processor - HDT55TFBGRBOX
I'd recommend Corsair XMS 3 since it's the best cheap RAM. The only thing you can find better is Dominator GT. Here is 4GB @ 1600MHz for £40 Scan.co.uk: Corsair Memory XMS3 Classic 4GB DDR3 1600 MHz CAS 9 Dual Channel Desktop Sandybridge Ready - CMX4GX3M2B1600C9
For the GPU, I was gonna recommend a 5770, but for allot more performance and a £10 more, you can get this http://bit.ly/hS1A3c or this Scan.co.uk: EVGA 1GB GeForce GTX 550 Ti FPB NVIDIA Graphics Card - 01G-P3-1556-KR
Asus motherboards are great (This one is the same on I'm currently using; overclocking is absolutely no hassle at all) Scan.co.uk: Asus M4A89GTD PRO AMD 890GX AM3 Motherboard
As for the HDD, I didn't know how much you would be needing, so I chose this 750GB one Scan.co.uk: Western Digital Caviar Black 750GB WD7502AAEX Hard Drive - HDD
CD/DVD Drive Scan.co.uk: Corsair Gaming Series GS 600 CMPSU-600G UK 600W Power Supply (PSU) - CMPSU-600GUK
You don't want a cheap PSU. This Corsair one should be OK Scan.co.uk: Corsair Gaming Series GS 600 CMPSU-600G UK 600W Power Supply (PSU) - CMPSU-600GUK
Sub-Total = £516 (Hopefully you can squeeze another £100?)
As for the case, that's up to your decision. Just make sure it's at least a midi-tower

I hope this helps. Again, you can check with other retailers and products around the same.
*EDIT* Um...looks like I forgot about the OS...um...lol? Well, the motherboard has an integrated HD 4290, so you can forgot about the GPU I guess

Thanks a lot, I've already got an Operating System on disc anyway, so that's never a problem.

 

[MadSupra354]

Thanks a lot, I've already got an Operating System on disc anyway, so that's never a problem.

Oh, well I guess you still have room for a GPU It looks like I made some mistakes with the links. Bit.ly tricked me