It's always good to have spares that rule out potential issues. HDMI shouldn't have any more or less issues than other ports though.
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"I Need a New PC!" 2015 Part 1. Read the OP and RISE ABOVE FORGED PRECISION SCIENCE
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It's always good to have spares that rule out potential issues. HDMI shouldn't have any more or less issues than other ports though.
terrisus
Member
Follow-up to this post:
I got a 400W Dynex PSU (hey, I know it's not the best. But, this is meant to be a secondary computer)
I also decided I'm fine going with my 240GB Samsung 600 SSD for now.
So, for < $150, I need:
Case
Optical drive (at least CD/DVD, Blu-Ray not a necessity)
RAM (8GB was suggested above. Motherboard supports 16, but 8 is probably fine)
I think that's it?
Am I missing anything else?
Is there anything else that I can add/do?
Feedback in general?
EDIT: Oh yeah, and what do I need for fans and stuff for this? I'm fairly clueless when it comes to this >.>
EDIT2: It's this PSU. So, I guess that's a full-size ATX. So I would need either a MidATX or an ATX case, not a MicroATX case? The MicroATX motherboard will still be compatible with it, right? As I said, I'm fairly clueless about all of this :þ
Barajas_201
Member
This is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you. Is this a good time to buy this card or are there gonna launch new cards soon (or a price drop)?
sackboy2197
Member
I see thanks, I'll probably just plug it off from my other computer if I need to test something
If you wait the new GTX 980ti and r9 390x should be announced before Batman release, that would mean a price drop for the actual cards, but if you want to play GTAV better and The Witcher 3 which will be released in 18 days, then you should upgrade now, r9 290 and GTX 970 are the better option so far for performance and price
MetalSlug
Member
Thinking of getting a new graphics card for gaming. I mostly play everything, but I am currently interested in GTA V, Project Cars and Batman Arkham knight and I would like to play them at good enough settings/performance.
My current specs:
PSU : CORSAIR TX 650W
CPU : AMD PHENOM II X6 1055T @ 2.8Ghz
GPU : NVIDIA GTX570 1.2GB
RAM : CORSAIR XMS3 8GB
MB : GIGABYTE 880GM-UD2H
HDD : SEAGATE BARRACUDA 3TB
OS : WINDOWS 7 64bit
PC CASE : NZXT PHANTOM ENTHUSIAST USB3.0 Full Tower Case
MONITOR : BENQ XL2420T 24" (120Hz / 1080P)
KEYBOARD : ROCCAT ISKU
HEADSET : RAZER KRAKEN PRO
MOUSE : ROCCAT KOVA +
I am looking to spend say £200. I would not mind switching to AMD if they had a Digital Vibrance slider like Nvidia. I really like it because it makes the colours look really good on my screen.
Thanks!
My current specs:
PSU : CORSAIR TX 650W
CPU : AMD PHENOM II X6 1055T @ 2.8Ghz
GPU : NVIDIA GTX570 1.2GB
RAM : CORSAIR XMS3 8GB
MB : GIGABYTE 880GM-UD2H
HDD : SEAGATE BARRACUDA 3TB
OS : WINDOWS 7 64bit
PC CASE : NZXT PHANTOM ENTHUSIAST USB3.0 Full Tower Case
MONITOR : BENQ XL2420T 24" (120Hz / 1080P)
KEYBOARD : ROCCAT ISKU
HEADSET : RAZER KRAKEN PRO
MOUSE : ROCCAT KOVA +
I am looking to spend say £200. I would not mind switching to AMD if they had a Digital Vibrance slider like Nvidia. I really like it because it makes the colours look really good on my screen.
Thanks!
I don't think anyone's launching any new graphics cards that will be as power efficient and available in low profile size. I'd say go for it.
Thinking of getting a new graphics card for gaming. I mostly play everything, but I am currently interested in GTA V, Project Cars and Batman Arkham knight and I would like to play them at good enough settings/performance.
My current specs:
PSU : CORSAIR TX 650W
CPU : AMD PHENOM II X6 1055T @ 2.8Ghz
GPU : NVIDIA GTX570 1.2GB
RAM : CORSAIR XMS3 8GB
MB : GIGABYTE 880GM-UD2H
HDD : SEAGATE BARRACUDA 3TB
OS : WINDOWS 7 64bit
PC CASE : NZXT PHANTOM ENTHUSIAST USB3.0 Full Tower Case
MONITOR : BENQ XL2420T 24" (120Hz / 1080P)
KEYBOARD : ROCCAT ISKU
HEADSET : RAZER KRAKEN PRO
MOUSE : ROCCAT KOVA +
I am looking to spend say £200. I would not mind switching to AMD if they had a Digital Vibrance slider like Nvidia. I really like it because it makes the colours look really good on my screen.
Thanks!
You would benefit the most from a graphics card upgrade, although I also very much recommend overclocking your processor if possible for an added performance boost. Read up on a guide like this one if you're interested.
According to what I can find, AMD has the same option in their Catalyst control panel and it's called 'color saturation' instead.
At the very limit of your budget, the strongest graphics card you can buy with that much money would be an R9 290 like this XFX model for £204. However, if you don't have a decent CPU cooler to overclock with (the small stock one isn't good enough) then you could drop down to the R9 280X or GTX 960 and spend the rest on a CPU cooler. If you go that route, I recommend the MSI R9 280X (~£170) and the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo (£25). The R9 280X is a bit dated, but still offers strong performance and 3GB VRAM means it'll still be capable of handling higher graphics settings at 1080p for a few years.
If you would prefer to spend a bit less, the GTX 960 is a decently priced option. It's cheaper than the R9 280X but is newer, more power efficient, and should produce less heat while offering somewhat lower overall performance. However in certain games it can compete favorably with the R9 280X when it benefits from latest drivers and optimizations. That said, the GTX 960 only has 2GB of VRAM which some games at 1080p can already exceed at higher settings. Still, this Zotac GTX 960 costs only £157 and this EVGA GTX 960 SSC ACX2.0+ model for £168 offers a silent zero fan speed mode at low temperatures, you won't even hear the graphics card running.
I'm still heavily leaning toward the Thermaltake Core V1 case, but I won't be able to fit the Evo 212 in it. Since this is my first build, one of my goals is to stick with components that are widely used/revered in the event that I have any questions and also just for personal peace of mind. I don't plan to overclock immediately and could probably get away with the stock Intel CPU cooler without issue, but even though I'm trying to keep costs down I would feel more comfortable spending a bit extra on something better.
What would be a well performing, cost effective alternative that people have had good experiences with?
What would be a well performing, cost effective alternative that people have had good experiences with?
MetalSlug
Member
@ RGM79
I have never overclocked in my life, but I will give that link about overclocking a read through and see if I am able to understand it. I am not sure what CPU cooler I have in my pc, but it is massive and just fits in my case. This looks almost like the one in my case.
Going to use all of your provided information to try and make the best decision.
Thank you very much.
I have never overclocked in my life, but I will give that link about overclocking a read through and see if I am able to understand it. I am not sure what CPU cooler I have in my pc, but it is massive and just fits in my case. This looks almost like the one in my case.
Going to use all of your provided information to try and make the best decision.
Thank you very much.
I used that case briefly, but I wasn't impressed with the build quality - it didn't feel particularly sturdy, and one of the side panels was rattly. I returned it and bought a Fractal Design Node 304 instead, which is smaller but has more space for longer graphics cards and taller CPU coolers (it will fit an 212 Evo). The only real limitation is that you have to be careful when choosing a PSU, it'll only fit a 150mm depth modular one or 160mm non-modular.
It does cost a bit more than the V1, but I thought it was worth it. This thread at overclock.net is a useful resource if you decide to go with this case.
Decided to bite the bullet and upgrade from my twin Dell U2410 (24inch) displays + nVidia GTX760 and pickup these two beauties...
Does anyone have any experience with either one? Especially the monitor - i love the look and formfactor and it gets really good reviews on both youtube and i want the big display area...looked at G-Sync but i don't really need that.
Thoughts?
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O4S9NY8/?tag=neogaf0e-20
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PXYRMPE/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Does anyone have any experience with either one? Especially the monitor - i love the look and formfactor and it gets really good reviews on both youtube and i want the big display area...looked at G-Sync but i don't really need that.
Thoughts?
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O4S9NY8/?tag=neogaf0e-20
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PXYRMPE/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Thanks for your response!
That was actually the other case that I was considering if I go ITX. (and the Define R4 if ATX) However, I like the Thermaltake because airflow seems like it would be really, really good for such a small form factor. I seen the rattling thing demonstrated in a Youtube video and, honestly, dampening it should be fairly easy and I'm not adverse to re-threading and/or swapping screws if necessary. Additionally, a more shallow reason that I wasn't sold on the Node is because I'm not a fan of the aesthetics, but to each their own.
EDIT: The 250D is also in the running.
Thanks, the PS07B looks pretty good. I think it's my favorite so far along with the 250D, and the more floor-suitable form factor is a plus especially if we ended up needing more desktops.
Short list of different mATX cases to check out, other than what has been recommended already:
Phanteks Enthoo Evolv
Silverstone SG10
Rosewill Legacy U3
Silverstone TJ08
Thermaltake Core V21
CM Silencio 352
Rosewill Legacy V4
The major downfall of the PS07 is that there's almost zero cable management. There's not enough space between the side panel and motherboard tray to route much of anything.
Phanteks Enthoo Evolv
Silverstone SG10
Rosewill Legacy U3
Silverstone TJ08
Thermaltake Core V21
CM Silencio 352
Rosewill Legacy V4
The major downfall of the PS07 is that there's almost zero cable management. There's not enough space between the side panel and motherboard tray to route much of anything.
Not very, unless you're an audiophile.
Microcenter is having a sale on Intel processors right now:
i7-4790k $279
i5-4690K $199
http://www.microcenter.com/category/4294966995,4294964566/Intel-Processors
Are these sales common? I was planning on buying in a few months, but i may pick up an intel processor now.
i7-4790k $279
i5-4690K $199
http://www.microcenter.com/category/4294966995,4294964566/Intel-Processors
Are these sales common? I was planning on buying in a few months, but i may pick up an intel processor now.
They always price their Intel processors that cheaply, and only for in-store purchase. If you're going there, consider picking up their CPU+motherboard bundles, it's a pretty good discount. Just $250 for the i5 4690K and ASRock Z97 Pro4 is a hard to beat price, and the other MSI and Gigabyte motherboard choices are at good prices as well.
Ah, so these deals are common. I live 10 minutes from a microcenter store, so their is no rush to get them now. Do they ever include a mini-ITX motherboard in their combos?
Any motherboard purchased with processor is knocked down $20.
You're in the US, right? The newer H100i GTX is currently $110 which is only $10 more than the H100i which is $100. Most of the reviews I've checked say it's better performing yet quieter than the H100i. All of the review links I list below feature the H100i for comparison to the new H100i GTX.
Hardware Canucks review - cooling performance | sound levels
Overclock3D review - cooling performance
Kitguru review - cooling performance | sound levels
Edit: Didn't you say in a previous post that you were already installing the Corsair H100i in your case? Or was the talk just about planning? If you're not planning to do any heavy overclocking, something like the Noctua NH-D14 ($70) or NH-D15 ($90) installed with the low noise fan adaptors included with the Noctua cooler would serve you well for a lower price and be very quiet.
So I was copying files from my harddrive onto an external to make room when cloning the drive to my solid state. I guess I copied over a system file because after a reboot, my task bar and desktop vanished. But it reappears when I connect the external drive I was copying files to.
Any idea what file I need to copy back so it doesn't point back to the external?
Any idea what file I need to copy back so it doesn't point back to the external?
opticalmace
Member
Yep
So Windows loads but there's no desktop? Or is there nothing at all?
Plug in your external drive, and take a screenshot of what your Disk Management window looks like. I doubt copying a file was the issue.
EmptySpace
Banned
i read somewhere that the new amd gpus will be coming in the next month or two, but with witcher 3 coming out...ugh i feel weak. i really can't hold out any longer but hearing skylake and fiji coming out some time this year just puts my patience in a difficult spot.
Thanks, I actually ended up doing a system restore and it's working fine. I'm going to just pretend it never happened hah
mercenar1e
Member
what is the absolute best i can get with an $800 budget? the system will primarily be used for gaming at 1920x1080 and some multitasking.
- cpu
- cpu cooler (air or water.. is leaking still a problem?)
- motherboard
- ram
- cpu
- cpu cooler (air or water.. is leaking still a problem?)
- motherboard
- ram
What are the thoughts on gtx 960 4GB versions? Specifically this evga one:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487128&cm_re=gtx_960-_-14-487-128-_-Product
Comes with a free witcher voucher too. (was going to buy the game day 1)
I know a gtx 970 is $100-$120 more (Canada), but i would rather save money as i'm gaming at 1080p.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487128&cm_re=gtx_960-_-14-487-128-_-Product
Comes with a free witcher voucher too. (was going to buy the game day 1)
I know a gtx 970 is $100-$120 more (Canada), but i would rather save money as i'm gaming at 1080p.
i just purchased a 960 2gb and it's great at 1080p. the difference between 2GB vs 4GB is very small, only really noticable on games that hog vram (referring in 1080p, AC:Unity) and indistinguishable on other games. theres a bit bigger difference on high resolutions. just search gtx 960 4gb on youtube for better reviews. idk about GTAV.
if you do decide to get a gtx 960, get the red msi or the asus strix versions, completely silent. fans dont even turn on till you put it at like 75% GPU usage. when i decide to upgrade my PC later, i'm thinking i'll build an HTPC and reuse the 960, the low heat/silence will be perfect.
Cool thanks for the info. yeah I really like the low heat/power usage in the gtx 960's. If I was gaming above 1080p, then I would opt for the 970.
You could get an Intel hexacore, X99 motherboard, and 16GB DDR4 RAM with that much money and still have enough left over for a cooler. It's up to you whether you want to go air or water cooling, it'll depend on what kind of case you have, whether you want to overclock or not, and what you personally want. Some like water cooling for the cleaner interior and it's relatively easy to install, not that high end air coolers are difficult to set up. The most expensive water cooling will beat air coolers, but air cooling is cheaper and provides much better performance for the cost.
mercenar1e
Member
the case is a Carbide Air 540 and overclocking might be a possibility sometime down the road. my power supply is the corsair VS 650.. would that be enough for an X99 system? if i wanted to upgrade to a Skylake hexacore will that require another mobo purchase?
Power supply being enough or not depends on your other parts. I don't know what graphics card you have, and if I remember right, you have a i5 2500K that wasn't overclocked. If I had to guess, I'd say you'll probably be fine with 650 watts. That's usually enough for a non-overclocked processor and a single strong graphics card.
Any new processor will need a new motherboard, there aren't any current generation processors that will work in your existing motherboard.
The retail price of a GT 720 is about $40~50 USD brand new, so put up an ad for a bit less than that and hopefully someone with an HTPC or office PC will want to buy it.
Thanks for your answer.
It looks like the H110i GT won't be be available until july in France, it's weird. I think I will go with the Hyper 212 EVO. Maybe I will upgrade in one year and give a try to the marvelous world of overclocking.
I wanted to order from only one french online site (they have a shop in my town, so it's very convenient for delivery and if there is any issues, price wise they are competitive and I have some gift cards) but they don't have the EVGA 750W 80+ Gold. Do you have a good alternative?
I would have done this if I didn't find yesterday that some gift cards I wanted to use will expire in two weeks. -_-Since you seem like you can wait until after Witcher 3 is out I would say you should come back and ask again as we would have performance benchmarks by then which should allow us to better recommend/optimize parts for your system especially if you're looking to play Ultra(or very close to it
lordfuzzybutt
Member
Can you link that website? It would really help people in this thread to help look for parts, especially in countries where PCpartpicker is not available or good.Thanks for your answer.
It looks like the H110i GT won't be be available until july in France, it's weird. I think I will go with the Hyper 212 EVO. Maybe I will upgrade in one year and give a try to the marvelous world of overclocking.
I wanted to order from only one french online site (they have a shop in my town, so it's very convenient for delivery and if there is any issues, price wise they are competitive and I have some gift cards) but they don't have the EVGA 750W 80+ Gold. Do you have a good alternative?
I would have done this if I didn't find yesterday that some gift cards I wanted to use will expire in two weeks. -_-
Sure, but it's only in French: materiel.net.
Prices in France seems higher than in Germany, but with this site I'll not have any delivery charges so it help to lower the cost.
lordfuzzybutt
Member
Seasonic m12II evo 850W.
Now this is a pricey one. But your system will require a minimum of 750W.
So take overclocking into account (the 4790k and twin 970s) plus future upgrade, 750W is gonna be too close and you will end up much better and safer with this 850W unit.
Of course you can go with a slightly worse unit (but still good) like this Antec one if you want to save a bit.
sackboy2197
Member
If someone could double-check the standoffs in this case I'd appreciate it! I'm pretty sure they're how they should be be but I'd like to be 100% sure (this is just me being silly, they're even pre-installed and everything, but still)
Here's the pic of the case and mobo
Here's the pic of the case and mobo
Cannon Goose
Member
How much of a cooling/noise difference is there between the Noctua NH-D14 and something like the Corsair H105? I currently have the Noctua but am wanting something smaller.
Edit:
Oh hey, that's my mobo and case! You don't need to worry about a thing
Edit:
Oh hey, that's my mobo and case! You don't need to worry about a thing
Not a large difference by any means, according to these reviews by Bit-Tech and Guru3D. In the Bit-Tech review the H105 was a better performer by 2 degrees at socket 115X thermal load test and 7 degrees at socket 2011 thermal load test, while in the Guru3D review the NH-D14 beats the H105 by 1 degree in the stock socket 115X test and 4 degrees in the overclocked socket 115X test.
I'd say the two coolers are more or less evenly matched in most respects as performance differences can come down to build environment and method of CPU stress, but the relatively thick H105 water cooler better seems to be somewhat better at handling the higher TDP of the socket 2011 processors.
diegotristanUK
Neo Member
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£185.99 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£110.24 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£53.56 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£51.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£38.34 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card (£251.94 @ Aria PC)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 w/Window (Titanium) ATX Mid Tower Case (£91.99 @ Novatech)
Power Supply: Fractal Design Edison M 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer (£14.89 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£76.50 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £875.44
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-01 11:57 BST+0100
What does everyone think of this build? I am still considering the PSU, but I can get it for £56/$85 atm. PC part picker only seems to think i'll need 330W, so maybe I could downgrade to a 550w psu of the same model?
There is a concern with the current PSU I have on this build, it only has one 4 pin ELS connector, is that an issue?
CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£185.99 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£110.24 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£53.56 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£51.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£38.34 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card (£251.94 @ Aria PC)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 w/Window (Titanium) ATX Mid Tower Case (£91.99 @ Novatech)
Power Supply: Fractal Design Edison M 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer (£14.89 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£76.50 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £875.44
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-01 11:57 BST+0100
What does everyone think of this build? I am still considering the PSU, but I can get it for £56/$85 atm. PC part picker only seems to think i'll need 330W, so maybe I could downgrade to a 550w psu of the same model?
There is a concern with the current PSU I have on this build, it only has one 4 pin ELS connector, is that an issue?
After I heard that Skylake tops out at 4 cores, I moved the 4K build to now as opposed to waiting til end of the year. PC build is done, ~$2000 left in the GPU/Monitor budget. I'll "limp" with a 970 until the 390X/980ti duel. Doesn't matter which one wins really, I know I'll need 2 of them anyway (at least) to tackle 4K.
I haven't stayed up to date with 4K monitors in the last 2 months or so, any good ~30" 4K IPS deals out there? I'm not expecting Catleap type of deals but I don't want to increase the budget, just trying to allocate as much as possible for the GPU's...
I haven't stayed up to date with 4K monitors in the last 2 months or so, any good ~30" 4K IPS deals out there? I'm not expecting Catleap type of deals but I don't want to increase the budget, just trying to allocate as much as possible for the GPU's...
borborygmus
Member
4 cores 8 threads 99%.
The power supply is apparently a rebadged Seasonic model so it should be very good in terms of performance and quality. If you can get it for £56 then go for it as it's a fairly low price, I'm not really seeing any cheaper alternatives anyway. The GTX 970 is power efficient enough that you could drop down to a 550 watt power supply, but I'd consider keeping the 650 watt model on the list as it can better support any future graphics cards you may upgrade to that might not be so power efficient. Having more wattage on hand would be better if you ever decided to do any CPU/GPU overclocking as well.
I don't see where it says it only has "one 4 pin ELS connector". Do you mean a "4 pin ATX connector" or "8 pin EPS connector"? According to the Fractal Edison M PSU product page, the 650 watt model has a single ATX12V 4+4 pin cable which is perfectly fine and compatible with all motherboards, you won't need any other type of power cable.
As for the build itself, there's a bit you can do to optimize this build for a £900 budget. Here's my version of your build.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£155.94 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£25.98 @ Novatech)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£89.99 @ Novatech)
Memory: Mushkin Redline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory (£56.01 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Crucial MX200 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£84.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Toshiba 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£37.97 @ CCL Computers)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card (£274.98 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 w/Window (Titanium) ATX Mid Tower Case (£91.99 @ Novatech)
Power Supply: Fractal Design Edison M 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£76.50 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £894.35
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-01 12:17 BST+0100
1. The newer and slightly better i5 4690K is available for a cheaper price than the older 4670K.
2. With the money saved, I was able to fit a CPU cooler into your parts list. It will be useful for overclocking up to and around 4.5GHz, and even if you don't plan to overclock for the time being, it should perform better and quieter than the stock Intel cooler.
3. I found faster 2133MHz RAM for a slightly higher cost than the 1600MHz RAM. There actually are 1866MHz and 2133MHz kits of 2x4GB RAM for under £50, but the 2133MHz kit I ended up selecting has very low latency, it seems to be worth the slight cost increase. The performance won't differ too much, but the red color matches the rest of the parts in your computer which is a nice bonus.
4. With the money saved, I was also able to go with a larger 256GB SSD. Nothing really wrong with 128GB, but it does get cramped for space after installing Windows and a couple of applications.
5. I took out the DVD drive. Actual need for a DVD drive is getting less and less common, but if you do actually need it, you can just add it back to the list. Windows officially supports installation by USB drive, and USB drives are faster than discs to install Windows with.
If you want to further cut costs..
I'm not sure if you care about the case window or not, but the black windowless version of the Define R5 is available for just £79. Or maybe consider cheaper cases. If noise levels are a concern, then there's the Nanoxia Deep Silence 2 (£64), somewhat dated but still very good as reviewed by Anandtech and Bit-Tech. The very new Fractal Define S (£65) was recently launched and offers a modular internal layout similar to the Define R5 but in a slightly smaller size and was also reviewed very favorably by many sites, including Hexus. There's also the older Define R4 (£67), not as unconventional as the R5 but still good at noise suppression.
Windows 7/8.1 licenses can be bought from reddit's microsoftsoftwareswap for £15 or less. These are most likely legitimate keys that are resold from educational programs like Technet or Dreamspark. However, you are dealing with a person instead of a retailer, and informal Windows keys sales are unapproved by Microsoft and probably breaking some licensing agreement to be clear, but it's not illegal. The risks involved are that the person could be selling you a fake or used key, or that Microsoft may deactivate your license and refuse to reactivate it, although it's somewhat unlikely, usually only if the seller and their list of sold keys was caught. We've had people here using those keys without issues for a long time and others who say Microsoft deactivated their key after several months.
- Status