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[Moogie]

Sup everyone. I'm buying a budget PC soon (my first-ever custom build!) and I need help ironing out the specifics. I've picked out my parts largely with help from places like Reddit and other recommendations, but I'm by no means fully knowledgable about all this hardware and want to make sure it's all good and compatable.

Details:
-Budget of £550
-No OCing
-Futureproof (SATA3, USB3, Crossfire - even if I'm not immediately using them)
-Energy-efficient components for a lower electricity bill


Here's the list:

CPU:.................Intel Core i5-2400 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor
Cooler:..............Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus
Motherboard:.....Asus P8H67 Intel H67 (Socket 1155) Motherboard - B3 Revision
Memory:...........G.Skill Ripjaw 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Dual Channel Kit
Hard Drive:.......Samsung Spin Point F3 SATAII 1TB 32MB Cache Hard Drive
Video Card:.......Asus AMD Radeon HD 6850 DirectCU 1024MB GDDR5 PCIe
Case:...............CoolerMaster Elite 334 Case
Power Supply:...Coolermaster GX 450W 80PLUS® Power Suppply
Optical Drive:....Sony AD-7280S-0B 24x DVD+/-RW SATA Black


Some of the listed items were only picked because I wanted to combine as much shipping as possible from the same retailer. What I'd love, though, is for recommendations for more appropriate items that I could get instead, without harming my budget too much.

So I have some questions:

-Intel chipset and a Radeon... bad idea, or will it make no difference? What if I do crossfire in future?
-Could I get a cheaper 2x4GB RAM kit elsewhere (but still a good brand & with heat spreaders)?
-Do I really need a cooler to replace the stock Intel one, if I'm not OCing?
-Is this case big enough? Can it be opened easily? Does it have good airflow? Do I need to buy any additional fans for it?


Thanks for any tips or advice. I haven't even looked into the actual building of the PC yet. I know the basics, but installing the CPU is what I'm most paranoid about. I don't think I've even watched someone else do that before. I'm pretty scared about doing this, but determined to take the leap.

[nenjin]

-Do I really need a cooler to replace the stock Intel one, if I'm not OCing?

I've got the Corei5 750, and I'm satisfied with the stock cooler it shipped with. I don't think my CPU goes over 62 celsius ever.

-Is this case big enough? Can it be opened easily? Does it have good airflow? Do I need to buy any additional fans for it?

It looks fine.* About the only issue I have ever on a bigger case than your's is when I need to adjust something. For example, pulling out my drive usually requires I disconnect my video card and remove it, so there's room for the drive to slide out and not get stuck on cords. It doesn't look like a screw-less case, which sucks but again, only important if you're constantly in there. I hate ones with airflow dams on the panel, because that means you've got live wire connecting your case panel to your mobo. Not exactly convenient when you need to get in there. As for the airflow....read the reviews. If it's a problem someone will probably mention it. Good airflow ain't hard to pull off, and most case fans are standardized sizes....so I usually have one or two left over from a build in case I need more airflow.

*Fine according to my standards of a single card. Depending on how big of a card your one or two card setup has, you might find some pretty low clearances between the card and your memory sticks, between the card and the CPU, or between the cards themselves. Low clearances = worse air flow and higher overall residual heat.

I'm pretty scared about doing this, but determined to take the leap

Installing CPUs today is "almost" idiot proof. The scary part is when components don't snap in perfectly and you have to apply a little force; you stress out about snapping a $300 component. But parts are generally fairly tough and engineered not to give you problems going into slot.

The real heart stopping issues are when you first fire up your system. My advice I always give people is "Breathe deeply, don't despair, and go over your checklist of things you need to do in order to have a running system. Do all the components have power? Are your SATA cables connected to the right slots? Are the jumpers configured correctly? DID YOU FLIP THE MASTER POWER SWITCH ON? Stuff like that. I and many people I've helped build computers tend to have a partial melt down on their first build when the system tries to post and fails to. A friend who is experienced is invaluable on your first build, especially for moral support.

[lordnincompoop]

Intel with Radeon is fine. There's no difference, and no major worries about chipset compatibility. Just make sure that, if you want to CrossFire (which would be unnecessary), buy a motherboard that supports it, and allows for x8 bandwidth through the second PCI-E2/3.0 port when the first is connected, or something like that.

EDIT: You're going with the P8H67 board, which just so happens to be the one I own. As far as I'm concerned, you're not going to get a pleasant CrossFire experience from it; look at the bandwidths in the spec box at the bottom.

G-Skill is, by my reckoning, an average brand to begin with, and the timings for that thing are average as well. Again, if you're not going to overclock or torture that RAM in some fashion, you don't need "eXXtreem heat spreaders". From that same website you linked, these might be a better choice.

You don't need an aftermarket cooler if you don't plan on OCing. Get rid of it and save money.

The case is fine, and spacious. With your needs, you don't need to worry about a mess of fans or overly much about airflow. Again, those are concerns that are not incredibly important for what you have.


Now, what I'd suggest you do is buy a better PSU with a higher watt rating. CoolerMaster isn't exactly a great brand as far as I know, and wattages deteriorate over time - if you want upgrade possibilities too, get a higher wattage PSU of somewhere in the 600-700 range. That will leave you with some headroom as well, just in case.

[nenjin]

Make sure the PSU you buy has plenty of 12-volt rails too. Your PSU is one place you really, really do not want to bargain shop. Especially if you're spending money on a good processor and video card.

[lordnincompoop]

Thanks for any tips or advice. I haven't even looked into the actual building of the PC yet. I know the basics, but installing the CPU is what I'm most paranoid about. I don't think I've even watched someone else do that before. I'm pretty scared about doing this, but determined to take the leap.

It'll be fine. There's nothing to worry about. My first build went perfectly smoothly, and there's little reason for yours to be any different, as long as you pay attention.

[Calhoun]

Now, what I'd suggest you do is buy a better PSU with a higher watt rating. CoolerMaster isn't exactly a great brand as far as I know, and wattages deteriorate over time - if you want upgrade possibilities too, get a higher wattage PSU of somewhere in the 600-700 range. That will leave you with some headroom as well, just in case.

Coolermaster is fine in my experience, but 450w with crossfire? I don't see how that is even possible. You should have 600 as your minimum, and the higher it is, the less likely you'd need to replace it in the future for a GPU upgrade.

[Tilla]

yah, 450 watt is DEFINITELY lowballing it. I'm running a 500 watt without crossfire to be on the safe side - the more wiggle room you have the better.

[hemmingjay]

To reiterate what has been said, please strongly consider upping your power supply to 600-650w. Only 75%(roughly) of that rating is available power. Under powered components can become damaged or report errors.

The case is fine if it isn't in cramped space. Consider a full tower if you have room for airflow and ease of access to parts. Make sure to buy some sort of cable management straps because you will want to bundle as many wires as possible and keep them out of the way for airflow and aesthetics. Make sure you either work on an http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-24x26-Inch-Desktop-Anti-Static-M3013/dp/B00009XT3H or always have a properly grounded wrist strap.

when installing the cpu to the motherboard, work on a large clear flat surface(pref static mat) with a lot of light and nothing else on the surface. take your time and line everything up gently and everything will pop into place. The first time can be nerve-wracking but you'll be fine.

[zombat]

The real heart stopping issues are when you first fire up your system. My advice I always give people is "Breathe deeply, don't despair, and go over your checklist of things you need to do in order to have a running system. Do all the components have power? Are your SATA cables connected to the right slots? Are the jumpers configured correctly? DID YOU FLIP THE MASTER POWER SWITCH ON? Stuff like that. I and many people I've helped build computers tend to have a partial melt down on their first build when the system tries to post and fails to. A friend who is experienced is invaluable on your first build, especially for moral support.

I've been building computers for 10 years and I still have a cringing "I hope I don't blow up £800s worth of equipment" face on initial boot.

Also still never get the case LEDs right the first time

[Saint]

I have a question my self, what's the pros and cons vs intel and AMD because I run AMD just because I like it more.
Same with Asus and Nvidia, is there anything I should know that I'm doing wrong? That and the fact that dell uses intel sort of causes me to sway away from them just because I have this personal distaste for dell computers.

[kg333]

The real heart stopping issues are when you first fire up your system. My advice I always give people is "Breathe deeply, don't despair, and go over your checklist of things you need to do in order to have a running system. Do all the components have power? Are your SATA cables connected to the right slots? Are the jumpers configured correctly? DID YOU FLIP THE MASTER POWER SWITCH ON? Stuff like that. I and many people I've helped build computers tend to have a partial melt down on their first build when the system tries to post and fails to. A friend who is experienced is invaluable on your first build, especially for moral support.

I've been building computers for 10 years and I still have a cringing "I hope I don't blow up £800s worth of equipment" face on initial boot.

Also still never get the case LEDs right the first time

I do the same thing, except it's the RAM seating I never get right.  It never boots first time until I give the RAM another push to check it's fully seated.

Also, another vote here for upping the power supply.  450W is a bit low as is, and Crossfire is right out.

I would also recommend looking into overclocking the 6850, if you have the time.  They're a somewhat cutdown version of the 6870, and tend to overclock well even with stock cooling.  I'm running one at 870 MHz right now, instead of the stock 750 MHz, and it makes the 6850 is quite a nice budget card.

KG

[Jay]

Now, now, hold on.
The minimum recommended wattage on a PSU for that GPU alone is 500W.
That's not even getting into the Crossfire that everybody else is citing as a reason to upgrade that PSU.
Now, I know that the ratings are always "overestimated".
That goes for both of the ratings that we're comparing, now, doesn't it?
I was looking for hard amperage values to give you a good line on it, but they're rarely published for some reason, even though they're the only real power value that actually matters :|
E: I mean, yes, wattage is relevant, but the voltage in this instance is fixed, so you can always get a solid number on wattage if you only knew the amperage...

[Moogie]

Lots of very interesting and valuable tips here. Thanks!

I will definitely look into getting a better PSU. I had heard it was a good brand, but if anyone wants to suggest their favourites, I'll be glad to hear 'em.

Cable management and the anti-static wrist strap are things I hadn't given thought to, but won't neglect when the time comes.

I've almost got all the money saved up now. It's going to be really stressful finally buying all this. xD

[hemmingjay]

i recommend buying your cpu and gpu last, since they are the things that will always be cheaper the longer you wait. Feel free to buy the other components whenever you have the money(within a couple weeks of when you want to build) as they don't change in price as frequently or as volatile. Good luck.

[MasterFancyPants]

I have a question my self, what's the pros and cons vs intel and AMD because I run AMD just because I like it more.
Same with Asus and Nvidia, is there anything I should know that I'm doing wrong? That and the fact that dell uses intel sort of causes me to sway away from them just because I have this personal distaste for dell computers.

There really isn't much difference between Intel and AMD, though usually Intel chips run a bit faster and cooler and AMD chips are usually cheaper. It's really about how much money you want to spend, Intel is "better", but IMHO not $200 worth of "better".