First Build

[Lathaon]

Motherboard: Asus M4A77TD PRO
http://www.dabs.com/products/asus-am...000-4294951457
£67.04

Processor: AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition 2.8GHz
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/159071
£89.99

Graphics Card: XFX ATI Radeon HD 5850
http://www.dabs.com/products/xfx-ati...TW.html?q=5850
£198.95

RAM: PNY PC3-10660 / 2GB / 1333MHz / DDR3 / 240pin CL9 DIMM
http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/-/2162/14...archtype=genre
£49.98 (2x£24.99)

(note: I noticed the price went up since I checked so I'll probably go for something else)

PSU: OCZ 500W ModXStream Pro
http://www.amazon.co.uk/OCZ-500W-Mod...5904427&sr=1-1
£52.86

Storage: Intel X18-M Mainstream Solid State Drive - Solid state drive - 80 GB - internal - 1.8" - SATA-300
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-X18-M-...sr=8-1-catcorr
£128.90

(note: this went down in price. I'm not sure what the 300 in SATA-300 means though - will need to look that up I guess)

Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB SATAII 7200RPM 16MB Cache - OEM Caviar Blue
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/124228
£37.49

Operating system:
Windows 7 Home Premium - £60.00 (already preordered)

Case: Antec 200 Two Hundred Mid Tower Case - No PSU
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/168615
£34.06

total: £701.28



Have been recommended this PSU instead: http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/347685...W/Product.html


I'm keeping within a budget of £800 and want a reasonably futureproof PC but good value PC which can run games well. (1680x1050, single monitor)

Thoughts?

[Khalil]

Looks like a good list other than the XFX video card, XFX are owned by ECS, a dodgy outfit. Their product is cheap and badly made, their support is non-existant. I recommend going with an Asus http://www.dabs.com/products/asus-at...tml?refs=50626 , Diamond, HIS or if none of those a Gigabyte as a last resort.
The corsair is defo a better power supply than the OCZ!

[Jdorty]

Everything looks good with Khalil's suggestions on brands. That will most definitely be able to run most games at 1680x1050 with high settings. Only games it would have any trouble with at those settings would be Crisis or Stalker.

[barch 88]

Originally Posted by Khalil Looks like a good list other than the XFX video card, XFX are owned by ECS, a dodgy outfit. Their product is cheap and badly made, their support is non-existant. I recommend going with an Asus http://www.dabs.com/products/asus-at...tml?refs=50626 , Diamond, HIS or if none of those a Gigabyte as a last resort. The corsair is defo a better power supply than the OCZ!

I've found Sapphire to be the best for ATI cards, kinda like eVGA is the top manufacture for nVidia cards. Ive had great experience with the customer service from both companies. XFX does offer a lifetime warranty though, so thats something to take into consideration. You can't really say the product is cheap, because XFX doesn't actually make the cards, AMD does, XFX just distributes them with their own sticker.

Although the brands you mentioned are all great too.

[Khalil]

uh no! Sapphire is not the best ATI cards, I used a ton of them but I am a system builder and I can get direct RMA with them, consumers can't therefore Asus or Diamond are the best choice because they offer excellent support and RMA.
XFX is garbage, their cards are nothing like the Asus or Diamond cards and their support os non-existant.

[Lathaon]

The Sapphire is cheaper. Is it worth paying for Asus?

http://www.dabs.com/products/sapphir...000-4294950395

Also, prices have changed here and there and it seems I won't be getting that SSD. Any suggestions on alternatives, or do you think I should just leave it for now and leave it for the future (when they'll be cheaper)?

[glc]

Asus is worth it from a support standpoint, but a Sapphire card is a quality card.

For the most speed for the money, I recommend WD Caviar Black drives.