Recommendations For Online Store For New PC Components

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by Rover977, Jan 24, 2012.

  1. Rover977

    Rover977 Byte Poster

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    Hi, I am currently planning a new PC build, and having been away from hardware for a few years, I am not really bang up to date with all the latest gear, or what are the best online stores in UK for PC components.

    Can anybody recommend any good online stores for buying PC components (or any to be avoided).

    I heard EBuyer.com are quite good, some say Overclockers aren't the best.

    Also any recommendations on brands for PSU, motherboards, hard drives (internal and external USB), memory, case, and preferences for ATI/AMD v NVidia graphics cards. I'll be going with Intel CPU and Win7 x64.

    Its a good all round machine I'm building, though not required for gaming, but able to run plenty VM's (incl Hackintosh of course), and massive hard drive space.
     
    Certifications: A+, Network+, Cisco CCNA
  2. Boffy

    Boffy Megabyte Poster

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    I usually check prices on Ebuyer and Overclockers, get the best price (remember VAT & Delivery).

    In regards to part brands, usually it comes down to preference and reviews.

    CPU: Intel for me, stopped AMD when they first started dual cores (poor performance imo)
    Mobo: Usually an ASUS, again its more down to price and performance for me.
    HDD: Western Digital or Samsung (Spinpoint).
    Memory: Has to be Corsair!
    Case: Antec Skeleton

    [​IMG]
    Graphics: I feel that Nvidia have better drivers while ATI have better raw performance (but ****e drivers). As such, I stick to Nvidia.

    Have Fun!
     
    Certifications: BSc Computer Game Technology, A+
    WIP: MOS 2010
  3. AJ

    AJ 01000001 01100100 01101101 01101001 01101110 Administrator

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    WIP: Breathing in and out, but not out and in, that's just wrong
  4. dmarsh
    Honorary Member 500 Likes Award

    dmarsh Petabyte Poster

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    Overclockers
    Ebuyer
    Scan
    Novatech
    Dabs

    I normally price check using google, pricerunner etc.

    I tend to prefer Intel and Nvidia for quality but you can get bargains buying non standard kit.

    I'd go with an SSD for system drive, Crucial M4 seem most reliable in general.

    Stick in a 2Tb WD Green or similar for data volume. Maybe consider onboard RAID and two drives.

    Memory get 12 GB+, speeds less of an issue long as its recent stuff that matches your mobo.

    I also like Corsair PSU's.

    Asus make good mobo's but so do Gigabyte.

    Number of active x16 pci express slots is worth checking if you want to stick a lot of high perf cards in your mobo and checking if they will all fit.
     
    Last edited: Jan 24, 2012
  5. Asterix

    Asterix Megabyte Poster

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  6. Rover977

    Rover977 Byte Poster

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    Certainly like the look of the Antec cases eg the Three or Nine Hundred models.

    Like the Skeleton case - nice one, very futuristic!

    I think EBuyer looks a good bet. Hopefully I'll not get any faulty components, as can't really test without spares.

    I think I'll go for the 3TB WD Green. SSD is certainly interesting, and I'll certainly be looking into that later.
     
    Certifications: A+, Network+, Cisco CCNA
  7. Rover977

    Rover977 Byte Poster

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    Actually is a good source, so long as you stick with good sellers. I previously have bought all types of PC components 2nd hand on EBay without problems, at good prices. Especially during A+ type study for getting practical experience its a good option. For me now I am building a system with all latest technologies, so prefer all new components.
     
    Certifications: A+, Network+, Cisco CCNA
  8. dmarsh
    Honorary Member 500 Likes Award

    dmarsh Petabyte Poster

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    You can get new stuff from ebay shops, a lot of real shops also have an ebay or amazon zshop.

    There are often good new board bundles, (mobo, cpu, fan, memory) on ebay.

    Also overclockers, scan, novatech, dabs all have system configurators now. So unless you want something really special its not always necessary to build.
     
  9. Rover977

    Rover977 Byte Poster

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    I've decided on this rig, any comments welcome :-

    Intel Core i5 2500 3.3GHz Socket 1155 6MB Cache
    (Intel Core i5 2500 3.3GHz Socket 1155 6MB Cache Retail.. | Ebuyer.com)

    Asus P8Z68-V LX Socket 1155
    (Asus P8Z68-V LX Socket 1155 Onboard graphics output 8.. | Ebuyer.com)

    Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz CL9
    (Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz CL9 1.5V.. | Ebuyer.com)

    Seagate 3TB Barracuda Hard Drive - 3.5" SATA-III - 7200RPM 64MB Cache
    (Seagate 3TB Barracuda Hard Drive - 3.5" SATA-III.. | Ebuyer.com)

    Corsair TX 650W V2 PSU - 80plus Bronze Certified
    (Corsair TX 650W V2 PSU - 80plus Bronze Certified | Ebuyer.com)

    Antec 300 Three Hundred Case
    (Antec 300 Three Hundred Case | Ebuyer.com)

    Crucial 256GB 2.5" M4 SSD SATA-III 6Gb/s - Read 415MB/s Write 260MB/s
    (Crucial 256GB 2.5" M4 SSD SATA-III 6Gb/s - Read.. | Ebuyer.com)

    LG BH10LS38 10x BD-RE with DVD±RW DL & RAM Lightscribe SATA Blu-Ray Drive - Retail Black
    (LG BH10LS38 10x BD-RE with DVD±RW DL & RAM.. | Ebuyer.com)

    Win7 x64


    I chose the 7200rpm Seagate HDD instead of the 5400rpm WD HDD since it is rated considerably much faster.

    I chose a fairly big PSU to allow for any future requirements, eg graphics card, expansions cards, or disk drives. Basically large enough not to have to worry about whether sufficient power is available.

    I do not require to over-clock the system.

    Any comments would be much appreciated.

    One thing I'd be especially interested to hear is experiences with SSD's. I am looking forward to finally moving on from the long-standing HDD bottle-neck, though one concern I had with SSD is that they eventually wear out. Even though that might take a long time it would be a considerable inconvenience as potentially ANY files, ie both data and program files could be corrupted. I have never in over 25 years of computing had a hard drive fail on me - not in the workplace, not at home.
     
    Certifications: A+, Network+, Cisco CCNA
  10. dmarsh
    Honorary Member 500 Likes Award

    dmarsh Petabyte Poster

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    I have an older Crucial M225 SSD, its still working fine after 2-3 years, never had one issue. Crucial make the most reliable SSD's on the market right now.

    WD do a WD Caviar Black which is 7200 rpm, but don't think they sell a 3TB model yet.

    Most people only really need 128 GB SSD for a system drive if you are happy to stick all data on a separate hard disk. This will save you some money and allow you to buy bigger SSD later on.
     
  11. Rover977

    Rover977 Byte Poster

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    I noticed SSD prices falling over the past few days! I always tend to go with larger capacity than I need - from past experience I always end up using it. Even with a TiVo box, I got a 1TB rather than the standard 512GB - its 25% full after only a couple of weeks.
     
    Certifications: A+, Network+, Cisco CCNA
  12. dmarsh
    Honorary Member 500 Likes Award

    dmarsh Petabyte Poster

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    Win7 needs 20GB, maybe another 5 GB for Office. Still leaves 100GB for programs.

    You have data volume for data and less essential programs.

    Bigger SDD's do benefit from a performance boost as they can access more chips in parallel, so yes the 256 GB will be a better drive, but will cost more.
     
  13. Rover977

    Rover977 Byte Poster

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    I thought I would post how it went, else thread would not be much use to anybody reading it. Indeed all has went immensely well - overall very happy with EBuyer. The Antec case is the most ergonomic I've ever seen. I do not regret getting the 256GB SSD - well worth it, especially for running VM's, and not having to worry about running out of space. Everything is amazingly fast with the SSD. Boot Win7 about 35secs, boot a VM in about 10secs. Boot same Win7 clone from a HDD took 70secs.

    First power up was a bit nerve racking, with beep and 'CPU fan failed' message - Intel fan had cable wrapped around perimeter and it caught on fan blade, no damage done though. On going into BIOS was slightly disappointed to see 'max memory speed' 1333MHz when I had bought 1600MHz modules - though I now know this is refering to the standard Jedec SPD timings, the 1600MHz speed is only run from the XMP timimgs, for which the over-clocking settings need to be adjusted.

    The only catastrophe was a faulty StarTech IDE enclosure - which corruptedthe NTFS file system on three different HDD's, including my old system partition which was wrecked. I had to restore everything from backups. EBuyer RMA'd it OK, sending courier, and I got a CiC SATA/IDE enclosure from Aria which is so far working perfectly.

    Overall though EBuyer is highly recommended.

    i5-22.jpg
     
    Certifications: A+, Network+, Cisco CCNA

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