New to builds, advice needed

[Kimble]

Morning all,

Recently I've been interested in PC building. I have minimal knowledge but really want to get into it and give it a go. Im not fussy on what the first build can do as long as it turns on and operates as normal. It is more a test to see that I can do it then I'll go onto better builds.

I've watched a few videos on these budget builds for around £150 and scanned multiple sites on the basics then I thought that would be a good starting point. I made my way through ebay to pick up components and just wondered if anyone could tell me if they are compatible and would work etc

This is what I've got so far. Like I said I've got minimal knowledge so please don't laugh if its complete garbage

ASUS P8H61-M LX2 Socket LGA1155 DDR3 Motherboard

Intel Core i5-3470 3.20 GHz Processor

ASUS ATI Radeon HD 7870 Graphics Card

8GB (2x4GB) Kingston DDR3 Memory Modules

CIT M-300U 300W Micro ATX PSU Mini Desktop PC Power Supply

Avance Ergo H100 micro ATX desktop case

I haven't look for storage components yet but was looking at SSD of around 240gb

Any advice and information will be appreciated as I'm really keen to get into building.

Thanks for your time
Mike

 

[Minibiker]

Morning....

You'll be fine, just take your time no matter how cheap/expensive the build may be, even the experienced make mistakes when building so even if you forget to plug something in or if you got the front panel connectors the wrong way just remember we've all done it

As far as I know the board, CPU and RAM is all compatible, Nice GPU choice aswell

 

[The_Arbiter]

My first build was £600. My second the same. If you do it for the fun, you'll unlikely hit any snags as long as you take the pride in it
Just do the research on what you want, final compatibility can always be checked here.
Hardware failures/ parts DOA sucks can happen, but i've not experienced it yet. And that could happen with any experienced builder anyway.

 

[Kimble]

Thanks for your input. Regarding the GPU I didnt really know what to look for. I just went on ebay for each component and went from there lol

 

[Minibiker]

Thanks for your input. Regarding the GPU I didnt really know what to look for. I just went on ebay for each component and went from there lol

Well it's a nice GPU for its age... Plenty of people still running the older generation pc builds

 

[pastymuncher]

Hi and welcome to the forums.

The first mistake you have made is picking a £17 PSU. CiT make abysmal PSU's that are only fit for the bin. That so called 300w PSU only has 14A on it's 12v rail so it can only deliver 168w where it's needed and I doubt if it would even manage that without blowing up. I know you are new to pc building but you should do some research on PSU's before buying. The PSU is argueably the single most important component in a pc and is not a component you should skimp on. A cheap PSU such as that CiT are based on ancient designs, have the cheapest internal components they can find, have weak rails, are inefficient and can lack important safety protections meaning that when they fail they will most likely take other components with them. Always pick a quality PSU to power your build as it will last through several upgrades. Buy cheap buy twice is never more true than when it comes to PSU's.

 

[Kimble]

Thanks for advice pastymuncher. I will look at changing that. Ive not bought any of the components yet, I've just got them watched on ebay. What is a minimum watt output to look at?

 

[pastymuncher]

It's not just about wattage, it's also about quality. While you could probably run that setup off a quality 350w PSU (300w isn't enough to be comfortable with even a standard 7870) it will leave you no headroom for future upgrades. I would be looking at a quality 550w PSU which will give you plenty of scope to upgrade in future. Look at brands such as Seasonic, Corsair, Superflower, EVGA, some Silverstone's, Phantek Amp series. If in doubt post in here before buying and we can double check for you. There is a excellent resource for information on PSU's over at RealHardTechX.com which lists PSU's by each brand and gives the OEM of the PSU (who actually builds it), power on the 12v rail(s), number of years warranty, if it's modular/semi-modular or fixed cables and links to reviews. Ignore reviews on shop websites because many (OCUK included) remove negative reviews and the average end user can't properly test a psu anyway as you need some very expensive kit to do so. The best review sites such as Jonnyguru, Techpowerup, Kitguru and a few others not only test the PSU but also take it apart and do component analysis. Sadly, now is a very bad time to buy a psu as most places have very little choice in stock and prices have risen.

 

[Kimble]

Much appreciated all