Building my first computer.

[The Funslinger]

Okay. So...

Any advice at all is appreciated. Below is a current list of the parts I'm likely going to buy. I'd prefer to not go over £400, but if necessary I'll go up to/around £500. I want to be able to run modern PC games reliably. I'm thinking quad, or maybe 6 core processor.

Spoiler: Parts I'm considering

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/coolermaster-elite-360-atx-pc-tower-case-11342075-pdt.html

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/ocz-zs550w-uk-atx-psu-550w-11342068-pdt.html

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-AD-7261S-0B-Internal-DVDRWRAM-Lightscribe/dp/B003SM3HH0/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1341095096&sr=1-1

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/wd-internal-3-5-sata-hard-drive-2tb-09809632-pdt.html

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/integral-pc3-10600-ddr3-pc-memory-8gb-dimm-ram-13611140-pdt.html (out of stock, but I'm not buying just yet)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-M5A78L-M-USB3-Motherboard-Socket/dp/B0054U7HIO/ref=sr_1_4?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1341094463&sr=1-4

http://www.amazon.co.uk/AMD-Bulldozer-FX-6100-Socket-Processor/dp/B005UBNKWO/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1341095349&sr=1-1

I still need to pick other things like a cooling system, video card, sound card and speakers. One question: Do I need both a CPU fan and thermal paste?

Do you see any compatibility issues? Any part recommendations within keeping of my budget? Any advice at all?

 

[The Funslinger]

Gonna risk a bump...

 

[Imthatguy]

I've heard bad things about bulldozer...

(This is a freeby foolish brovenger)

 

[Amethyst Wind]

Run run run as fast as you can from that Asus motherboard socket, never had a good piece of feedback about it.

 

[Vaishnav Reddy]

At what resolution and what kind of games are you planning to play?
Also bulldozer is definitely not for gaming. You would be much better off with a sandy bridge i3 or i5.
You should also pick up another set of ram as 50 pounds is a lot of money for that.

 

[number2301]

One question: Do I need both a CPU fan and thermal paste?

Yes, you need to use thermal paste if you're using an aftermarket heat sink. If you use the standard gear it will probably have thermal paste pre-applied.

 

[The Funslinger]

At what resolution and what kind of games are you planning to play?
Also bulldozer is definitely not for gaming. You would be much better off with a sandy bridge i3 or i5.
You should also pick up another set of ram as 50 pounds is a lot of money for that.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-SandybridgeCore-Quad-Core-Processor-Warranty/dp/B004FA8NPK/ref=sr_1_5?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1341264245&sr=1-5

Keeping in mind my budget, would you say this would be preferable?

Run run run as fast as you can from that Asus motherboard socket, never had a good piece of feedback about it.

Any alternatives you'd suggest for a similar price?

 

[The Funslinger]

One question: Do I need both a CPU fan and thermal paste?

Yes, you need to use thermal paste if you're using an aftermarket heat sink. If you use the standard gear it will probably have thermal paste pre-applied.

I could probably use some basic explanation. Is it a choice between a cooling fan/heatsink, or do I need both?

 

[the doom cannon]

At what resolution and what kind of games are you planning to play?
Also bulldozer is definitely not for gaming. You would be much better off with a sandy bridge i3 or i5.
You should also pick up another set of ram as 50 pounds is a lot of money for that.

agreed bulldozer is better for multitasking, especially since no programs i know of can take advantage of more than 4 cores(unfortunately). That being said, I do own the fx 6100 and the asus crosshair v formula mobo. No problems here, and they were dirt cheap. I can record bf3 on high settings (not ultra, tho i can play on ultra without recording), video encodes and whatnot are fairly quick, etc.

try to get an i5 if ur just doing gaming. i3 is sorta meh, and as said before the fx (bulldozer) chips aren't all they're cracked up to be. I would also suggest trying to find an equivalent of the USA Newegg.com for the UK instead of getting a part through amazon.com.

Now to your question. There are 2 ways that I know of to cool your cpu: fan+heatsink and liquid/water cooling. For a low gaming budget I would suggest a fan+heatsink, which is usually what comes stock with a brand new cpu. The stock coolers will perform just fine as long as you don't plan on overclocking your cpu. So in short, you don't need an aftermarket fan/heatsink because you don't seem like overclocking is your cup of tea. And therefore you do not need thermal paste because the stock one should come with it.

 

[PiCroft]

One question: Do I need both a CPU fan and thermal paste?

Yes, you need to use thermal paste if you're using an aftermarket heat sink. If you use the standard gear it will probably have thermal paste pre-applied.

I could probably use some basic explanation. Is it a choice between a cooling fan/heatsink, or do I need both?

If you get a CPU, generally they don't come with paste but with a cooling fan/heatsink that is designed and geared for keeping that CPU cool at stock speeds. If the boxed CPU doesn't come with paste, then generally it won't need it unless you go for overclocking.

Check with whatever model of CPU you're planning on buying to see if paste is included. If not, it won't need it. Now, if you go and buy a larger, more effective CPU cooler, such as this [http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-019-PL&campaign=pcm/googleshopping] one, it will probably come with thermal paste.

Note that despite all this, you still can use thermal paste if you want. Nothing bad will happen if you use thermal paste on a CPU with its stock cooler unless the manual specifically advises against it.

 

[Vaishnav Reddy]

At what resolution and what kind of games are you planning to play?
Also bulldozer is definitely not for gaming. You would be much better off with a sandy bridge i3 or i5.
You should also pick up another set of ram as 50 pounds is a lot of money for that.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-SandybridgeCore-Quad-Core-Processor-Warranty/dp/B004FA8NPK/ref=sr_1_5?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1341264245&sr=1-5

Keeping in mind my budget, would you say this would be preferable?

The i3 is good enough but 90 pounds for it is daylight robbery. You should get the i3 2120 as the extra clock cycles can really make a difference.
I suggest you buy these products on newegg.com and have them shipped to your address through relatives or one of those international remailers .
Have you decided on a video card yet.

 

[the doom cannon]

At what resolution and what kind of games are you planning to play?
Also bulldozer is definitely not for gaming. You would be much better off with a sandy bridge i3 or i5.
You should also pick up another set of ram as 50 pounds is a lot of money for that.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-SandybridgeCore-Quad-Core-Processor-Warranty/dp/B004FA8NPK/ref=sr_1_5?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1341264245&sr=1-5

Keeping in mind my budget, would you say this would be preferable?

The i3 is good enough but 90 pounds for it is daylight robbery. You should get the i3 2120 as the extra clock cycles can really make a difference.
I suggest you buy these products on newegg.com and have them shipped to your address through relatives or one of those international remailers .
Have you decided on a video card yet.

Parts bought on newegg will probably not work in the UK, as wall voltage and even cpu power is different. Suggest sticking with home country retailers

 

[The Funslinger]

At what resolution and what kind of games are you planning to play?
Also bulldozer is definitely not for gaming. You would be much better off with a sandy bridge i3 or i5.
You should also pick up another set of ram as 50 pounds is a lot of money for that.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-SandybridgeCore-Quad-Core-Processor-Warranty/dp/B004FA8NPK/ref=sr_1_5?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1341264245&sr=1-5

Keeping in mind my budget, would you say this would be preferable?

The i3 is good enough but 90 pounds for it is daylight robbery. You should get the i3 2120 as the extra clock cycles can really make a difference.
I suggest you buy these products on newegg.com and have them shipped to your address through relatives or one of those international remailers .
Have you decided on a video card yet.

Exactly. I'm British. So beyond that, the shipping costs would probably fuck me up the arse as well.

I haven't reached any final decisions on anything yet. Any recommendations for my budget are greatly welcomed.

 

[Vaishnav Reddy]

You could consider going for a lower resolution. Around 1680x1050 or something like that. A midrange card like the GTX 550ti would serve you well there. And don't worry , shipping for all the products costs around 50 dollars and the products will work fine in the UK.