23-01-2013, 10:37 AM
Processor wise, Intel are definitely the market leaders at the moment. Depending on whether or not you always want the latest and greatest, it might be worth waiting until around June, when Intel are set to release their latest processors (Haswell). I doubt it'll bring down processor prices too much on Ivy Bridge processors (current gen) as the Sandy Bridge equivalents are still around the same price.
I went for an i5 3570k, which will be capable of handling pretty much anything you throw at it. Some people may suggest the i7 3770k but you don't really need it unless you're doing video editing.
RAM - 8GB of Corsair Vengeance RAM. Fooby will be here shortly to tell you to get the Arctic White version as it's got lower voltages and different timings which means they can be overclocked, but I doubt you'll be planning on overclocking RAM so a standard set of Vengeance RAM will do the trick.
Motherboard - There are lots of different options out there. I got an Asus P8Z77 Deluxe, though even the 'Pro' model would be good. As Sean said, Gigabyte are also good.
PSU - I went for Corsair for this too, their GS600. You probably won't need as much power unless you're planning on having multiple hard drives and a fairly beefy graphics card.
GPU - If you're not gaming, you won't need anything top end. I'm not sure on the mid-range market but you should be able to get something for around 100 quid.
Storage - SSD. The Samsung 830 is good, and the 256GB version can be bought for around 120 if you look around before buying. OCZ SSDs have fairly high failure rates so I'd avoid them.
Case - that's up to you, just got to make sure you get one that fits your motherboard (i.e. ATX or mATX).
Cooling - CoolerMaster Evo 212.
You'll also need a CD/DVD drive, which should only cost about a tenner, then other bits and pieces like thermal paste.
Off the top of my head, you should be able to build that spec for around 500, without the graphics card. What might be useful for now, would be to build a system without the graphics card and just run it using the inbuilt Intel HD graphics, which are surprisingly good and will be more than capable for your intended use until you're ready to start CAD.
I went for an i5 3570k, which will be capable of handling pretty much anything you throw at it. Some people may suggest the i7 3770k but you don't really need it unless you're doing video editing.
RAM - 8GB of Corsair Vengeance RAM. Fooby will be here shortly to tell you to get the Arctic White version as it's got lower voltages and different timings which means they can be overclocked, but I doubt you'll be planning on overclocking RAM so a standard set of Vengeance RAM will do the trick.
Motherboard - There are lots of different options out there. I got an Asus P8Z77 Deluxe, though even the 'Pro' model would be good. As Sean said, Gigabyte are also good.
PSU - I went for Corsair for this too, their GS600. You probably won't need as much power unless you're planning on having multiple hard drives and a fairly beefy graphics card.
GPU - If you're not gaming, you won't need anything top end. I'm not sure on the mid-range market but you should be able to get something for around 100 quid.
Storage - SSD. The Samsung 830 is good, and the 256GB version can be bought for around 120 if you look around before buying. OCZ SSDs have fairly high failure rates so I'd avoid them.
Case - that's up to you, just got to make sure you get one that fits your motherboard (i.e. ATX or mATX).
Cooling - CoolerMaster Evo 212.
You'll also need a CD/DVD drive, which should only cost about a tenner, then other bits and pieces like thermal paste.
Off the top of my head, you should be able to build that spec for around 500, without the graphics card. What might be useful for now, would be to build a system without the graphics card and just run it using the inbuilt Intel HD graphics, which are surprisingly good and will be more than capable for your intended use until you're ready to start CAD.