Bit Tech publish a PC hardware buyer's guide every once in a while and it just so happens they recently updated it in May. It's well worth a perusal as it has much handy advice for specifying which components you might need based on price/performance at different levels - eg casual, gaming, budget and enthusiast.

Two good things about it are that it's more UK based with regards to UK retailers and more accurate UK pricing and they will make particular recommendations for products they've actually reviewed that are actually decent since they're very thorough and fair in their testing. Loosely following their guide you should be able to ensure you get the right (good value and performance) components for the job. Their folding and other forums might help make you aware of anything else to consider that the main site does not bring to your attention.

Here's the link to the buyer's guide.

Good luck and be sure to let us know how you're coming on with the project. You'll find good PSU and CPU cooling suggestions over at BT. The rest is pretty straight forward really. If you want some component buying site suggestions here's a few I have tended to use:

Scan (check their Today Only page for reductions and Hexus support forums)
Ebuyer
Dabs (same place as BT shop)
Overclockers.co.uk (also have deals and an active support forum)

You can also get discounts through Quidco.com for some of those places and if you sign up and post to Hexus forums, you used to be able to get free delivery (when you spend £20 exVAT or more) at Scan.

Edited by deleted (Sun 17-Jun-12 15:51:35)

It's me, the same 'anon' again.
Much good advice above but a couple of brief notes on things I don't think have been mentioned - but I might have missed!

These comments are based on you only wanting the system to do f@h (or other BOINC) processing - not using the 'box' as an everyday, general-purpose computer.

Once it is set-up, you won't need a keyboard, mouse or monitor attached. Therefore you could get away with juat about anything - old or borrowed - for setting up then pull the plugs (and USB 'dongles') and put them away. My knowledge of Ubuntu is limited but I strongly suspect there is remote control/monitoring software that can let you see the operation from another machine - you Mac for instance - over the network.

Same for your CD/DVD drive - once it all works, pull the plugs and save the few watts in and heat out.

I've not used an i7-2600 flat out but have used the i5-2550K and my experience is that it runs pretty cool even with the Intel cooler at stock speeds. Many third-party coolers will do a better job more quietly - near silently - but once you get into overclocking it's a new game and a long discussion!

A small SSD - 60Gb or less - is not so expensive these days and will save a few watts and dB. Alternatively, a hybrid drive or 'Green' 5900 RPM drive are worth considering.

I agree completely with all comments regarding 80+ PSU of a known brand. A few extra pounds should give you peace of mind re reliability and running costs as well as a quiet time. Personally I prefer modular for neatness and potentially improved airflow through the case but I recognise the view that the extra connector is intrinsically less-reliable. I've never had a problem with connectors on a quality PSU but, each to their own.

Whatever you decide there will always be suggestions for a 'better way' but just about everything in life is a compromise so just make the best choice that seems right for you and watch the WUs mount up!

Finally, it's good to find a forum with such sensible, open minded and polite posts - not so on some of the forums I've come across.

Anon, your point about disconnecting the keyboard/mouse and monitor is a good one, as is the disconnecting of the Optical Drive - these ideas probably wouldn't have occurred to me. I'm up for saving on electricity.

Odd things I've noticed:
I tried to find an 80GB hard drive, but they're more expensive than (roughly twice as much as) the 160, if you can find one for sale that is. I suppose there isn't much demand for the smaller drives these days.
Likewise, monitors. I haven't found a 15" one except on ebay, and I'd rather get brand new with warranty for my first foray into self-build.

Now for some questions:

1) Could you point me in the direction of good PSU names?
2) Is this a decent SSD? I understand I'll need an adapter of sorts to get it to fit securely into a HD bay, although I read somewhere that some double-sided tape would do the job. (I won't be going the double-sided tape route.)
3) With a modular PSU, the neatness factor sounds good. Does a modular PSU come with a range of cables for the various usual components in a typical PC? I imagine I'd have some left over.

This is the only disadvantage regarding modular PSUs (from the Wikipedia article on modular PSUs) that I'm unsure of:

As of early 2011 most modular power supplies used the same connectors as each other, but with different, non-standardized pin-outs. Interchanging cables between brands can damage equipment by applying incorrect voltages, grounds and opens to outputs such as SATA power connectors. There is rarely any visual indication or keyed connector to prevent using an incorrect cable.

That's an awful lot for one post. I'm seriously tempted to get a SSD, and modular PSU, but will wait on any answers before thinking further.

A bit pricey, but I can personally recommend the Corsair HX650. Corsair is one of the manufacturers that are consistently recommended, and this one has had pretty good reviews (search Google and you should find a few). I'm not sure how noisy it is as my other components are far louder but a review should help here. I notice that two of the three Amazon reviews comment on how quiet it is.

I would forget about modular PSUs. I have an OCZ ZT550W. The cables are incredibly fiddly to fit once the PSU is in place and they are so long that it makes the entire exercise pointless. Never again.

Reputable PSU manufacturers: Akasa, Antec, Corsair and Zalman come to mind. Seasonic are re-badged by other companies and may be good for fanless PSUs. My OCZ is too new to comment about although it is pretty quiet.

Intel are reckoned to make the most reliable SSDs. Crucial make good memory sticks so their SSDs may be OK. I bought an OCZ Petrol 128GB. It started corrupting my data as soon as I installed it - which reminds me - I must RMA it. I'll be ordering Intel next time I want an SSD.

I've got to say that my experiences of modular PSUs are exactly the opposite (which may be because each manufacturer is different). On the Corsair the cables are very easy to install (unlike a Hiper that I had previously) and being flat can be routed so that they hardly impede airflow at all. And it is so much better to only have tha cables that you require.

But each to their own.

I thought that modular would be a good idea but I wasn't happy with my choice. Also, why package PSUs in velvet draw-string bags? OCZ aren't the only manufacturers to do this.

TBH, I would prefer a con-block and make my own cables.

Edited by micksharpe (Mon 18-Jun-12 13:48:34)

More good advice above.
I'm not familiar with the Akasa or Zalman PSUs but I'm using and am happy with both Antec and Corsair. No point in recommending the specific models I'm using as they are now superseded!
Same with SSDs. I have two (discontinued) Crucial C300-120GB devices and apart from a problem with an early firmware in one of them (fixed with an update), everything has been fine for >1 year. One is heavily used, the other moderately. Intel have a good reputation for SSDs, probably the best, but I've not seen many SSDs that get bad reviews for reliability. Performance for SSDs does vary a lot so check carefully - the headline figure may be for reading with write speed a lot lower. For your purposes the R/W performance variations between SSDs will make a slight but not substantial difference. Even so, careful checking should find you a good performer for both reading and writing at a decent price.
Fact is, there are now so many SSDs and PSUs on the market, few users will have experience of more than a handful so it's usually a matter of looking at customer reviews/feedback on suppliers sites - even if you don't buy from that supplier. Overclockers, Novatech. Dabs/BT and Amazon are all worth a look to get a feel of what users think.
You shouldn't have any problem with connector options on modular PSUs. Higher rated PSUs will typically have more connectors for GPUs and disk drives but I can't imagine any unit will not have enough connectors for your build. Most manufacturers do use the same connections on the PSU unit but even if not, you are only buying one and all supplied cables should work with that! As for length of leads... well, a monster case will want longer leads, a smaller case, probably shorter ones so PSU manufacturers usually supply fairly long leads and some cable management may be needed. It's just that with a modular supply, the may be fewer un-needed cables to manage.
Finally - mounting 2.5" drives (SSDs). A lot of modern cases will already have provision to mount them - my Fractal Design case does but my Antec 1200 case from 2010 needed a 2.5"-3.5" adaptor. I suspect double sided tape is probably OK to mount them as they are light and in themselves vibration free but I'd recommend screwing them down - or at least adding a few cable ties to the double-sided tape method.

Cheers
anon (who if he replies again will have to get a username!)

In reply to a post by ichatergosum:

1) Could you point me in the direction of good PSU names?
2) Is this a decent SSD? I understand I'll need an adapter of sorts to get it to fit securely into a HD bay, although I read somewhere that some double-sided tape would do the job. (I won't be going the double-sided tape route.)
3) With a modular PSU, the neatness factor sounds good. Does a modular PSU come with a range of cables for the various usual components in a typical PC? I imagine I'd have some left over.

The Crucial M4 SSD drive has a decent reputation for price/performance though the 64GB version does not perform at the same level as higher capacity versions. You can read some reviews at Bit Tech but if you need a higher performing SSD (better IOPS) then the Samsung 830 series is very well regarded and is priced quite competitively also. It's the one I'd go for and a 128GB model can currently be had for under £110. You can easily and cheaply buy 2.5" to 3.5" SSD desktop brackets from the likes of Amazon. They operate silently which is the main reason I recommended them.

I too recommend Corsair for PSU. Can't recall now but I believe Corsair are rebranded Seasonics. I have a modluar Corsair PSU myself in a large Lian Li case and it's quiet and very efficient. Using different modular PSU component cables is a definite no-no but why would you want to anyway?

My old OCZ PSU died after 2 years and was still in warranty but the warranty terms required sending it to Holland for replacement with no guarantee they'd receive it/log it properly if not sent 'signed for' so after sales can be an issue too if extended warranty periods are a concern. I did not find OCZ's US based website any help at all so can't recommend them.

I made the plunge:

Intel Core i7-2600k
Gigabyte GA Z68MA-D2H-B3
Corsair CMP4GX3M2A1600C9 (2 x 2GB)
Intel 330 Series 60GB 2.5� SSD
Samsung Super-writemaster Sh-s223c
Corsair CMPSU-430CXV2UK Builder Series CX430V2
Fractal Arc Mini Case
Gigabyte KM5200 USB Keyboard and Mouse Kit
Dell E1709W 17 inch LCD Flat Panel Monitor

The CPU had risen in price over the time I've been researching all this, but the kb/mouse item dropped from £10 to £5.95!
I spent ages chasing round the Gigabyte, Corsair and Amazon sites, in the wee small hours, before I could track down two (m/b-compatible) 2GB sticks of Corsair memory. I seemed to be constantly directed to pairs of 4GB sticks, but obstinacy made me persist - I wasn't to be a passive drone, succumbing to inertia selling of RAM. It meant that I got the 1600 instead of the 1333 type, but it was cheaper than paying more for more of the 1333 type.

Done - for now.

Many thanks to everyone who has helped so far.

Edited by deleted (Tue 19-Jun-12 15:12:49)