PC revamp

colzboppo

colzboppo

colzboppo

Associate
Joined
24 Feb 2010
Posts
520
OK i have just had an interesting proposition from a buddy of mine looking to buy a second hand PC.

Basically I have a Dell PC that i offered to sell for £250. It has an old 8600GTS, 2GB RAM, various bits, excluding display as he already has one.

Basically I have 4GB DDR2 RAM, a 5770, and a 650W Antec trupower PSU I bought now sitting in the machine but obviously surplus if i sell the PC with original parts on.

Question is, what kind of setup could i budget in at £200-300 for a CPU, case, mobo, & HD.

Could I afford a SLI crossfire setup?
What kind of CPU would I be looking at?
Would I be better off with a DDR3 setup long term?
 
AMD Phenom II X3 Tri Core 720 Black Edition 2.80GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £99.99
(£85.10) £99.99
(£85.10)
Asus M4A79XTD Evo (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard £88.99
(£75.74) £88.99
(£75.74)
Patriot Sector 5 G Series 4GB (2x2GB) PC3-12800 1600MHz Dual Channel (PGV34G1600ELK) £86.99
(£74.03) £86.99
(£74.03)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD502HJ) £41.99
(£35.74) £41.99
(£35.74)
Xigmatek Asgard Mid-Tower Case - Black £28.99
(£24.67) £28.99
(£24.67)
Sub Total : £295.28
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £9.50
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £53.34
Total : £358.12

It's a bit over budget but you could probably get ~£50 for your old DDR2 RAM and it gives you the option to upgrade to crossfire later on.
 
thx for the quick reply.

The old machine currently has a q6600 2.4Ghz atm, what kind of performance difference would i see between that and the AMD cpu, hows its OC capability?

What about intel and the new i3-7 setup?

Would sticking to DDR2 architecture be cheaper, and are there viable SLI/Crossfire mobos out there for that?
 
Well yes I did think that too but then he's already sold the Q6600. I think for £300 it'll be tricky to pick up all of those components and have better performance than the Q6600. The Phenom 720 would probably overclock to 3.7GHz+ though. I'm not too sure on crossfire AM2+ motherboards so someone else will have to fill that one but my suggestion for going with AM3 sticks as it'll be better for future upgrades.
 
It has to be that one in his sig, he mentions removing the 5770 and ANTEC psu.

Stick the whole lot in a nice case and shove a SSD in it.
 
Its just that what is he going to be able to get for £300 that will be faster than a overclocked Q6600? A phenom X4 955 wont satisfy the itch.

Needs to be a i5 750 minimum.
 
stulid said:
Its just that what is he going to be able to get for £300 that will be faster than a overclocked Q6600? A phenom X4 955 wont satisfy the itch.

Needs to be a i5 750 minimum.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that info is golden, and just what i was looking for.
At least I know what i'd need to base my system round to make it worth doing.

Oh and its worth mentioning, overclocking the q6600 on my current PC is a buggy ball ache, clockgen and hope the speed set doesnt lock the machine on every boot, and one of the reasons i wish to upgrade, so its only useful to compare my experience at stock speeds really.
 
Last edited:
Redmint said:
I think for £300 it'll be tricky to pick up all of those components and have better performance than the Q6600.
Click to expand...

I'd already made this point, I didn't want to suggest a £450+ spec if he was intending to stick to ~£300. Also if games are your thing then you won't notice the difference between a Phenom 955 and an i5 750 most of the time. Sure the i5 comes out 5-10% higher in some benchmarks, but then in other benchmarks the phenom wins.
 
i5 750>955 always.

Edit. And this is from someone who has got a phenom X4 955.
 
Last edited:
Even taking into account the fact that the AM3 boards will probably be supported for longer than 1156 and the fact 1156 boards are more expensive you'd still suggest going down that route for a small performance gain?
 
colzboppo said:
Question is, what kind of setup could i budget in at £200-300 for a CPU, case, mobo, & HD.

Could I afford a SLI crossfire setup?
What kind of CPU would I be looking at?
Would I be better off with a DDR3 setup long term?
Click to expand...

Q6600 - £80
Case - £?? (maybe £50)
Motherboard - £50
Hard drive - £50

Comes to £230. Might aswell stick with the 4GB DDR2. Overclock the Q6600, still got £80 left to put towards another 5770 in future
 
Redmint said:
Even taking into account the fact that the AM3 boards will probably be supported for longer than 1156 and the fact 1156 boards are more expensive you'd still suggest going down that route for a small performance gain?
Click to expand...

I said minimum, if it was me I would go all out for i7.

My proper suggestion was a nice new case and a SSD.

blowing up to £300 on AM3 is not going to make him think "WOW that was money well spent"
 
Last edited:
Guest2 said:
Q6600 - £80
Case - £?? (maybe £50)
Motherboard - £50
Hard drive - £50

Comes to £230. Might aswell stick with the 4GB DDR2. Overclock the Q6600, still got £80 left to put towards another 5770 in future
Click to expand...

+1

I like your way of thinking!!

Had to RMA the 5770, wouldnt work with the PC, kept crashing...

Just got a credit note for it, so im thinking 5850, £80 extra, plus your suggestion = win
 
I would just move all your current stuff into a new case?
And are you surprised the 5770 didnt work? Im not being funny but Dell OEM mobos arent any good and thats also probably why you cant get a good OC.
I am not too sure on motherboards but i think your best off getting one with a p45 chipset
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom