Upgrade my PC

Clishem

Clishem

Clishem

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Joined
15 Aug 2009
Posts
21
So let's say I have a £400 budget (+/- £100), I have no clue on what hardware goes with what etc. and have never built a PC from scratch so yeah enlighten me ;)

Here are my specs atm, please don't laugh.

Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 @ 2.33GHz
nVidia GeForce 630i/7100 Mobo
2 x 2GB DDR2 Ram (I don't know what make)
nVidia GeForce 9800GT (512MB)
640GB Harddrive
I don't know what PSU it has


It is the Packard Bell iMedia x2416


Ok thanks for reading :D
 
What do you use it for? Thing is oem builds are usually pretty inflexible when it comes to upgrading. Psu might not have sufficient wattage and the case might be too small for a powerful graphics card...etc. Not saying it can't be upgraded you just need to make sure it can accommodate custom parts. A new build at this budget is possible but it won't be much faster at all than what you have now. Unless you are willing to consider selling it to help fund a new build?

Having said that if you just want to game then a new gfx and a ssd would be my choice. Great improvements and well within budget. On the other hand if you want the processing power you'll need a new mobo/CPU/ram combo. But with an oem case the new mobo might not fit.
 
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Done a spec anyway:

Your basket

Product Name Qty Price Line Total
GX-238-AS_60.jpg
Asus GeForce GTX 460 Direct CU TOP 768MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with HAWX2 PC-Game £129.99
(£110.63) £129.99
(£110.63)
MB-402-AS_60.jpg
Asus M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3 AMD 880G (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard £88.99
(£75.74) £88.99
(£75.74)
CP-259-AM_60.jpg
AMD Athlon II X4 Quad Core 630 2.80GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £70.49
(£59.99) £70.49
(£59.99)
MY-203-CS_60.jpg
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £65.99
(£56.16) £65.99
(£56.16)
CA-068-SV_60.jpg
Silverstone SST-PS03B Precision Midi Tower Case - Black £42.99
(£36.59) £42.99
(£36.59)
CA-033-CS_60.jpg
Corsair CX 430W ATX Power Supply £37.98
(£32.32) £37.98
(£32.32)
HD-081-SA_60.jpg
Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD502HJ) £33.98
(£28.92) £33.98
(£28.92)
CD-099-SA_60.jpg
Samsung SH-S223C/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
(£12.76) £14.99
(£12.76) Sub Total : £413.11 Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75 VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £74.35 Total : £499.21
 
steve258 said:
What do you use it for? Thing is oem builds are usually pretty inflexible when it comes to upgrading. Psu might not have sufficient wattage and the case might be too small for a powerful graphics card...etc. Not saying it can't be upgraded you just need to make sure it can accommodate custom parts. A new build at this budget is possible but it won't be much faster at all than what you have now. Unless you are willing to consider selling it to help fund a new build?

Having said that if you just want to game then a new gfx and a ssd would be my choice. Great improvements and well within budget. On the other hand if you want the processing power you'll need a new mobo/CPU/ram combo. But with an oem case the new mobo might not fit.
Click to expand...

I was thinking exactly the same.

I was just looking at the pre-custom built "Titan Xenomorph" and thinking to just get that and have done - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-237-OK&groupid=43&catid=1444&subcat=1712


But now I have looked at the spec RJC has posted, it looks pretty good but would it be worth paying the extra £70 for the Xenomorph?
 
Clishem said:
I was thinking exactly the same.

I was just looking at the pre-custom built "Titan Xenomorph" and thinking to just get that and have done - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-237-OK&groupid=43&catid=1444&subcat=1712


But now I have looked at the spec RJC has posted, it looks pretty good but would it be worth paying the extra £70 for the Xenomorph?
Click to expand...

Well, that depends.
How proficient are you and how confident are you about building it yourself?
If not very, then pre-built can be the better option
HOWEVER, there really are few things more simple than building your own PC (especially seeing as everything has an instruction manual :p)

The only reason i would recommend the Xenomorph over self-built is if you really don't want to overclock, but want the performance boost.
 
Cookeh said:
Well, that depends.
How proficient are you and how confident are you about building it yourself?
If not very, then pre-built can be the better option
HOWEVER, there really are few things more simple than building your own PC (especially seeing as everything has an instruction manual :p)

The only reason i would recommend the Xenomorph over self-built is if you really don't want to overclock, but want the performance boost.
Click to expand...

I am 100% sure I can build it myself (even though it would be my first) and have never overclocked this PC because I was worried I wouldn't have eough cooling. The 9800GT I have got now has died twice in a year (artifacts etc) and to fix it I just blasted it with the heatgun for a few minutes and let it cool (I know that it's going to die again in a month or so)

But yes I am all for the performance, since this would be primarily for gaming.

So you would suggest building it myself, then overclocking, rather than bying a pre-built model?
 
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Clishem said:
I am 100% sure I can build it myself (even though it would be my first) and have never overclocked this PC because I was worried I wouldn't have eough cooling. The 9800GT I have got now has died twice in 2 years (artifacts etc) and to fix it I just blasted it with the heatgun for a few minutes and let it cool (I know that it's going to die again in a month or so)

But yes I am all for the performance, since this would be primarily for gaming.

So you would suggest building it myself, then overclocking, rather than bying a pre-built model?
Click to expand...

Definitely!

Not only do you get the satisfaction of building and overclocking your own rig, but its cheaper!
 
Cookeh said:
Definitely!

Not only do you get the satisfaction of building and overclocking your own rig, but its cheaper!
Click to expand...


Haha ok then that's sorted, but I have to be honest, I don't really want to use the AMD cpu from above, could you suggest a different spec without the any AMD parts? I'd rather go with nvidia and intel.

EDIT: Ahh, just read your newest post, please no AMD :D
 
Clishem said:
Haha ok then that's sorted, but I have to be honest, I don't really want to use the AMD cpu from above, could you suggest a different spec without the any AMD parts? I'd rather go with nvidia and intel.

EDIT: Ahh, just read your newest post, please no AMD :D
Click to expand...

:eek:
Why not?!

Ah well, here's the specs:

Dual Core:


Quad Core:


Im not the best with Intel Mobo's - someone else will probs spec you a better motherboard for the i5
 
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Also, the ram that I have in this PC, would I be able to put it in the new build? I don't know how to find out what make and model they are so if you could help me with that, it would be appreciated ;)

EDIT: Ok thanks for the reply up top, but I can't see it.. Haha it's a little small for me sorry :P
 
Clishem said:
Also, the ram that I have in this PC, would I be able to put it in the new build? I don't know how to find out what make and model they are so if you could help me with that, it would be appreciated ;)

EDIT: Ok thanks for the reply up top, but I can't see it.. Haha it's a little small for me sorry :P
Click to expand...

Click on it :p

And you could, but I would never use non-branded RAM in a PC thats going to be overclocked.
Besides, DDR2 is old spec now - DDR3 will last you longer and give you more upgrade paths :)

EDIT: Clicking doesn't affect the size. GAY.
 
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Cookeh said:
Here are the direct links:
http://www.imagebanana.com/view/xjseb38n/i3.JPG - Dual Core (i3)

http://www.imagebanana.com/view/7oxmdc6j/i5.JPG - Quad Core (i5)


As previously mentioned, someone could probs spec you a better motherboard - Im not that keyed into the P55 chipset.
Click to expand...

Ok thanks for that, but I think I've said something wrong.
It's ATI I don't like (Graphics) not AMD CPU's haha.
I'll keep the specs in mind and look around a bit myself. But again thanks a lot, very hepful. :cool:

EDIT: Stulid, since I've been browsing the forum past two days it seems that you know your stuff and have posted on almost every thread, your spec always gets picked, not that I don't appreciate Cookeh's inputs haha.
 
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Clishem said:
Haha ok then that's sorted, but I have to be honest, I don't really want to use the AMD cpu from above, could you suggest a different spec without the any AMD parts? I'd rather go with nvidia and intel.
Click to expand...

Yep, confused me :p


And Stulids been doing this for ages, Ive just started - so even I would take his specs over mine atm :p
 
thread hijack bitches.

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 460 OC 768MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with HAWX2 PC-Game £129.99
(£110.63) £129.99
(£110.63)
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £117.49
(£99.99) £117.49
(£99.99)
Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 AMD 870 (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard £84.99
(£72.33) £84.99
(£72.33)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £65.99
(£56.16) £65.99
(£56.16)
Corsair CX 500W ATX Power Supply £49.98
(£42.54) £49.98
(£42.54)
Silverstone SST-PS03B Precision Midi Tower Case - Black £42.99
(£36.59) £42.99
(£36.59)
LG GH22LS50 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter Lightscribe Drive - Retail £14.99
(£12.76) £14.99
(£12.76)
Sub Total : £431.00
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £77.48
Total : £520.23


but I think I would just grab that i5 build(cookeh spec with the £1 more motherboard) and have the faster pc.
 
stulid said:
thread hijack bitches.

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 460 OC 768MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with HAWX2 PC-Game £129.99
(£110.63) £129.99
(£110.63)
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £117.49
(£99.99) £117.49
(£99.99)
Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 AMD 870 (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard £84.99
(£72.33) £84.99
(£72.33)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £65.99
(£56.16) £65.99
(£56.16)
Corsair CX 500W ATX Power Supply £49.98
(£42.54) £49.98
(£42.54)
Silverstone SST-PS03B Precision Midi Tower Case - Black £42.99
(£36.59) £42.99
(£36.59)
LG GH22LS50 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter Lightscribe Drive - Retail £14.99
(£12.76) £14.99
(£12.76)
Sub Total : £431.00
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £77.48
Total : £520.23


but I think I would just grab that i5 build and have the faster pc.
Click to expand...

Haha, very good stulid I'll have a look through that.

Are there any differences between these two cases?
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-068-SV
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-125-AN

I saw that they are the same price, just thought I'd ask.
 
yeah, big difference



























the Antec 200 is damn ugly.

the silverstone case has an all black interior.
 
Lmao, I see ok then, I just thought one might be bigger than the other etc.

Ok, so I've come to this build.

computerd.png


I've took off the DVDRW as I already have one.
 
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