PC Upgrade for mate from AMD 3200+ 512MB

dlknight

dlknight

dlknight

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My mate has asked me to look at upgrading his old Packard Bell PC as it is slow :) takes a long time to boot and slow opening applications and doing general tasks in Windows.

Current Spec is -
AMD Athlon 3200+
512MB RAM
160GB IDE HDD
Windows XP

He would like to be able to use the PC for the following -

  • Streaming video / music to Xbox
  • Web design
  • Photoshop
  • Possibly connecting to plasma / lcd TV
  • Web browsing

Budget is £150 (max £200 - but will probably put him off)

I've recommended going for Intel Sandybridge i3 or AMD Phenom II Quad / FX-4100 so that he isn't investing in old tech. I know I could possibly look at Intel 775 / 1156 but wouldn't give him much room for future upgrades?

He probably needs a new PSU / Case as I'm not sure if the Packard Bell is one of those OEM cases / motherboards that do not confirm to ATX standards.

So I have found the following systems (made up with bits from OCUK clearance section and other places). I already have 4GB DDR3 and a PSU (600w Enermax) that I will sell him.

Intel
  • i3-2100/2120 - £90
  • Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 - £60
  • 4GB DDR3 - £10
  • PSU - £20
Total £180 (without case)

AMD
  • Phenom II X4 / FX-4100 - £90
  • Gigabyte GA-880GM-USB3 - £45
  • 4GB DDR3 - £10
  • PSU - £20
Total £165 (without case)

So your thoughts appreciated on keeping within budget but keeping a nice specification?

Thanks
 
P373 said:
The gigabyte board you've picked for the amd build won't take the FX-4100 unfortunately :( but something like this would be ok and its cheaper:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-379-GI
Click to expand...

Sandybridge is a much better platform to be on than AMDs offerings. Unless his friend is interested in a AMD Lllano setup

YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD Llano A6-3670K 2.70GHz (Socket FM1) APU Processor (AD3670WNGXBOX) £89.99
1 x Asus F1A75-M AMD A75 Chipset (Socket FM1) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £70.39
Total : £160.38 (includes shipping : FREE).



The a75 chipset adds HDMI support (easier to use it via the HDTV). The llano IGP is better than the intel i3s and is even capable of some light gaming too. It would do everything your friend wants quite happily and you have the rest of the parts needed.
 
jamesfreddie said:
YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI H61M-P31-G3 Intel H61 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £35.99
1 x Intel Celeron G530 2.40GHz Socket LGA 1155 Processor - Retail £34.99
1 x Antec VP350P 350W '80 Plus' Continuous Power Supply £31.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/4GX) £19.99
Total : £133.46 (includes shipping : £8.75).



Plus, IDE TO SATA converter.

But the IDE drive will slow down the entire machine.
Click to expand...

kudos on the IDE i forgot to bring that point up
 
jamesfreddie said:
What half-decent PSU did you find for £20?

Z68 boards have no IDE ports. So you would also need a new HDD.
Click to expand...

I take it you read my post :D I have an enermax 600w PSU from my PC I will sell him.

Yes would get a SATA HDD too but probably 2nd hand for now - looking about £20 for 160GB.

honosuseri said:
Sandybridge is a much better platform to be on than AMDs offerings. Unless his friend is interested in a AMD Lllano setup

YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD Llano A6-3670K 2.70GHz (Socket FM1) APU Processor (AD3670WNGXBOX) £89.99
1 x Asus F1A75-M AMD A75 Chipset (Socket FM1) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £70.39
Total : £160.38 (includes shipping : FREE).



The a75 chipset adds HDMI support (easier to use it via the HDTV). The llano IGP is better than the intel i3s and is even capable of some light gaming too. It would do everything your friend wants quite happily and you have the rest of the parts needed.
Click to expand...

Hmmmm not really sold on the Llano platform - and my friend won't be playing games on the PC (has xbox for that)..

jamesfreddie said:
YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI H61M-P31-G3 Intel H61 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £35.99
1 x Intel Celeron G530 2.40GHz Socket LGA 1155 Processor - Retail £34.99
1 x Antec VP350P 350W '80 Plus' Continuous Power Supply £31.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/4GX) £19.99
Total : £133.46 (includes shipping : £8.75).



Plus, IDE TO SATA converter.

But the IDE drive will slow down the entire machine.
Click to expand...

Already have a PSU and RAM, probably would replace the IDE drive with a SATA drive of the same size (budgetting about £20 for 2nd hand one).
 
I agree that Sandy Bridge is a better platform, but if that particular AMD CPU is on the right price point it's the best of a sad showing from AMD and it does compete.

I still think you're spot on with your original intel pick, just swap out the motherboard for something cheaper, all of the Sandy Bridge chipsets are suitable. The i3-2120 is, as far my judgement goes the absolute sweet spot for bang for buck. Any more expensive and you get less for your money, any cheaper and it's the same. However if you do want to save a bit more then go for the Pentium G620. It's a Sandy Bridge part, it's about half the price, but all things considered I think the whole package is better value for money with the 2120.

PCIe 3.0 doesn't work unless you have an Ivy Bridge CPU. Even with one it's a white elephant at present as not even the highest end card benefits from it.

USB3.0 is nice if you have a 3.0 USB stick or want a fast external drive... I've got it and never used it, and nothing about it excites me in the slightest, so I wouldn't spend any extra money on it.

JamesFreddie - You're mentioning the PSU and suggesting he buys one.. the setup is for his mate and he has a spare 600w Enermax he is going to sell to his mate for £20.

As for a second hand drive you'll pick one up I'm sure on the MM cheap.
 
The Halk said:
PCIe 3.0 doesn't work unless you have an Ivy Bridge CPU. Even with one it's a white elephant at present as not even the highest end card benefits from it.

USB3.0 is nice if you have a 3.0 USB stick or want a fast external drive... I've got it and never used it, and nothing about it excites me in the slightest, so I wouldn't spend any extra money on it.
Click to expand...

Can you spec a better value mobo than i did? PCI Express 3 does need Ivybridge, so we know fopr sure that mobo can definately take an ivybridge CPU later as an upgrade and the feature is there. He could spend £80 on a Zseries without it, so choice of components is key not just done on a price basis.

Personally, I prefer to look forwards, rather than a this'll do attitude. Best case he saves £10 on my suggestion with a cheaper H61 mobo. Myself im thinking that Z series mobo he found is a steal!
 
Last edited:
honosuseri said:
Can you spec a better value mobo than i did? PCI Express 3 does need Ivybridge, so we know fopr sure that mobo can definately take an ivybridge CPU later as an upgrade.

Personally, I prefer to look forwards, rather than a this'll do attitude. Best case he saves £10 on my suggestion with a cheaper H61 mobo. Myself im thinking that Z series mobo he found is a steal!
Click to expand...

If hes not gaming there is NO point in PCI E 3.0

No graphics cards currently max out PCI E 2.0
 
Looking forwards, Ivy Bridge is the last set of CPUs for the current platform, next year Intel come out with a new platform.

That means if he is going to upgrade again he'd either have to buy the new platform, or look for second hand parts - unless he upgrades in the next couple of years of course.

If you think it's likely he'll go for another CPU while Ivy/Sandy Bridge are still current then there's room to justify a Z68/Z77 board. Additionally it does leave one minor upgrade available, a small SSD, fitted as a cache, I think you need to go Z to get that.

However I feel there's an awful lot of 'future proofing' goes on and it ends up as money wasted. Perhaps spend 1/2 the money on a motherboard now rather than a future proof one and later if it's needed 1/2 the money again on a budget board.

I don't think I can give you a definitive answer though, other than saying PCIe 3.0 is a red herring to be ignored. You're on the button with everything you've said so far so I don't think you'll make the best choice.

Edit : His next upgrade after that should certainly be an SSD, either a 60GB drive or a cache drive.
 
The Halk said:
Looking forwards, Ivy Bridge is the last set of CPUs for the current platform, next year Intel come out with a new platform.

That means if he is going to upgrade again he'd either have to buy the new platform, or look for second hand parts - unless he upgrades in the next couple of years of course.

If you think it's likely he'll go for another CPU while Ivy/Sandy Bridge are still current then there's room to justify a Z68/Z77 board. Additionally it does leave one minor upgrade available, a small SSD, fitted as a cache, I think you need to go Z to get that.

However I feel there's an awful lot of 'future proofing' goes on and it ends up as money wasted. Perhaps spend 1/2 the money on a motherboard now rather than a future proof one and later if it's needed 1/2 the money again on a budget board.

I don't think I can give you a definitive answer though, other than saying PCIe 3.0 is a red herring to be ignored. You're on the button with everything you've said so far so I don't think you'll make the best choice.

Edit : His next upgrade after that should certainly be an SSD, either a 60GB drive or a cache drive.
Click to expand...

I asked for a better budget mobo fella. Freddies is cheaper as you suggest but is not in stock, it has PCI-EX 3 too as it supports 22nm. It's what £10 less and loses USB3....I'm pretty sure USB3 ports are used to quickcharge some mobile phones now so it's not really just about shifting data quicker.
 
Thanks for ideas people - looks like a A8-3870k and Gigabyte A75 board would be about the same as an i3-2120 and Z68 board..... hmmm...
 
dlknight said:
Thanks for ideas people - looks like a A8-3870k and Gigabyte A75 board would be about the same as an i3-2120 and Z68 board..... hmmm...
Click to expand...

The sandybridge IGP struggles with bluray playback llano doesn't. As it seems to be a HTPC setup that might be best, if he likes the idea of adding a bluray drive later.

Also the H series mobos we have spec'd dont have a HDMI output, although the Z series does you are still using the SB IGP. It might be better if he is on a tight budget to go with the H series and buy a cheap dedicated GPU.

Although if he is clever and picks a decent budget gaming GPU later on, this HTPC will murder his xbox 360.......he can salvage the pad from it to use on the HTPC.
 
Given he's using it for basic tasks might be an option to just upgrade the existing PC. If he want's a full sandybridge mobo upgrade that budget needs to increase imo.

So far all the specs are upgrading the CPURam/Mobo, but leaving out the HDD. And ignoring potential problems with installing OS on the new Mobo.

To consider this we'd need to mobo spec or model number, to see what it's maximum potential is, it might be a non-starter if it's too old. To start with the socket needs to be AMD2 or 939 at a push. if it's older you may as well forget the idea. Must have PCI-E for graphics card.


Upgrading the following would be the idea: (2nd hand prices/non OCUK available estimates include shipping)

AMD X2 CPU (Socket AMD2 or 393 (£25 ish) 2nd hand
RAM to 2-4 GB (DDR or DDR2) (£10-£30) 2nd hand or (£24-£40 New OCUK)
(2GB would be enough, 4GB would be the max and as it's certainly a 32bit XP you'd use around 3-3.5GB depending on graphics vram)

If the mobo has SATA.
Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache £58.99
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-364-WD&groupid=1657&

No on board SATA, you'd need a PCI controler card, £10-15 (OC UK don't have these)

Asus HD 6670 1024MB GDDR3 PCI-Express Graphics Card £53.99
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-258-AS&groupid=701&
(66 W, should be ok with low power PSU, PSU spec would be nice to check)

Total £148 + OC UK shipping. If mobo has SATA.

Also keep in mind here that the new parts (HHD/GC) from OC UK could be kept in his next upgrade.

The downside to this, you don't get to sell him your old parts. :P
But really keeping the IDE is a big problem.
 
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