cheap'n'chearful upgrade

Steve.m

Steve.m

Steve.m

Associate
Joined
15 Jul 2010
Posts
72
Hello,

I have been meaning to upgrade for a while, but the cash ends up going elsewhere. So thought time to upgrade now before I waste the money on silly things like bills.

I was thinking (to keep cost low) to go for older hardware, but I may regret that, so.

I am looking at an i5-3570K (in case I decide to overclock at some time).

Is the Z77-D3H still considered the best(value for money) entry level board?

I would like 2x8 gb of memory (I do not play games much, it is for modeling/animation/simulations). What are the current recommendations (I may have to go to 2x4 if too expensive)

Is the OcUK 24x DVD drive OK?

I have a graphics card which I will re-use, a GTX 460, which is enough for what I need currently.

HD?

PSU? for the above (I will only ever have one graphics card, and 2 internal HD)

Any help/advice appreciated.

Thanks,
 
 
Shame you don't have the 100 posts for free P&P. Still talking your options through might well help with that ;)

What kit do you have at the mo? Are the HDDs sata as they could be reused. Did you have a budget in mind?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £173.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TD120BW) £89.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £83.99
1 x Corsair XMS3 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX16GX3M2A1600C11) £79.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020059-UK) £54.98
1 x Thermalright True Spirit 120 REV A (BW) Performance CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £24.98
Total : £519.92 (includes shipping : £10.00).



I still have a 1GB 460, I don't blame you for sticking with it a while longer. I assume you have overclocked it atleast ;)
 
honosuseri said:
Shame you don't have the 100 posts for free P&P. Still talking your options through might well help with that ;)

What kit do you have at the mo? Are the HDDs sata as they could be reused. Did you have a budget in mind?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £173.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TD120BW) £89.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £83.99
1 x Corsair XMS3 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX16GX3M2A1600C11) £79.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020059-UK) £54.98
1 x Thermalright True Spirit 120 REV A (BW) Performance CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £24.98
Total : £519.92 (includes shipping : £10.00).



I still have a 1GB 460, I don't blame you for sticking with it a while longer. I assume you have overclocked it atleast ;)
Click to expand...

+1 except get the retail version 3570k as it comes with an extra 2 years warranty whereas the i5 in this only has 1 year warranty its 7 quid more for the 3 year warranty and a cooler
 
Hello,

Many thanks for the replies, :)

honosuseri said:
What kit do you have at the mo? Are the HDDs sata as they could be reused.
Click to expand...
The HDs I have are sata, so will keep them(one I already use for internal backup), but do want a sata 6gb for boot drive.

My main drive, that has never been over 40GB with data, currently 28 GB (with win7 64). Will I gain anything with having a large boot drive with lots of unused space? (I do not know much about SSD)

Did you have a budget in mind?
Click to expand...
I have set aside 1K, but what I can save on hardware, I can put towards software upgrades.

I still have a 1GB 460, I don't blame you for sticking with it a while longer. I assume you have overclocked it atleast ;)
Click to expand...
I do not have it overclocked, I have seen no reason to as yet. But certainly something to consider.

I see the CPU coolers are quite large, I do not think they will fit my case. Are there any good low profile coolers? If not, what is a good case big enough?. I only need a good built case with good cooling, it will be hidden away.

Many Thanks,
 
Last edited:
Get yourself in the General Discussion forum and get to 100 posts, you'll get free shipping. How's this look?

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI HD 7950 Twin Frozr III Boost Edition 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **NEW REVISION** with Crysis 3, Farcry3, Shogun2, Dirt Showdown & Bioshock PC Games £233.99
1 x Samsung 256GB SSD 840 PRO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7PD256BW) ** Cash Back Promo ** £179.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x MSI Z77 MPower Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 ATX Motherboard with FREE F1 RC Car & MSI HDD Enclosure £149.99
1 x XFX 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply £99.98
1 x Cooler Master CM-690 II Lite Dominator Case - Black £62.99
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £59.99
1 x Avexir MPower Yellow Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U16000904G-2CM) £40
Total : £1,028.33 (includes shipping : £17.85).



Motherboard & PSU allow you to go xFire if you fancy.
Case is personal choice, can't blame you if you don'y like it.
 
snips86x said:
Get yourself in the General Discussion forum and get to 100 posts, you'll get free shipping. How's this look?

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI HD 7950 Twin Frozr III Boost Edition 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **NEW REVISION** with Crysis 3, Farcry3, Shogun2, Dirt Showdown & Bioshock PC Games £233.99
1 x Samsung 256GB SSD 840 PRO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7PD256BW) ** Cash Back Promo ** £179.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x MSI Z77 MPower Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 ATX Motherboard with FREE F1 RC Car & MSI HDD Enclosure £149.99
1 x XFX 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply £99.98
1 x Cooler Master CM-690 II Lite Dominator Case - Black £62.99
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £59.99
1 x Avexir MPower Yellow Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U16000904G-2CM) £40
Total : £1,028.33 (includes shipping : £17.85).

Click to expand...

He clearly said he would only ever use one GPU *sighs*
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 840 PRO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7PD128BW) £109.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £83.99
1 x Corsair XMS3 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX16GX3M2A1600C11) £79.99
1 x Seasonic G series 550w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £76.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £73.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 200R Compact ATX Case - Black £49.99
1 x Thermalright Macho 120 CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £29.99
1 x LG GH24NS95 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £19.99
Total : £717.52 (includes shipping : £10.50).



Still plenty of cash left over
 
Thanks again for the replies,


honosuseri said:
Still plenty of cash left over
Click to expand...

Looking OK. I think I will drop the 2nd (2TB) HD. If I was to get another HD (apart from the new boot drive) then I would probably get an external.

The case.
It shows as having 2 fans installed. Could you please recommend a good 120mm and 140mm fan. I may get additional fans.

Thank you.
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 840 PRO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7PD128BW) £109.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £83.99
1 x Corsair XMS3 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX16GX3M2A1600C11) £79.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020059-UK) £54.98
1 x Zalman Z9 USB 3.0 Midi Tower Case - Black £54.98
1 x Thermalright Macho 120 CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £29.99
1 x LG GH24NS95 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £19.99
1 x Akasa USB 3.0 internal adapter cable (AK-CBUB09-15BK) £5.99
Total : £634.00 (includes shipping : £11.75).



You'll have to balance things yourself but hopefully you have a good idea of what to look at now :)
 
Steve.m said:
Thanks again for the replies,




Looking OK. I think I will drop the 2nd (2TB) HD. If I was to get another HD (apart from the new boot drive) then I would probably get an external.

The case.
It shows as having 2 fans installed. Could you please recommend a good 120mm and 140mm fan. I may get additional fans.

Thank you.
Click to expand...

Here are a few fans:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Scythe Gentle Typhoon 120mm 1450 RPM - 3 Pin £13.99
1 x Antec TrueQuiet Pro™ 120 Revolutionary Quiet Cooling 120mm Case Fan £12.98
1 x Prolimatech Red Vortex Red Wings Red LED 140mm Fan £11.99
1 x Akasa AK-FN058 Apache Black Super Silent 120mm Fan - 4 Pin PWM £9.98
1 x Xilence XPF120R Red Wing 120mm Quiet Fan £6.95
1 x Thermalright TY-147 140mm Case Fan - 120mm Mount - Silent £5.99
Total : £67.86 (includes shipping : £4.98).

 
This is what I ordered:- (list from order confirmation)

Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail
Samsung 128GB SSD 840 PRO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7PD128BW)
Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
Corsair XMS3 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX16GX3M2A1600C11)
Seasonic G series 550w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply
Corsair Carbide 200R Compact ATX Case - Black
Thermalright Macho 120 CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2)
LG GH24NS95 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM
(x2) Antec TrueQuiet Pro™ 120 Revolutionary Quiet Cooling 120mm Case Fan
 
Steve.m said:
This is what I ordered:- (list from order confirmation)

Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail
Samsung 128GB SSD 840 PRO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7PD128BW)
Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
Corsair XMS3 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX16GX3M2A1600C11)
Seasonic G series 550w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply
Corsair Carbide 200R Compact ATX Case - Black
Thermalright Macho 120 CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2)
LG GH24NS95 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM
(x2) Antec TrueQuiet Pro™ 120 Revolutionary Quiet Cooling 120mm Case Fan
Click to expand...

very nice build hope you enjoy building it and nice choice on the z77 d3h and samsung ssd
 
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