Looking for minor refresh - circa £500

Dave Hedgehog

Dave Hedgehog

Dave Hedgehog

Associate
Joined
5 Aug 2010
Posts
57
Location
Birmingham
Hi all,

I am looking to refresh my current set up below. It's mainly used for work, browsing and photo editing. I want to turn it into more of a work horse, for around £500.

  • Core i3-4130
  • Gigabyte GA-Z87-HD3
  • Nvidia GTX 960
  • Samsung 850 EVO, 250gb
  • Fury DDR3 1866 C10 2x4GB
  • Cooler Master K280 Midi Tower Case
  • Corsair Builder Series CX 430W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply

Any help appreciated,

Thanks
DH
 
Dave Hedgehog said:
Hi all,

I am looking to refresh my current set up below. It's mainly used for work, browsing and photo editing. I want to turn it into more of a work horse, for around £500.

  • Core i3-4130
  • Gigabyte GA-Z87-HD3
  • Nvidia GTX 960
  • Samsung 850 EVO, 250gb
  • Fury DDR3 1866 C10 2x4GB
  • Cooler Master K280 Midi Tower Case
  • Corsair Builder Series CX 430W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply

Any help appreciated,

Thanks
DH
Click to expand...
I's prob look at a 12400F for £160/£165 ish paired with a MSI B660M-A wifi mobo which I saw on sale for £145. Pair that with 16GB DDR4 3200C16 ram for about £60(or crucial 3600C16 for £74)..if you want more ram 32Gb Patriot viper steel 3600C18(though may have to run it at 3200 as some people say unstable at 3600 is £100, or the corsair equiv 3600C18 is £120)
Stick a 1tb SN550 for £75, or if you want gen4 nvme, I'd go crucial 1tb P5P for £112 on OCuk at the mo
It's not the greatest psu, being bronze rated with 3yrs warranty. How old is it?

if you want more of a powerhouse, then the 12600k for £265 is more than enough for your needs, come with 6 P cores and 4 e cores...has onboard gpu also(you can get a 12400 for £190 also, or a 12600 for £215 that have onboard gpu also)
 
Thanks for your advice. The PSU is about 8 years old so could do with being replaced.

I've got the following in my basket so far:

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £673.42 (includes delivery: £10.50)​






​
 
Dave Hedgehog said:
Thanks for your advice. The PSU is about 8 years old so could do with being replaced.

I've got the following in my basket so far:

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £673.42 (includes delivery: £10.50)​






​
Click to expand...
well, that blew your £500 budget out the water:cry::cry:
 
Ok, just had a look elswhere. Seen the following

the msi pro z690 a wifi board that I put above for £189, so £10 more than the B660M mortar...so has gen5 gpu slot and 3 gen4 nvme slots, 1 gen 3 nvme slots, as opposed to gen4 gpu and 2 x gen4 nvme slots...

other I've seen in the Asus Prime Z690 P wifi D4 bundled with a 500gb Samsung 980(non pro) for £204.98(OCuk have them below for just under £280 separately excl delivery), coupled with 12600k for £264.97...incl free delivery
you could use the sammy drive as either the OS drive and keep the 1tb for your photo editing etc
the asus is on same level as the msi board, but has 3 nvme slots as opposed to 4 on the msi...both full size atx boards as opposed to the b660 board, which is micr atx

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £290.44 (includes delivery: £10.50)​





I'm assuming you keeping your case and gpu..guessing you wont be gaming or tempted? if yes then psu size need to be looked at
​
 
Last edited:
Seen the new 2021 version RM750 for £82 with free delivery..overkill for your needs, but you can put in a 3070 down the line without any problems, 10yrs warranty gold rated.

12600k stress tested drew 224W
https://www.techpowerup.com/review/intel-core-i5-12600k-alder-lake-12th-gen/20.html
GTX 960 can be up to 100W draw

so really don't need more than 550W so something like the Phanteks AMP 550W for £65 is enough, but the rm750 gives leaway if you decide to put in a bigger gpu
 
Thanks for all the help guys. I've created a hybrid of all the ideas in my basket below. It's feeling like a much better price (for the moment, at least :cry:). Hoping I haven't created Frankenstein's monster and all the components still complement each other!

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £506.02 (includes delivery: £11.10)​






​

What do you think, any further refinements? Any CPU cooler recommendations welcome also,

Thanks!
DH
 
Dave Hedgehog said:
Thanks for all the help guys. I've created a hybrid of all the ideas in my basket below. It's feeling like a much better price (for the moment, at least :cry:). Hoping I haven't created Frankenstein's monster and all the components still complement each other!

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £506.02 (includes delivery: £11.10)​






​

What do you think, any further refinements? Any CPU cooler recommendations welcome also,

Thanks!
DH
Click to expand...
You'll need a 12400F as the 11400F isn't compatible with 600 series boards.

For boards the MSI pro B660M A is a cheaper option for around £130 and also comes with a wifi version for a few quid more.

Would also consider the 5600X + B550 combo with its recent price drops.
 
Last edited:
Dave Hedgehog said:
Thanks for all the help guys. I've created a hybrid of all the ideas in my basket below. It's feeling like a much better price (for the moment, at least :cry:). Hoping I haven't created Frankenstein's monster and all the components still complement each other!

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £506.02 (includes delivery: £11.10)​






​

What do you think, any further refinements? Any CPU cooler recommendations welcome also,

Thanks!
DH
Click to expand...
That's a 11th gen CPU.. you want a 12th gen, and if going for the 12400f, you cant get it at ocuk, they dont stock it.
Regarding the psu, it's a semi modular unit with a 5yrs warranty. I'd go for fully modular with 10yrs warranty...generally 10yrs means it should last otherwise they wouldn't give it such a warranty, and fully modular so you only use the cables you need, and leave the rest in the box.
The 3 below are all good fully modular with 10 yrs warranty. The 2 corsair are the new 2021 versions..I put in as the rm750 is on offer for £82 away, and the rm850 is £90 away. If you plan on upgrading your gpu in the future, then I would consider these. If you're happy with current setup, then the phanteks can be had at ocuk below


My basket at OcUK:
Total: £316.07 (includes delivery: £11.10)




If you only want to buy from ocuk, then as they dont have the 12400f, the AMD 5600x would be the other option
​
 
Thanks both, I've changed the PSU to the Phanteks (unashamedly because it was the cheapest of the 3!). I've also gone with the 5600X + B550 combo:

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £520.97 (includes delivery: £11.10)​







​

I've thrown in a CPU cooler that I believe is compatible too, would you guys agree?
 
Dave Hedgehog said:
Thanks both, I've changed the PSU to the Phanteks (unashamedly because it was the cheapest of the 3!). I've also gone with the 5600X + B550 combo:

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £520.97 (includes delivery: £11.10)​







​

I've thrown in a CPU cooler that I believe is compatible too, would you guys agree?
Click to expand...
Its compatabke and a Great cooler for the money.
 
Dave Hedgehog said:
Thanks both, I've changed the PSU to the Phanteks (unashamedly because it was the cheapest of the 3!). I've also gone with the 5600X + B550 combo:

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £520.97 (includes delivery: £11.10)​







​

I've thrown in a CPU cooler that I believe is compatible too, would you guys agree?
Click to expand...
Wouls you consider paying a bit more for diff mobo? Need to double check, but think that one hadn't the best vrm's, though, seeing as a 5600x in there, doubt itll matter. Just want you to be happy with it
 
Craig_d1 said:
Wouls you consider paying a bit more for diff mobo? Need to double check, but think that one hadn't the best vrm's, though, seeing as a 5600x in there, doubt itll matter. Just want you to be happy with it
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm still open to different options, I haven't placed the order yet - any suggestions always welcome
 
Dave Hedgehog said:
Yeah I'm still open to different options, I haven't placed the order yet - any suggestions always welcome
Click to expand...


I watched a ton of vids before choosing my mobo, weighing up performance as well as cost. Now if you plan on just having a lower endcpu that doesn't draw too much power, then most boards will suffice. If however you decided in a couple of years to drop a 5900X or 5950x to prolong the life of you rig, then vrm's on the mobo come into play. If you go to about 15mins in on the vid above, it gives a roundup of all the b550 boards he tested, and can see in a 1 hrs blender test with R9 3950 (so would draw more power to test the vrms), the pro vdh board is up to 79 degrees going up to 104 degrees when they pushed more power through it.
For me, though more expensive, I prefer something like the MSI Gaming edge which has far better vrm's, and therefore thermals keeping everything cool(or as cool as can be) If you don't want wifi, then the tomahawk is another option as slightly cheaper. These boards will easily handle a 5950X no problem, allowing a future upgrade no problem
I personally went with the Asus Gaming E as wanted wifi and front usb c support for front i/o(gaming f wifi didn't have the usb c front support) as it was on a promotion so got it cheap, otherwise would have gone with the msi option. but below are 3 boards I think are better if you think you'll upgrade cpu down the line...there's the msi gaming carbon also which is £10 more than the gaming edge if you require more usb sockets on the back, but runs warmer than the edge below(actually had that board but swapped it when someone told me about the asus promotion)
The gaming edge is new where as the other 2 are b grade. Unlike the b550 tomahawk, the x570 version has wifi, and both nvme slots are gen 4
My basket at OcUK:

Total: £431.05 (includes delivery: £11.10)​






added the gaming carbon below so at least you could see it

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £180.49 (includes delivery: £10.50)



As said, only showing some other options . Vid worth a look anyway...he has 3 of them in total
​
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom