Best CPU, motherboard, ram, £350

Dribbles · 25 Jan 2019 at 22:32

Hi all,

I'm looking for some advice, I'm out of the loop, component wise! My pc died this week and I thought it was the power supply, so bought a new one, but it is looking like it is the motherboard

. I don't want to throw more money into a old system, so I'm looking at upgrade options. I currently have a am3+ system: 8320 CPU and 8gb ram.

If I have £350 to spend on a CPU, ram and motherboard, what would you recommend? I was thinking Ryzen. Pc used for gaming, I have a r9 280, and will upgrade in time.

Thanks for you help!

lee32uk · 25 Jan 2019 at 22:36

Hi

Is your current case ATX ?

Just over £350 but you should get free delivery.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x MSI B450 TOMAHAWK (Socket AM4) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £104.99
1 x AMD Ryzen 5 Six Core 2600 3.90GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £149.99
1 x Team Group Vulcan T-Force 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C16 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (TLGD416G30= £109.99

Total: £375.47 (includes shipping: £10.50)

4K8KW10 · 25 Jan 2019 at 22:37

Dribbles said:
Hi all,

I'm looking for some advice, I'm out of the loop, component wise! My pc died this week and I thought it was the power supply, so bought a new one, but it is looking like it is the motherboard . I don't want to throw more money into a old system, so I'm looking at upgrade options. I currently have a am3+ system: 8320 CPU and 8gb ram.

If I have £350 to spend on a CPU, ram and motherboard, what would you recommend? I was thinking Ryzen. Pc used for gaming, I have a r9 280, and will upgrade in time.

Thanks for you help!

Hi,

Ryzen 5 2600 + 16 GB DDR4-3000:

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x AMD Ryzen 5 Six Core 2600 3.90GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £149.99
1 x MSI B450-A PRO (Socket AM4) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £88.99
1 x Team Group Vulcan T-Force 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C16 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (TLGD416G30= £109.99

Total: £359.47 (includes shipping: £10.50)

Dribbles · 25 Jan 2019 at 22:41

Thanks to you both! Yes my current case is ATX.

You've both selected almost the same basket! Is the price difference of the tomahawk motherboard worth it?

lee32uk · 25 Jan 2019 at 23:09

Dribbles said:
Thanks to you both! Yes my current case is ATX.

You've both selected almost the same basket! Is the price difference of the tomahawk motherboard worth it?

The Tomahawk has slightly beefier heatsinks on the VRM and has USB-C. Either would be fine though for the R5 2600.

tamzzy · 25 Jan 2019 at 23:25

I'd get the tomahawk.

4K8KW10 · 25 Jan 2019 at 23:31

Dribbles said:
Thanks to you both! Yes my current case is ATX.

You've both selected almost the same basket! Is the price difference of the tomahawk motherboard worth it?

No.

Vexr · 26 Jan 2019 at 01:23

Both the above quoted baskets are completely correct and the best recommendations for a ~£350 budget to replace a motherboard/RAM/CPU @ max performance/value for around £350.

VRM heatsinks are apparently equivalent on the B450-A PRO and B450 Tomahawk. The B450-A PRO and Tomahawk are next to each other on the infamous AM4 B450/X470 spreadsheet and both score highly. I'm using the B450-A PRO with a Ryzen 7 2700 @ stock. Maximum VRM temps are 54C under prime95 - supercool compared with AM3+.

Apparently they've cut corners on the sound codec on the B450-A PRO, which they didn't with the Tomahawk IIRC. I have my own soundcard solution so wasn't bothered about that aspect.

Either way, Ryzen 2600, a solid B450 board, and 16 GB of 3000-3200 MHz is the way to go.

I've just come from an FX-8350 system, and it looks like components from that system have plenty of interest and are going for reasonable money on the bay still.

Dribbles · 26 Jan 2019 at 08:46

Thanks all! As ever, this forum is incredibly helpful

Philz0r · 27 Jan 2019 at 21:48

Hiya, I'm in the same boat as you.
Really want to upgrade my 3750k and this is what I'll be ordering.

BongoHunter · 27 Jan 2019 at 22:02

Philz0r said:
Hiya, I'm in the same boat as you.
Really want to upgrade my 3750k and this is what I'll be ordering.

Team Group ram is well worth a look and will save you a few quid

Kurgen · 28 Jan 2019 at 09:13

Dribbles said:
Hi all,

I'm looking for some advice, I'm out of the loop, component wise! My pc died this week and I thought it was the power supply, so bought a new one, but it is looking like it is the motherboard . I don't want to throw more money into a old system, so I'm looking at upgrade options. I currently have a am3+ system: 8320 CPU and 8gb ram.

If I have £350 to spend on a CPU, ram and motherboard, what would you recommend? I was thinking Ryzen. Pc used for gaming, I have a r9 280, and will upgrade in time.

Thanks for you help!

have you got an SSD , if not you need one..