Spec me a budget build

Associate
Joined
11 Dec 2005
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219
Hi all,

Looking to upgrade my system from a core2duo setup. I'll need a new cpu, MB and RAM, GFX can come later. Mainly looking at some gaming and office work.

My aim is good performance on a budget. I don't need all the frills of the fancy motherboards, just a solid one that has the usual outputs. Not looking to overclock. Budget is around £175-200

I'm leaning towards the Ryzen 3 3100, but any help with the MB and RAM would be greatly appreciated!
 
Man of Honour
Joined
16 Mar 2005
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Clevedon , Bristol
£200 for cpu/mobo and ram isn't going to happen.

£200 for just mobo and ram then ( i included the 3300X as the 3100 is not in stock ) ;

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or to save a few pounds, if gaming/performance is not number 1 priority ;

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Soldato
Joined
25 Oct 2010
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5,230
My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £244.97 (includes shipping: £0.00)

I'd check with customer support to make sure the listed board is on the most modern bios.

You'd probably be better off checking the second hand market to be honest, while £250 for new hardware is doable you're going to struggle for £200.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
11 Dec 2005
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219
Thanks guys - I'm happy to pay a bit more if it's worth it, I just don't know the difference between a cheaper (£80) MB vs a £130 one. Think I need to do a bit more reading! Also in real world situations, bearing in mind i'll probably get a mid range GFX card, will I need 3600MHz RAM over 3000 MHz, and do i need 16GB over 8GB?

Also, does the new gen 3300X beat some of the higher end but old gen CPUs? I was looking at a i5-7600K and MB combo on the 2nd hand market for £200, but from what I could tell, the 3300X is similar if not better in benchmarks, and would have the benefit of being new.
 
Soldato
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Due to the current pandemic a lot of prices are through the roof on computer hardware and availability is poor.

The Tomahawk has been as low as £90-100 on OCUK in the past, the Asrock board I recommended was generally around £70. The Asrock Pro 4 (and the M-ATX version) is a solid motherboard with decent VRM's, for B450's it's only really beaten out by some of the MSI boards (Tomahawk, Mortar, Pro Carbon etc) in this regard.

3600 RAM is the sweet spot for the 3000 series and 16GB is the minimum I'd go for, but as I'm sure you've noticed the 3600 stuff is pretty expensive at the moment. Honestly you'll be fine with a good 3000-3200 set, while there is a difference it's not worth paying 30-40% more for in my opinion.

If you're willing to stretch I'd recommend looking at the Ryzen 3600 over the 3300X as there's only £30-40 between them on the OCUK store, you'll get a 6c12t CPU compared to a 4c8t, so you'll get better longevity out of it given the constant move to software/games becoming more multi-threaded.
 
Associate
OP
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11 Dec 2005
Posts
219
Thanks - as usual I started off by ordering a £20 Q9650 upgrade for my core2duo system, and am now looking at spending £300+!

Do you think the 3600 will come down in price with the new chips being released, or should I just bite the bullet?
 
Soldato
Joined
25 Oct 2010
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5,230
Thanks - as usual I started off by ordering a £20 Q9650 upgrade for my core2duo system, and am now looking at spending £300+!

Do you think the 3600 will come down in price with the new chips being released, or should I just bite the bullet?

The new 4000 series CPU's are around 6 months out, so it really depends on how long you're willing to wait.

You could always consider looking for a second hand 2600.
 
Associate
OP
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11 Dec 2005
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219
Thanks all for your help. Just an update, my £20 upgrade has turned into:

- AMD Ryzen 5 3600
- MSI X470 gaming plus max MB (was cheaper than the tomahawk)
- Corsair RAM 3200Mhz
- A new cheapo WD Blue M2 SSD 512GB
- New monitor

Also in the market for a new GFX card, probably a RX580. I'm not even going to bother adding up how much it all cost as it'll probably depress me, given my initial loose budget.
 
Soldato
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15 Oct 2019
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Uk
Thanks all for your help. Just an update, my £20 upgrade has turned into:

- AMD Ryzen 5 3600
- MSI X470 gaming plus max MB (was cheaper than the tomahawk)
- Corsair RAM 3200Mhz
- A new cheapo WD Blue M2 SSD 512GB
- New monitor

Also in the market for a new GFX card, probably a RX580. I'm not even going to bother adding up how much it all cost as it'll probably depress me, given my initial loose budget.
Will last a good while though and is a massive step up over a core2duo.
 
Soldato
Joined
25 Oct 2010
Posts
5,230
Thanks all for your help. Just an update, my £20 upgrade has turned into:

- AMD Ryzen 5 3600
- MSI X470 gaming plus max MB (was cheaper than the tomahawk)
- Corsair RAM 3200Mhz
- A new cheapo WD Blue M2 SSD 512GB
- New monitor

Also in the market for a new GFX card, probably a RX580. I'm not even going to bother adding up how much it all cost as it'll probably depress me, given my initial loose budget.

That's a massive leap from what you had.

I think OCUK has an RX580 for around £150-160 at the moment, you could also look for one second hand, I'd be sure to get the 8GB version though.

Very solid card for 1080p.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
11 Dec 2005
Posts
219
thanks - it seems the second hand market is around £140 for the 580, so will probably just go for the security of a new one.

I was thinking of flogging off my core2duo setup on ebay, but it looks like i'd have to pay someone to take it off my hands!
 
Associate
OP
Joined
11 Dec 2005
Posts
219
thanks, I went for the 580 in the end. Which hopefully completes my build, coming in just over 3 times my budget! Thanks for your help, hopefully that'll last me another 5 years
 
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