2009 system died.. on a tight budget

dannyboyee82

dannyboyee82

dannyboyee82

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4 Sep 2009
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107
Well, my gaming system I put together in 2009 has finally pegged it. I'm assuming the power supply, or perhaps the motherboard. Either way, it's not worth spending the money or time going down that rabbit hole with an 8 year old system. It served me well though!

So, I use my system now mainly for work, music making (Cubase, Amplitube etc), storage of photos and web browsing etc. I don't game anymore. I have a budget of about £500.. I don't need peripherals, monitor etc. Just a base unit and Windows 10 I guess. I'm so out of touch these days that I'm not sure where to start. I'd like a SSD boot drive if that's within budget. So what do you guys recommend?
 
My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £504.05
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maybe something along these lines if you're looking for us to build it for you, not sure how strict the £500 budget is though so could potentially get a better system depending on how much more you're willing to spend.
 
Here is my basket that I just cobbled together this morning.. overboard for my needs? Can I save a bit of money on the board and chip?

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £560.64
(includes shipping: £11.70)



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dannyboyee82 said:
Here is my basket that I just cobbled together this morning.. overboard for my needs?
Click to expand...

A little bit, I'd say.


dannyboyee82 said:
Can I save a bit of money on the board and chip?
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Click to expand...


Sure can. I think you forgot Win 10 and a PSU, though. Not even sure if you need 16GB RAM but kept that in (no need for higher than 2400 as board can't run higher), and a Kaby Pentium with two cores/four threads, same as Skylake i3s (performance difference minimal). The M.2 SSD here is quality.


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My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £631.58
(includes shipping: £11.70)



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This is what I ended up buying (I decided to spend a little extra and get a entry level gaming rig, just in case!). I called OC and asked for some advice.. so the memory won't run at 3000 on this board? The specs say otherwise, but I know from past experience that this isn't always the case. I've opted to stick with Windows 7 for now, I can always upgrade later. What do you think about the rig overall?

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £689.22
(includes shipping: £12.30)



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With the Z170P the board can run 3000MHz memory. I meant with the B250M in my spec it wouldn't.

It's ok. The Kaby Pentium performance is very similar to Skylake i3, for considerably less cost. The Samsung EVO Polaris M.2 is around 5 times faster than the WD Green SSD.
 
I see. Thanks Danny.

I wish I'd hung on a bit longer to see what you guys thought before ordering, but I wanted to get it ordered quickly because I have no system for work. You live and learn I guess. I threw the video card in last minute because I wanted the option there for gaming. I stopped gaming a couple of years ago because my old rig couldn't handle it anymore. So, with this system I'll most likely get back in to it.

I can always upgrade the SSD at a later stage and I'll keep the one you recommend in mind, but anything is going to feel 5x faster to me compared to an 8 year old 7200 HDD.

Are there any odds and ends I'll need for building the system up that I've forgotten about? I have tools and cable management stuff.
 
I think you'll be alright tools-wise. I find a torch or adjustable lamp can sometimes be handy for some of the tinier cables fitting.

It sure will feel faster. Even a normal SSD like that one makes all the difference if you haven't had one before. And the Z170 will allow overclocking if you ever pop in an i5-K or i7-K.

The video card is a pity.


My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £334.48
(includes shipping: £10.50)



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One of those two would offer so much more gaming performance for the money than a now over-priced 1050 2GB. You'd want the 450W version of the PSU for £6 more at the same time.

You can always contact OcUK if you regret anything and ask them to change some bits for you, unless the order has been shipped already.
 
I've just had to explain to my girlfriend the £680 I've just spent, never mind adding more to it! Haha! The 1050 could be a waste of money anyway; I might not have enough time to play these days. Either way, there is always something bigger and better I can upgrade with later down the line.

When I built my last system, the 1156 socket was quickly replaced.. is that likely to happen with the 1151 socket any time soon? It would be nice to be able to have the upgrade option there.
 
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