£350-£400 upgrade - have useable case/PSU (I think)

DaveyD

DaveyD

DaveyD

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Joined
19 Jan 2003
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Warwickshire
Hi guys,

My graphics card died on me today, so it looks like I'm going to bring my planned upgrade forward a little bit.

Right, my current PC has a Lian Li PC-60 case and I *think* an older 500W PSU.
What's inside is a DFI Lanparty board with an A64 3200 (or about that) and 1GB DDR400 RAM and my dead ATI X850XT

Assuming I can keep my case. PSU, HDD and disc drives, what should I go for?

The main things I want to do are watch HD video and possibly blu ray and also play older games on it (HL2 / Source engine based games mostly).

Would £350-400 be enough do you think ? What would you suggest? (I'm totally clueless now with what's good or bad now)

Thanks!

Dave
 
Does that board use IDE connectors? If so you may struggle to use your current IDE drives on a decent new board
 
Good point... I have a newish SATA HDD, so that's OK. May need to get a cheap DVD drive to replace my old one if needed.
 
Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor with FREE Operation Flashpoint Red River Game £161.99
(£134.99) £161.99
(£134.99)
MSI P67A-C45 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** £99.98
(£83.32) £99.98
(£83.32)
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5830 Extreme 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **OcUK Exclusive** £76.79
(£63.99) £76.79
(£63.99)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £39.98
(£33.32) £39.98
(£33.32)
Sony Optiarc AD-7260S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.59
(£12.99) £15.59
(£12.99)
Sub Total : £328.61
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £9.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £67.62
Total : £405.73

Hows that?

You get free delivery, so its a smidge under £400.

Whats the make/model if your current PSU?
 
Last edited:
He doesn't need optical drive Stu :p

Might just be able to squueze a HD5850 in there (yeah will be overbudget I know, but worth the stretch).

EDIT: £11 over-budget, and using a m-ATX board.


Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor with FREE Operation Flashpoint Red River Game £161.99
(£134.99) £161.99
(£134.99)
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5850 Extreme 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **OcUK Exclusive** £114.98
(£95.82) £114.98
(£95.82)
Asus P8P67-M Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 MicroATX Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** £94.98
(£79.15) £94.98
(£79.15)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £39.98
(£33.32) £39.98
(£33.32)
Sub Total : £343.28
Shipping cost based on delivery to Home Address, DE65 6EY with:
FREE SHIPPING (DX Secure Next Day)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : FREE
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £68.66
Total : £411.94
 
Cookeh said:
He doesn't need optical drive Stu :p
Click to expand...

DaveyD said:
Good point... I have a newish SATA HDD, so that's OK. May need to get a cheap DVD drive to replace my old one if needed.
Click to expand...

:rolleyes:

sounds like he has an old IDE drive.

If you spent less time trying to pick faults in things I say, and more time actually reading the thread you may not fail.

And does it sound like a 5850 is needed for this usage?

DaveyD said:
The main things I want to do are watch HD video and possibly blu ray and also play older games on it (HL2 / Source engine based games mostly).
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
stulid said:
:rolleyes:

sounds like he has an old IDE drive.

If you spent less time trying to pick faults in things I say, and more time actually reading the thread you may not fail.
Click to expand...

Sounds like that doesn't actually matter seeing as the board I specced has IDE.

You're not the only person on the forums who has a brain, you aren't the be all and end all. Yes you do come up with good specs, but so do many others.

:rolleyes:
 
All that said, for the sake of a few extra quid, it would surely be worth ditching the IDE now anyway to allow for more compatability for any future upgrades?

I just ditched all of my IDE stuff with my recent upgrade. Its dead and time to move on.
 
Seems a bit like deja vu there Stulid.

No a HD5850 isn't strictly needed, but why not get the best for your money? OP might decide to branch into more recent titles whereupon the HD5850 would be a better bet.
 
BDEE said:
All that said, for the sake of a few extra quid, it would surely be worth ditching the IDE now anyway to allow for more compatability for any future upgrades?

I just ditched all of my IDE stuff with my recent upgrade. Its dead and time to move on.
Click to expand...

Yes.

And that M-ATX motherboard will have just two expansion slots left available to use, when a dual slot GPU is fitted, the Full size MSI will have 5 slots left for use.
 
Cookeh said:
No a HD5850 isn't strictly needed, but why not get the best for your money? OP might decide to branch into more recent titles whereupon the HD5850 would be a better bet.
Click to expand...

Is the performance difference of a 5850 over a 5830 worth £38.19? NO.
 
I don't mind getting a more powerful graphics card if it still comes within budget, if the PC can comfortably run older games at a decent resolution, I'll be happy.

Just opened up the PC, looks like the PSU is probably a little older than I would have liked, doesn't have SATA power connections, it's a Jeantech JNP-400P, a 400W supply...

Leaving everything else the same, what kind of wattage is the safe minimum for the above specs?
 
^^ Would it be worth starting from scratch then and building a brand new system? I know that is going to be way out of your current budget but perhaps something to think about.

Stoner81.
 
DaveyD said:
Leaving everything else the same, what kind of wattage is the safe minimum for the above specs?
Click to expand...

Around 500-600W, a ATI 5830 offers all the performance you need, combined with a blistering fast CPU such as Sandybridge.


Your looking at £440 (thats taking into account free delivery) to include a good PSU.

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor with FREE Operation Flashpoint Red River Game £161.99
(£134.99) £161.99
(£134.99)
MSI P67A-C45 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** £99.98
(£83.32) £99.98
(£83.32)
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5830 Extreme 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **OcUK Exclusive** £76.79
(£63.99) £76.79
(£63.99)
BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W Power Supply £42.98
(£35.82) £42.98
(£35.82)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £39.98
(£33.32) £39.98
(£33.32)
Sony Optiarc AD-7260S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.59
(£12.99) £15.59
(£12.99)
Sub Total : £364.43
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.00
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £74.89
Total : £449.32
 
Stoner81 said:
^^ Would it be worth starting from scratch then and building a brand new system? I know that is going to be way out of your current budget but perhaps something to think about.

Stoner81.
Click to expand...

It pretty much is a scratch system, the only bits I have on carryover is my 500GB SATA HDD and my case (once It gets a nice clean anyway!)
 
Just been looking around online at reviews of that PSU, not coming up good - I'd definatly recommend a new one to go with your new parts.
 
Stulid's build is what I'd go for as well given your budget and requirements. If you feel you can spend a little more, you can swap the 5830 for a 5850. If you want to spend a little less, you can aim at a 2400 + H67 system, as you don't seem to need the power of the K series.
 
That old PSU does seem a bit of a no-no after looking up that old one.

I think I'll be stretching to the £450 mark.

Another quick question.

As I still ideally would like to get back on my old PC with a working graphics card so I can back up things properly - would the newer ATI 5830 card be compatible with the old motherboard? I know it's PCI-E, but what's backwards compatibility like on earlier PCI-E motherboards?

Thanks very much!

Dave
 
olivier renault said:
If you want to spend a little less, you can aim at a 2400 + H67 system, as you don't seem to need the power of the K series.
Click to expand...

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2400 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £149.99
(£124.99) £149.99
(£124.99)
Gigabyte H67M-UD2H-B3 Intel H67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** £84.98
(£70.82) £84.98
(£70.82)
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5830 Extreme 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **OcUK Exclusive** £76.79
(£63.99) £76.79
(£63.99)
BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W Power Supply £42.98
(£35.82) £42.98
(£35.82)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £39.98
(£33.32) £39.98
(£33.32)
Sony Optiarc AD-7260S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.59
(£12.99) £15.59
(£12.99)
Sub Total : £341.93
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.00
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £70.39
Total : £422.32


Comes out at £410.


Relative performance between the 2400 and 2500 - http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i5-2500-2400-2300.html
 
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