£350 Budget for CPU/GPU/Mobo/RAM

indral

indral

indral

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I want to upgrade my PC into a gaming PC that will be suitable for decent graphics on Guild Wars 2 / Borderlands 2!

I have a budget of around £350, but I can spend a bit more than that if I would get far better value for the overall performance!
I have a CPU fan that is suitable for overclocking, but I would prefer not to get overclocked equipment as I want this build to last around 3 years before upgrading again! ;)
I will be buying windows 8 64 bit when it is released next month.
I would prefer to have an intel system as the general response of everyone online seems to be that intel is better, but I am open to the possibility of using AMD
I have a SATA hard drive, so if possible I'd like the motherboard to fit that!

The only parts I want to upgrade are the:

CPU - I currently have an intel quad core 2.67 GHz
GPU - I currently have a GeForce 9500 GT
RAM - I currently have 4GB of DDR2 ram

I also want a new motherboard that is compatible with everything :D

tl;dr CPU/GPU/RAM/Mobo for £350

Thanks everyone :)
 
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Start with this :


YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x MSI Z77A-G43 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £73.99
1 x TeamGroup Xtreem LV 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (TXD38G2133HC11DC01) £35.99
Total : £294.97 (includes shipping : FREE).



Save another 150 quid for good graphics card.


YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x HIS HD 7850 IceQ X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H785QN2G2M) w/ Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £149.99
1 x MSI Z77A-G43 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £73.99
1 x TeamGroup Xtreem LV 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (TXD38G2133HC11DC01) £35.99
Total : £444.96 (includes shipping : FREE).



If you are tight on budget that this will do :

YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS HD 7850 IceQ X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H785QN2G2M) w/ Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £149.99
1 x Intel Core i3-3220 3.30GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £99.95
1 x MSI Z77A-G43 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £73.99
1 x TeamGroup Xtreem LV 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (TXD38G2133HC11DC01) £35.99
Total : £359.92 (includes shipping : FREE).



But that CPU will bottleneck system pretty quickly...

P.S

If you burn something due to overclocking and it still under warranty, unless you going to shout about overclocking your stuff will be replaced.
 
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Thanks a bunch! :)

I'm not sure about the fan though, the box says it is compatible with LGA775-LGA1156-LGA1366-AM2 and AM3, would that fit a 1155?
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £161.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £81.98
1 x Intel Pentium G840 2.80GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £56.99
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1600C9DC) £31.19
Total : £332.15 (includes shipping : FREE).



I'd suggest that myself.

The G840 holds up well to the i3 for gaming, ok you dont get quicksync but you can afford a good GPU which can accelerate video encoding tasks to make up for that. At £50ish for the CPU is easier to "justify" writing it off later for an upgrade to an i5K.....even if it is when they are going second hand. You could buy the i3 but that will be £370ish a little over your budget. Ideally you would want this which is £100 over the flexible budget

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £161.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £81.98
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1600C9DC) £31.19
Total : £460.15 (includes shipping : FREE).




The 7850 I've used is clocked a little higher than Lazders and has a 3 year warranty not 2 years. Having 2GB of VRAM on the GPU is a must really, dont be tempted by cheaper cards with less. The 7850s overclock very well, don't be afraid of overclocking, the mobo will have an auto option for the CPU but we can help you do it manually very easily. MSI afterburner is a good program to overclock the GPU and is very simple to use.

I used the the GB Z77 mobo as it also has a uk based 3 year warranty, the G840 would get you started and if you want to upgrade the CPU later the Z77 is a must to overclock the K edition i5 CPUs. 8GB of 1600mhz RAM is ample for this socket and gaming, the RAM i have used is lowprofile. Lazders RAM looks to be very tall and fitting aftermarket heatsinks over it could be tricky. 1155 and 1156 are the same as far as the heatsink is concerned so you can reuse your cooler if you wish providing you have some thermal paste.

Hope this helps. If you could tell us what PSU you are using that would be helpful. Just incase what we are suggesting can't be powered by it. Any questions or problems come build day, you know where to find us. Please remember the prices above don't include P&P as i was logged in ;)
 
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honosuseri said:
YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £161.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £81.98
1 x Intel Pentium G840 2.80GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £56.99
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1600C9DC) £31.19
Total : £332.15 (includes shipping : FREE).



I'd suggest that myself.

The G840 holds up well to the i3 for gaming, ok you dont get quicksync but you can afford a good GPU which can accelerate video encoding tasks to make up for that. At £50ish for the CPU is easier to "justify" writing it off later for an upgrade to an i5K.....even if it is when they are going second hand. You could buy the i3 but that will be £370ish a little over your budget.

The 7850 I've used is clocked a little higher than Lazders and has a 3 year warranty not 2 years. Having 2GB of VRAM on the GPU is a must really, dont be tempted by cheaper cards with less.

I used the the GB Z77 mobo as it also has a uk based 3 year warranty, the G840 would get you started and if you want to upgrade the CPU later the Z77 is a must to overclock the K edition i5 CPUs. 8GB of RAM is ample for gaming the RAM i have used is lowprofile, lazders RAM looks to be quite tall and fitting aftermarket heatsinks over it could be tricky.

Hope this helps
Click to expand...

I personally would cut back on video card and invest in decent CPU, because you can put in a GPU without loss of money, while chucking out CPU`s is an expensive game. But thats me... I went for i7 cpu instead of SSD, because I can always put in SSD without a loss, while replacing a CPU is a different story.

I cant imagine 7850 with G840.
 
Thanks! I'm thinking about spending some more money overall on this upgrade; I never thought I would be spending so much on a graphics card but looking at the benchmarks it seems worth it!

Is the change from 2133MHz RAM to 1600MHz a big difference? Does the ability to overclock easier, and a few more USB ports outweigh the loss of RAM speed or is there some other advantage of the gigabyte motherboard I'm missing? :D
 
indral said:
Thanks! I'm thinking about spending some more money overall on this upgrade; I never thought I would be spending so much on a graphics card but looking at the benchmarks it seems worth it!

Is the change from 2133MHz RAM to 1600MHz a big difference? Does the ability to overclock easier, and a few more USB ports outweigh the loss of RAM speed or is there some other advantage of the gigabyte motherboard I'm missing? :D
Click to expand...

Gigabayte/MSI is more of personal choice, I always found MSI friendlier than gigabayte.... But as previously stated Gigabayte has UK based centres which is a bonus. You wouldnt really notice 2133 to 1600... Its just that not long ago that kind of ram was worth around 150 quid.. and now its similair to 1600.
 
Lazder said:
I personally would cut back on video card and invest in decent CPU, because you can put in a GPU without loss of money, while chucking out CPU`s is an expensive game. But thats me... I went for i7 cpu instead of SSD, because I can always put in SSD without a loss, while replacing a CPU is a different story.

I cant imagine 7850 with G840.
Click to expand...

I was taking into account that he might have to buy a PSU. The difference in price between the G840 and the i3 will actually pay for a PSU. He did insist it should last for 3 years so I have used parts which are covered for 3 years the RAM has a limited lifetime warranty.

I've edited my earlier post to explain myself better. I didn't want to get too far into it without knowing what the PSU was. When we get a better idea of what he has and is willing to spend we can argue a better spec :)
 
You guys are awesome! Thanks a load! I'll just go check my PSU right now so give me 30 mins!


I have a "Jeantech JN120F-500AP" PSU, max load 500W!
 
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What PSU would you recommend me to buy if I went with:

1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £161.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £81.98
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1600C9DC) £31.19

+2 80mm fans
+[ this fan
+[ this hard drive

Thanks again :)
 
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You've recommended a 500w PSU and a 450w PSU there; however I already have a 500w one but Lazder said:

"Doesnt sound promising at all..."

Are those PSUs better in some other way? Is 500w too low or is it the make that is the problem?

Thanks again :)
 
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Its a power supply not a hard drive ;)

And yes its not the wattage thats the issue but the make. Your current PSU will most likely blow before reaching 500W and could damage new components with the ripple being high.

Between those my money is on the Seasonic and the Corasir one. If you need one cheaper then the Coolermaster one is good.

However if you could stretch to the Seasonic 550W version then that one would be great! It can x-fire the 7850 so it wont have a problem with just one of them ;)
 
Edit the links out it's against forum rules. If you get suspended we can't help you :(

550W isn't enough to xfire the 7850. Don't worry about that, you would have to spend £100ish on the mobo to get the feature then you'd want a 600-650W PSU to power the second GPU.

500W or 550W is ideal for a single GPU setup. It would be nice to have a modular PSU especially if you have a small case as you only use the cables you need. This saves having a mess of cables blocking airflow in the case. Better airflow equals lower temps which is good if you want to overclock later on. Although modular is a luxury it doesn't cost that much more. The OCZ ZT I have used is fully modular and has a 5 year warranty.

It would be wise to measure your current mobo. We have spec'd ATX sized mobos but if your case only takes mATX it simply wont fit.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £161.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £81.98
1 x OCZ ZT 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply £63.98
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1600C9DC) £31.19
Total : £536.14 (includes shipping : £10.00).



As you can see it's gone way over your £350 budget. If you use the G840 it would be around £400 and give you a capable machine with a good base to build from.
 
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Hono have you checked out the latest series of Seasonics? The 550W seems to have enough Volts and Amps on its 12V rail for crossfire of 7850's.
 
Bacon? said:
Hono have you checked out the latest series of Seasonics? The 550W seems to have enough Volts and Amps on its 12V rail for crossfire of 7850's.
Click to expand...

Seasonic is a good brand THIS is nice on preorder, gold rated efficiency too but again it's more cash. It could well getaway with powering two 7850s but I haven't been able to find a review yet or detailed specs to see the amps on the 12V rail as it's new on the market.

As I said he would still need to upgrade the spec of the mobo though. The mATX Asrock is £100 the GB Z77X-D3H is £108ish, it's just adding to the expense again. He would still need to pay for the additional GPU too of course later on. How likely is it that he will want to add a second GPU?
 
Specs of the 550W

G-series-450-550-650-03-550.jpg


I never actually suggested he go crossfire. I was just saying he could get away with the 450W easily on that since it is a very good PSU and was only saying the 550W could crossfire to ward off people who would go "You need at least 500W for that GPU!" ;)
 
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