Best mobo/CPU/RAM for £400?

[TJM]

I reckon it's about time I replaced my E6750, but I'm a bit confused by all of the i7000 stuff and not sure what to order.

What is the best mobo, processor, RAM and cooler that I can get for £400? I really don't want to go any higher than that; if someone can recommend something cheaper with good OC potential, that'd be great.

 

[RJC]

AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £121.89
(£103.74) £121.89
(£103.74)

Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4 (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £107.99
(£91.91) £107.99
(£91.91)

Patriot Sector 5 Viper II 4GB (2x2GB) PC3-12800 1600MHz Dual Channel + 3D Mark Vantage (PVV34G1600LLKB) £82.76
(£70.43) £82.76
(£70.43) Sub Total : £266.08 Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £9.00 VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £48.14 Total : £323.22


Intel setup:

Intel Core i5 750 2.66Ghz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail £151.99
(£129.35) £151.99
(£129.35)

Asus P7P55D LE Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard £104.99
(£89.35) £104.99
(£89.35)

Patriot Sector 5 Viper II 4GB (2x2GB) PC3-12800 1600MHz Dual Channel + 3D Mark Vantage (PVV34G1600LLKB) £82.76
(£70.43) £82.76
(£70.43) Sub Total : £289.13 Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £9.00 VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £52.17 Total : £350.30

 

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The OP should consider whether a CPU like the Q9550 could be used in their existing motherboard as this would be a big improvement over an E6750!

If you want to go with a relatively cheap upgrade I would get the following:

AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 965 Black Edition 3.40GHz ~ £144

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-253-AM

This is a C3 stepping CPU which can run 4 DDR3 DIMMs at 1333MHZ. Also the C3 stepping has lower idle power consumption when compared to the C2 stepping.

Asus M4A79XTD Evo ~ £85

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-366-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1481

This motherboard can do Crossfire at PCI-E 2.0 8X.

8GB 1600MHZ DDR3 ~ £166

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-026-PA&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=

If you are running the CPU at stock it is better to run the RAM at 1333MHZ using lower latencies.

The Phenom II X4 also has a decent stock cooler!

Here is the Intel alternative I would go for:

Core i7 860 ~ £232

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-298-IN

Gigabyte GA-P55-US3L ~ £81

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-207-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1495

4GB 1600MHZ DDR3 ~ £82

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-026-PA&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

 

[Big.Wayne]

I reckon it's about time I replaced my E6750, but I'm a bit confused

Yeah why not, still got time to sell of your older LGA775 dual core and LGA775 mobo for reasonable money!

What is the best mobo, processor, RAM and cooler that I can get for £400? I really don't want to go any higher than that; if someone can recommend something cheaper with good OC potential, that'd be great.

You want the best mobo, processor, RAM and cooler that you can get for £400, hmm how about we add another £5.00 and get you a nice graphics card as well? (assuming your a gamer), if you don't game then the motherboard has a decent built in IGP, if you don't wanna do huge overclocks then you can scrap the cooler as well!

For a quick briefing on the current tech with some results please read this thread: 4p

 

[Big.Wayne]

ThermoLab Baram

£29.99 inc

Just thought I'd mention, the new AMD Athlon II's run so cool that you can use just a *Passive* heatsink alone! . . . . even with a small overclock! . . . This would be of particular worth to someone who wants as quiet a P.C as possible!