New Bundle Advice Please

[topgazza]

Looking to give my PC an update/refresh...been a couple of years since the last one. I have an AMD dual core and an Ausus motherboard. Looking at Intel and the Q8200 with an Asus P5Q SE2....but I suspect there are better alternatives

I do some gaming but not heavily so and just want a faster PC for general use without going mad. Budget including 4gb of mem is around £250....so I am open to other suggestions

AMD II x3 Quad 940 for instance ?

Update:


"sob"...anyone ?

 

[topgazza]

Sorry for the bump...

Anyone ?

I'm only confused by the vast range of CPUs and motherboards.....want to choose something that will give me good speed for a while ...not looking for blindly fast speeds but good boost above what I have and a touch of future proofing for a year or so.

My current setup is just about OK to be fair....just OK ....but you know what its like when the bug gets you !

 

[blaineoliver]

What do you currently have? We need exact specs, i reckon its going to be best to go the AMD route.

 

[topgazza]

Good points ...if you promise not to laugh at my current setup ?

Asus A8N-E motherboard

AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual 4200+

NVidia Ge Force 7300GT Video card

2 GB DDR RAM

Also got an Antec tower case with and Antec 550W PSU

 

[[ESRA]Taf]

Avoid the Q8200 at all costs (unless it's the Q8200S variant) - it is by far the worst overclocking chip in Intel's entire lineup, due to very high stock FSB and low locked multiplier. Most other quad-core S775 chips do not have this problem, although the S775/DDR2 platform is pretty old now so it isn't the best choice when buying a whole new rig.

If you have very deep pockets, go with the i7 - LGA1366 is Intel's high end platform and should be around for quite a long time. Although from your description it sounds like the i7 would be major overkill for your needs.

So an AM3/DDR3 Phenom II sounds like your best bet, you'll get the most performance for your money and many of them (Black Editions) are multiplier-unlocked.
The X3 720 BE is amazing value right now, it's currently on offer this week only @ OcUK for just £89.99.
and coupled with the right motherboard you have an excellent chance (~80%) at unlocking the 4th core too, turning it into an £89.99 quad-core monster! I recommend the GA-MA790XT-UD4P motherboard, you can get cheaper models but I can vouch for it's quality and ability to unlock the extra core on the 720. As for RAM, always get the cheapest DDR3 you can possibly find, just make sure that it's at least PC3-10666 (1333Mhz), preferably PC3-12800 (1600Mhz).

 

[topgazza]

That is a great price....great advice......and much appreciated. That should do the job for me....

 

[[ESRA]Taf]

That is a great price....great advice......and much appreciated. That should do the job for me....

No problem mate, you will be a very happy chappie if you take the plunge with that X3 720BE chip, and you'll be grinning like a cheshire cat when you unlock the extra core too