New PC Build/Upgrade

Rupert Wong

Rupert Wong

Rupert Wong

Associate
Joined
26 Dec 2013
Posts
27
Hello, I posted on the forums a couple of days ago inquiring about what i should get to upgrade my PC. At the time i wasn't really sure what i wanted but now i have decided what i want for my PC build i just need some advice and guidance on the hardware i should get.

This is just a copy and paste of my PC specs from a program called speccy:

Operating System
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1
CPU
Intel Core i5 2320 @ 3.00GHz 34 °C
Sandy Bridge 32nm Technology
RAM
8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 665MHz (9-9-9-24)
Motherboard
Foxconn H61MXL/H61MXL-K (SOCKET 0) 36 °C
Graphics
M2762D (1920x1080@60Hz)
S22B300 (1920x1080@60Hz)
2048MB ATI AMD Radeon HD 6670 (ATI AIB) 37 °C
Storage
1863GB Seagate ST2000DL003-9VT166 ATA Device (SATA) 41 °C
Optical Drives
ATAPI iHAS124 B ATA Device
Audio
Realtek High Definition Audio

This PC also requires a USB dongle in order to connect to my wifi router which i would like to avoid in the new build.

So for the upgrades i Don't really want to spend much more than £500 on parts however the budget can be stretched in order to get something that would be of greater improvement. From the upgrades I am hoping to run new games like BF4 and DayzSA on high graphics with good FPS as well as some future proofing.

The specific hardware I am looking for suggestions for are a new case, power supply and graphics card. However if you feel i could do with upgrading some other components in order to meet my build target then please suggest, also i have been suggested to get an SSD however i'm not sure these are necessary as i hear they only improve thing such as loading times which i am not too bothered about however if i am wrong please feel free to correct me. Also I have been suggested to get a new cooling system? is this a necessary buy or could i make do without/recycle one from my old PC? And finally someone suggested that i should get a new motherboard, again is this necessary?

ah yes and finally, recently my current headset (Turtle Beach X12's) have broken and i am looking for a replacement, I am looking for something with decent microphone quality but most importantly i want great sound quality, with good bass too as i also use my headset to listen to music. I am open the the concept of using a separate headphones and desk top microphone too if anyone has any good suggestions please let me know.

I think I've pretty much covered anything so thanks for taking the time to read through and i very much appreciate if anyone can answer any of my questions or leave suggestions :)
 
Here is some good advice:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18568193

and here is a rough build for just over £500.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire Radeon R9 270 "BF4 Edition" 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £139.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £107.99
1 x Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3 AMD 990FX (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £104.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 450W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £53.99
1 x Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache WD10EZEX - OEM ** Single Platter ** HDD £47.99
1 x NZXT Source 210 Elite Midi Tower Case - Black £39.95
Total : £565.88 (includes shipping : £12.50).



Is £500 your limit?
 
Update the bios on your mobo. Sell your 2320 and 6670 and put it towards new headphones. Reuse your hdd and ram. What Psu do you have?

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Radeon R9 270X Gaming Edition OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £155.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £155.99
1 x Toshiba SSD HDTS212EZSTA 9.5mm 128GB Solid State Hard Drive - Retail £65.99
1 x SuperFlower Amazon 550W "80 Plus Bronze" Power Supply £49.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 200R Compact ATX Case - Black (CC-9011023-WW) £47.99
Total : £485.54 (includes shipping : £8.00).



Dam, you have the H61 and not the H67.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the reply, no 500 is not my limit however I will be able to recycle quite a few things for my current PC such as RAM, Hard Drive and CD drive. So I had thought that £500 would be enough to buy a good graphics card, power supply and case? I was thinking that if i got the GTX 770 as recommended in the post then that would leave me with a good £200 to buy a power supply and case? I was told that my current CPU would suffice for now so i was going to upgrade that later, unless there would be any issues with it bottlenecking the new graphics card? But the budget can be stretched if you think that there are areas which need improvement.
 
Thanks for your reply too Idleman, sorry about this but i am quite unexperienced when it comes to PC hardware:/ How do i update my bios? Also do you recommend anywhere for me to sell my 2320 and 6670? or just somewhere like ebay?

I am alsu not sure that my power supply is, sorry :S is there anyway to check without taking the side panel off my case or should i just do that and get back to you?

Thanks again for the help
 
Rupert Wong said:
Thanks for the reply, no 500 is not my limit however I will be able to recycle quite a few things for my current PC such as RAM, Hard Drive and CD drive. So I had thought that £500 would be enough to buy a good graphics card, power supply and case? I was thinking that if i got the GTX 770 as recommended in the post then that would leave me with a good £200 to buy a power supply and case? I was told that my current CPU would suffice for now so i was going to upgrade that later, unless there would be any issues with it bottlenecking the new graphics card? But the budget can be stretched if you think that there are areas which need improvement.
Click to expand...

Then how about this. The 280x is on special offer, today only.

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Radeon R9 280X Gaming Edition OC 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £229.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 330R Silent Mid Tower Case - Black £74.95
1 x Toshiba SSD HDTS212EZSTA 9.5mm 128GB Solid State Hard Drive - Retail £65.99
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 550W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £59.99
1 x TP-Link 300Mbps Wireless N PCI Express Adapter (TL-WN881ND) £16.99
Total : £462.01 (includes shipping : £11.75).




Then ust upgrade Cpu,mobo and ram at a later date.
 
Rupert Wong said:
Thanks for your reply too Idleman, sorry about this but i am quite unexperienced when it comes to PC hardware:/ How do i update my bios? Also do you recommend anywhere for me to sell my 2320 and 6670? or just somewhere like ebay?

I am alsu not sure that my power supply is, sorry :S is there anyway to check without taking the side panel off my case or should i just do that and get back to you?

Thanks again for the help
Click to expand...

Ebay if your selling, free fees until the 5th.

Take the side panel off and have a look. No point in buying another Psu if your current unit is good enough.

Don`t worry about the Bios update, I only mentioned it because I thought you had the Foxconn H67 mobo.
 
Thanks again for the response idleman, I think I'll definitely go with the graphics card and wireless adapter.

As for the case I've also had these suggested to me:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-107-CA
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-057-CS

However your suggestion seems like a good middle of the road case which I'll probably go for unless you think otherwise? Also i assume the power supply is bottom mounted as i couldn't read it anywhere in the description?

Also you suggested an SSD, from what I've heard they aren't all that great for the money they cost, do you think i should definitely get one or is there anywhere i can go to read up on their benefits a bit more?

I'll also check my current power supply to see if it is good enough to manage for now.

Thanks again for the advice, you've been really helpful :)
 
An ssd is a nice addition to any system, helps to boot into windows faster and loads apps a lot quicker. It just makes the whole system feel snappier.

Have a look through the case section and see if there is something that you really like. You can always post a link, if you are unsure about something.
 
Thanks again for the advice, I'm having a look through the case section now but i'm not really too sure what i'm looking for. I don't want to spend over £100, I just need something that isn't too OTT in design, has a bottom mounted power supply and has a good amount of space for upgrades.

As for the power supply I've just taken the case off and had a look, it is a CWT PUFP405P and underneath that it said DC O/P: 405W. So i'm assuming i'll need that new powersupply as 405W is really crappy isn't it?
 
Rupert Wong said:
Thanks again for all your help, I was also looking at the power supplies and i spotted this, i noticed it was also 550W like the one you suggested however it was nearly £20 cheaper, would this power supply also be alright or is there a reason for it being a lot cheaper?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-031-OP&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=2463
Click to expand...

yes there is a reason because its rubbish! just get the super flower 550w as listed above :D
and the corsair 300r has loads of space and doesnt look ott!
 
Well I couldn't work out how to do it so I'll just say for now, I've decided to go with the R9 280x Graphics card, The Corsair Carbide 300r case and the super flower PSU. Not a bad little up grade for £370 i think! :D In a few months time when i've got a bit more spare cash I think thats when I'll look into a new CPU, MOBO and SSD.

Thanks again for all of your help, I very much appreciate you taking time out of your day to give some advice and I for one certainly would have no idea what i was doing without you! thanks again for everyone's help. :)
 
Rupert Wong said:
Well I couldn't work out how to do it so I'll just say for now, I've decided to go with the R9 280x Graphics card, The Corsair Carbide 300r case and the super flower PSU. Not a bad little up grade for £370 i think! :D In a few months time when i've got a bit more spare cash I think thats when I'll look into a new CPU, MOBO and SSD.

Thanks again for all of your help, I very much appreciate you taking time out of your day to give some advice and I for one certainly would have no idea what i was doing without you! thanks again for everyone's help. :)
Click to expand...

nice one
enjoy man :D
 
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