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Hello,

My dad is currently using a socket A! pc, he's been complaining its been slow so i've finally convinced him its time for a long overdue upgrade.

So, his uses are heavy Photoshop use, publisher, general office tasks and internet.

Same old story, i've been out of the loop in terms of components for a few years so i'm not quite sure whats what, and what he'd need.

He already has a graphics tablet, monitor and printer. Everything else needs replacing.

Budget is as low as possible but not compromising on quality.

I hope you can help with some suggestions.

Thanks,

Gil.
 
I just put this together, i think it looks ok? Is there anything that you would change?

spec.jpg


Thanks,

Gil.
 
Faster CPU, Larger HDD, more "future proof" with DDR3 and AM3 for another tenner mate


Product Name Qty Price Line Total
MB-356-AS_60.jpg
Asus M4A785TD-M Evo AMD 785G (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £67.99
(£59.12) £67.99
(£59.12)
MY-172-OC_60.jpg
OCZ Gold 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel (OCZ3G16004GK) £61.99
(£53.90) £61.99
(£53.90)
HD-053-SA_60.jpg
Samsung SpinPoint F1 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103UJ) £60.98
(£53.03) £60.98
(£53.03)
CP-252-AM_60.jpg
AMD Athlon II X2 Dual Core 240 2.8GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £45.99
(£39.99) £45.99
(£39.99)
CA-029-OC_60.jpg
OCZ StealthXStream 400w Silent Power Supply £30.99
(£26.95) £30.99
(£26.95)
CA-160-CM_60.jpg
Coolermaster Elite 335 Case - Black (No PSU) £28.99
(£25.21) £28.99
(£25.21)
HD-008-SY_60.jpg
Scythe Card Reader & Floppy Drive - Black (YD-8V08) £26.44
(£22.99) £26.44
(£22.99)
KB-003-MS_60.jpg
Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer 4.0A - OEM (N48-00022) £18.99
(£16.51) £18.99
(£16.51)
CD-122-SA_60.jpg
Samsung SH-S223B/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
(£14.77) £16.99
(£14.77)
KB-137-LG_60.jpg
Logitech Ultra-Flat Keyboard (967653-0120) £13.98
(£12.16) £13.98
(£12.16) Sub Total : £324.63 Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : FREE VAT is being charged at 15% VAT : £50.46 Total : £375.84
 
If you want to go Intel then your spec isn't bad....

For HDD if you want to go Caviar Black then suggest 640GB or 1TB as those will be 320GB platters. 500Gb and 750Gb will be 250GB platters and a little bit slower.

Also if you can go for a p43 motherboard over a G31. Maybe save some money on the case. Will your dad appreciate a case? The coolermaster elite is also pretty solid.

You can also save £5 or so on the memory if you go for the cheapest corsair 4GB pack. If you are not overclocking you probably won't notice the difference.

AMD will probably be better value at that range but I don;t have the knowledge to recommend.
 
Well if the AMD is using DDR3, faster CPU and cheaper then i guess i'll go down that route.

And thanks for the info about 250/320 platters, i never knew that.

No overclocking will be done.

Thanks again.
 
Difference in platters will be fairly minimal but there will be a difference. As a general rule the denser the platter the faster the drive although other things come into play as well. Companies don't tend to advertise the platter density and so it can be a bit hard to work it out what the platter size is but it makes a difference. The denser the platter then the more bytes pass over the head per revolution of the platter so the "faster" it is.

500Gb platters are now available but only in 5400rpm drives in the case of the WD Green and Samsung F1 and the 7200rpm Seagate which has mixed reviews.
 
For HDD if you want to go Caviar Black then suggest 640GB or 1TB as those will be 320GB platters. 500Gb and 750Gb will be 250GB platters and a little bit slower.

Do you mind explaining that for me ?
EDIT: nvm, covered it just before i posted.
 
I concur, the AMD setup using DDR3 is a better choice now, the Intel setup is by no means bad, actually it's quite good, but the AM3 setup is better and has future upgrade potential as-well.
 
The Asus 785G mATX board listed has onboard video, quite good as far as onboard goes too, it'll be more than good enough for the purpose described.
 
I think a video card might be a useful addition ;)

Thanks, but dont think he'll need one.

i wud say spend 27 quid more on CPU and a better cpu lyk this

I don't really think he'll need that extra power. It could always be upgraded in the future.

Remember, he's upgrading from a socket A system. A hamster powered computer would seem faster :)
 
Last edited:
i wud say spend 27 quid more on CPU and a better cpu lyk this


If he was more of an enthusiast and perhaps looking to overclock and/or play intense games or use any particulary cache dependant programs, I would be inclined to agree with you. But from what the op said, that is not the case at all, thus it would just be spending money that does not need to be spent.

Those Athlon II's are fast chips, they are only noticeably slower than the Phenom II when in situations where cache is of great benefit, since they lack the level 3 cache of the PII, however, they do have extra level II cache, which in certain situations actually sees them benefit slightly.

It's not as good value as the Phenom II Black Edition if you plan to overclock or you intend too try and unlock the other 2 cores on the PII, thus giving you a quad core for the price of a duel, but if you do not plan to do any of that, then the Athlon II is an excellent choice.
 
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