Spec me a budget build

jonas123 · 19 May 2020 at 20:18

Hi all,

Looking to upgrade my system from a core2duo setup. I'll need a new cpu, MB and RAM, GFX can come later. Mainly looking at some gaming and office work.

My aim is good performance on a budget. I don't need all the frills of the fancy motherboards, just a solid one that has the usual outputs. Not looking to overclock. Budget is around £175-200

I'm leaning towards the Ryzen 3 3100, but any help with the MB and RAM would be greatly appreciated!

jonas123 · 20 May 2020 at 11:19

Thanks guys - I'm happy to pay a bit more if it's worth it, I just don't know the difference between a cheaper (£80) MB vs a £130 one. Think I need to do a bit more reading! Also in real world situations, bearing in mind i'll probably get a mid range GFX card, will I need 3600MHz RAM over 3000 MHz, and do i need 16GB over 8GB?

Also, does the new gen 3300X beat some of the higher end but old gen CPUs? I was looking at a i5-7600K and MB combo on the 2nd hand market for £200, but from what I could tell, the 3300X is similar if not better in benchmarks, and would have the benefit of being new.

jonas123 · 20 May 2020 at 11:43

Thanks - as usual I started off by ordering a £20 Q9650 upgrade for my core2duo system, and am now looking at spending £300+!

Do you think the 3600 will come down in price with the new chips being released, or should I just bite the bullet?

jonas123 · 21 May 2020 at 10:39

Thanks all for your help. Just an update, my £20 upgrade has turned into:

- AMD Ryzen 5 3600
- MSI X470 gaming plus max MB (was cheaper than the tomahawk)
- Corsair RAM 3200Mhz
- A new cheapo WD Blue M2 SSD 512GB
- New monitor

Also in the market for a new GFX card, probably a RX580. I'm not even going to bother adding up how much it all cost as it'll probably depress me, given my initial loose budget.

jonas123 · 21 May 2020 at 11:23

thanks - it seems the second hand market is around £140 for the 580, so will probably just go for the security of a new one.

I was thinking of flogging off my core2duo setup on ebay, but it looks like i'd have to pay someone to take it off my hands!

jonas123 · 21 May 2020 at 11:46

thanks, I went for the 580 in the end. Which hopefully completes my build, coming in just over 3 times my budget! Thanks for your help, hopefully that'll last me another 5 years