System Upgrade

aslco · 10 Apr 2012 at 18:18

I am looking to upgrade my system just to be able to deal with Adobe Premiere, Light room and Pro Tools without breaking a sweat. It also needs to play some games such as Fifa 12 and NBA 2k12 at high quality.

I'd like to aim around the £400 budget. Ultimately i need new RAM, motherboard and CPU, though if a solid state drive can be included in that price range then that'd be great.

Finally, have power requirements changed in the last few years? I think my PSU is a 550watt / 600watt one (i made sure it was good quality at the time of purchase), will that be ok for nearly any kind of medium - high end PC?

Thanks everyone!

Lemin · 10 Apr 2012 at 18:31

Upgrade from what specs ??

aslco · 10 Apr 2012 at 18:38

going from AMD 4600+ 2.4ghz CPU,

gigabyte motherboard which is am2+ socket similar in spec (but odler) to this http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-028-AK&groupid=701&catid=1903&subcat=

and then just 4Gb of DDR2 memory.

I just want a good upgrade that'll last me 2 odd years

i have an ATI 3870 GPU which isn't amazing, but it still does the job most of the time, ill do the mobo, cpu and RAm upgrade first then go from there i think

HecFam · 10 Apr 2012 at 18:40

Did you want to stick with AMD, It should be cheaper but still isnt as good as intel.

aslco · 10 Apr 2012 at 18:45

No i think i want to move to an i5 or i7 setup, i get the impression intel have gone miles ahead now

Lemin · 10 Apr 2012 at 18:49

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-2700K 3.50GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM £239.99
1 x Gigabyte Z68A-D3H-GEN3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £99.00
1 x Kingston HyperX RED Limited Edition 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3B1RK2/8GX) £35.99
1 x Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £21.98
Total : £408.36 (includes shipping : £9.50).

HecFam · 10 Apr 2012 at 18:50

Fair enough, if you want to get it for under £400 then i would say go with an i5, so that you don't go with a cheap Mboard, Ram combo.

Saw this, its a OCUK Bundle with the max extras. (ram and Mboard).

Seemed a good price.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Krypton Z68 590i Intel Core i5 2500K 3.30GHz @ 4.40GHz Overclocked Bundle £240.79
1 x Corsair Vengeance Blue Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML8GX3M2A1600C9B) £43.99
1 x Gigabyte Z68X-UD3P Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £99.95
Total : £397.33 (includes shipping : £10.50).

aslco · 10 Apr 2012 at 18:57

Surely it'd be wiser for me to go for the i7 than the overclocked i5 at the same price?

what about a ~£160 i5 for the sake of getting the solid state drive too? Or do you think the CPU really needs to be that high

Lemin · 10 Apr 2012 at 19:01

Id go i7 but its your money.

you decide..

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/288?vs=287

Unicorn · 10 Apr 2012 at 19:01

As above, i5 2500k and overclock it, GigB Z68 Mobo, 8GB Ram ( Hurry this stuffs cheaper http://overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-094-KS ) and get an SSD. You WILL notice the difference with an SSD