Time for an upgrade!

Famalam · 4 Jul 2011 at 01:20

Hi guys, my PC is severely outdated for gaming as you can see here:

CPU - Intel Pentium E2180 - 2.00GHz
RAM - 2GB
GPU - GeForce 8600GT
Case - Dell Vostro 200
PSU - 350W

After doing some looking around this is the parts list that I compiled thus far (I'm on a pretty tight budget at the mo).

So how does that look so far?
Have I made any blatant errors that need correcting?
Is it possible to transfer my current hard drive and use it on my new mobo?
Other than that any other recommendations would be great.

Thanks in advance!

stulid · 4 Jul 2011 at 01:36

Hi and welcome,

I can do better,

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £83.99
(£69.99) £83.99
(£69.99)
XFX ATI Radeon HD 5770 Single Slot 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Stalker & AVP Games £77.99
(£64.99) £77.99
(£64.99)
Cooler Master Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black (with 500w Elite Power PSU) £64.99
(£54.16) £64.99
(£54.16)
Asus M5A78L-M/USB3 AMD 760G (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £54.98
(£45.82) £54.98
(£45.82)
Corsair Value 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Low Voltage Dual-Channel Kit £23.98
(£19.98) £23.98
(£19.98)
Sub Total : £254.94
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £53.09
Total : £318.53

This is a real PhenomII CPU which has L3 cache memory on the chip and an unlocked multiplier because its a Black Edition.

The motherboard is AM3+ meaning its future compatible with AMD to be released Bulldozer CPU's.

The case and PSU bundle is much better, never skimp on the PSU quality.

Jony27 · 4 Jul 2011 at 01:36

Intel Core i3-2100 3.10GHz - £91.99

XFX ATI Radeon HD 5770 Single Slot 1024MB GDDR5 - £77.99

Cooler Master Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black (with 500w Elite Power PSU) - £64.99

MSI H67MA-E35 Intel H67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro-ATX Motherboard - £59.99

Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 - £34.99

Sub Total : £274.96
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £57.09
Total : £342.55

£10 more but faster and more reliable

im not sure if its worth £40 to get a 1GB GTX 460 but heres a comparison anyway and you can decide for yourself

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/172?vs=180

p.s sorry i cant do those cool hyperlinks

it wouldve made it much easier for you to view the items.

edit: could be the same price as your spec if you use the RAM stulid used in his spec.

Famalam · 4 Jul 2011 at 01:38

Thank you guys for the welcome, fast reply and specs!

Question now that both of you have posted an AMD and Intel setup, which is...well..better?

stulid · 4 Jul 2011 at 01:43

Well it depends if you can afford it?

(I'm on a pretty tight budget at the mo).

ones under your budget and ones over/near it, the Sandybridge is faster.

Jony27 · 4 Jul 2011 at 01:46

just a quid over his budget if he uses the RAM in your spec.

stulid · 4 Jul 2011 at 01:48

Is it possible to transfer my current hard drive and use it on my new mobo?

Is it IDE or SATA? what about the optical drive too?

Famalam · 4 Jul 2011 at 01:51

It's a SATA. Im probably gonna leave the optical because i play all my games off steam anyways.

stulid · 4 Jul 2011 at 01:53

Then you can transfer it over, but you will be best to do a fresh re-install of windows as you are changing major parts of the PC and its all ways nice to start again with a clean operating system with the newest drivers and free from junk.

If you want it down to £300?

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £83.99
(£69.99) £83.99
(£69.99)
XFX ATI Radeon HD 5770 Single Slot 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Stalker & AVP Games £77.99
(£64.99) £77.99
(£64.99)
Cooler Master Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black (with 500w Elite Power PSU) £64.99
(£54.16) £64.99
(£54.16)
Asus M4N68T-M LE NForce 630a (Socket AM2+/AM3) DDR3 Motherboard £39.98
(£33.32) £39.98
(£33.32)
Corsair Value 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Low Voltage Dual-Channel Kit £23.98
(£19.98) £23.98
(£19.98)
Sub Total : £242.44
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.00
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £50.49
Total : £302.93

Using this board - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-426-AS - which does support 125W CPU's such as the 955BE, but loses AM3+ support.

Famalam · 4 Jul 2011 at 02:24

i've decided to use the custom builder aswell just to see what i could get.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/syscon_int.php?prodid=FS-283-OK&recordid=14495867

Is that a lot better for the price (compared to the 300 quid specs)?

stulid · 4 Jul 2011 at 02:29

Its £480!!! Thought you were on a budget?

Famalam · 4 Jul 2011 at 02:30

I can be a little bit flexible

let's just keep it under 500 and it's cool

.

stulid · 4 Jul 2011 at 02:32

So you want an entire base /tower unit without a copy of windows?

And this is for gaming?

Famalam · 4 Jul 2011 at 02:33

Yes and yes.

stulid · 4 Jul 2011 at 02:38

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2400 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £145.99
(£121.66) £145.99
(£121.66)
OcUK GeForce GTX 460 OC 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £109.99
(£91.66) £109.99
(£91.66)
MSI H67MA-E35 Intel H67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro-ATX Motherboard - (Sandybridge) **B3 REVISION** £59.99
(£49.99) £59.99
(£49.99)
XFX Pro 550W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £54.98
(£45.82) £54.98
(£45.82)
Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £42.98
(£35.82) £42.98
(£35.82)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £34.99
(£29.16) £34.99
(£29.16)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500413AS) £27.98
(£23.32) £27.98
(£23.32)
Sub Total : £397.43
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £12.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £81.99
Total : £491.92

The case,

The CPU,
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i5-2500-2400-2300_7.html#sect0

The PSU,
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=225

GTX460 vs a 5770,
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/172?vs=180

I left out a DVD drive/burner.

Famalam · 4 Jul 2011 at 02:38

Thanks again!

olivier renault · 4 Jul 2011 at 09:37

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor £173.99
OcUK GeForce GTX 460 OC 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £109.99
Asrock Z68 PRO3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £105.98
BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W '80 Plus' Power Supply £44.99
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £34.99
Cooler Master Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black £33.98
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.00
Total : £515.93

If you want to go 2500K on a tight budget.