Upgrade for a poor man :(

CrispyXUK

CrispyXUK

CrispyXUK

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Joined
19 Sep 2003
Posts
329
Location
Southend
Hi guys,

Wondering if you can help. My PC is OLD, currently has an Athlon Mobile 2500+ and an Nvidia 6800GT so I really can't play much, problem is I need to save for my wedding :(

I've managed to get £300 together to get this thing going again but it's been so long since I've built a PC, I've no idea where to start.

What would you recommend for CPU, Mobo, RAM & GPU? Will I need a new PSU?
 
How about this:-

300pc.jpg


What is your current psu? If you don't need one then that's another £37 off. You could also wait for the cheaper DDR3 kits to come back into stock. Hopefully you could re-use your current hdd, DVDRW and case.
 
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If that's the Antec Earthwatts then it should be fine. To save a little more swap the mobo i suggested for this one which will save another £15. There's not a lot of point in building a new 775 rig when the socket is about to get killed off.
 
I don't think there is any reason dismissing s775 on this kind of budget IMO, as one can always upgrade to those still expensive c2q on a later date when they are cheaper.
 
Don't get a G card on a budget.
Try get an ion mobo or one with a Intergrated GPU, saves a lot of money, and go for 2 gig of ram...
and maybe recycle other parts from your old one.
Shouldn't cost over 300 quid if you don't need a G card.
 
You can afford a new i3 + H55 motherboard with 4GB DDR3 RAM. Would use the i3s integrated graphics and Im not certain how well that performs but it leaves plenty of future upgradeability.
 
This is what I would look at getting for system for a good balance of abilities:

AMD Phenom II X3 720 ~ £100

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=cp-238-am

asus m4a77d ~ £60

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=mb-376-as&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1482

has all solid capacitors and supports 140w phenom ii processors too

4gb 1066mhz ddr2 ~ £71

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=my-192-cs&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=817

hd4770 512mb ~ £74

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=gx-117-pc&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=

the total comes to around £305 excluding postage.

the x3 720 is similar to a £133 q8400 in games:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=83&p2=89

the x3 720 compared to a core i3 530:

http://en.inpai.com.cn/doc/enshowcont.asp?id=7488

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=118&p2=83

there is not much difference between using ddr2 and ddr3 with the current phenom ii processors:

http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/1782/amd_phenom_ii_ddr2_vs_ddr3_performance/index.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/phenom-x4-955,2278-3.html

The HD4770 is faster than an 9800GT:

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=700&type=expert&pid=4

Many of the cheaper 9800GT cards are downclocked versions which are bus powered.

The HD4770 also has lower power consumption than a normal 9800GT:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article939-page6.html
 
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And the resolution of his current monitor is kinda irrelevant as he doesnt have the budget to play about with GPUs.
 
2nd hand 8800gt will stonk all over either integrated or the hd4760.

integrated isn't something worth considering for a gaming rig; it's just about good enough for the source engine, but not much else.
 
i3 £100
mobo £70
ram £80
2nd hand 8800gt <£50

==total: £300==

or

ph2 550 be £70
mobo £70

for a £30 saving.

I wouldn't personally be too cheap with the motherboard. the £50 ones often lack useful things like core unlocking, and use lower quality components. the gigabyte ud2h boards are awesome for £70.
 
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