Upgrade help please

bobbyspangles

bobbyspangles

bobbyspangles

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Hi my parents want me to 'shrink' the family PC. They're currently using one of my old PCs, an E8400 housed in a huge full tower case. I've changed a few bits in recent years such as downgrading the massive 3870 X2 to a passive GPU and I installed a new CX430 PSU recently, so really I'm just looking to change the CPU/Mobo/RAM and the case. It's unlikely to be changed again for another 5 years + so would like to make it as futureproof as possible, I guess things like SATA6 and USB3.0 headers are pretty standard now anyway? I only have a meager budget of £200 to 250 at a stretch(to include a Lian-Li Q01A case) so I guess it's just a choice between Pentium/H81 or an AMD FM2+ APU and A88 board. Any advice appreciated.
 
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wouldnt a G series perform better than a celeron? dual or not?.

the case you would like is out of stock on here, so used another model.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £250.98
(include

if you can that and your case then you on to a winner.​
 
Of course the Pentium would perform better than the Celeron but it's a family PC, there'll be no difference between them at all.

I would say an i3 isn't necessary realistically. My parents PC at home is still a Core 2 Duo from seven or eight years ago and it's still perfect.

The money would be far better spent on an SSD which will actually make a big difference.
 
Terrorfirmer said:
Of course the Pentium would perform better than the Celeron but it's a family PC, there'll be no difference between them at all.

I would say an i3 isn't necessary realistically. My parents PC at home is still a Core 2 Duo from seven or eight years ago and it's still perfect.

The money would be far better spent on an SSD which will actually make a big difference.
Click to expand...

Agreed.
 
Thanks for all the advice so far everyone. The Celeron suggestion is an interesting one, not something I had considered, though I'm struggling to find the G1850 for any less than what I can get the G3260 for. According to benchmarks they should provide 30 and 50 percent performance gain over the E8400 respectively.

The i3 is tempting but at twice the price of the Celeron and Pentium I'm not sure it's worth it? With a H81 board I could always drop in a Haswell i3/i5 second hand in a few years time for a further boost.
 
Without checking, the Pentium's used to be around 60 euro, and the Celeron's were about 45. Not a big difference, but I honestly don't think your parents will have a problem either way.

The price of an i3 will get you a pentium and an SSD - now that speed increase they well notice and appreciate.

You could also get a socket 1155 board, I know my local CEX sells sandybridge pentiums like the G630 for six euro! Still a very good processor for casual desktop/family use. And sandybridge/ivy-bridge i5's are dirt cheap if you feel the need for a bump in 5 years.
 
Terrorfirmer said:
Without checking, the Pentium's used to be around 60 euro, and the Celeron's were about 45. Not a big difference, but I honestly don't think your parents will have a problem either way.

The price of an i3 will get you a pentium and an SSD - now that speed increase they well notice and appreciate.

You could also get a socket 1155 board, I know my local CEX sells sandybridge pentiums like the G630 for six euro! Still a very good processor for casual desktop/family use. And sandybridge/ivy-bridge i5's are dirt cheap if you feel the need for a bump in 5 years.
Click to expand...

the older pentiums shouldnt cost that much now, however the reason for the i3 is because 1. they are a great processor, plus if they plan to upgrade further down the line the 1150 would have more options not to mention they would only need to upgrade around it.


My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £228.42
(includes shipping: £10.50)
​
 
In desktop tasks there isn't any difference between the i3 and pentium though, there is no need for it. An SSD is a far better investment.

I only suggested sandy/ivy bridge pentium because they're almost free, making the upgrade massively cheap.

For a family PC the socket type doesn't matter, by the time socket 1155 is obsolete for desktop and casual use we'll be 5 or 6 more generations ahead again.

Socket 775 is even perfectly fine for family type PC's.
 
the pentiums dont have HT do they?

sdd would be a good investment, but they limit on size, as a family computer 250gb might not be suitable.

i wouldve suggested a 775 aswell because i have one as my secondary and they cheaper to upgrade, but not really practical if they want newer more efficient computing.
 
I'm not suggesting a Socket 775, I'm simply pointing out that there is no point trying to 'future proof' a family PC. By the time S1155 is too old even for desktop use, so will S1150.

Just get a basic S1150 board and a pentium processor, or a S1155 and an older pentium processor if you're on a shoestring.

throw in an SSD, and you're good for at least another 6 or 7 years. Probably 10+.

Also, Socket 775 also covers the entire Core 2 Duo/Quad range, not just Pentium 4's.

The fastest Core2Quad, the QX9650, can still play GTA V, Star Wars Battlefront, etc OK enough. Which is amazing for such old tech.

And yes some P4's did have hyper threading. The Pentium D is an actual dual core chip though.
 
90% of computers have an SSD + hard drive. SSD for boot, frequently used apps/games, and HDD for storage. That was the implication. It's not like you have to chose one or the other.
 
Terrorfirmer said:
I'm not suggesting a Socket 775, I'm simply pointing out that there is no point trying to 'future proof' a family PC. By the time S1155 is too old even for desktop use, so will S1150.

Just get a basic S1150 board and a pentium processor, or a S1155 and an older pentium processor if you're on a shoestring.

throw in an SSD, and you're good for at least another 6 or 7 years. Probably 10+.

Also, Socket 775 also covers the entire Core 2 Duo/Quad range, not just Pentium 4's.

The fastest Core2Quad, the QX9650, can still play GTA V, Star Wars Battlefront, etc OK enough. Which is amazing for such old tech.

And yes some P4's did have hyper threading. The Pentium D is an actual dual core chip though.
Click to expand...

i know you wasnt as such, but i still wouldve suggested a 775 if it was viable option and i do understand what your saying, but also you still might aswell get the best you can get right now.

i wasnt talking about the P4, i assumed you was talking about the G haswell range with comparison with the i3.

yeah i sold a 775 build i upgraded with a q6600 the other day, if i didnt need the money that day i would still have it as i was building it in to an old gaming machine and the pentium D chips are decent, i could max out hitman contacts with a D820, 3gb ddr2 and a hd2400 pro in a dell optiplex gx620 sff,
 
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