Upgrade time?

Luke284 · 1 Dec 2011 at 21:28

Hi,

I've got a 3+ year old PC which i think probably needs a bit of an upgrade. It is a Intel Core 2 Duo E2700, 2gb of ram and a Radon HD 3600 gfx card.

It has been used as a HTPC for a number of years but I bought an iPad2 a few months back so that has made my laptop redundant really. I've just set up a study in my flat so want a desktop PC as well and will sell my laptop (Its a early 2008 MBP so was suprised how much they go for on ebay!)

Now, I think ive got two options...

1) Put a SSD and upgrade the ram to 4gb (not sure if 8gb is worth it at DDR2 prices)

2) Get a i5/3 with 8gb of DDR3 and an SSD drive. Ive been looking at the i5 2500K but no idea what motherboard to go for.

I don't do anything too processor intensive. Don't play games or anyting like that. But i would want it to play 1080p video (but my current one does that anyway so not a problem). I have just bought a DSLR so I might get into some photoshopping in the future. Generally will just be used for internet/email/itunes/picture etc. Budget is whatever i can sell my MBP for but I dont have to spend it all (ebay suggests £400-£500)

SSD wise ive been looking at the 128gb Crucial M4 but haven't done much research on that yet.

Any thoughts?

beejjacobs · 1 Dec 2011 at 22:21

M4 is a good SSD
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18316485

This is a great and relatively cheap mobo for the i5:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-364-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1990

Really depends if you think you need it, i3 are good CPUs too.

Luke284 · 2 Dec 2011 at 11:58

I think I may go for a i5 2500k with an asus P8Z68-V LX, 8 gb of ram and a 128gb M4. I could probably save a bit of money and get an i3 2120. Is the i5 that much better than the i3?

Would the onboard gfx be better than my radeon card or not? I can either install it or sell it?!

Alex74 · 2 Dec 2011 at 12:06

Luke284 said:
I think I may go for a i5 2500k with an asus P8Z68-V LX, 8 gb of ram and a 128gb M4. I could probably save a bit of money and get an i3 2120. Is the i5 that much better than the i3?

Would the onboard gfx be better than my radeon card or not? I can either install it or sell it?!

The i5 is good, but i'm a bit wary of that SSD. It's a pretty significant investment, for not that much in the way of storage space, and to be totally frank, not the largest boost in performance beyond boot times/application load times. The onboard graphics should be pretty happy with what you need, but you could happily invest some the 150 pounds from the SSD into a new graphics card for a far more noticable improvement.

I have the 256GB M4 and only really use it for some applications and windows (visual studio is an example of a program which really benefits in loading time with an SSD). In general unless you have something specific in mind I'd probably be happy just using a mechanical drive with way more capacity for far less cost.

Summary: get the i5, skip the SSD, come out with more money to spend on other things

Luke284 · 2 Dec 2011 at 13:21

I don't need additional storage space. I've got other mechanical drives for storage etc. just thought that an SSD would be a nice increase in speed in starting windows and other programs etc.

Don't think buying a new gfx card is worth it as I don't play any games or anything like that. As I've got an older radeon card it may be worth putting that in if it's better than the onboard gfx?

What are people's thoughts on the asus P8Z68-V LX?

Alex74 · 2 Dec 2011 at 13:34

Luke284 said:
I don't need additional storage space. I've got other mechanical drives for storage etc. just thought that an SSD would be a nice increase in speed in starting windows and other programs etc.

Don't think buying a new gfx card is worth it as I don't play any games or anything like that. As I've got an older radeon card it may be worth putting that in if it's better than the onboard gfx?

What are people's thoughts on the asus P8Z68-V LX?

Fair enough, I'd just be wary of investing a lot of money in a piece of kit just for a 'might be nice' sort of benefit, especially when that money could be invested elsewhere for far more benefit. But as ever, if you know you want it and what you want it for, then fair enough.

Tbh i only got mine initially as a sort of "let's see what it's like", so I cant really talk.

Yea I wouldnt worry about the gfx card, the i5 should handle video decoding no problem.

Motherboard looks good. Cant see any warranty info on the OcUK page but iirc it's 3 or 5 years on Asus boards. You could go for the Gigabyte, similar features and 5 pounds less, just whichever you'd prefer.