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Looking for advise on computer parts purchase.
BananaSoup
Member UncommonPosts: 180
in Hardware
Hi.
I want to upgrade motherboard and cpu + add ram to it. Have a budget of 200 (250 max) pounds. For now i use GF gtx 550ti card ( might upgrade it later ), core 2 duo e6600, old, half-broken motherboard. Would love to see some examples from you people.
PS.
I am looking for UK-based website dealer that accept paypal. Would appreciate an advise here too.
Regards.
Comments
I don't live in the UK, so I can't give you advice on sites which accept PayPal.
Just looking at Amazon.co.uk prices, it seems that an Intel-based system (i5-3570K) would be out of your budget, or pushing the 250 pounds if you buy a cheap (low-quality) motherboard and RAM.
See the package deal on this page: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-I5-3570-Processor-3-40GHZ-Socket/dp/B0083U94D8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1377522345&sr=8-2&keywords=i5-3570k
If you go with AMD, you should be able to fit it in your budget of 200 pounds.
Package suggestion is on this page: http://www.amazon.co.uk/FX6300-Edition-4-1GHz-Socket-Retail/dp/B009O7YORK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1377522677&sr=8-2&keywords=fx-6350
You might need new RAM. If your current memory is DDR2, it won't work with modern DDR3 systems. Your graphics card is compatible with your motherboard, but it is somewhat on the older side. I would upgrade that next.
Your power supply might not be compatible with AMD CPU connectors. Make sure it has the option to plug into the AMD CPU power connection on the motherboard or you will be unhappy when you can't make your system run.
Replacing the motherboard means that your old OS license is no longer valid. Having to squeeze a new OS license in means you're probably going over budget unless you cut back severely somewhere. If you can extend the budget a bit, you could go with something like this:
http://www.ebuyer.com/503899-amd-piledriver-fx-6-six-core-6350-black-edition-3-90ghz-socket-am3-processor-fd6350frhkbox
http://www.ebuyer.com/259863-microsoft-windows-7-home-premium-w-sp1-licence-and-media-1-gfc-02050
http://www.ebuyer.com/394410-corsair-8gb-ddr3-1600mhz-xms3-memory-cmx8gx3m2a1600c11
http://www.ebuyer.com/349910-gigabyte-ga-970a-ds3-socket-am3-7-1-channel-audio-atx-motherboard-ga-970a-ds3
If you want to stay inside of a strict $250 budget, you could swap out the CPU and motherboard for these:
http://www.ebuyer.com/398815-amd-a8-5600k-black-edition-3-6ghz-socket-fm2-4mb-l2-cache-retail-ad560kwohjbox
http://www.ebuyer.com/406381-msi-fm2-a55m-e33-a55-socket-fm2-vga-hdmi-8-channel-audio-matx-motherboard-fm2-a55m-e33
But that gets you something slower up front and with no upgrade path available.
After searching through Amazon i came up with something like this:
CPU: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B009O7YORK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE
Motherboard: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0054U7HIO/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2CCXO2U172P5B
RAM: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004CRSM4I/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE
What do You think about this? It's 197 pounds in total.
If you're getting an AMD FX-series processor, then you want an AMD 970 chipset motherboard.
If you replace the motherboard, your old Windows license is probably no longer valid. Are you planning on running Linux, or pirating Windows and hoping Microsoft's attempts at breaking your system for lack of a valid license fail?
I just want to add, the Windows license could be valid.
If it's OEM license then it's bound to one computer and you can't move it, but if it's normal license then you can move it from one computer to another.
If you've got your Windows together with your computer as a bundle then it's OEM lisence. If you've bought your Windows separately from your computer, then check the license.
Windows Licence isnt an issue since i own retail copy i got from my friend that actually works indirectly for MS
Looking at my post with links from amazon, is it going to be enough for upcomming mmos like Wildstar and EQN? Dont really care if the setup isnt hi-end. Just looking for stable 40ish fps in mmos of 2013
You will likely need to turn down the settings to a medium-high or so in order to achieve 40 FPS. Turning down shader options like shadows, blur, depth of field, and lighting can help you achieve this without too much visual quality loss.
Your video card is going to be your bottleneck in some games, while your CPU will be a bottleneck in others. AMD's FX-series CPUs are not very good at single-threaded performance when compared to Intel products. Your graphics card is two generations old, and it will likely be three generations old when the games you mention are released.
The system requirements for the games you mention have not been announced. It is possible they make the games so demanding that no modern system can run them at full detail settings. It is more likely that they will make them run fairly well on most systems with decent specs today. I wouldn't worry too much about being able to run games which are not slated for release for more than a year from now. You might need to upgrade your system in a year or two, anyways.
I suggest going with the FX-6350 if you can afford it. The extra clock speed should help.