£350 bundle - CPU, motherboard and RAM

Deadbeat · 26 Mar 2014 at 08:41

Hey folks, looking for advice on a full core upgrade for my lagging i3 system. As per title, I need a processor, motherboard and RAM for around £350. I'm happy to run stock for a while so retail CPU cooler will do me fine, but if any of the bundles are worth a look then do say. I don't mind Intel or amd chipset.

Also looking for a GFX card for around 150, would prefer nvidia but I have no objection to ati - my 4890 has served well for years, though it's dying now. I can scrimp on one to spend a bit more on the other, but really not looking to spend much over 500. Thanks in advance.

korgtronix · 26 Mar 2014 at 08:45

Deadbeat said:
Hey folks, looking for advice on a full core upgrade for my lagging i3 system. As per title, I need a processor, motherboard and RAM for around £350. I'm happy to run stock for a while so retail CPU cooler will do me fine, but if any of the bundles are worth a look then do say. I don't mind Intel or amd chipset.

Also looking for a GFX card for around 150, would prefer nvidia but I have no objection to ati - my 4890 has served well for years, though it's dying now. I can scrimp on one to spend a bit more on the other, but really not looking to spend much over 500. Thanks in advance.

What sort of case have you got? Also what PSU do you currently have?

Deadbeat · 26 Mar 2014 at 09:13

Case is a coolermaster cm-690 I think, not sure but it's full size. Not too sure on the psu.

Martini1991 · 26 Mar 2014 at 09:15

Find out what PSU you're running, also which i3 is it?

korgtronix · 26 Mar 2014 at 09:16

Deadbeat said:
Case is a coolermaster cm-690 I think, not sure but it's full size. Not too sure on the psu.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Powercolor Radeon R9 270X DEVIL 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £169.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £169.99
1 x Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87 Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £109.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan GOLD 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLYD38G2133HC11ADC01) £59.99
Total : £519.56 (includes shipping : £8.00).

This is what I would suggest, its a little over budget but the card comes with 5 free games I believe. The only Nvidia card I could find that would still come under budget is the 750ti but the 270x is faster, however if you are set on Nvidia and can stretch the budget a little the 760 goes for about £30 more that the above build

Martini1991 · 26 Mar 2014 at 09:31

I'd sacrifice the i5 for an FX8320 to buy an R9 280X.

Can't agree with an R9 270X really, too much compromise.

korgtronix · 26 Mar 2014 at 09:37

Martini1991 said:
I'd sacrifice the i5 for an FX8320 to buy an R9 280X.

Can't agree with an R9 270X really, too much compromise.

True I always forget about the 8320 plus I can never think of decent coolers which usually stops me recommending them.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus Radeon R9 280X DirectCUII OC 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £239.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £110.99
1 x Asus M5A97 EVO R2.0 AMD 970 (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £74.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan GOLD 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLYD38G2133HC11ADC01) £53.99
1 x Raijintek EreBoss High Performance CPU Cooler £29.99
Total : £519.54 (includes shipping : £8.00).

This is with the 8320, the card is on a this week only deal and the case fan has been recommended a couple of times recently but I would check it fits in the case fine.

Martini1991 · 26 Mar 2014 at 09:47

That's what I'd get (Although different RAM on the basis of aesthetics if that bothered me)

Brilliant price/performance combo.

Deadbeat · 26 Mar 2014 at 10:00

Power supply is an OCZ zs 80+ 750W, if that changes anything.

Martini1991 · 26 Mar 2014 at 10:01

Nope, I'd get the aforementioned FX8320 bundle then.

But what i3 is it

?

If it's some socket 1155 i3, then it could change everything really.

korgtronix · 26 Mar 2014 at 10:14

Martini1991 said:
That's what I'd get (Although different RAM on the basis of aesthetics if that bothered me)

Could get the TEAMGROUP black I suppose but its a lot slower, would look nicer. Certainly better than my red RAM looks on my motherboard.

Deadbeat · 26 Mar 2014 at 10:20

Martini1991 said:
Nope, I'd get the aforementioned FX8320 bundle then.

But what i3 is it ?

If it's some socket 1155 i3, then it could change everything really.

It's an i3 2100 from about 2 years ago, what would that change?

The 8320 is retail, I'd be fine running stock speed for a bit and worrying about an OC later wouldn't I? Then I could save on the cooler.

korgtronix · 26 Mar 2014 at 10:26

Deadbeat said:
It's an i3 2100 from about 2 years ago, what would that change?

The 8320 is retail, I'd be fine running stock speed for a bit and worrying about an OC later wouldn't I? Then I could save on the cooler.

Is your motherboard a 6* or 7* chipset as it may be cheaper and give you just as good a performance boost to get a cheap Sandybridge or Ivybridge i5/i7 and reusing the board for a bit longer then you will have more money for a bigger graphics update.

Martini1991 · 26 Mar 2014 at 10:38

i3 2100? That changes everything then

.

What's your board? Are you bothered about overclocking?
Any 1155 board can take an i7 3770, which anyone would generally take over an FX8320.

Deadbeat · 26 Mar 2014 at 10:39

It's a Gigabyte H61MA-D3V Intel H61 - real budget model. I suspect it needs replacing.

Edit: by dropping the CPU cooler, I could get the 8350 instead of the 8320. What's the opinion on that?

Martini1991 · 26 Mar 2014 at 10:49

An i7 3770 is 200 quid at OCUK, it'd slot straight into your board, if you're not after overclocking or whatnot, that's what I'd get, along with 2x4GB RAM sticks and an R9 280X.
You'll also get PCI-E 3.0 as well.

Deadbeat · 26 Mar 2014 at 10:58

I dunno. Feels weird, plugging in those high spec components to a micro-ATX motherboard I bought for £40 two years ago...

Martini1991 · 26 Mar 2014 at 11:00

Ha, I've done similar in the past, for those who aren't overclocking, it added a versatility.

Either way, it's upto you, the R9 280X with the FX8320 and board and RAM, or the 3770, RAM and R9 280X.

korgtronix · 26 Mar 2014 at 11:02

Martini1991 said:
An i7 3770 is 200 quid at OCUK, it'd slot straight into your board, if you're not after overclocking or whatnot, that's what I'd get, along with 2x4GB RAM sticks and an R9 280X.
You'll also get PCI-E 3.0 as well.

Pretty much this but I wonder if the Xeon 1230v2 would be better if you aren't overclocking just to give an extra £30-40 to play with. The Xeon is basically an i7 with no iGPU.

Martini1991 · 26 Mar 2014 at 11:07

korgtronix said:
Pretty much this but I wonder if the Xeon 1230v2 would be better if you aren't overclocking just to give an extra £30-40 to play with. The Xeon is basically an i7 with no iGPU.

The Xeon probably would be the better bet, however OCUK don't stock it, so I was just going off OCUK's stuff