Hello there. I have a budget of £300 I mostly use my computer for internet browsing, ms word and gaming. I am not looking to over clock. What I have PSU - 500w Coolermaster Harddrive PC case Parts I need CPU Motherboard Ram Graphics Card I have found used bundle here from DABS- Don't know if it's anygood? http://www.dabs.com/products/asus-intel-ultimate-bundle--includes-p8p67-motherboard--intel-core-i5-2500k---8gb-ddr3-memory--7J0Y.html
I suppose it is a possibility, but it's base used parts only, with only a 90 day warranty. It gives you overclocking, that you don't want. Whilst the i5-2500K is a good chip, motherboard is effectively 2 generations back, and memory is only 1333MHz. All for £202. For maybe £40 more you could get i5 Ivybridge, H77 mobo, and 1600MHz RAM, all, obviously new. I know you're on a tight budget, and trying to fit in graphics card, but you were going to be struggling a bit, for that, even with the 2nd hand bundle. What games do you want to play, and what is your monitor resolution? It's inevitable, using an i5, that you are going to go, at least a bit over budget. Whilst I'm loathe to suggest it, the only easier way to keep to budget, would be to use an AMD processor, possibly Phenom ll, quad core. I don't know how you feel about that?
Thanks for reply. There's a Intel Core i5-660 cpu for £113 only problem with this is that it was opened for inspection and comes with 3 months warranty as well. Might get it? I have a 1920x1080 monitor and I would like to play games like skyrim.
That's almost an antique. Not really, but it's back another generation from the 2500. Feeble by todays standards. Honestly I would suggest there are two sensible ways to go: 1) Go with the Ivybridge option, I suggested, and push the budget by £50, or so to fit in a reasonable graphics card. 2) Go with an AMD processor, which would allow for mobo, RAM, and a reasonable graphics card, possibly just about with your budget. Obviously AMD processor is nothing like as good as the i5 Ivybridge, but it's the only way you can get something sensible for the budget. You may get away with the second hand bundle, but you would still struggle with budget, and I'm concerned you may have "issues" with it. I would only "suggest it" to someone, really experienced. If you feel confident to cope with any likely problems, then maybe OK.
What ivybridge cpu are you talking about? From scan CPU: Intel Core i5 3450 - £143.34 Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H61MA - £33.59 ?
That's the i5 I was thinking of. That mobo is cheap, but OK. It doesn't really use the performance of Ivybridge though. I was thinking of a H77 board, which gives all the capabilities of the top (Z77) board, except overclocking, and can use faster RAM. An Asrock H77 Pro4M, is good. It does cost around £65, so you could save a bit with the H61 (usual story more costs more)
Have you considered the AMD FM1 route - not as sexy as SB/IB but definitely serviceable, especially if you can't stretch your budget. A8-3870 CPU, Mobo & 4 GB RAM can be had for around £150, leaving another £150 for a GPU - say a 2GB 7850.
Why not take a look at this months affordable all rounder and use the cpu, MB and GPU from the list. http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/buyers-guide/2012/08/31/pc-hardware-buyer-s-guide-august-2012/2 You could alway opt for an ivybridge motherboard like the Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H Intel Z77 Socket 1155 (supports sandy bridge and ivy bridges cpus so you could upgrade cpu at a later date)
If I go down the intel i3 route I might as well buy a second hand i3 right? So what's the deal with the expensive motherboard if I'm not overclocking
Nothing is WRONG with i3, and a H61 mobo. That will leave money, for a good graphics card. If you are going to go that route, there's nothing wrong with second-hand (I'd be less worried about that second hand, than the combo), just be sure it's complete, and a reliable seller. Why I would PREFER the Ivybridge i5 route is that it will last you a lot longer, before you needed to upgrade, again, and would give better overall performance. Obviously it's not as cheap, and you'd struggle to get a decent graphics card, but, if budget can't be stretched, you could always add a good card when finances permit. It's a choice between short term gain, and long term viability. That of course is YOUR choice!!
Well I think I am going to go with the ivybridge because I can sell my other computer components and some other stuff. What motherboard and ram do you recommend on a tight budget. I'm not looking to spend a fortune in this economy
Something like Asrock H77 Pro4M is possibly best value for money, unless someone may offer a better suggestion (no direct experience of Asrock).
I would go 3870K route - AMD just dropped the price on it, plus, A75 mobos aren't too expensive and you get full SATA 6Gbps support. I know you're not that interested in OC that much, but the K series is easy to do and gives you 'some' free performance. H61 doesn't give you that or (many/if any) USB 3. If the A75 doesn't work out - don't go A55 - get a G-series/i3-2120 Intel and a H67 (if you can find older stock). A single 4GB DIMM is extremely cheap and will suffice, then you just drop in another later to have dual-channel 8GB - plenty! Whatever is left goes on a GPU.
Not interested in AMD cpus as new ones are coming out soon. I do want a quad core cpu though as I want to be doing some video editing for game playthroughs.
I'll just snip my post out then. Anyway, with relevance for the OP - do you need the power of a quad core? Because getting a dual core will significantly lower costs...
