I'm looking to upgrade my build as follows: intel e2200 @ 3.0ghz 2gb ocz ddr 667 xfx geforce 9300 mobo xfx gtx 260 black edition Budget: no more than £250 Main uses of intended build: Gaming Parts required: 3 options either an e8400 with 2gb corsair xms2 ddr800 (or an extra 2gb ocz ddr 667) or the more expensive option of a core i3 530, gigabyte h55m ud2 and 2gb ddr3 1600. Monitor resolution: 1080p I'm leaning towards the i3 as it would be nice to be up to date (to a certain point lol) and have the option for an i5 if I want it but ultimately I want to save money but have a system that will go for the next 2 years any opinions appreciated
Being a fan of progressive partial upgrading, I'd say the last option. Although considering the rate at which Intel changes sockets, you never know
I'd go for the i3, on the basis that if you like to upgrade progressively it's stupid sinking more money into things that run DDR2.
I concur with the above posts, but might I suggest you don't go with the H version of the Gigabyte, if you intend to drop an i5 in later on.
I'm a little mystified why you are not considering a graphics card upgrade. Your stated use for your machine is solely gaming at 1080p, your current graphics card is so woefully underpowered that you'd struggle to play any remotely modern game at that resolution. With your budget you could easily afford a 5850 or even a 5870 if you could stretch that far. Your CPU is still a reasonable dual core - you could afford to buy a 5850 then use the extra for another 2GB of RAM.
A GTX260 isn't woefully underpowered, it isn't the best, but it'll do for a bit. I guess a HD5850 would work, but having a faster CPU should yield a better benefit. Still if you bought RAM, you'd waste that money, so I guess a new mobo + CPU + RAM seems like a wiser option.
I say sell the motherboard/cpu/memory on ebay or on here and then go with the i3 option. Check around to see if someone does an i3 bundle for a reasonable price. If you will be using Windows7 Try to get at least 4gb. Sure it works with 2gb but your system will be more slick with 4gb.
