Build Advice Help me spend my £250

I have a Athlon 3400, MSI K8N Neo4, 1GB RAM, FSP 400W PSU, XFX 6800GT, 80GB HD set-up.

I have about £250 to spend on upgrading to play games, listen to music, provide a degree of future-proofing etc.

I need a new PSU cos I think the FSP is starting to conk out, so my plan is to get:

- Antec Earthwatts 650W (£65 ebuyer)
- Motherboard bundle (£125: E5220 + 2GB RAM Novatech)
- ATI 4830 (£74 Novatech)

Any advice or alternative suggestions much appreciated!

thanks.

 

RAM is so cheap now that there is no reason not to go for a 4GB kit if you can find a good deal or increase your budget slightly.

 

Go for a 4770 not the 4830, tests show its better.

 

don't get mobo bundle the mobo you will get will be rubish and won't be able to overclock. your best bet would be to go for

e5200=55 scan
gigabyte p31 ds3l=53 scan
silver power 500w=46 scan
2gb corsair=26 scan
8800gt=70 novatech
total= 250

 

The 400W Corsair power supply reviewed recently would be enough I think, and is only about £40.

Then use the spare money to buy a 4770 as recommended above.

I'd also recommend the mobo, cpu and memory that Bagman suggested.

 

Thanks Guys.

I was hoping to get a psu that would carry through to my next upgrade, hence the 650w - and not sure if the 12V rail on the Corsair is sufficient for any future changes?

 

The Corsair 400W has plenty of amps for a single graphics card and dual core - and considering the length of your upgrade cycles you'll probably want to upgrade it again in that time anyway.

The 400W will handle a quad core Core 2 no problem.

I'd go with E5200, 4GB 800MHz mem (slightly cheaper than 1066), Gigabyte P31 board, NEW HARD DRIVE (old ones will bottleneck your system!!), HD 4770.

Or

AMD 7750 (£50), AMD 780G mobo, same for the rest.

 

Fair points all.

 

I agree with Bindi. It'll be a huge upgrade from your current system.

 

If you simply cannot come up with something to spend that money on I hereby volunteer to take it off your hands...

 

I suppose I could give it to charity...

More seriously, the power needs of a 4830 is a 500W PSU according to the specs... so wouldn't a 400W Corsair be too little? I realise that wattage is not the end of it but is at least a ballpark guide...

 

I don't think you'll have a problem TBH considering the rest of the components.

 

700W Sparkle (FSP) at Scan for £34.44 will still leave some for other goodies
Link
http://www.scan.co.uk/todayonly/

Review here
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/psu-roundup_6.html

 

Thanks - I may be daft but not daft enough to spend only £35 on a 700W psu, even if it is in the bargain basement

 

Here are a couple of PSU's that might interest you. I have just bought the Antec Neo Power 650W, put in a offer I got one for £45. The only thing wrong with it is it comes with a European type plug.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=260396796996

The Coolermaster I was going to get but the auction had ended by the time I got paid.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:VRI&item=260398694403

 

As good as the Gigabyte P31 borad is, don't you think it would be better to go for a P43 board.

Like the MSI P43 Neo-F. Its not much more expensive.

Would the Gigabyte need a BIOS flash to work with the E5200???