£350 Gaming Hardware upgrade

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Fishpig

Honorable
May 26, 2013
3
0
10,510
Hello knowledgeable folks, hoping you can help with my upgrade. I've been looking at AMD Ax motherboard bundles for around £200, but not sure if that is the way to go.

Approximate Purchase Date: Early June
Budget Range: £350 GBP Sterling, after shipping and rebates
System Usage : Gaming, web surfing
Are you buying a monitor: No



Parts to Upgrade: mobo, CPU, GPU (will consider integrated, save GPU upgrade for later), RAM, SSD (for OS and select games), possibly PSU
Re-using case, 640GB HDD (not half-full after 3 years) and 300W PSU if possible (All three as came in Compaq Presario CQ5034UK )

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: None, but as few as possible to minimise delivery charges.

Location: Guildford, Surrey, UK

Parts Preferences: None

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: 1280x1024 currently, no target

Additional Comments: Not fussed about high end graphics, just want low-mid for modern games, inc. (and I know this is a big ask!) Planetside 2.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Current PC is suing for constructive dismissal after I asked it to play some modern games.
 
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Someone Somewhere

Someone Somewhere

Titan
Sep 23, 2012
22,291
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84,965
You likely won't get an SSD into that budget. Add one in another few months to a year.

How does this look:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-3210 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor (£96.81 @ Dabs)
Motherboard: Asus P8B75-M LX PLUS Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£46.58 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£38.91 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card (£134.74 @ Ebuyer)
Power Supply: XFX 450W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£34.99 @ Maplin Electronics)
Total: £352.03
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-26 10:19 BST+0100)
 
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F

Fishpig

Honorable
May 26, 2013
3
0
10,510
Thanks Someone! I hadn't looked at Intel so much but that looks like a fine set up for the money.

As I mentioned, I'd been looking at an AMD A10 bundle (link for example)...the onboard graphics look ok these days and it would let me buy an SSD...but as a general rule would you say I was better off going for a proper graphics card and getting an SSD later, rather than the other way round?
I do find the idea of another install of windows, etc. shortly down the line a bit off-putting if I'm honest!
 
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Someone Somewhere

Someone Somewhere

Titan
Sep 23, 2012
22,291
8
84,965
You can clone your install onto the SSD - but it's a bit of a pain, especially with differing drive sizes.

The graphics are still nowhere near as good as a real GPU - they call it a 7660D for a reason - it's significantly slower than a 7750. It's OK for web surfing, but gaming could be somewhat torturous. Then again, you're on a low-res screen, so it won't be too bad. And it's easier to add in a GPU than a new SSD (though changing drivers could be a pain, but it is AMD>AMD).

Your pick I suppose - faster startup/shutdown/loading times vs higher FPS.

Another option: PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (£85.99 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£51.59 @ Aria PC)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory (£34.90 @ Dabs)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£71.99 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB Video Card (£104.94 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: XFX 450W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£34.99 @ Maplin Electronics)
Total: £384.40
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-27 05:19 BST+0100)

It does go slightly over though.
 
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X79

X79

Honorable
Apr 17, 2013
3,039
0
13,460
Here's an Intel build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor (£88.39 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: ASRock B75M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£48.50 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory (£34.90 @ Dabs)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB Video Card (£105.96 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: XFX 450W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£34.99 @ Maplin Electronics)
Total: £312.74
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-27 11:26 BST+0100)


Here's an AMD build, with the help from Someone Somewhere:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (£85.99 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£51.59 @ Aria PC)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory (£34.90 @ Dabs)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB Video Card (£105.96 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 335 Upgraded ATX Mid Tower Case (£25.98 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: XFX 450W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£34.99 @ Maplin Electronics)
Total: £339.41
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-27 11:30 BST+0100)

Has a case too.
 
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F

Fishpig

Honorable
May 26, 2013
3
0
10,510
Thanks, both. Using your AMD builds as a jumping off point, and scrimping a bit on some components to squeeze in the SSD, what should I watch out for with this build?
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (£85.99 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£37.99 @ Aria PC)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory (£34.90 @ Dabs)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£71.99 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1GB Video Card (£83.11 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: XFX 450W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£34.99 @ Maplin Electronics)
Total: £348.97
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-27 12:47 BST+0100)
 
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Someone Somewhere

Someone Somewhere

Titan
Sep 23, 2012
22,291
8
84,965
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£59.99 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£37.99 @ Aria PC)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£24.13 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£71.99 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card (£129.60 @ Ebuyer)
Power Supply: XFX 450W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£34.99 @ Maplin Electronics)
Total: £358.69
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-27 12:59 BST+0100)
 
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