Less than £300 pc upgrade?

Thanatognomonic · May 10, 2014

Hey guys,
I'm in the process of building a new computer for college as I'm doing a fair amount of computer-related subjects and my current PC is dieing out (I can feel it dieing)
In the past months I've done a bit of buying, I bought a XFX Pro 450W and an EVGA 660Ti SC Edition to go along to this new build, which leaves me with a maximum of £300 to spend.

This is what I need/want.

1. CPU
2. Motherboard
3. RAM
4. SSD (It's not necessary, but it'd be a nice addition for quick loading times on programs and I can also use the HDDs in my current build if necessary (they're two 500Gb drives))
5. Case

I've done my own bit of research, and I've come across two potential options, one being an FX-6300 and the other being an i3-4130. I don't plan on over-clocking due to my budget, so I deemed the 4130 to be the best on raw performance for my needs.

Now the rest of components, what you you guys suggest?

- Thanks in advance.

EDIT : If you want to know anything specific, please ask.

Dark Lord of Tech · May 10, 2014

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor (£104.39 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£63.43 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£62.38 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case (£79.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £310.19
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-10 22:02 BST+0100)

Thanatognomonic · May 10, 2014

I know the FX series CPUs are better/more welcoming to over-clocking, but they also have a higher TDP.

Would this increased watt load become a problem IF I ever did over-clock?

Dark Lord of Tech · May 10, 2014

All quality components.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (£76.79 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£63.43 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£62.38 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case (£79.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £282.59
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-10 22:06 BST+0100)

Dark Lord of Tech · May 10, 2014

If you had an EVO cooler and a 550 watt Seasonic you could overclock , but with the 450w I wouldn't overclock.

Dark Lord of Tech · May 10, 2014

This is a good deal and the case is super nice.

All quality components.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (£76.79 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£63.43 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£62.38 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case (£79.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £282.59
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-10 22:06 BST+0100)

Thanatognomonic · May 10, 2014

That case is real nice.

How big of a difference is there between the 8320 and the 6300 and would you recommend the difference being worth the extra £30?

Dark Lord of Tech · May 10, 2014

Yes , I would get the 8320.

Thanatognomonic · May 10, 2014

Alright, my final question.

What're the temperatures of the 8320? my computer is going to be in a fairly warm room (normally the hottest in the house)
would you suggest eventually upgrading to a better cooler when I get the money or do you think stock cooling would be sufficient no matter what?

Dark Lord of Tech · May 10, 2014

I recommend this.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£25.45 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £25.45
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-10 22:23 BST+0100)

Thanatognomonic · May 10, 2014

would you deem the after-market cooler a necessity or do you feel that the 8320 will perform at correct temps on stock-cooling?
If it's important, than I might as well save the extra £35 and buy it all at once.

Dark Lord of Tech · May 10, 2014

I highly recommend the EVO for the 8320 and 8350.

Thanatognomonic · May 10, 2014

Alright, well I guess I'll save up the extra money so I can get the EVO.

Thank you so much for the help!

fatboyslimerr · May 10, 2014

I think you're more likely to want the faster IPC of Intel over the greater core/thread count of AMD.
Therefore get an i3 4130 (or i5 4440 if you can stretch), coupled with an Asus H81M-PLUS and some Patriot Viper 3 RAM.
Go for either Crucial M500 or Samsung 840 EVO SSD and finally I love the minimalistic Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 version.

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Less than £300 pc upgrade?

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