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PC Upgrade on a budget, possible components, recommendations

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  • Computers
  • CPUs
  • Motherboards
  • AMD
Last response: in Motherboards
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September 19, 2014 1:57:21 AM

Ok my son is wanting to upgrade his pc, its mainly gaming, Minecraft and League of Legends but possibly Battlefield, COD etc he currently has an intel system the mobo is a foxconn, i don't have the number but it only runs a maximum of 4GB of RAM so it really needs replacing, the processor is an intel 2.3ghz dual core and he has a geforce card of the hd variety 2gb i believe, i could find numbers if required, we are not well off so our budget for the mobo and processor is £110, i have narrowed it down to the following possibilities, i wanted to ask what combination to go with and if the geforce card should be used or one of the cpu's with graphics capabilities so here we go, up first motherboards

MSI A55M-E35 FM2+ AMD A55 DDR3 mATX

or

MSI A88XM-E35 AMD FM2+ A88X DDR3 mATX

next processors for use in one of the above boards

AMD A6-6400K 4.1GHz FM2 1MB DUAL CORE PROCESSOR, RICHLAND CORE, AMD RADEON HD 8470D

or

AMD ATHLON II X4 750K BLACK EDITION 3.4GHz FM2 4MB 100W

or

AMD ATHLON II X4 740 3.2GHz FM2 4MB 65W

or finally

AMD A8-5600K 3.6GHz FM2 4MB 100W BLACK EDITION

This was all going in a midi tower case with a 500W PSU, so what are the thoughts on here, i realise the last cpu in the list is the best one possibly , but also the most expensive, any extra money saved would then be able to go on memory, i should point out that while i have change psu's, memory, gpu's, floppy drives and hdd's this will be my first mobo/processor upgrade so ease of installation should be considered, ive read some cpus require a bios flash and that some of the higher power black models and richland cores run extremely hot and require a better fan system, any help would very much be appreciated. Many Thanks
Mark

More about : upgrade budget components recommendations

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September 19, 2014 2:26:29 AM

For £100 I would look towards a second hand motherboard and CPU, as you will get better value for money. Can you find out what cpu it is currently using though? The shortcut in windows 7 is windows key + pause/break. Those cpus aren't the best for the games you describe but it is hard to know if they will be a major upgrade to your current system or not.

Have a read of this page http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-o...
It will help you see what different cpus are like. The guide is to NOT UPGRADE unless the upgrade is at least 2 tiers above the current CPU
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September 19, 2014 2:35:49 AM

I have just had a look around, at a guess I would say the system uses an old Core2 Duo E6550? Pure guesswork, but if it does this system would be a major upgrade. You will probably need new RAM if this is the case. Of the 3 CPU's you picked -

Avoid the A6 6400k - its not very good

The A8 5600k and the 740 are roughly equal

The 750k is like the 740 but it is a bit faster, easier to overclock and uses more power creates more heat.

All of these will need DDR3 RAM
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September 19, 2014 4:31:32 AM

Thanks so it looks as though i am opting for the

MSI A55M-E35 FM2+ AMD A55 DDR3 mATX
with the
AMD ATHLON II X4 740 3.2GHz FM2 4MB 65W

i might still go with the 750 but im concerened about its higher psu drain and the heat build up, this pc will be on a lot. As for his current system:

ACPIx64
Graphics card is a Nvidia GeForce GT610
Pentium Dual Core CPU E2200 @ 2.2Ghz
BIOS Pheonix Tech LTD awardBIOS v6.00PG
Disk Drive Exelstar Tech J9250S ATA Device

some more questions!

1. Will the combo ive picked with either the 740/750 require the geForce card to be used or would the system be better off with the built in AMD graphics?
2. I notice the old system HDD says ATA the new mobo is SATA is this a problem?
3 The case i'm buying comes with a 500w PSU would that be sufficient if i went for the 750k black edition. he is working on a game developer course in unity with me so wondering if the black version would be better, there is 1 model that does not have anyin built GPU so will need to check. thanks
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September 19, 2014 4:45:26 AM

Ok, that system is old, this will be a major upgrade.

1.The 740 doesnt have a GPU built in so you will need to use that graphics card. Just check it is a PCIe version (I am 99% sure it will be, bit there are older AGP cards which wont fit). The 5600k does have built in graphics, but they are only marginally better than your 610 card
2. Yes, that is a problem you will need to replace the hard drive with a SATA one, sorry. You COULD get an add in card for the motherboard but I dont advise it.
3. The PSU is enough but it wont be "great" so I wouldnt push it. It will run the black but it pulls more wattage than you need really, the 740 would be my pick at this price.

In all honesty once you budget the case, ram and new hdd into the system you are looking at a budget much beyond the £110 and you still havent got a better graphics card, it might be worth spending the total budget on a second hand PC instead but thats totally up to yourself.#

Do you know what software he wants to use? Some games design software needs a fast CPU while others need a fast graphics card too (sometimes very specific cards which are hideously expensive)
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September 19, 2014 5:01:29 AM

i can get the motherboard and cpu for £90 new which i think is a great buy it has thermal paste wrist strap and a C2G 1m 7-pin 180° to 90° 1-Device Serial ATA Cable and delivery included in price, his memory i can get 4gb for £42 but he may go for 8GB for £62 his old case was a custom made case it has a duct that sits over the cpu and is very solidly built so i could leave that and i do have 4 older desktop systems with power supplys to pick from the only unexpected layout is going to be a SATA drive (which i can get a WD 1TB Blue SATA 6GB/s 7200RPM 64MB 3.5" Hard Drive for £39.99) and a copy of windows, hes getting the mobo/cpu with his birthday money and xmas will pay for his memory, i just need to source win 7 in your opinion would it be a worthwhile upgrade?
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September 19, 2014 5:07:14 AM

It is a good upgrade, but do check that its going to run what he wants to run on it. If he is using something like Autodesk 3ds Max or Maya he might be better off using the PCs or Macs his course provides (sorry, assuming he is at a university or college?) if he just wants to run word and play the odd game its a better system no doubt
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September 19, 2014 5:23:38 AM

The school do not provide one so we have to make do with what we have, people are asking too much for preowned desktops that are not even remotely close to the spec of the one i'm trying to put together for example the shops are asking over £100 for a base unit like what he has now! mind you he plays his pc all the time but lately its been struggling running very slow and i think hes had enough of it, thanks for your help.
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September 19, 2014 5:30:24 AM

No problem
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