New PC Tower (£200-£300) Budget

Hello there!

I am currently using a PC which has had more than its fair share of problems and to be fair its had a good run and is getting old now. I am currently using a Windows XP era PC, 1.5GB RAM (started with 512). 160GB HDD. P4 Intel 3.0Ghz CPU. The gfx card has been upgraded to a Radeon HD2400 but although this machine is better than it was. I want a new one.

I am looking at spending £200- maybe up too £300 on just a tower. That Is not including the Hard drive as I will carry my old one over for now, also my DVD Writer also.

I am looking for the best PSU,Mobo,CPU case and maybe gfx I can get with my budget. I am happy to use my old ram if it fits until I can purcahse more.

But since I am in a bit of a dilemma.

What is the best I could get using my full budget getting all the items I need baring the HDD and DVD Drives.

And what is the best Mobo,CPU,Case,PSU I can get for £200.

It all seems a bit messy and ive been looking around, I like to play games although I dont play many currently and my PC gets used a lot for music and downloading and does a lot of brain work with extracting huge files.

If you need more info from me to assist me then please ask!

Thanks in advance!

Case + PSU: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/126611 £28

Memory: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/142429 £55

Graphics Card: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152940 £51

CPU: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/159071 £104

Motherboard: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164470 £34

Total: £278

Most of the time AM3 CPU's will work with AM2 motherboards, but don't take my word for it: http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support [...] #anchor_os

That case comes with a PSU with 264W on the 12V rails, the maximum 12V power the new system could possible consume would be 160W (61%), so you'll be fine with that cheap PSU, though it's very well possible the PSU from your old system will work with the new one as well.
If you really feel like you need a better PSU, this would be your best option: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/120375 £34, that means you'll only have £16 for a case (though cases don't really matter that much.)

Yes, 700 pounds will get you a far better system, plus there may be some cheap mid-range HD 5xxx cards available by then.

You can get the motherboard, CPU and memory I suggested with an Antec Earthwatts 380W PSU, get a good case (Antec 300 for example) and don't buy a graphics card as of yet (reuse your 2400), then you can buy a better graphics card (HD 4850 or some HD 5xxx series card) and a new hard drive (newer hard drives are faster and quieter) later.
BTW, get a 1440x900 or 1680x1050 monitor as well (should still fit in your budget of 700 pounds.)

There's a Geforce 6100 integrated chip on that motherboard, that shouldn't be too far behind on an AGP 2400.

You can get much better for your money if you shop around.

ASUS M4N78-AM GeForce 8200 Socket AM2+ - £40.85
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/170253

PowerColor HD 4850 PCS 512MB - £74.98
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/168023

AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition - £91.97
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AMD [...] 95W-Retail

OCZ DDR2 Dual Channel CL4 4GB Kit - £46.51
http://www.dabs.com/products/ocz-t [...] -5J6D.html

CoolerMaster Elite 330 Black 460W PSU - £56.49
http://www.dabs.com/products/coole [...] -5HGM.html

Total = £310.80 including delivery

dabs and ebuyer both offer free delivery. For scan, you can avail of free delivery if you sign up to a forum called hexus.

Oh god Im tempted. I dont mind shopping from different stores so long as the service is good!

Do I get everything I need to mount the mobo ect? and all the tools, I dont have an anti static wrist band anymore!

What about all the wires such as the jumpers and usb wires...I can do all the cables connecting to a PSU. But im sure a manual with come with the mobo explaining these. Mobo jumper wires are only thing ive never done to date with PC's with slapping parts in!

Yeah that will be in all those wires that connect to the LEDS for the front of the case.


Its been a while!

Ive done it all but install a mobo. thats the thing ive only done once.... And i didnt do the front panel wires. couldnt be done as was an old board.

Just noticed but that gfx card is £70 odd quid, thats a lot of money. Is that a good gfx card?

^+1

It's actually a slight overkill for your current resolution. But if your planning to buy a new monitor, it's definitely a must.

Then your all set

Never lets me edit my post, forgot about my OS and.... Maybe a new HDD would be ideal since my current one uses old IDE and not the faster SATA II's.

If you don't have enough money for an OS, then yeah you should scrap the graphics for now. That mobo I listed has good onboard graphics, but you won't be able to do much gaming until you buy a graphics card.

If by a beastly graphics card, you mean something along the lines of an ATI 4890 or GTX 275, you will need a larger power supply. 550W at least.

As for the RAM, I think it's 8GB max. You won't need more than 4GB though.

I think I will get a copy of Vista but thats another mission!

as Far as my games go I played a bit of Counter Strike and Rome Total War. I dont need a huge gfx card, but something with a nice bite. Maybe around the £100 mark later on. Rome Total War with a few mods installed is probably all I'm going to be trying on this PC until I get the upgrade. And current HD2400 Manages. On board isnt far off my current card?

Here you go: http://www.dabs.com/products/seaga [...] 0-52070000

Hard drives hardly ever fail, especially not in DIY systems with good air flow and ventilation, so you're gonna need statistics, not individual stories, to judge a hard drive.

why do you ppl recommend a nvidia based mb? they are crap.
if you can muster another 15 euros, take this mb: EXDISPLAY ASUS M4A78-VM 780G Socket AM2+ HDMI DVI VGA 8 Channel Audio MATX
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/174867

What would be the ideal copy of Vista I would need for this build? Whats the best one? Ive used Vista on a laptop and thought it was horrible.

that is a very wise tip. thanks

I might have to invest, or hold out without gfx for the OS. Gotta get my core parts bought first. What do you guys think then. That ex Display board is better than the one mentioned with the Nvidia chipset? Its only £2 more. And Im unsure what the perks are apart frm just a better chipset (which I dont know what that will improve)