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budget hardware compatibility advice
#1
16 Jan 2011 @ 12:59
jonny777
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Newbie
Hi, my dad has £150 to spend on upgrading his pc. he needs;
1) Motherboard
2) CPU
3) RAM
4) CPU cooler
5) Hard drive
And I'm looking for advice if;
a) The hardware is all compatible together
b) Could I do better for price/performance (pref. hardware from same site)
Here is the hardware I'm looking at;
1) Motherboard http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-028-AK&groupid=701&catid=1903&subcat=1483
2) CPU http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-261-AM&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=1825
3) RAM http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-296-CS
4) CPU Cooler http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-028-CM&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=1395
5) Hard Drive http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-118-WD&tool=3
I'm have built Pc's before, but it was a while ago and I'm not up to date on compatibility of hardware.
I'd appreciate any advice
Thanks jon
1) Motherboard
2) CPU
3) RAM
4) CPU cooler
5) Hard drive
And I'm looking for advice if;
a) The hardware is all compatible together
b) Could I do better for price/performance (pref. hardware from same site)
Here is the hardware I'm looking at;
1) Motherboard http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-028-AK&groupid=701&catid=1903&subcat=1483
2) CPU http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-261-AM&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=1825
3) RAM http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-296-CS
4) CPU Cooler http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-028-CM&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=1395
5) Hard Drive http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-118-WD&tool=3
I'm have built Pc's before, but it was a while ago and I'm not up to date on compatibility of hardware.
I'd appreciate any advice
Thanks jon
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#2
16 Jan 2011 @ 13:11
What does he currently have? You have to be careful with budget upgrades in case they're no faster than the previous system, or not fast enough to be worth it.
Afterdawn Addict // Silent PC enthusiast // PC Build advisor // LANGamer Alias:Ratmanscoop
PC Specs page -- http://my.afterdawn.com/sammorris/blog_entry.cfm/5036
updated 25-May-11
#3
16 Jan 2011 @ 13:15
Originally posted by sammorris:He has a 10 year old pc!
What does he currently have? You have to be careful with budget upgrades in case they're no faster than the previous system, or not fast enough to be worth it.
I have a spare PSU, gfx card and ATX case, so literally he just needs the mentioned to be compatible with each other mainly.
thanks
#4
16 Jan 2011 @ 13:26
Originally posted by jonny777:GFX card? PCi? PCI-E?
I have a spare PSU, gfx card and ATX case, so literally he just needs the mentioned to be compatible with each other mainly.
thanks
Does your spare PSU fit in your spare case?
#5
16 Jan 2011 @ 13:34
He won't need a graphics card, as the board posted has integrated graphics.
That setup, whilst rock bottom performance by modern standards is reasonably priced except for the hard disk which is massively overpriced.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-120-WD&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=940
As you see, this 500GB is the same price.
If you can stretch the extra 7 or 8 pounds for this CPU, it's miles better value, as it's a considerably faster CPU.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-248-AM
While B-Grade components can sometimes be a liability, on a low budget I'd suggest trying this board:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BG-196-GI
B-Grade though it might be, the AMD boards are far better than the geforces.
That setup, whilst rock bottom performance by modern standards is reasonably priced except for the hard disk which is massively overpriced.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-120-WD&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=940
As you see, this 500GB is the same price.
If you can stretch the extra 7 or 8 pounds for this CPU, it's miles better value, as it's a considerably faster CPU.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-248-AM
While B-Grade components can sometimes be a liability, on a low budget I'd suggest trying this board:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BG-196-GI
B-Grade though it might be, the AMD boards are far better than the geforces.
Afterdawn Addict // Silent PC enthusiast // PC Build advisor // LANGamer Alias:Ratmanscoop
PC Specs page -- http://my.afterdawn.com/sammorris/blog_entry.cfm/5036
updated 25-May-11
#6
16 Jan 2011 @ 14:39
Originally posted by Deadrum33:
GFX card? PCi? PCI-E?
Does your spare PSU fit in your spare case?
GFX card is pci-express and yes the psu will fit thanks.
@sammorrisThanks for advice. It may sound silly but the reason I chose the smaller HDD is because it will just be quicker to do stuff like defrag, format etc. my dad will not store anything on it as such. I noticed one has 16MB cache and one has 8MB though. Is that a big factor in what I should buy?
I think I'd like to take your advice and go with the CPU you mention. But I'd like to keep with my original Mobo to be safe. Could you confirm your choice of CPU will fit my choice of mobo?
Also, as a last question, my choice of RAM, will it be compatible with my choice of mobo(ASRock)?
Thanks so much for advice, it's all appreciated
This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 16 Jan 2011 @ 14:41
#7
16 Jan 2011 @ 14:44
1. Quickformat takes about the same length on any drive size. No need to full format, unless you have data surface problems you want to check.
2. Defragmentation is quicker/better on larger drives as there is more free space to manoeveur the file fragments. It does not take longer on bigger drives, only if you have more data stored on the drive.
Going with a bottom-quality ASRock board new is likely to be less safe than going with a B-Grade Gigabyte.
2. Defragmentation is quicker/better on larger drives as there is more free space to manoeveur the file fragments. It does not take longer on bigger drives, only if you have more data stored on the drive.
Going with a bottom-quality ASRock board new is likely to be less safe than going with a B-Grade Gigabyte.
Afterdawn Addict // Silent PC enthusiast // PC Build advisor // LANGamer Alias:Ratmanscoop
PC Specs page -- http://my.afterdawn.com/sammorris/blog_entry.cfm/5036
updated 25-May-11
#8
16 Jan 2011 @ 14:44
edit: Argh forgot to switch to firefox
This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 16 Jan 2011 @ 14:46
Afterdawn Addict // Silent PC enthusiast // PC Build advisor // LANGamer Alias:Ratmanscoop
PC Specs page -- http://my.afterdawn.com/sammorris/blog_entry.cfm/5036
updated 25-May-11
#9
16 Jan 2011 @ 14:55
Originally posted by sammorris:Ok, what does b-grade mean? Will i get the box and manual/bits?
1. Quickformat takes about the same length on any drive size. No need to full format, unless you have data surface problems you want to check.
2. Defragmentation is quicker/better on larger drives as there is more free space to manoeveur the file fragments. It does not take longer on bigger drives, only if you have more data stored on the drive.
Going with a bottom-quality ASRock board new is likely to be less safe than going with a B-Grade Gigabyte.
Will the RAM i mentioned work on the mobo you advise?
thanks
#10
16 Jan 2011 @ 16:15
Typically you'll only get the board, nothing else.
The memory should be compatible with that board.
The memory should be compatible with that board.
Afterdawn Addict // Silent PC enthusiast // PC Build advisor // LANGamer Alias:Ratmanscoop
PC Specs page -- http://my.afterdawn.com/sammorris/blog_entry.cfm/5036
updated 25-May-11
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