Budget upgrade

Z

Zick

Gawd
Joined
Jun 28, 2003
Messages
532
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Mostly gaming & web browsing
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
~$500 (including Tax & Shipping) **This is on the very highest end, like to keep this as low as possible.**
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
SC WI
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
CPU, RAM, CASE, PS, MB
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
HD (WD 1600HLFS), ATI 4850, CD/DVD drive
6) Will you be overclocking?
Not right now with current choice of CPU but maybe later down the road if I upgrade.
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
Current monitor is 1280x1024, hoping to upgrade to ~24" down the road.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Would like to start buying pieces now.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.
Don't need RAID, Firewire, USB 3.0, SATA 6Gb/s.
Not sure if I'll ever do Crossfire or SLI.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes, Windows 7 64bit


I am looking to upgrade from my current (sig) system. Going to reuse my 4850 vid card for now.
I've got my heart pretty much set on the I3-2100 ($118)

I am also condering this MB unless someone see's a reason I shouldn't.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130576

Case doesn't matter to much except it should be shorter than 19-3/4" to fit my location and have good air flow.
Also looking to get 8GB of RAM but not sure which one.

Thanks for any help. :cool:

 
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The only concern I have with your motherboard selection is the final price with shipping. Better feature-packed boards are available for around $10 to $20 more than the final price of your board.

With your budget, however, you can sneak a few parts in:

$97 - MSI P67S-C43 (B3) (plus $7.56 shipping)
$256 - Intel Core i5-2500K and Corsair XMS3 2x4GB DDR3 1600 combo
$26 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus
$50 - NZXT Source 210 Elite White
$65 - Antec HCG-620 620W PSU
=====
$494 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

Unless you plan on going with a dual-GPU setup in the future -- in which case, you'd probably buy a new PSU as well -- you won't have to upgrade the processor, RAM, or PSU for several years. So why settle for the dual-core i3-2100 when you can get the overclocker friendly i5-2500K now?
 
if you have a microcenter near you the i5-2500k is 179+ a motherboard special of 60$ and you could get a mobo for 49.99.
 
Actually my $500 budget limit is probably on the high side although I can probably swing it. I'd like to keep it as low as possible so I'll probably stay with the i3-2100 for now.
My current setup has lasted my many years and I'm hoping this will do the same. I realize I can't play at the highest setting but I'm ok with that.

Would I be able to re-use my old power supply? I see the new MB has a 8 pin ps connector but my current ps only has a 4 pin. I'm assuming it won't work.

The nearest microcenter to me is about 1-1/2hr away, not worth the trip. Wish we had one closer.

Thanks
 
I wouldn't recommend reusing your old PSU. All power supplies degrade in overall efficiency over time, and they degrade even faster if they were under constant, heavy use over that time. Given you're switching to a brand new CPU platform and may buy a newer, more powerful video card in the near future, it's better to grab a power supply now.

I still recommend that you stick with the case and PSU that I chose earlier. You're not going to find many better components for around the same price. Since you're going with your choices in processor and motherboard, you can omit the third-party CPU cooler, but I recommend this set of RAM instead:

$35 - Kingston ValueRAM KVR1333D3N9K2/8G 2x4GB DDR3 1333
 
1) Agreed on the PSU....an older one will just not cut it with other newer components, plus you wont have to worry about have the power available for future upgrades of your gpu, cpu, expansion cards etc......

2) Stick with name-brand ram, that has a lifetime warranty & buy it from someplace that has a free, no-questions-asked replacement policy for defectives....Crucial, Kingston, GSkill come to mind, as does DMS, Newegg, and TigerDirect. And don't get all caught up in timings, latencies, heat spreaders ect.... save that for when you get ready to build your ultimate screamer machine :)

3) DO NOT ignore or cheap out on your cooling & airflow management....... heat kills ALL components, budget, top end or anywhere in between !

4) For gaming setups, shift a bit more $$ towards your graphics card if at all possible. This will save you from being disappointed with performance & having to upgrade it again in 10-90 days simply because you cant play the games you wanna play at the settings you wanna play them at. The newer the game, the higher the requirements for GPU horsepower ..........

Good luck with your build !
 
bonehead123, it seems like you're critiquing me more than the OP:

bonehead123 said:
1) Agreed on the PSU....an older one will just not cut it with other newer components, plus you wont have to worry about have the power available for future upgrades of your gpu, cpu, expansion cards etc......

2) Stick with name-brand ram, that has a lifetime warranty & buy it from someplace that has a free, no-questions-asked replacement policy for defectives....Crucial, Kingston, GSkill come to mind, as does DMS, Newegg, and TigerDirect. And don't get all caught up in timings, latencies, heat spreaders ect.... save that for when you get ready to build your ultimate screamer machine :)

3) DO NOT ignore or cheap out on your cooling & airflow management....... heat kills ALL components, budget, top end or anywhere in between !

4) For gaming setups, shift a bit more $$ towards your graphics card if at all possible. This will save you from being disappointed with performance & having to upgrade it again in 10-90 days simply because you cant play the games you wanna play at the settings you wanna play them at. The newer the game, the higher the requirements for GPU horsepower ..........

Good luck with your build !
Click to expand...

1) Ditto.

2) Name-brand RAM: Check.
Lifetime warranty: Check.
Reputable retailer: Check.
Timings, speed, etc.: What are those? (Yes, the voltage is 1.5V. I checked that beforehand.)

3) Have you seen the case that I've chosen? It comes with a 120mm rear fan and a 140mm top fan, and it has room for at least another half-dozen fans. The OP will be fine with onboard cooling (for now...).

4) As a follow-up (to Zick, the OP), when are you going to make the first round of upgrades to this build?
 
tiraides said:
The only concern I have with your motherboard selection is the final price with shipping. Better feature-packed boards are available for around $10 to $20 more than the final price of your board.

With your budget, however, you can sneak a few parts in:

$97 - MSI P67S-C43 (B3) (plus $7.56 shipping)
$256 - Intel Core i5-2500K and Corsair XMS3 2x4GB DDR3 1600 combo
$26 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus
$50 - NZXT Source 210 Elite White
$65 - Antec HCG-620 620W PSU
=====
$494 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

Unless you plan on going with a dual-GPU setup in the future -- in which case, you'd probably buy a new PSU as well -- you won't have to upgrade the processor, RAM, or PSU for several years. So why settle for the dual-core i3-2100 when you can get the overclocker friendly i5-2500K now?
Click to expand...

+1

Very solid build, you wont find anything better. The 2500k is practically the best gaming CPU you can buy right now.
 
tiraides said:
bonehead123, it seems like you're critiquing me more than the OP:



1) Ditto.

2) Name-brand RAM: Check.
Lifetime warranty: Check.
Reputable retailer: Check.
Timings, speed, etc.: What are those? (Yes, the voltage is 1.5V. I checked that beforehand.)

3) Have you seen the case that I've chosen? It comes with a 120mm rear fan and a 140mm top fan, and it has room for at least another half-dozen fans. The OP will be fine with onboard cooling (for now...).

4) As a follow-up (to Zick, the OP), when are you going to make the first round of upgrades to this build?
Click to expand...

Sorry didn't mean to sound like I was critiquing you, I do appreciate your help. :)

I would really love to step up to the I5-2500K but at ~$100 more, is it really worth the extra price?

Also, it looks like a new video card might be in my build as well. The one I'm using now seems to be having some problems.

Probably might make the first set of purchases sometime this week.
 
Looking at the feedback on that PSU has me a little worried. There were 9 people who had either DOA or died very shortly. Out of 36 that isn't a good ratio.
 
Zick said:
Sorry didn't mean to sound like I was critiquing you, I do appreciate your help. :)
Click to expand...

Funny, I didn't know that you also went by bonehead123....

Zick said:
I would really love to step up to the I5-2500K but at ~$100 more, is it really worth the extra price?

Also, it looks like a new video card might be in my build as well. The one I'm using now seems to be having some problems.

Probably might make the first set of purchases sometime this week.
Click to expand...

I can't tell you whether the i5-2500K is right for you. It's one of the only ways you'll be able to overclock on the Socket 1155 platform and many games will take advantage of the additional threads/cores that it offers over the i3-2100.

But since you now need a new video card, you might as well use your remaining funds to grab one. For now, focus on grabbing a card for your current resolution, like the HD 6770. If and when you decide to buy that newer, greater (resolution) monitor, don't forget to save some additional funds for a new, high-end video card.

Zick said:
Looking at the feedback on that PSU has me a little worried. There were 9 people who had either DOA or died very shortly. Out of 36 that isn't a good ratio.
Click to expand...

While I understand your concern, keep in mind that only 36 people have bothered to provide feedback on the PSU on NewEgg. The PSU has been out for months now, so hundreds (if not thousands) of people have bought it. If it was a really bad PSU, we'd see a lot more than 36 reviews on it.

And keep in mind that no PSU model is 100% reliable. Some will arrive DOA and other will not handle their maximum load as advertised. That's why RMA processes and warranty time exists, and they're designed to make those incidents one-time-only affairs (though even that isn't always possible).

NewEgg, though not insignificant, is only one source for reviews. Various hardware review sites, including Anandtech and JonnyGURU (among others), have given positive marks on the entire Antec HCG series as a whole. But many of those sites have acknowledged that the PSU series isn't perfect nor are they the best quality PSU models available. The hardware reviews generally state that the Antec HCG series PSUs are good products for their price range.

Having said all of that, the ultimate choice is yours. All I can do is offer advice and provide some insight. But if you want to go with a different PSU, we need to know what video card you're considering now. That will help determine whether you should obtain a PSU that's good enough for your current plans or you have enough funds for a powerful PSU that will last you for years.
 
Ok, going to try and focus putting more $ into the GPU and going w/ a cheaper MB until I decide to upgrade my CPU.

CPU: i3-2100 $118 http://www.directron.com/bx80623i32100.html
MB: ASRock H61M-VS $60 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157241
RAM: Kingston 8GB $35 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-na-_-na&AID=10440897&PID=3891137&SID=rewrite
PS: Antec 620W $65 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-na-_-na&AID=10440897&PID=3891137&SID=rewrite
Case HAF 912 $60 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233&Tpk=haf 912
Video Card: Sapphire 6850 $145 http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-6850...UTF8&qid=1322996919&sr=8-1&tag=vglnk-c1001-20

Total $483 (AMIR $468)

Any thoughts?
 
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Zick said:
Ok, going to try and focus putting more $ into the GPU and going w/ a cheaper MB until I decide to upgrade my CPU.

CPU: i3-2100 $118 http://www.directron.com/bx80623i32100.html
MB: ASRock H61M-VS $60 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157241
RAM: Kingston 8GB $35 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-na-_-na&AID=10440897&PID=3891137&SID=rewrite
PS: Antec 620W $65 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-na-_-na&AID=10440897&PID=3891137&SID=rewrite
Case HAF 912 $60 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233&Tpk=haf 912
Video Card: Sapphire 6850 $145 http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-6850...UTF8&qid=1322996919&sr=8-1&tag=vglnk-c1001-20

Total $483 (AMIR $468)

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

One significant problem with the motherboard of your chouce:

It has only two DIMM slots. Therefore, any upgrades to the RAM will require you throwing away the two sticks that you are going to buy and spending well over $200 (at current prices).

Another minor issue: The motherboard has only a 1-year warranty. The rest of the components have much longer warranties than the motherboard. That's a bit unbalanced, IMHO.

As for the GPU, it comes from a brand that has had one of the poorer reputations with regards to the warranty and the customer support quality. It has only a two-year warranty whereas other brands offer at least three years on the warranty - and the GPU of your choice costs much too close to the better brands (after accounting for the shipping charges) for comfort, IMHO.
 
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Thanks for the input E4g1e,
The DIMM slots doesn't bother me I guess because I don't plan to ever go over 8GB of memory. Really have no need to.
If you have another suggestion for a MB that's around the ~$50-75 mark, I'm open to suggestions.

The GPU is probably one of the hardest choices I've had to make so far. I haven't kept up on current reviews and with all the different brands and confusing naming conventions, I almost at a loss.
I picked that GPU because of it's price, free shipping and MIR on top of it (Although I hate MIRs).
But again, I'm open to suggestions. I'd really like something that's going to be a step up from my 4850 I have now.
 
If you can manage with your 4850 for now, you can keep an eye out for a 6870 on sale. You can generally get them for around $150 AR...at one point I want to think they were down to $140. This XFX model is $154.99 a/r with a lifetime warranty.

EDIT: I'd very much encourage going for the 2500K if you're hoping for this build to last several years. The 2500K is a quad-core processor, where the i3-2100 is only a dual core. Some games are starting to take advantage of the quad cores, and it would be a good thing for the future if you want to make it last. You can always do the 2500K upgrade, and then do the video card at a later date, as long as the problems with your 4850 aren't too terrible.
 
Like I said, I would love to upgrade to the 2500K but that's almost double the cost of the 2100.
Plus, I would probably need to get a better MB or else I'd lose out on the overclocking potential of the 2500K.
Those two alone are going to add ~$150-200 more to the build.

Now granted if I can limp my 4850 along a little longer (I believe my problems might have been driver related). That would save me ~$150.

How bad would the 4850 bottleneck me if I stepped up to the 2500K?
Would I be ahead of a I3-2100 & 6850 setup?

So many options...
 
Zick said:
Like I said, I would love to upgrade to the 2500K but that's almost double the cost of the 2100.
Plus, I would probably need to get a better MB or else I'd lose out on the overclocking potential of the 2500K.
Those two alone are going to add ~$150-200 more to the build.

Now granted if I can limp my 4850 along a little longer (I believe my problems might have been driver related). That would save me ~$150.

How bad would the 4850 bottleneck me if I stepped up to the 2500K?
Would I be ahead of a I3-2100 & 6850 setup?

So many options...
Click to expand...

You don't really have any options that resemble anywhere close to ideal, in your situation. Some of the newer games now require four physical cores just to even run properly, if at all. And then, you'd still run into the GPU problem given your current budget: Some of those very games also require hardware DX11 support to even run at all. Unfortunately, the HD 4850 is of only the DX10.1 generation, so DX11-optimized games will not run at their optimal speed or quality.
 
If you are going to be doing one upgrade and one upgrade only, your best bet is going to be the i3-2100 & 6850. However, if it were me, I'd definitely go the 2500K route right now, and then once the 7xxx series cards are released (a few months, hopefully...), try to pick up a used 6850 or 6870.

Honestly, with MC's prices on the processors, a 1.5 hour drive is worth it IF, and only if, they have the $60 off a motherboard thing going on right now. $179 processor + ~$75ish motherboard after discount + tax = roughly $275. Factor in $30 for some RAM off Newegg, $20 for gas to get to MC leaves $175 in the budget for a case and PSU, which should be doable for under $125. Then you have $50 left to put toward a rainy day, or a GPU in a few months...though you'd probably need to find another $50 somewhere to get a 6870 used.

If you can swing that, I think that'd be your best bet.
 
Sorry tiraides, I did not mean to offend anyone here.

It was not my intention to critique you, or anyone else for that matter, but rather to offer my thoughts & opinions on what had been discussed up until the time I read the OP's post. Thats all.

I understand that my opinion is just that, but the OP did ask for help/advice/suggestions on his/her component choices yes ?




tiraides said:
bonehead123, it seems like you're critiquing me more than the OP:



1) Ditto.

2) Name-brand RAM: Check.
Lifetime warranty: Check.
Reputable retailer: Check.
Timings, speed, etc.: What are those? (Yes, the voltage is 1.5V. I checked that beforehand.)

3) Have you seen the case that I've chosen? It comes with a 120mm rear fan and a 140mm top fan, and it has room for at least another half-dozen fans. The OP will be fine with onboard cooling (for now...).

4) As a follow-up (to Zick, the OP), when are you going to make the first round of upgrades to this build?
Click to expand...
 
E4g1e said:
You don't really have any options that resemble anywhere close to ideal, in your situation. Some of the newer games now require four physical cores just to even run properly, if at all. And then, you'd still run into the GPU problem given your current budget: Some of those very games also require hardware DX11 support to even run at all. Unfortunately, the HD 4850 is of only the DX10.1 generation, so DX11-optimized games will not run at their optimal speed or quality.
Click to expand...

Xonim said:
If you are going to be doing one upgrade and one upgrade only, your best bet is going to be the i3-2100 & 6850. However, if it were me, I'd definitely go the 2500K route right now, and then once the 7xxx series cards are released (a few months, hopefully...), try to pick up a used 6850 or 6870.

Honestly, with MC's prices on the processors, a 1.5 hour drive is worth it IF, and only if, they have the $60 off a motherboard thing going on right now. $179 processor + ~$75ish motherboard after discount + tax = roughly $275. Factor in $30 for some RAM off Newegg, $20 for gas to get to MC leaves $175 in the budget for a case and PSU, which should be doable for under $125. Then you have $50 left to put toward a rainy day, or a GPU in a few months...though you'd probably need to find another $50 somewhere to get a 6870 used.

If you can swing that, I think that'd be your best bet.
Click to expand...

Well I just doubled checked the distance on MC and it's actually about a 2hr trip there. A 4hr round trip into Chicago area is not worth it to me.

I think I'm gonna go with the I5-2500K and use my 4850 until I run across a good deal on something better.

Now what motherboard to go along with it. :confused:

Thanks guys, you've been great help so far! :)
 
 
Well, everything showed up on Friday and had it completely built by Friday night. Everything went smoothly with no bad parts and such.
This thing runs soooo much better!
Thanks for every one's help and suggestions! :D

9343b73b.jpg

000b3524.jpg

b8597483.jpg

8c3b159d.jpg
 
Zick said:
Well, everything showed up on Friday and had it completely built by Friday night. Everything went smoothly with no bad parts and such.
This thing runs soooo much better!
Thanks for every one's help and suggestions! :D

9343b73b.jpg

000b3524.jpg

b8597483.jpg

8c3b159d.jpg
Click to expand...

Nice system. Old GPU and old HDD are still in that system until you can save enough money for a newer GPU and HDD (which could be several months).
 
E4g1e said:
Nice system. Old GPU and old HDD are still in that system until you can save enough money for a newer GPU and HDD (which could be several months).
Click to expand...

Yup, don't think I'm gonna get a new HD though.
 
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