Mobo/CPU/RAM - Rebuilding the heart.

[Galant]

In a previous thread in CPU's I had asked about Haswell vs its predecessor since I've been looking at a new CPU and Mobo.

Being otherwise busy I hadn't made the move but I'm trying to get it sorted now.

I basically have a desktop that died and I've decided to just replace the heart of the machine rather than the case, DVD drive etc. which are all fine - and then I can slowly upgrade other bits and pieces as time and finances allow.

It's not going to a gaming rig (apart from the occasionally wander into the gaming world when I have time) but rather an all-round home PC - although decent quality HD video playback would be nice.

I've been looking at i5 but might stretch for an i7 for the luxury, and I was wondering if anyone might be able to chirp in with any recommendations.

Again, it'll be a new mobo, CPU, and that'll also mean new RAM.

Cheers.

[razer121]

Have you thought about AMD? it could well be worth a punt due to what you need from your pc,

Have you got a budget aswell?

[MrJim]

Are you planning to overclock? What's your budget?

[Willzzz]

If you have no reason to get an i7 don't waste your money.
Do you need any particular features on your mobo?

I'd get a 4460
A relatively cheap mobo: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigab...hdmi-micro-atx
Some relatively cheap RAM: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00CWR3HVS/?tag=pcp0f-21

[Galant]

Thanks for the responses so far.

I don't have a specific budget. My main aims, as always, are quality and longevity, I like to future proof when possible.

I won't be overclocking.

i5 would be a minimum. I've not considered AMD. I might, if I can be persuaded, although I do live in a warm climate, and, unless my info is old, with AMD running a bit hotter than Intel I'd rather avoid that.

No particular features apart from a GFX card slot which is usually standard. USB ports tend to be the more the merrier and capacity for at two HDD's. Generally, I never go with the bottom option of anything (or the top). I don't mind paying more for something if it provides quality.

[Willzzz]

An i5 is ideal for you and will last you a long time.

Actually for a quid more get this mobo:
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigab...cro-atx-71ch-a
if you want extra USB3 ports.

[Pob255]

if you remove gaming, then for most general use, office/internet/basic image editing/video playback, then even an i5 is overkill an i3 is fine.

Considering AMD isn't a bad option esp an FM2+ system, the A10 7850K is definitely worth a look.
http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/cpu/65...k-28nm-kaveri/
single thread performance is a bit below the i3-4330, multi thread is about the same and the gpu still outstrips the best intel can manage.
not that this will matter that much on a general use pc, but it does mean you can do some low end gaming that the intel onbard gpu will struggle with.
And price is a major factor, the a10 7850k is currently £110 drop down to the A8-7600 and that's just £75 the i3-4330 is £100 and the i5-4460 is £140

the point it falls down really is if you consider putting a mid range graphics card in there, which will be better than the apu removing one of it's main advantages

[Galant]

I'd like to go i5 minimum since it's what I use at work, and although I won't be working from home often I've seen the performance difference between i5 and i3 even in something like dealing with manipulating large amounts of data in Excel.

Plus, I think it'll be better in the long run.

[OldFartAtPlay]

Worth considering a pentium anniversary processor- less than 50 quid. Can upgrade processor in a year or two if you feel the need.

[Galant]

Any opinions on this one? MSI H97M-E35

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

What CPU do you have now and more importantly what are you doing with the system as a whole??

Honestly if I was not running the latest games and processing RAWs and images from a 24MP D600,I would probably get an AMD APU in a mini-ITX system or even a laptop TBH!!

Edit!!

Excel can be reasonably CPU heavy it seems:

http://uk.hardware.info/reviews/5156...oft-excel-2013

However,the best bang for buck CPU in that review for Excel is probably an FX6300. It is ahead of a Core i5 4440 and near parity with a Core i5 4670.

Second Edit!!

This review confirms some of the scores from the previous one too:

http://www.jagatreview.com/2014/01/r...-masa-depan/3/

[Galant]

The CPU in the desktop is a very old Intel, a Pentium IIRC. I'd have to check. That machine is down, though, so I'm using a laptop, but that too is old. To be honest, time is catching up with all my machines, I just had another laptop die on me. Power supply issue of some sort.

As mentioned, I might have to do some work from home on the machine, form time to time, which means remoting into a few systems, but most significantly, the Excel work. There's one particular data set which can have one of my work desktops slow right down and it's running an i5 3470S with 4GB RAM.

More often, though, apart from the usual household stuff, I enjoying watching sports over the internet - NFL, NBA, and preferably HD, which gave both this current laptop and the desktop, a challenge.

I'll take a look tonight at the various components to refresh my memory and list the spares I have available.

[Galant]

Just spotted these bundles in the Scan shop:

http://www.scan.co.uk/3xs/configurat...-to-ship-vb20i

i5 4460, upgrade to 8GB RAM, maybe upgrade to the Arctic Cooling Freezer 11i?

Or there's this offering for AMD:
http://www.scan.co.uk/3xs/configurat...scan-fm2-vb10a

I'm less familiar with the AMD range. There's the A6 6400K or the A8 6600K.
Price is certainly attractive. No cooling options mentioned though.

Any opinions?


EDIT: According to CPU Benchmark the AMD offerings there look under powered.

CAT - The FX-6300 does appear to be good value, although the 8350 is a step up and although less 'value' it still offers a price tag lower than the i5 4690 which it apparently out performs.

Hmmmmm.

Anyone got any suggestions on an AMB mobo and/or cooling - out of the box fine?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Are you going to overclock??

[Galant]

Nope.

[Galant]

Anything further?