£200 to spend

[zulander]

I want to get a new PC - mine is an old AMD 64 3500 and its really showing its age with a gig of ram and win 7 on it! I can go a bit over £200

I already have a monitor, case, dvd, and OS but not sure what CPU moby etc I should get - I havent built a machine in years.

I was kinda looking at getting an I3 as we have some in work that seem nice and nippy. I might play the odd old game on it but the machine will mainly be for the web, music. The only thing id like is if it was a bit on the quiet side as its in the living room.

Has anyone got any recomdendations for parts to use or to avoid before i start drawing up shortlists of what to get? Probably use scan to get my parts from cheers

[scaryjim]

I'd strongly recommend either an AMD A-series APU + A75 motherboard, or an Athlon II X3 + AM3+ motherboard + 5670 / 6570 graphics card. Add 4GB of DDR3 to those components and you should have a good general purpose rig that'll also handle casual gaming. You should be able to spec up a rig around either of those combinations. Check out CAT-THE-FIFTH's monthly build guide for specifics - you'll probably want to select suitable components from the £350 general build...

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

What PSU do you have BTW?? The IGP on the Core i3 is very poor.

[zulander]

PSU is an old seasonic 480w i think - not sure if i need to upgrade that as well - i feel well out of touch!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

PSU is an old seasonic 480w i think - not sure if i need to upgrade that as well - i feel well out of touch!

I would consider getting a new more energy efficient PSU. The suggestions by scaryjim are what I would suggest too.

Remember that any modern CPU is going to be a large upgrade over what you have. Also,I would get a new hard drive if it over 5 years old.

Edit!!

What is the model number of your PSU??

[zulander]

oh god know idea what the model number is- its a good few years old now 5 at least

[wasabi]

Am3 boards are pretty good value - the slightly older non- usb3 types can be had for around £40. AMD X3 or X4s arent bleeding edge but give plenty of bang for buck and wayyyy fster than the 3500 . If you get an Am3 'e' series processor they're low power (45w) so can run on low fan speeds Again £50 should get you something, or hit ebay to save. you can probably recycle heatsink off your 3500? 4 gig of cheapy ddr3 valueram off ebuyer or something similar for £25. Radeon 5670 or the likes for graphics good enough for most games at mid range settings and video playing - £55. Recycle old HD or add ££40 for a 1Tb Sata 3 5400rpm