New CPU, Mobo (Mitx) and RAM bundle

[Stylis10]

The motherboard on a 7 year old PC i have has finally packed up. So i am looking for a new CPU, Mobo and RAM.

The old CPU was a Q6600 and had 6GB DDR2 RAM (2x2GB of which is less than 6 months old) should i sell these 2 pieces and for how much?

The CPU, Mobo and RAM i am looking at is as follows:

CPU: Intel Core i3 2120
Mobo: Asus P8H61-I, Mini ITX
RAM: Corsair DDR3 XMS3 2x4GB

additional components that i already have are:
GPU: EVGA NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 SuperClocked Graphics Card - 1GB

all to be powered by:
PSU: XFX P1-450S-U2B9 Pro Series Core Edition 450W Power Supply


my budget for the CPU, Mobo and RAM is £200 max!

I just wanted to know if this is all compatible and whether there is anything better out there for around the same price that anyone knows of?

[Pob255]

Looks fine, I cannot see any problems off hand

A couple of things to be aware of.
H61 chipset is SATA2 only, not sata3 (6gbit/s) so if you're planning on a sata3 SSD you'll not get the fully speed out of it, it's still going to be quick and faster than a hard drive just not running at it's full potential.
I put a crucial m4 in a shuttle H61, it boots win7 in under 1min

If you go mini-itx then I hope you've got a case that can support both an ATX psu and a gtx460 (both length, height and dual slot graphics card)

I also hope you realise you're going from a quad core cpu to a faster dual core cpu and that the layout of the mini-ITX boards puts the cpu socket very close to both ram and pci-e x16 slot which can cause major issues with aftermarket coolers, if you not planning on using the stock cooler.

[Stylis10]

Looks fine, I cannot see any problems off hand

A couple of things to be aware of.
H61 chipset is SATA2 only, not sata3 (6gbit/s) so if you're planning on a sata3 SSD you'll not get the fully speed out of it, it's still going to be quick and faster than a hard drive just not running at it's full potential.
I put a crucial m4 in a shuttle H61, it boots win7 in under 1min

If you go mini-itx then I hope you've got a case that can support both an ATX psu and a gtx460 (both length, height and dual slot graphics card)

I also hope you realise you're going from a quad core cpu to a faster dual core cpu and that the layout of the mini-ITX boards puts the cpu socket very close to both ram and pci-e x16 slot which can cause major issues with aftermarket coolers, if you not planning on using the stock cooler.

Im not planning on getting an SSD anytime soon.

As for the CPU, would an i5 2500k work on that motherboard?

I was planning on keeping coolers as stock to be honest, not planning on overclocking.
As for the case, im actually planning on building my own. (tall but a small square footprint) so room for ATX psu and GPU will be fine because i will make it to fit both.

i know the i5 2500k is 95w compared to the 65w i3 2120. so would the 450w psu power all of this?

sorry thats a lot of questions

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I went from a Shuttle SD37P2 with a Q6600 running at 3.1GHZ to a mini-ITX H67 motherboard with a Core i3 2100 myself. I did the change down to SATA issues. It still a reasonable bit faster but is easier to cool.

[Stylis10]

I went from a Shuttle SD37P2 with a Q6600 running at 3.1GHZ to a mini-ITX H67 motherboard with a Core i3 2100 myself. I did the change down to SATA issues. It still a reasonable bit faster but is easier to cool.

yes i do remember you telling me about this. either way, now that the motherboard is gone, i dont really have a choice but to get the new stuff. i think the CPU, Mobo and RAM i have is sufficient enough for the games i play combined with the GPU i already have.

would the 450W psu be enough to power all of it?

[Pob255]

Yes it all depends on what you do with it, for the majority of uses a quad core really isn't needed so swapping to an i3 2120 will feel like an upgrade, esp if you where not overclocking that q6600
There are some games that will benefit from a quad core but even then it's often down to multiple gpu and/or monitor setups.

Unless you're planning on doing a lot of video editing, running a load of VM or doing complex 3d modeling then you shouldn't be affected at all.

yes the i5 2500k should work fine, remember you'll not be able to overclock on an h61, it might be worth looking at an i5 2320 instead if you really want quad core, although personally I'd stick to the i3

and yes that xfx 450w will be plenty, going to the i3 will lower the power demands from the q6600.

[HalloweenJack]

given the price crash of SSD`s - then i do think you will be considering something like teh samsung 830 or crucial M4 sooner rather than later

[Willzzz]

Well the decline in SSD prices seems to be continuing so I can't see much harm in waiting.

[Stylis10]

given the price crash of SSD`s - then i do think you will be considering something like teh samsung 830 or crucial M4 sooner rather than later

Well the decline in SSD prices seems to be continuing so I can't see much harm in waiting.

I just don't think there is enough money in my budget for an SSD right now. £200 is my limit, and I've given myself £20 to buy materials to build my case (I have all the tools)

[scaryjim]

If you're desperate to go mitx and you're looking at an H61 board anyway, ebuyer have a much cheaper MSI board that might be worth looking at as an alternative. You'd need to spend another £8 to get free delivery, but thewn ebuyer have a range of 8GB DDR3-1333 1.5v memory kits for < £40 which would be suitable for your build too (and in fact, the i3 2120 is £3 cheaper there too...).

if your total budget is only £200, then I think you're stuck with the i3, tbh. Even getting the cheaper components from ebuyer you're still going to be spending ~ £75 on the mobo and RAM, and £125 won't quite get you a Core i5 (the 2320 is the cheapest SB i5 and it's £140 at both ebuyer and scan). of course, if you can stretch the budget then the i5 2320 is a good choice. Ebuyer also have the i5 2405S in stock for £165 ... it's only a 2.5GHz quad, but with the better HD 3000 graphics core, and a low 65W TDP...

Of course, a lot depends on what you want to use the new box for. If you don't need massive CPU power then a s1155 Celeron or Pentium would only set you back up to £55, leaving £70+ in the budget for a cheap SSD... Or you might be better served with a Llano build (although mitx motherboard for llano are less common and more expensive...)

[Stylis10]

If you're desperate to go mitx and you're looking at an H61 board anyway, ebuyer have a much cheaper MSI board that might be worth looking at as an alternative. You'd need to spend another £8 to get free delivery, but thewn ebuyer have a range of 8GB DDR3-1333 1.5v memory kits for < £40 which would be suitable for your build too (and in fact, the i3 2120 is £3 cheaper there too...).

if your total budget is only £200, then I think you're stuck with the i3, tbh. Even getting the cheaper components from ebuyer you're still going to be spending ~ £75 on the mobo and RAM, and £125 won't quite get you a Core i5 (the 2320 is the cheapest SB i5 and it's £140 at both ebuyer and scan). of course, if you can stretch the budget then the i5 2320 is a good choice. Ebuyer also have the i5 2405S in stock for £165 ... it's only a 2.5GHz quad, but with the better HD 3000 graphics core, and a low 65W TDP...

Of course, a lot depends on what you want to use the new box for. If you don't need massive CPU power then a s1155 Celeron or Pentium would only set you back up to £55, leaving £70+ in the budget for a cheap SSD... Or you might be better served with a Llano build (although mitx motherboard for llano are less common and more expensive...)

The only reason I asked bout the i5 2500k is that I already have one in my other PC, this PC that I'm upgrading it my mothers, as she likes the look and speed of mine so much she wants it, so we are swapping pcs. I was going to swap the i3 with the i5, as I doubt she would notice any performance difference with what she uses the PC for (emails and watching videos on YouTube).

I just needed to know that the psu would be able to power it all really, I'm not intending to overlock or anything.

[Willzzz]

The PSU should be able to cope, an extra 30w is hardly going to be a deal breaker.

The graphics card is the only issue here and it says it will be fine on a 450w psu:
http://eu.evga.com/products/moreInfo...0Family&uc=EUR

Presumably you don't have large numbers of HDDs or other devices that will take much extra power?

[Ulti]

If you're desperate to go mitx and you're looking at an H61 board anyway, ebuyer have a much cheaper MSI board that might be worth looking at as an alternative. You'd need to spend another £8 to get free delivery, but thewn ebuyer have a range of 8GB DDR3-1333 1.5v memory kits for < £40 which would be suitable for your build too (and in fact, the i3 2120 is £3 cheaper there too...).

Note he already has a GTX460 and he does plan to use it from what I can tell. The MSI board doesn't have a PCI-E slot.

Personally I'd recommend the AsRock H67M-ITX for £4 more (£67) just for future proofing reasons. You can get the same RAM but 1600mhz for £37 here. The i3-2120 is also £90 on Amazon, which means in total you save the £4 to get a H67 board, which is better IMO.

The only reason I asked bout the i5 2500k is that I already have one in my other PC, this PC that I'm upgrading it my mothers, as she likes the look and speed of mine so much she wants it, so we are swapping pcs. I was going to swap the i3 with the i5, as I doubt she would notice any performance difference with what she uses the PC for (emails and watching videos on YouTube).

I just needed to know that the psu would be able to power it all really, I'm not intending to overlock or anything.

I'm a bit confused now after reading this post. If the PC is your mothers and she only web browses, checks emails and watches videos on Youtube, you definitely don't need such a high specced PC. An SSD would make more of a difference in terms of speed than a CPU upgrade would. I don't understand why you would need a GTX460 for that either. If this is indeed the case, I would sell the GTX460 on eBay or something and then buy a Llano ITX build as previously recommended by scaryjim.

[scaryjim]

Note he already has a GTX460 and he does plan to use it from what I can tell. The MSI board doesn't have a PCI-E slot.

Ah, good catch - I'd looked at the OP but hadn't noticed that a discreet GPU was already available.

I'm a bit confused now after reading this post. If the PC is your mothers and she only web browses, checks emails and watches videos on Youtube, you definitely don't need such a high specced PC.

This, tbh. I also don't get why, if what you need to do is make your mum a new PC, you're not just building a sensible spec for her and having done? Are you planning on giving her your case as well? On £200 you could replace her system with the MSI mitx board, 4GB of RAM (no way she'll need 8GB), a SandyBridge Pentium, and have plenty left over for a 120GB SSD. For your mum's uses that system would fly ... it looks to me like you're massively overcomplicating things!

Also I don't get why mitx particularly? If it's for your case my quick google suggests it takes mATX, which will get your more features for the same price. If it's for a different case, which case and why?

[Pob255]

nice find ulti that asrock would be good and the h67 chipset will give you sata3 if an ssd is added later

[Ulti]

Also I don't get why mitx particularly? If it's for your case my quick google suggests it takes mATX, which will get your more features for the same price. If it's for a different case, which case and why?

I think he said he was building the case with £20 worth of material. If I had the skills/materials I would too! It's nice to build your own mini ITX case. scaryjim is plenty right though; a celeron G530 (almost exactly the same as the Pentium G620 performance wise) is about £33, that MSI board is £42, 4GB RAM is roughly £20. With the Samsung 830 128GB under £80, your build will cost roughly £175 that will be faster than your PC (assuming it doesn't have an SSD) for regular usage.