Help...someone

[snikez18]

so here's the deal i own a laptop and desktop. The laptop is a dell inspiron 6000 and the desktop is a dell optiplex gx280(yes very old) both use Intel pentium.The desktop has a 20gb hardrive , both have about 2gb's worth of ram each. i cannot play any games, doing work is slow and they freeze most of the time. i am not a heavy gamer(i'm that guy who plays 3 times a week) i am new to building .......so plz don't flame. I don't have massive budget(400-500). this is what i have come up with for a new build

case- Coolermaster Elite 430 Black Mid Tower Performance Case With Side Window with Coolermaster Elite 500W PSU

CPU-AMD FX 4100 Black Edition, Orochi Core, S AM3+, 3.6GHz, 8MB Total Cache, HT 3200MHz, 95W,

MOBO-Asus M5A78L, AMD 760G, S AM3+, DDR3, SATA II - 3Gb/s, RAID SATA, PCIe 2.0 (x16), ATX

RAM-4GB (2x2GB) Corsair DDR3 XMS3 Classic, PC3-16000 (2000), Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 9-10-9-27,

HARD DRIVE-500GB Seagate ST500DM005 Barracuda Spinpoint F3, 3.5" HDD, SATA III - 6Gb/s, 7200rpm, 16MB Cache

GPU- I don't know what's good for money

IF i missed anything please say i don't need an operating system. with out the GPU its £323 pounds i need a monitor and a keyboard

Any feed back is good

thanks SNIKEZ

[Ulti]

Here is a more low spec build:
CPU: Celeron G530 (~£33) [Scan]
Motherboard: ASRock B75M (~£48) [Amazon]
RAM: PNY 8GB XLR8 1600Mhz CL9 (~£33) [Kikatek]
PSU: 450W XFX Pro Core Edition (~£36) [Scan]
Graphics Card: HD6770 (~£68) [Novatech]
Case: Ace Ecco 250 (~£33) [Scan]
SSD: Samsung 830 64GB (~£50) [Dabs]
HDD: Seagate ST500DM002 500GB HDD (~£50) [Scan]
Monitor: BenQ G2222HDL 21.5" 1080p Monitor (~£92) [Amazon]
Keyboard: None

Total: £443

This build offers a sandybridge dual core along with a SSD for very fast response and general productivity (programs such as Office and internet browsers will fly). 8GB RAM should be enough for all your needs until you get rid of the computer. The PSU is a very decent one with 2 PCI-E connectors incase you choose to upgrade to a better graphics card. A 6770 won't give you the best graphics on 1080p though unfortunately but it should perform well enough.

Some alternatives with changes in bold:

More CPU power for rendering tasks and CPU intensive games (usually strategy games) but less graphics power:
CPU: i3-2120 (~£90) [Amazon]
Motherboard: ASRock B75M (~£48) [Amazon]
RAM: PNY 8GB XLR8 1600Mhz CL9 (~£33) [Kikatek]
PSU: 450W XFX Pro Core Edition (~£36) [Scan]
Graphics Card: VTX HD6670 (~£50) [Amazon]
Case: Ace Ecco 250 (~£33) [Scan]
SSD: Samsung 830 64GB (~£50) [Dabs]
HDD: Seagate ST500DM002 500GB HDD (~£50) [Scan]
Monitor: BenQ G2222HDL 21.5" 1080p Monitor (~£92) [Amazon]
Keyboard: None

Total: £482

More GPU power, 24" monitor and bigger SSD:
CPU: Celeron G530 (~£33) [Scan]
Motherboard: ASRock B75M (~£48) [Amazon]
RAM: PNY 8GB XLR8 1600Mhz CL9 (~£33) [Kikatek]
PSU: 450W XFX Pro Core Edition (~£36) [Scan]
Graphics Card: XFX6850 (~£80) [Novatech]
Case: Ace Ecco 250 (~£33) [Scan]
SSD: Sandisk Extreme 120GB (~£68) [Scan]
HDD: Seagate ST500DM002 500GB HDD (~£50) [Scan]
Monitor: BenQ G2420HDBL 24" 1080p Monitor (~£117) [Oyyy]
Keyboard: None

Total: £498

Might be worth considering AMD Llano:
CPU: A6-3670K (~£56 after cashback) [Amazon]
Motherboard: MSI A75MA-P35 (~£43) [Kikatek]
RAM: PNY 8GB XLR8 1600Mhz CL9 (~£33) [Kikatek]
PSU: 450W XFX Pro Core Edition (~£36) [Scan]
Graphics Card: HD6690D2 Crossfire using integrated HD6530D and VTX HD6670 (~£50) [Amazon]
Case: Ace Ecco 250 (~£33) [Scan]
SSD: Samsung 830 64GB (~£50) [Dabs]
HDD: Seagate ST500DM002 500GB HDD (~£50) [Scan]
Monitor: BenQ G2222HDL 21.5" 1080p Monitor (~£92) [Amazon]
Keyboard: None

Total: £443

Personally, I don't play many games but I do occasionally play light games and I just use my computer for general tasks such as media, browsing and office work so I would go with the AMD Llano build along with the 24" monitor and the Microsoft Sidewinder X4 keyboard for £30, totalling £498.

Just to let you know, the A6-3670k should offer similar performance to the FX-4100 from what I've seen and the HD6690D2 just sits under a 6770 in terms of performance. The case offers 3x 120mm fan slots and should allow for a 120mm tower cooler if you find the stock coolers too loud. It also offers noise dampening. You can also consider the Fractal Design Core 1000 case too for a similar price. There'a also nothing wrong with going for an ATX tower case as they'll only be slightly bigger than the two mATX cases I've mentioned. Check them out here. The PSU bundled with the CM 430 isn't the best, hence I've selected the XFX. I'm getting the Ecco case soon, when Scan receive them (they're on pre-order atm), myself.

My motherboard has gone faulty so I've decided to go for an mATX build for now too, until Trinity (AMD Llano's successor) comes out. I've got the G530 (£26 2nd hand on eBay), got an Asus P8H61-M Pro (£30 from PCWorld - offer ended), the same PSU (£27 off eBay from a private seller), a GTX460 768MB (£58 2nd hand on eBay) and I've pre-ordered the same case. and I've already got keyboard, monitor and SSD (I don't use a HDD as my SSD is 240GB which is enough for all my needs).

[Pob255]

I hate to say this but yes you will need to buy an OS

it might be better to buy a pre-built system and put a graphics card in
http://www.ebuyer.com/388939-zoostor...p-pc-7873-0421 £299
big issue with that route is you may well need a better psu
add in http://www.ebuyer.com/264381-xfx-450...u-p1-450s-u2b9 psu £37
and from Ulti's list Graphics Card: HD6770 (~£68) [Novatech] and Monitor: BenQ G2222HDL 21.5" 1080p Monitor (~£92) [Amazon]
total £428
or swap the Graphics Card: XFX6850 (~£80) [Novatech]
total £440

[Ulti]

I hate to say this but yes you will need to buy an OS

it might be better to buy a pre-built system and put a graphics card in
http://www.ebuyer.com/388939-zoostor...p-pc-7873-0421 £299
big issue with that route is you may well need a better psu
add in http://www.ebuyer.com/264381-xfx-450...u-p1-450s-u2b9 psu £37
and from Ulti's list Graphics Card: HD6770 (~£68) [Novatech] and Monitor: BenQ G2222HDL 21.5" 1080p Monitor (~£92) [Amazon]
total £428
or swap the Graphics Card: XFX6850 (~£80) [Novatech]
total £440

Ah thanks Pob, missed out the OS part of the thread.

I guess you can consider either the Llano build or the first build as Windows 7 costs around £60+.

[Ulti]

Just saw the 23" 1080p Philips monitor for £95! That's a pretty good bargain!

Here's the link on ebuyer: ebuyer

There's also a 1TB drive for only £10 more: ebuyer

[snikez18]

thank you so much this has helped me greatly i think i'll go with the llano build really appreciate your thoughts and ideas

[Biscuit]

Just saw the 23" 1080p Philips monitor for £95! That's a pretty good bargain!

Here's the link on ebuyer: ebuyer

There's also a 1TB drive for only £10 more: ebuyer

I have the 2 x the old version of that monitor that also has HDMI, its pretty decent!

thank you so much this has helped me greatly i think i'll go with the llano build really appreciate your thoughts and ideas

Llano would definitely be the option i would take in your shoes