Very budget build g530/540

[no_numb]

So my dad has an aging system that he has decided to replace.

Generally wants it just for internet etc but would like to play some games. The games he likes are more strategy possibly things like portal but doesnt need to be on high settings and relatively low resolution.

So I'm thinking
Celeron g540 £31 from novatech
http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/c...80623g540.html

s1155 board h61 or H67? Doesnt need many features wont be overclocked etc.
4gb ddr3
120gb SSD samsung 830 or an m4

He has a decent case, decent psu (well was good at the time), HDDs, monitors, windows etc...
The DVD drives are pata rather than sata so I guess one of them.

Needs to be relatively fast for web usage (I assume the celeron and a SSD will be fine?), play games (not particularly recent or high res), have outputs for 2 monitors, around £200 max.

Opinions?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Get this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...=hotukdeals-21

AMD is doing a £10 cashback too:

https://www.amd-promotions.com/proce.../resellers.asp

Look at the second link in Chrome or IE and you can see Amazon is on the list.

For around £56 this would be faster than a Celeron G530 and and a £30 graphics card.

The HD6530D IGP is much faster than the HD3000 fround in the Core i3 2105 or the HD2000 found in the Celeron G530.

Edit!!

Here are some comparisons the HD2000 IGP in the Core i7 2600S and the HD6530D in the A6-3500:

http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/graph5696/45098.png

The CPU section of the A6-3500 is much slower than the CPU section of the A6-3670K.

[Ulti]

As CAT has mentioned, Llano would be suited to what you want.

CPU: A6-3670K (~£56 after cashback) [Amazon]
Motherboard: MSI A75MA-P35 (~£43) [Kikatek]
RAM: PNY 8GB XLR8 1600Mhz CL9 (~£33) [Kikatek]
SSD: Sandisk Extreme 120GB (~£68) [Scan]

Comes to £200 exact.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I was thinking of something along the lines of the following:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

http://www.ebuyer.com/309715-crucial...kit25664bd160b

http://www.ebuyer.com/309715-crucial...kit25664bd160b

You can get cashback on Ebuyer purchases:

http://www.topcashback.co.uk/ebuyer/

http://www.quidco.com/ebuyer/#terms

You can also get Nectar points on Amazon purchases.

However,looking at what Ulti has suggested,the motherboard looks nicer for the price,and there is more RAM.

Edit!!

I didn't realise SSDs had gotten that cheap!!

[no_numb]

Thanks guys.

I hadnt really considered llano. What is the upgrade path like for these sockets will fm1 be used for the next gen? What about 1155? My dad is always a bit iffy about cashback by redemption. Prefer lower power 100w vs 65w but you cant argue with the benchmarks!

I have amazon prime and the free scan delivery so will probably go for those sites.

[Ulti]

I think both socket 1155 and FM1 are dead end sockets now. It'll probably be cheaper to just buy new when your dad needs a new PC but from what I see, he most likely won't need to upgrade. The only thing that I see may need upgrading is graphics down the line and adding a 6670 brings in dual graphics mode, giving HD6690D2 graphics. Not sure if it'll be supported on older games though as it seems AMD have developed it whilst looking more at recent games but if you look at it prospectively, when you do upgrade, a 6670 will perhaps cost £40 and the "current gen" games will be the older gen games in the future.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Thanks guys.

I hadnt really considered llano. What is the upgrade path like for these sockets will fm1 be used for the next gen? What about 1155? My dad is always a bit iffy about cashback by redemption. Prefer lower power 100w vs 65w but you cant argue with the benchmarks!

I have amazon prime and the free scan delivery so will probably go for those sites.

Idle and low load power consumption of Llano is very similar to the socket 1155 CPUs. Under heavy CPU load power consumption will be higher but when it comes to running games the AMD IGP will have better performance/watt than the Intel one.

Also,the motherboards me and Ulti,specified have SATA3.0 and USB3.0 too.

Then there are the slightly more expensive motherboards too:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asrock-Socke...1945816&sr=1-3

http://www.amazon.co.uk/ASRock-A75-P...1945816&sr=1-4

They have additional features such as E-SATA.

The A6-3670K also has an unlocked muliplier too. It will be interesting to see how much it can be undervolted.

[no_numb]

Cheers guys

Next question he wants it by friday and the 3670k say may require 2 days extra delivery. As it is more expensive elsewhere and he is willing to spend the extra is there another processor worth it for up to £80 inc next day del?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Cheers guys

Next question he wants it by friday and the 3670k say may require 2 days extra delivery. As it is more expensive elsewhere and he is willing to spend the extra is there another processor worth it for up to £80 inc next day del?

Just add quicker delivery to the A6.

I ordered something on Friday night which said the same. I just added first class delivery and it got despatched on Monday.

Edit!!

You have Amazon Prime,so I suspect you should be fine.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I tried to order the CPU using the 3 day delivery option and it said the following:
"Estimated dispatch: 10 July 2012 - 11 July 2012"

Since Amazon Prime is next day postage you should get it by Friday.

[no_numb]

The processor wont be overclocked or undervolted or anything. He wont use many of the features at all really. This will be a set up once and hopefully not touch it for a long time pc. He will probably use none of the features except sata3 for the SSD.

We have next day delivery with amazon prime but I ordered something which said the same may take an additional 2 days to deliver and it arrived 3 days later rather than next day. Think we'll go with the a8 3850. The amazon price considering we get free next day delivery means that £77 for the 3850 seems good as we'll get it on time (slightly better graphics also?) and is about the price we'd get the 3670k for elsewhere inc next day delivery.

I think it'll be a better buy considering time scales and the fact he will not want it overclocked at all.

Any other thoughts before I order?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The A8-3870K with cashback comes to around the same price as the A8-3850. OTH,it is only a 100MHZ clockspeed difference and an unlocked multiplier which you are not going to use.

The Llano A8 has the faster HD6550 IGP:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5771/t...3770k-review/9

It is very close to discrete GT440 and HD5570 graphics cards in performance.

Now,you can get a Celeron G530 and a GT440,GT630 or HD6570 card for around £80 to £85. It will probably slightly faster in games overall,but I personally think the CPU section of an A8-3850 will be better in the long run.

Edit!!

You can get an HD6670 DDR3 for around £55:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-Graphic...1948035&sr=8-1

So with the G530 the total will come to around £90. A G530 and HD6670 DDR3 would be faster than an A8 3850 AFAIK for gaming.

[no_numb]

Hmmm undecided now as I have thought I could order the 3670 and wait till I get the delivery estimate tomorrow if its after friday then I could cancel it and order the 3850 next day.

ah choices!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Hmmm undecided now as I have thought I could order the 3670 and wait till I get the delivery estimate tomorrow if its after friday then I could cancel it and order the 3850 next day.

ah choices!

I would do that!

However,as I have mentioned earlier,a G530 and an HD6670 GDDR3 for around £90 would be quicker for gaming I suspect overall. OTH,the A8 probably would be a better overall CPU in the long term as more and more applications become multi-threaded.

BTW,sorry for adding a third option. It just shows how much increasing the budget by a few quid can do!!

[no_numb]

Think I'll go for the apu as its one less thing to potentially be delayed, and I'm not totally convinced how much gaming he'll actually be doing. One last question am I right in thinking that llano does benefit from 1600 ram over 1333?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Think I'll go for the apu as its one less thing to potentially be delayed. One last question am I right in thinking that llano does benefit from 1600 ram over 1333?

Yep.