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-   -   Advice on PC upgrade from Gigabyte system (https://www.cableforum.uk/board/showthread.php?t=33687165)

pop80_uk 22-04-2012 18:49

Advice on PC upgrade from Gigabyte system
 
Hey all,
I currently have this machine which I built three years ago

Mainboard : Gigabyte G31M-S2L
Chipset : Intel G31/G33/G35
Processor : Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 @ 2666MHz
Physical Memory : 4096MB (2 x 2048 DDR2-SDRAM )
Video Card : NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT
Network Card : Realtek Semiconductor RTL8168/8111 PCIe Gigabit Ethernet Adapter

Ive pretty much upgraded it to as much as it can go and unfortunately my quest (or laziness) not to upgrade sue to having to re-install the OS and basically start again will all my programs and installed items has now caught up with me.

My only problem is I have been away from PC building for so long that im a bit rusty on specs and best makes etc.

So my question to you guys is, I have £300 to potentially spend, can you make some recommendations and also suggest what sort of improvement I will see.

I already have these components ready:
Asus Essence STX Sound card
256GB Crucial SSD
Hyper PSU

Thanks! ;)

gba93 22-04-2012 19:02

Re: Advice on PC upgrade from Gigabyte system
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by pop80_uk (Post 35417760)
Hey all,
I currently have this machine which I built three years ago

Mainboard : Gigabyte G31M-S2L
Chipset : Intel G31/G33/G35
Processor : Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 @ 2666MHz
Physical Memory : 4096MB (2 x 2048 DDR2-SDRAM )
Video Card : NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT
Network Card : Realtek Semiconductor RTL8168/8111 PCIe Gigabit Ethernet Adapter

Ive pretty much upgraded it to as much as it can go and unfortunately my quest (or laziness) not to upgrade sue to having to re-install the OS and basically start again will all my programs and installed items has now caught up with me.

My only problem is I have been away from PC building for so long that im a bit rusty on specs and best makes etc.

So my question to you guys is, I have £300 to potentially spend, can you make some recommendations and also suggest what sort of improvement I will see.

I already have these components ready:
Asus Essence STX Sound card
256GB Crucial SSD
Hyper PSU

Thanks! ;)

Are you locked into Intel or would you consider an AMD option ?

pop80_uk 22-04-2012 19:14

Re: Advice on PC upgrade from Gigabyte system
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by gba93 (Post 35417774)
Are you locked into Intel or would you consider an AMD option ?

Open to AMD, just been told that Intel have the edge

gba93 22-04-2012 19:31

Re: Advice on PC upgrade from Gigabyte system
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by pop80_uk (Post 35417787)
Open to AMD, just been told that Intel have the edge

In all honesty that is probably right but it's a bit like the News Corp fiasco sometimes you just don't want your money to go to the big corporations (not that AMD are all that small).

Anyway I'm going through the same process as you and my final choice is as follows:
- Asus Sabertooth 990FX motherboard (military spec - 5 year warranty)
- AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition (maybe old but overclocks well)
- Corsair Vengence 1600Mhz (16mb)
Total cost approx £330

I'm sure that someone will be able to come up with a competitive Intel alternative but the above is a stonking AMD rig for the price :)

DocDutch 22-04-2012 19:38

Re: Advice on PC upgrade from Gigabyte system
 
Now do you play games on your pc at all? If yes then you might have to up your budget

But if you have a look at scan you can get the i5 2500k in an overclocked bundle for 330

pop80_uk 22-04-2012 19:41

Re: Advice on PC upgrade from Gigabyte system
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by DocDutch (Post 35417807)
Now do you play games on your pc at all? If yes then you might have to up your budget

But if you have a look at scan you can get the i5 2500k in an overclocked bundle for 330

Not really, no

The games I play are old by gamers terms C&C etc, web browsing and genuine PC use.

I5 may do it, do you have a link?

Thanks ;)

---------- Post added at 18:41 ---------- Previous post was at 18:41 ----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by gba93 (Post 35417799)
In all honesty that is probably right but it's a bit like the News Corp fiasco sometimes you just don't want your money to go to the big corporations (not that AMD are all that small).

Anyway I'm going through the same process as you and my final choice is as follows:
- Asus Sabertooth 990FX motherboard (military spec - 5 year warranty)
- AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition (maybe old but overclocks well)
- Corsair Vengence 1600Mhz (16mb)
Total cost approx £330

I'm sure that someone will be able to come up with a competitive Intel alternative but the above is a stonking AMD rig for the price :)

Thank you,
Sounds interesting, I guess a vast improvement from what I have? ;)

DocDutch 22-04-2012 21:15

Re: Advice on PC upgrade from Gigabyte system
 
This should do you just select the i5 and change the mobo i would go for the z68x-ud3 over the standard board
Link http://www.scan.co.uk/3xs-overclocked-bundles

gba93 22-04-2012 22:08

Re: Advice on PC upgrade from Gigabyte system
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by pop80_uk (Post 35417809)
Thank you,
Sounds interesting, I guess a vast improvement from what I have? ;)

It would be and I'm sure you wouldn't be disappointed - let us know what you finally decide

SnoopZ 22-04-2012 22:20

Re: Advice on PC upgrade from Gigabyte system
 
I upgraded my old computer for around £300, with an intel i3, 8GB ddr3 memory and an cheap Asus motherboard with IDE connector to make use of my old existing HDDs and a cheapo graphics card as i don't play games on it.

The i3 is an awesome processor though for £90 so should be ok for your needs.

boroboi 23-04-2012 00:02

Re: Advice on PC upgrade from Gigabyte system
 
With an i3 you don't even need a cheapo graphics card, because it has one on-die.

pop80_uk 23-04-2012 02:09

Re: Advice on PC upgrade from Gigabyte system
 
Just wondering if I could save some time / money and buy this and upgrade the RAM:

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/pro...px?pid=2456#sp

Im pretty sure everything I have now could be transferred to this board, do you think I would get away without having to re-install windows 7 as well if I bought this?

I know that usually when you get build a new PC it requires a total re-install but I heard you can get round this by buying the same brand.

Any thoughts, would this work?

DocDutch 23-04-2012 07:41

Re: Advice on PC upgrade from Gigabyte system
 
Pop that board is older than the 1 you got now so more down than upgrade.

pop80_uk 23-04-2012 09:33

Re: Advice on PC upgrade from Gigabyte system
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by DocDutch (Post 35417997)
Pop that board is older than the 1 you got now so more down than upgrade.

Really :confused:
But its got more slots and can take 8GB of RAM?

Is there any board from Gigabyte which is an upgrade of mine but will work without a full re-install of windows and allow me to install some more RAM?

Thanks ;)

Graham M 23-04-2012 10:01

Re: Advice on PC upgrade from Gigabyte system
 
Almost seems like a waste of time upgrading from the machine you are already using if it works fine and does everything that you use it for with no problems :confused:

Gavin78 25-04-2012 01:49

Re: Advice on PC upgrade from Gigabyte system
 
can't you just ghost the current drive? then port it over to the new system?


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