My Budget Rig /upgrade

W

warrenty13

New member
so this project started with a competition, and since then has been a budget project with second hand parts, and make do attitude, but since getting a job with a better income ive been able to afford parts, i would never before, now i have already bought a new graphics card, but ill add that in the log, with the story behind it, for now this is what has happened so far
2 years ago i won a Asus M5A78l-M USB3 mobo and an AMD Athlon II X2 260
this was the first time i ever had any decent parts for a pc, so i went out to a scrap yard/recycle centre and got 2 sata hard drives, and some ddr 3 ram, and a very cheap case, and off i went into the world of pc gaming and rig builds, this was a lot of trial and error, but i eventually built it and was running it for a while quite happy, but as my knowledge grew so did my desire for ermm, more power, so i got my self a graphics card a gt 520 , and my first gaming pc was born, it was shall we say small but sweet, now that was my first project and what i currently have (except the change in the graphics card), this is what i currently have

Operating System
Microsoft Windows 8 Pro 32-bit
CPU
AMD Athlon II X2 260
Regor 45nm Technology
RAM
4.00GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 669MHz (9-9-9-24)
Motherboard
ASUSTeK Computer INC. M5A78L-M/USB3 (AM3R2)
Graphics
Standard Monitor (1360x768@60Hz)
2048MB GeForce GTX 660 (Gigabyte)
Hard Drives
149GB Seagate ST3160023AS ATA Device (SATA)
297GB Microsoft Storage Space Device (TMax)
Optical Drives
No optical disk drives detected
Audio
High Definition Audio Device

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
and this is what im hoping to upgrade to

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Asus M5A78L-M/USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory
Storage: Western Digital WD Green 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series SP120 Quiet Edition (2-Pack) 37.9 CFM 120mm Fans
Power Supply: OCZ ZS 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Professional (OEM) (32-bit)

i will be buying parts once a month, my case has already been bought and should arrive tomorrow, once its built i will then try my hand at modding =]
 
first thing you will need a 64 bit OS to make the most of that ram as far as im aware 4gb if the limit for 32bit OS's.
Also maybe dial down a little on the Mhz of the ram to maybe save a little to get a better GPU, also what vengance ram are you wanting alot comes under vengance
Also do those corsair fans do they have much room to move the air around them as you may need SP's
 
If that hard drive is going to be your primary drive I would opt for something quicker. i.e a 7200rpm drive. The WD Greens are fine for storage but are designed with power saving in mind. Maybe go for a blue or preferably a black or a Seagate Barracuda. Ideally however you're gonna wanna see if you can squeeze an SSD into your budget.

On another note, I see your keeping your motherboard which is small form factor and you're putting it into a mid tower case. You could get away with something smaller. Corsair 350D, Bitfenix Prodigy perhaps? I would let someone else confirm whether your board would fit though
 
i don't think fx cpus support higher than 1866 memory, so i'd advise getting cheaper 1866mhz ram
i'd also advise against buying a ocz psu, ocz have terrible customer support and have a high returns rate. go another brand, xfx, corsair and seasonic are good examples but most brands are good.
 
Watsyerproblem said:
i don't think fx cpus support higher than 1866 memory, so i'd advise getting cheaper 1866mhz ram
i'd also advise against buying a ocz psu, ocz have terrible customer support and have a high returns rate. go another brand, xfx, corsair and seasonic are good examples but most brands are good.
Click to expand...

+1 on this, I missed that you were getting the OCZ PSU. As Watseyer problem says, seasonic, corsair, XFX are a far better bet
 
Bitfenix Prodigy is ITX, however a m-ATX version is in the making. Good alternatives would be the Corsair 350D, Fractal Design Arc Mini (R2) or the Lian Li PC-A04.

OCZ aren't a very good brand when it comes to power supplies. I would recommend a Corsair, XFX, Seasonic, BeQuiet or NZXT unit. The Corsair CX500(m) or XFX Pro 550 Watt are what I would recommend in your case. :)

Other than that I agree with these guys.
- A 64 Bit Operating System (Windows) is required to use any RAM after 3.7GB
- You could probably easily get back with 1TB of storage. I'd recommend a WD Caviar Blue and as WillSK said, try to squeeze in a small SSD (60 GB is enough).

Edit; A few points got ninja'd but they're still valid :p
 
In summary.

64-bit Win 7/8
Fractal Design Define Mini/Arc Mini R2 but you already bpught your case so oh well
Corsair/Seasonic/XFX/Kingwin/Fractal Design Psus
SSD is a must for any system. 120gb minimum is ideal and recommended
7870, 7870LE, or 7950 are better performers than 660.
 
thank you for all the advice guys, it is very appreciated, let me start with saying i used pc part picker for the list of upgrades and some of the things i was going to be buying wernt in the list, ill start with the hard drive, im going to keep the 2 hard drives im already using, the smaller one is for the OS, the middle one is for general games storage etc, and then the TB would be just for storage i picked that green on simple cos it was the cheapest on the list, ill look more into getting somthing with a better speed, but thats why its on the list, it was the cheapest, now for the power supply i have a OZ psu already a 550w one, it was £40 this was before i knew about gold edition and everything i have had it for a year and a half now, and it works fine, if it goes yes i will defiantly go for a better brand next time, but i didnt think about changing the psu, simply cos its done me well so far, now for the case,i just fell in love with the R4 and i thought no matter what build i do, or what parts i buy etc, i know its all going to fit in that case, and look good, i know my mobo is small compared to the case, but i didnt see why buying another mobo would make any diffrence to my build, other then adding a expense i didnt quite need, it has usb 3, and altho its am3/am3+ socket, which brings me onto the chipset and ram, this is something i didnt know about and still dont quite understand, i want 8 gig,in my rig, i didnt know 32 bit didnt support 8 gig, so that is a new concern, also i chose the fx chip ,cos its the cheapest with the most cores and its overclocked, thats why i decided on that chip, from what i can tell all the fx chips go up to "DDR3-2133" as it says on the aria site, so the vengence i was going for where 2 4 gig ddr3 2133's , if thats not the right way to do it, i would appreciate some advice as this isnt something im comfortable with or know much about, and finally for the SSD, yes i was going to add a 60 gig ssd, i forgot to add it to the list but it is going to be added, and again thank you all for the advice and comments
 
warrenty13 said:
now for the power supply i have a OZ psu already a 550w one, it was £40 this was before i knew about gold edition and everything i have had it for a year and a half now, and it works fine, if it goes yes i will defiantly go for a better brand next time, but i didnt think about changing the psu, simply cos its done me well so far
Click to expand...

If your psu goes. So does everything else with it meaning everything goes ka-puff and dies. Not worth the risk

now for the case,i just fell in love with the R4
Click to expand...
Nothing wrong with the R4 but it we only recommended a smaller case because your using a smaller mobo.

which brings me onto the chipset and ram, this is something i didnt know about and still dont quite understand, i want 8 gig,in my rig, i didnt know 32 bit didnt support 8 gig
Click to expand...

The bold is something that will take an immense amount of time and detail to explain. Just know 32bit = <= 4gb of ram and 64bit equals much more.

also i chose the fx chip cos its the cheapest with the most cores and its overclocked, thats why i decided on that chip,
Click to expand...

The cheapest FX cpu with the most cores is the 8320. No CPU is out of the box "overclocked" they simply just have "boost" clocks which means when needed the CPU will increase the frequency for better performance.

from what i can tell all the fx chips go up to "DDR3-2133" as it says on the aria site, so the vengence i was going for where 2 4 gig ddr3 2133's , if thats not the right way to do it, i would appreciate some advice as this isnt something im comfortable with or know much about
Click to expand...

On the AMD website they state FX cpus support 1866mhz ram out of the box with no tweaking but can go higher if the motherboard allows it.


and finally for the SSD, yes i was going to add a 60 gig ssd, i forgot to add it to the list but it is going to be added, and again thank you all for the advice and comments
Click to expand...

I highly suggest a 120gb if possible. Look for one on sale.
 
Being an AMD owner myself, here's my thoughts:


Storage: Western Digital WD Green 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive

As WillSK already said, you'd be better off with WD Black optimally, or at least WD Blue. WD Green is for conserving power, thus runs the slowest. Also a 2TB drive may present a safety issue. If it fails, 2TB of data is gone. I personally use more, but smaller drives.

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card

May i ask what screen you have? People generally assume a stronger video card is always better, but at least once a week i find someone who doesn't have a fullHD screen to go with it, which makes the more powerful graphics card completely unnecessary.

In my example, i have a 1440x900 and a 1280x1024 screen respectively. I played recent games on both of them with high to maximum graphics, and a GTX 660 has more than twice the power. I'd generally advise against buying more than an HD7770 or HD7790 (or Nv equivalent), unless you have a fullHD screen, or plan to get one in the near future. You can spend the surplus on a more decent PSU, and/or an SSD.

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4G DDR3-2133 Memory

Absolutely, entirely, totally unnecessary!
For one, speaking of your motherboard specifically, any RAM speed above 1333 MHz is an overclocked setting, and for your motherboard 2000 MHz is the maximum, so you couldn't even utilize this memory to its full extent. 1600 MHz will be just fine, and again, you can use the surplus to buy a better PSU and SSD.

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Professional (OEM) (32-bit)

Get 64-bit, as others said it before me, the 32-bit version can only address up to 4GB of memory, including your video card's memory.
 
Last edited:
ok i got the 64 bit OS so, havent got the processor yet, but i would like to ask what ram to buy with this processor
AMD FX Unlocked Black Edition, 6-Core Technology, 3.50GHz Clock Speed, 4.10GHz Turbo Frequency, 14MB Cache, DDR3-2133 Support, 95W TDP

what ram would you reckomend with my asus mobo and this processor?
 
Like i previously mentioned, anything above 1333 MHz on your motherboard is an overclocked memory setting, with 2000 MHz being the absolute maximum. So i'd suggest no more than 1866 MHz, but i'd buy 1600 MHz.
 
warrenty13 said:
ok i got the 64 bit OS so, havent got the processor yet, but i would like to ask what ram to buy with this processor
AMD FX Unlocked Black Edition, 6-Core Technology, 3.50GHz Clock Speed, 4.10GHz Turbo Frequency, 14MB Cache, DDR3-2133 Support, 95W TDP

what ram would you reckomend with my asus mobo and this processor?
Click to expand...

Depends on what the rig is... post the rig specs you have in mind so we can have a general idea of what you want.
 
NeverBackDown said:
Depends on what the rig is... post the rig specs you have in mind so we can have a general idea of what you want.
Click to expand...

ok here is my current specs, and i will be adding the processor i mentiond above and the new ram, what ever that may be,
Operating System
Windows 8 Pro 64-bit
CPU
AMD Athlon II X2 260 39 °C
Regor 45nm Technology
RAM
4.00GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 669MHz (9-9-9-24)
Motherboard
ASUSTeK Computer INC. M5A78L-M/USB3 (AM3R2) 45 °C
Graphics
Standard Monitor (1360x768@60Hz)
2048MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 (Gigabyte) 27 °C
Hard Drives
149GB Seagate ST3160023AS ATA Device (SATA) 39 °C
297GB Microsoft Storage Space Device (TMax)
Optical Drives
No optical disk drives detected
Audio
High Definition Audio Device
 
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