New budget gaming build, advice please

Huusa

New member
Basically i just want to upgrade my pc, currently i have these specs:

Processor: AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 960T Processor (4 CPUs), ~3.0GHz
Memory: 8192MB RAM
Hard Drive: 120 GB laptop mechanical turd drive
Video Card: AMD Radeon HD 6850
Operating System:Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
Motherboard: ASROCK M3A770DE
Computer Case: Inwin griffin
Power supply: CiT 650w

Its done a good job running 24/7 for over a year and for only £240 but i haven't taken care of it and its falling to pieces, the front panel is just a big hole and its full of dust.

All i use the pc for is playing counter strike and browsing the internet so it doesn't need to be top spec i just need 300fps which my current pc can just about manage. This is what i have come up with so far:
BitFenix Prodigy
ASRock Z77
Corsair cx750
I5 3570
Samgung 128gb ssd
7870
8gb Corsair Vengeance 1600

I'm no good with building computers so i don't even know if it all fits together but at the minute i think its a little over kill and id like to spend a less if possible. Should i maybe get a cheaper GPU and spend the money on better power supply? Also even though the case is not too expensive would it be cheaper to use a mid tower rather than that unusual thing, i just thought maybe there would be more choice of Motherboards.

I have a cd drive already and i don't think i will need a hard-drive for storage because i dont store things that i don't need
 
No I'm not really interested. Its should be more than enough as it is anyway i just want it to last as long as possible.
 
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The 3570K is cheaper, so why not? :)
This is excluding the case, as Aria doesn't stock the Prodigy.

Things to consider:
HDD for storage. You could use your old HDD, but i'd probably recommend something like a 1TB WD Green. That being said, you've coped with a single 120GB laptop drive for a while.

Aftermarket CPU Cooler. Both your CPU and your motherboard can overclock, and it's so easy with IB there's no reason why not to. So, in the future, if you're finding that your CPU could do with a boost, an overclock is a good way to do it. The motherboard that you selected, as well as the one I selected, is going to be limited with what coolers can be used, due to the proximity of the CPU socket and PCIe lane. Becuase of this, an all-in-one water cooling system may be a good idea (H80/H100 and their newer 'i' variants would be my pick).
(Just to say that the Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe can be used with high-end air coolers such as the Noctua NH-D14. It's £30 more expensive than the board I listed, but it could save you money on future cooling solutions)
 
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Thanks thats great help.

If i were to use an atx board with the rest of that set up what would be a good choice? I might go with a fractal R4 instead

Edit: What am i supposed to look for with a motherboard? i really dont know. Something like a socket 1155 z77 what ever that means but what makes the huge price difference?
 
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^Why are your prices cheaper than mine? Are you using some sort of discount? Everything is about 20% cheaper on your list

Edit: Derp it isn't inc VAT lol
 
They show excluding VAT, then at the end the 115,40 pounds of VAT gets added and you end up with the total price :)
 
All i use the pc for is playing counter strike and browsing the internet so it doesn't need to be top spec i just need 300fps which my current pc can just about manage.

Tbh seeing as you only want to play CS and use the internet I really don't think you need an upgrade tbh, and I am intrigued as to why you think you need 300fps, You will barely notice a difference between 300 and 60 tbh
 
Tbh seeing as you only want to play CS and use the internet I really don't think you need an upgrade tbh, and I am intrigued as to why you think you need 300fps, You will barely notice a difference between 300 and 60 tbh

300 fps is max for competitive play and different fps gives you different height and distance on jumps but the main thing is to get stable fps for timing and smoother aiming. It might not make a difference on a game like battlefield but on cs or call of duty 60fps is a big disadvantage.

They show excluding VAT, then at the end the 115,40 pounds of VAT gets added and you end up with the total price :)

Yeah i thought the price to the right in checkout was +vat but its not
 
Aah, I never realised that CS was your main goal.
If your monitor's capped at 60Hz, does your GPU rendering extra frames really make a big difference in game?
When I get back from College i'll have a go at testing the frames of CS on my 7850.
 
if you don`t want to oc then do not buy a z77 board,its useless.h77 for raid or b75.and the i5 3470 does the same thing.stock cooler is fine
 
Ahh that does make things clear. However, I can't even get my FPS on CoD4 above 91, let alone 125 or 250. I'm running a GTX 670 with a 3570k so that should not be a problem. It just seems to be stuck at 90-91fps, won't go higher, but I don't have any drops at all either....

Kinda weird :p
 
Its explained in this video:
-snip-

I use cod4 promod as an example because the affects are more obvious with the quake engine

Hmm, that's certainly interesting.
Like I say, i'll try and see what frames I get with my 7850, to see if it would be achievable with my card.
Which CS do you play? Source? GO?
 
Ahh that does make things clear. However, I can't even get my FPS on CoD4 above 91, let alone 125 or 250. I'm running a GTX 670 with a 3570k so that should not be a problem. It just seems to be stuck at 90-91fps, won't go higher, but I don't have any drops at all either....

Kinda weird :p

Might be capped in console with /com_maxfps 90 i believe its 85 by default.

Hmm, that's certainly interesting.
Like I say, i'll try and see what frames I get with my 7850, to see if it would be achievable with my card.
Which CS do you play? Source? GO?

cs:go

On-topic: I dont know what to do now :( I feel as though I dont need it enough for it to be worth spending £700 on an update.
 
just upgrade to a slightly newer motherboard, 3570k, 7850, and get an inexpensive mid tower and an ssd/hdd. Though if you capped the game at 300fps, i would say buy a high end monitor to get all the extra benefit of 120hz gaming. I'm not sure if Aria carries it but ASUS has an overclocked 144hz monitor? worth it more than new parts IMO if you get 300fps as you said.
 
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