Parts for Father's rig

[Highlander89]

Hello OC3D!

Got a question from my father how much it'd cost to upgrade his old rig. I said 300€.

So I did a build for under 300€ and thougt it would be foolish not to ask for feedback here on the forum. He will use it for just like playing music, surfing and perhaps watching movies (via the TV). So no gaming for the old man.

I'll see over the components in his old rig since I forgot, but it's around 5 years old with a Athlon X2 I think. The old AsRock mobo is fried. Will salvage all that is possible. Including a fairly new never used LCD monitor and peripherals. Think I got an extra windows license lying around somewhere as well.

Anyways the list is as follows:

Asus P8Z77-V-LX 79.90€ P8Z77-V LX, LGA1155, Intel Z77, DDR3, ATX

Kingston HX318C10FB/4 46.00€ 4GB HyperX Fury, DDR3 1866MHz, CL10, 1.5V, black

Intel BX80637G2020 73.00€ Pentium G2020, LGA1155, 2.9GHz, 3MB, Boxed

WD10EZRX 58.90€ 1TB WD Caviar Green, 3.5", Sata3, IntelliPower, 64MB

Cooler Master 34.90€ Hyper 212 EVO -CPU cooler, LGA2011/1366/115x/775, AM3/3+/2/2+


Total 292.70€

As I read about the CPU it says max supported memory frequency: 1333MHz, what's up with that?

As for the Hyper X memory it's the same price as the other ones with 4gb.

Is there a better/ more priceworthy processor in the same price range?

Thoughts welcome!

Cheers.

 

[MadShadow]

If I were you, I'd try to get an SSD in there somehow. For low performance rigs, an SSD is all it takes to make it feel way faster.

 

[Puck]

As I read about the CPU it says max supported memory frequency: 1333MHz, what's up with that?

If I'm not mistaken, the processor can only utilize the RAM at 1333 MHz.
You could still buy the RAM you have listed, It just wouldn't be able to run at 1866 MHz.

I agree with the above, try and throw an SSD in there.

 

[wrenaudrey]

Yes i too agree with the SSD option.
But if you cant fit an SSD on the budget, i highly recommend changing that HDD to atleast a WD Blue. WD Greens are not meant to be an OS drive, its just for storage.

 

[Wraith]

Pretty good all round just a couple of things I'd change. I agree with adding a SSD the performance would be excellent also dropped the 212 cooler as the stock Intel coolers are more than sufficient to cool the Pentiums. Also 1333 Memory is more than fast enough to do what your father is wanting and it's the CPUs native memory speed.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3220 3.0GHz Dual-Core Processor (€46.90 @ Caseking)
Motherboard: Asus H87-PRO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (€96.95 @ Hardwareversand)
Memory: Kingston Fury Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory (€39.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Crucial M500 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€56.86 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive (€52.90 @ Caseking)
Total: €293.60
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-19 15:53 CEST+0200

 

[Highlander89]

Thanks for all the suggestions people!

I got it wrong about the old rig.. It's closer to 10 years old than 5. Mounting holes for 80mm fans and an Abit motherboard. I had an Abit in my old Athlon XP rig and it really sucked .

The monitor and peripherals are up to date.

So I think we have to up the ante a bit and do a rig from scratch. budget... let's say 500€.
Based on your recommendations I did a new list;

Kingston 4GB HyperX Fury, DDR3 1866MHz, CL10, 1.5V, black 46.00€

Western Digital 1TB Caviar Green, 3.5", Sata3, IntelliPower, 64MB 58.90€

Crucial 120GB M500 SSD, 2.5", MLC, SATA III, 500/130 MB/s 69.90€

Intel Pentium G3258 LGA1150, 3,2GHz, 3MB, boxed 64.90€

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler LGA2011/1366/115x/775 34.90€

AsRock Z87 PRO3, LGA1150, Intel Z87, DDR3, ATX 89.00€

Fractal Design Core 2500, ATX, black 59.90€

Corsair 430W CX Builder Series v2, 80PLUS Bronze 52.00€

Samsung SH-S224DB DVD±RW 16x, SATA, 25.00€


Total 500.50€

EDIT Changes

Cheers.

 

[paulstung]

Why not go for the Pentium G3528 over hear in the UK they are about £45, and are cracking little performers. A lot of Z87 motherboards with a BIOS update can takle them.

 

[Wraith]

Why not go for the Pentium G3528 over hear in the UK they are about £45, and are cracking little performers. A lot of Z87 motherboards with a BIOS update can takle them.

They are but he's wanting higher supported RAM out the box, and the G3258 is 1333.. plus the Pentium K really shines best when you clock the bejewllers off it.

 

[paulstung]

The G3258 is the K, and supports 2666+ out of the box. I'm running one with an OC of 4.5 on 1.2v and the 2400 ram is OC'd to 2666.

 

[truesilax]

do you think he could use 8gb ram if you are going over budget?

 

[Highlander89]

why not go for it indeed. can even throw in a better cooler and almost be under budget.

 

[shambles1980]

the 2gen i5's only natively supported 1333 mhz ram but the boards allowed you to go to 1600 with oc.. (you dont even have to do anything either it just does it) my 2500k is using 1600 rip jaws, but the cpu should only support DDR3-1066/1333..
i dont think the frequency support of the cpu is as importaint provided the board say it supports xxxxmhz via oc..

 

[Wraith]

Pretty sure it's 1333Mhz

If you want higher you have to overclock your RAM.

 

[truesilax]

can the rig hold high profile ram with cooling heat sinks?

 

[paulstung]

Asus Vanguard B85 M-ATX ( 1150 ) £69.95 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-594-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2818
Intel Pentium G3528 1150 £43.99 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-531-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=567
teamgroup 8gb 2 x 4gb DDR3 2600MHz £67.99 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-030-TG&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1387
Crucial 128gb SSD £52.99 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-035-CR&groupid=1657&catid=2101&subcat=2103
Seagate SSHD hybrid drive 1TB £58.99 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-292-SE&groupid=1657&catid=1660&subcat=1893
LG 24x optical drive £13.99 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-090-LG&groupid=701&catid=10&subcat=951
Superflower Golden green HX550w 80 plus gold £49.99 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-003-SF&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=2463
Zalman T1U3 mini tower £20.99 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...odid=CP-531-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=567

(the 9th line down on the specs list, " Memory compatibility: All DDR3 1333MHz and above is compatible "

 

[shambles1980]

but the i5-2500k is also 1333mhz..
still running at 1600 here though

http://ark.intel.com/products/52210

 

[RamboOC]

That motherboard will hold back the ram speed at 1333mhz not the cpu

 

[Highlander89]

Awesome with so much feedback!

Okay here goes version 3:

Mobo: Asus Vanguard B85 mATX socket LGA1150 90.90€
CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3,2 GHz boxed, LGA 1150 63.70€
RAM: Teamgroup 2 x 4GB Vulcan Series Red Dual-Channel kit, DDR3 2400MHz (PC3-19200) CL11 79€
SSD: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5", MLC, SATA III, 550/150MB/s 69.90€
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB SATA III, 64MB 59.90€
PSU: Corsair Builder Series CX80+ Bronze 430W 46.20€
Case: Zalman T3 mATX 32€
DVD: Samsung SH-224DB DVDRW 19.90€
CPU Fan: Raijintek Zelos Heatpipe 90mm 22.90€

Total 484.40€ + shipping 10.54€ = 494.94€


Small, silent (hopefully) and powerful. The Zalman case looks really good for a mere 32€. I'm liking this build. Let's see when I order it. Need to have a chat with the old man.

Will probably put it up here on the gallery later on when it's finished.

Thanks again for all the help people!

 

[paulstung]

Looking good mate, yea that Zalman case looks interesting for 20 quid, That cooler looks like it might be a pretty good performer, plus the build quality reminds me of Noctua for some reason.

Look forward to seeing what comes of this build, good luck mate.

 

[Highlander89]

So, time has come to get the build together. Had a chat with dad and we agreed on 550€ budget including Windows. I tried to convince him that we'd get Elementary OS and get a 100€ cheaper machine, but no.

Either this one or LGA 1150 socket with a G3258 or similar. I chose the A8-6500 due to it being a quad core, and the G3258 really needs to be OC'd to be priceworthy IMO. And I don't plan on OC'ing. The A8 got some power saving feature that looks interesting. What do you think?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A8-6500 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor 68.20€
CPU Cooler: RAIJINTEK ZELOS 41.0 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler 23.10€
Motherboard: Asus A88XM-E Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard 66.80€
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory 40.30€
SSD: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive 66.30€
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive 55.50€
Case: Zalman ZM-T3 MicroATX Mini Tower Case 28.70€
Power Supply: Corsair VS 350W ATX Power Supply 44.10€
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer 17.90€
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) 98€
Case Fan: NoiseBlocker NB-BlackSilentFan XL-1 40.6 CFM 120mm Fan 9.30€

Total: 518,20 €