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Mah computermebobs done gone poof - Recommendations please.

AMLinington

By AMLinington
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AMLinington

AMLinington

Posted
Posted

Well, almost.

 

So, backstory: My home PC is a bit of a Frankensteins monster. I was given an Intel Quad core and some RAM by a friend, bought a posh Gigabit Mobo and a faulty power management module wiped out one of my sticks of high performance RAM. End result? Borrowed a mobo that had been under a friends bed covered in dust, installed everything, worked fine. Bought a new graphics card a while later (Radon 4770 I believe), installed it, all fine.

 

Computer has been working beautifully for about 5 years (albeit with half the intended RAM) but is showing it's poor Frankenstein-like age and is now limping along like something out of the Naxxramas Plague wing.

 

Over the last week or so I've noticed that performance in WoW is really bad but over the weekend things went from bad to worse - the game is unplayable - I try to move or cast and the whole thing freezes up for 10 minutes. I tried to log out the other night and the game froze. I went to dinner, watched some TV, faffed about for a bit, came back 2 hours later and it was STILL IN THE SAME PLACE.

 

Bottom line? 1 of 3 of the Frankenstein bits is going - RAM, Graphics or the HDD the game is installed on. Graphics drivers are up to date and the HDD isn't making any scary noises so my money is on the already slightly fragile and overworked RAM.

 

Given the backstory above and the age of the components, I don't think it's worth troubleshooting/fixing. I have been meaning to buy some new bits for a while but house stuff got in the way.

 

So now I have a legit reason to build a shiny new PC and am looking for recommendations. I am a bit out of the loop on the 'latest and greatest' but basically I am looking for the whole kit and caboodle.

 

I'm looking for a Mobo/Processor/Ram bundle, a new GFX card, a QUIET case. A Wireless card isn't essential (nor is onboard wireless) as I have my gaming PC wired to an access point. Onboard sound preferred. I have an adequate Power Supply - I think I have a 700W jobbie and more than enough hard drives - I have somewhere in the region of 4 stacked up in there. So really it's just the Gut bundle and the GFX card. I'd like a Radeon as I think value-for-money is good but I've had nVidia before and like them too so I'm not a purest - I'm open to suggestions. Basically I'm looking for the best benchmarked for the money (without overclocking, or pre-clocked - I don't want to have to do it myself). I'm not keen on second hand - been burned one too many times so I'm not interested in buying anyone's old kit or post-crypto-currency-frenzy cast offs.

 

My budget is £200 give or take £50 as reasonable. Like I say - I'm not after top performance. I just want to get the best I can for the money I can afford.

 

So over to you, guys, any recommendations? Bundles you've seen advertised?

Joanne

Joanne

Posted
Posted
I always find ebuyer is the best to browse on for components... quick delivery too and well priced. As for actual bits... I'd work from the processor, choose one of those first then get the best you can afford to stick on that!
abillybob

abillybob

Posted
Posted

Everyone should spam @Sunnyknight he needs to read this! :pound:

@AMLightfoot for £200 you'd struggle to build a rig with decent enough specs to game, though I would recommend buying this Zoostorm Desktop PC - Desktops at Ebuyer (you'll struggle to build one that cheap for yourself anyway with those specs and it'll save you the time.

Then just add this GPU to it and you have a decentish build for gaming, you're not going to break and benchmark scores though. MSI R7 260X 2GB GDDR5 Dual Link DVI-D DVI-I DisplayPOrt PCI-E Graphics Card - Ebuyer

 

Hope this helps.

  • Thanks 1
Oaktech

Oaktech

Posted
Posted

Over the last week or so I've noticed that performance in WoW is really bad but over the weekend things went from bad to worse - the game is unplayable

 

Maybe use technical failure as an excuse to get help with the WarCrack habit? :D

JoeBloggs

JoeBloggs

Posted
Posted

£200 isn't really going to get you much. Either resolve the issue and like someone said get an SSD. Or wait until you've got more money saved.

 

Overclockers do finance buy now pay in 12 month interest free?

3s-gtech

3s-gtech

Posted
Posted

Not ideal, but may give you some ideas:

 

AMD A8-7600 3.1GHz Socket FM2+ 4MB L2 Cache Retail Boxed Processor - Ebuyer

Crucial MX100 128GB SATA 6Gbps 2.5inch 7mm with 9.5mm adapter SSD - Ebuyer

Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-DS2 Socket FM2+ VGA DVI 7.1 Channel Audio mATX Motherboard - Ebuyer

8GB 1866MHz DDR3 CL10 DIMM HyperX Fury White Series - Ebuyer

£220

 

That's a decent enough APU (so graphics are covered for mid-range stuff), A88X motherboard, 128GB SSD and 8GB of RAM (APUs benefit from faster RAM, so this is a good place to spend). Should do what you need. You can upgrade to a discrete graphics card in the future too.

  • Thanks 1
sonofsanta

sonofsanta

Posted
Posted

£250 is a squeeze, but can just about be done, I think...

 

This case is a definite for <£30, pretty quiet, good make, mATX but you don't need anything bigger than an mATX motherboard.

 

RAM, you're only going to get 4GB at this price, in which case you may as well get the cheapest: Crucial 4GB DDR3 1600 MT/s (PC3-12800) CL11 Unbuffered UDIMM 240pin Single Ranked - Ebuyer (2 x 2GB sticks are available for about £5 more)

 

That's £56 gone, leaving us £193.

 

You could push to the Anniversary Edition Pentium and a Z97 board to overclock it (£115, leaving <£80 for the GPU), but without spending another £20+ on a decent cooler you'll only be able to push it so far, it won't be quiet with the stock cooler, and it doesn't leave enough for the GPU so I'm ruling that idea out.

 

A normal Pentium and a cheaper board can be had for £75 total, leaving you just under £120 for the GPU. Only dual core (not even HyperThreading) but a good dual-core, and it'll be plenty for WoW, if not particularly futureproof. You can get an AMD R9 270 for £115.

 

AMD is a good option for cheaper builds; you can get an A6 dual-core processor and a decent mobo for overclocking for £80. Given that you want quiet, though, I'd say the Pentium option above is superior to this solution, given that it's the same price. Ignore this paragraph.

 

The good AMD option is an A8 quad-core CPU and the Asus motherboard; it's £105, so £30 more than the Pentium option, but gives you a quad core processor instead so more future proofed. It leaves you about £90 for the GPU, for which I'd say the AMD R7 260X is your best bet.

 

In summary: this case and 4GB of RAM. Then either:

* Pentium and board and AMD R9 270 for £246.42 total

* A8 quad-core CPU and motherboard with AMD R7 260X for £250.69 total

 

Personally I'd say the Pentium route - it's more power efficient, so quieter, and although it's only a dual core each of those cores is much more competent than the AMD core, so the two processors end up trading blows depending on what you're doing. The R9 270 GPU is about 50% better than the R7 260X, though, so you'll get more performance in games from the Pentium & R9 combo than you will from the A8 & R7 combo.

 

My two pence!

  • Thanks 3
tmcd35

tmcd35

Posted
Posted
I bought a Dell uSFF refurb off an Amazon dealer just before Christmas. Core2 Duo, 4Gb, 1Tb, Wifi, Window 7 license. Little under £150 for the lot. For your budget I think a similar refurb would give best value for money. Certainly could get a much better spec than I did for similar money if you look at mini/midi tower cases instead of uSFF.
AMLinington

AMLinington

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)
Everyone should spam @Sunnyknight he needs to read this! :pound:

@AMLightfoot for £200 you'd struggle to build a rig with decent enough specs to game, though I would recommend buying this Zoostorm Desktop PC - Desktops at Ebuyer (you'll struggle to build one that cheap for yourself anyway with those specs and it'll save you the time.

Then just add this GPU to it and you have a decentish build for gaming, you're not going to break and benchmark scores though. MSI R7 260X 2GB GDDR5 Dual Link DVI-D DVI-I DisplayPOrt PCI-E Graphics Card - Ebuyer

 

Hope this helps.

 

I know. Honestly if I can get a GFX card that is somewhere in the 'Medium' list I'll be happy. I know my budget is limiting but I have PSU and more HDDs than you can shake a stick at, so really I'm just looking CPU, RAM, MoBo and GFX. If I look around the £75 mark for GFX I won't be getting top notch but it really doesn't have to be. I'm not a 'hardcore pro' gamer at all. I just like to potter about.

 

I already have all the software I need - I own a copy of Win7 which is more than sufficient.

 

With that budget, id be looking to blitz your system with a SSD and resolve whats at fault. Once working again up the memory to whats required.

 

Sorry, but £200 is not going to cut it but will fix your system for another 5 years.

 

(Backup Data - Diagnose & resolve - blowout & clean - Reformat & Install win) Cheapo solution for the win!

 

Considering the MoBo is about 10 years old and spent a few years under someones bed (OUT of the anti-static bag), I have 4GB of RAM and to buy more is stupidly expensive for the age, and if the GFX card is gonna pop there is nothing I can do about that, it seemed that rather than throw good money after bad I'd be better off replacing with modest components - I'm not looking to build a bad-ass gaming rig, just something to 'get me by'.

 

I plan to move the older bits that still work into a smaller case and use it as a server. I'll probably put Zentyal on it.

 

Maybe use technical failure as an excuse to get help with the WarCrack habit? :D

 

Habit? I don't have a habit! I can stop any time I like! See? See? I'm not on it NOW! *Checks Mobile AH app*

Edited by AMLinington
blu4

blu4

Posted
Posted (edited)
Well, almost.

 

So, backstory: My home PC is a bit of a Frankensteins monster. I was given an Intel Quad core and some RAM by a friend, bought a posh Gigabit Mobo and a faulty power management module wiped out one of my sticks of high performance RAM. End result? Borrowed a mobo that had been under a friends bed covered in dust, installed everything, worked fine. Bought a new graphics card a while later (Radon 4770 I believe), installed it, all fine.

 

Computer has been working beautifully for about 5 years (albeit with half the intended RAM) but is showing it's poor Frankenstein-like age and is now limping along like something out of the Naxxramas Plague wing.

 

Over the last week or so I've noticed that performance in WoW is really bad but over the weekend things went from bad to worse - the game is unplayable - I try to move or cast and the whole thing freezes up for 10 minutes. I tried to log out the other night and the game froze. I went to dinner, watched some TV, faffed about for a bit, came back 2 hours later and it was STILL IN THE SAME PLACE.

 

Bottom line? 1 of 3 of the Frankenstein bits is going - RAM, Graphics or the HDD the game is installed on. Graphics drivers are up to date and the HDD isn't making any scary noises so my money is on the already slightly fragile and overworked RAM.

 

Given the backstory above and the age of the components, I don't think it's worth troubleshooting/fixing. I have been meaning to buy some new bits for a while but house stuff got in the way.

 

So now I have a legit reason to build a shiny new PC and am looking for recommendations. I am a bit out of the loop on the 'latest and greatest' but basically I am looking for the whole kit and caboodle.

 

I'm looking for a Mobo/Processor/Ram bundle, a new GFX card, a QUIET case. A Wireless card isn't essential (nor is onboard wireless) as I have my gaming PC wired to an access point. Onboard sound preferred. I have an adequate Power Supply - I think I have a 700W jobbie and more than enough hard drives - I have somewhere in the region of 4 stacked up in there. So really it's just the Gut bundle and the GFX card. I'd like a Radeon as I think value-for-money is good but I've had nVidia before and like them too so I'm not a purest - I'm open to suggestions. Basically I'm looking for the best benchmarked for the money (without overclocking, or pre-clocked - I don't want to have to do it myself). I'm not keen on second hand - been burned one too many times so I'm not interested in buying anyone's old kit or post-crypto-currency-frenzy cast offs.

 

My budget is £200 give or take £50 as reasonable. Like I say - I'm not after top performance. I just want to get the best I can for the money I can afford.

 

So over to you, guys, any recommendations? Bundles you've seen advertised?

 

 

What games are you planning on installing? I can recommend you a good set-up that will last about 5 years depending on the usage. I have found this built on ebay- it's 259- exactly your budget. It has an APU that you can crossifre with the onboard graphics and in the future if you like, you can buy a dedicated GPU.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ULTRA-FAST-Quad-Core-8GB-1TB-Desktop-Gaming-PC-Computer-4-2GHz-AMD-HD-128384-/151314234258?pt=UK_Computing_DesktopPCs&hash=item233b07fb92

Edited by blu4
  • Thanks 1
Garacesh

Garacesh

Posted
Posted
@AMLightfoot, I am just about to retire an AMD A10 rig as I'm building myself a new machine. If your budget is shot, I can get the full specs of it for you if you like? It's only about 2 years old but I've treated it very delicately. The only thing it would be missing would be a HDD as I'll be transferring both my disks to my new rig.
AMLinington

AMLinington

Posted
  • Author
Posted
If you're only playing WoW then @sonofsanta 's set-up is probably your best bet.

 

That is basically it tbh. I also do some remote desktop work from home but that's not exactly graphics intensive. I play Diablo and Hearthstone too, and have been known to enjoy some Tomb Raider from time to time. With an XBox360 and an XBoxONE in the house, along with a 3DS and a Wii I don't lack for gaming equipment lol.

 

I will take a look at all the suggestions, thanks all - @abillybob I like the suggested box, I'll take a look. @sonofsanta I will put some bits in a basket and see if I can jiggle the values around - ty.

AMLinington

AMLinington

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Thinking about it, I need to check what my processor is as I might be able to transplant this, too, giving me more in the budget for RAM and GPU - I'll have to have a look.

 

Edit: I'm pretty sure it's a Core2 Quad. It could be a Duo but I'm pretty sure it's a Quad.

Edited by AMLinington
LincolnE

LincolnE

Posted
Posted

Zoostorm Desktop PC - Desktops at Ebuyer

 

Something like this will be aright. The CPU is pretty decent. While the PSU wouldn't be really up to scratch, you should be able to replace it with the one you've got.

 

AMD A8-7600 Kaveri APU review - Performance iGPU - Integrated Graphics - Bioshock Infinite | Tomb Raider ~51 fps @ 720p on medium and ~25 fps @ 1080p on Bioshock Infinite. Slightly more (~60fps at 720 and ~30fps at 1080p on tomb raider, again medium settings).

sonofsanta

sonofsanta

Posted
Posted

Just realised that case I recommended only has space for 2 hard drives - you may have to step up to a full-size ATX case to accomodate 4 HDDs.

 

Cooler Master N-Series N200 - USB 3.0 Micro-ATX Case Side Window Edition - Ebuyer is £22, still mATX but don't know how quiet it is and only supports 3 HDDs.

 

Cooler Master N-Series N300 - USB 3.0 Side Window Edition - Ebuyer is the bigger brother to the above at £33, ATX and supports up to 8 HDDs but again - I can't find much on its acoustic performance.

 

Sticking with Fractal Design, which tend to be quieter cases, this is a £41 ATX case that can contain all your HDDs: Fractal Design Core 2300 ATX Case - Ebuyer

 

Modern cases tend to have separate spaces for SSDs, btw, so you can have 2 hard drives plus an SSD in an mATX case.

 

About the Zoostorm @abillybob mentioned - that Celeron is basically the same as the Pentium (same generation of CPU), but is much slower @ 1.8GHz rather than the 3GHz of the Pentiums. Will probably make a difference in your performance, but should also be quieter as it draws less power.

rich_tech

rich_tech

Posted
Posted

I had a similar problem about 3 years back and I opted for a motherboard bundle at the time - check overclockers and check ebuyer if they have bundles/barebones systems on there.

 

WoW isnt super demanding on the graphics, though it may be worth checking on your addons if your getting freezing like that and have updated them recently, I had a similar issue with Parrots Scrolling Combat Text the other day, it was dropping me to 0 fps when added to flame Highmaul textures that are everywhere in that raid and the majority of the time, I play fine on a Nvidia GTS 450 here

AMLinington

AMLinington

Posted
  • Author
Posted
I had a similar problem about 3 years back and I opted for a motherboard bundle at the time - check overclockers and check ebuyer if they have bundles/barebones systems on there.

 

WoW isnt super demanding on the graphics, though it may be worth checking on your addons if your getting freezing like that and have updated them recently, I had a similar issue with Parrots Scrolling Combat Text the other day, it was dropping me to 0 fps when added to flame Highmaul textures that are everywhere in that raid and the majority of the time, I play fine on a Nvidia GTS 450 here

 

I thought it might be an addon issue but it's not FPS dropping, the whole PC literally freezes up - the whole thing just goes non-responsive. I can get back to desktop and kill the process so I know the computer itself isn't crashing, it's just the game. Which leads me to believe it's either the GPU or RAM that's dying - both would demonstrate those symptoms under stress. I'm thinking it could be GPU because when it recovers, the graphics often have to totally reload and it usually happens when I transition to a new area, hearthstone, phase or zone into an instance.

 

In theory, I could pop some of the budget on a low end R9 270 (because HELLO the benchmarks), but it would literally be like putting a diamond necklace on a tramp.

3s-gtech

3s-gtech

Posted
Posted
Thinking about it, I need to check what my processor is as I might be able to transplant this, too, giving me more in the budget for RAM and GPU - I'll have to have a look.

 

Edit: I'm pretty sure it's a Core2 Quad. It could be a Duo but I'm pretty sure it's a Quad.

 

That processor will be on LGA775 - very old now. While you can buy motherboards for them that support DDR3, they're hard/impossible to find new. You'll also be left with PCI-e 2.0, USB 2.0, SATA 2 etc.

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