Sub 350€ Budget Build

[Asvybre]

Hello fellow pc fans! ​

Recently the idea of reviving my old pc came up since at the time I only have a portable pc and a tablet.
The only usable parts I got are the case, CPU, motherboard and RAM:
- Motherboard
- Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
- 3 Gb RAM

So, first I bought a new 120Gb Kingston SSDnow V300 for 40€ and now I am planning on buying a 2nd hand XFX HD6970 for 50€ and an XFX TS550 80plus for 35€ also on second hand.
I also took a look at a NOX Coolbay CX(available at 55€) which I would like to get and also a keyboard bunble and I was thinking the Cooler Master Octane bundle(45€).

With all this in mind I would like to get your opinion on if I should stay with something for now and also what king of board and CPU to get along side. I intend to game and overclock and also do some light 3D modeling.

Thank you!​

 

[NdMk2o1o]

Hello fellow pc fans! ​

Recently the idea of reviving my old pc came up since at the time I only have a portable pc and a tablet.
The only usable parts I got are the case, CPU, motherboard and RAM:
- Motherboard
- Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
- 3 Gb RAM

So, first I bought a new 120Gb Kingston SSDnow V300 for 40€ and now I am planning on buying a 2nd hand XFX HD6970 for 50€ and an XFX TS550 80plus for 35€ also on second hand.
I also took a look at a NOX Coolbay CX(available at 55€) which I would like to get and also a keyboard bunble and I was thinking the Cooler Master Octane bundle(45€).

With all this in mind I would like to get your opinion on if I should stay with something for now and also what king of board and CPU to get along side. I intend to game and overclock and also do some light 3D modeling.

Thank you!​

Do you have 350 to spend or have the parts you have bought already came out of that? that will make a big difference to what you are looking to achieve, honestly that CPU you have now is crap, you really should be looking at upgrading to an i5 and some ddr3 RAM 8-16GB if you can afford to. if not, then an i3 and entry level motherboard will still be miles better in terms of performance than you current.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Get the HD 6970 for 50
get the ssd for 40
get the TS550 for 35
get the case for 55
K/B bundle 45


buy a Q6600 for about 25
get 8gb ram for about 40

leaves you 60 for a better board , but you will find one cheaper than that. You can get new ones for about 40 on ebay.


The ssd and 8 gb ram will make the system quick, the cpu is a quad ( which will clock to 3.0ghz) and the HD 6970 is a pretty good card.

EDIT, you said you have a case? Why get another? You are better off investing that 55 in CPU and MOBO

 

[Filip Georgievski]

Maybe upgrade to an Core 2 Extreme.
That is in the league of the I5s.
Also 8 GB is enought for FHD resolution.
SSD is a must.
Board must support DDR3 RAM, then overclock the RAM to 1600 and it will be all good i think.
Also get a 7950 maybe, 6950 are a bit old.
I wanted one for my sistem, but i couldnt find one, so i went 2 steps forward and bought an R9 280x secondhand (100 euros).

 

[NdMk2o1o]

Maybe upgrade to an Core 2 Extreme.
That is in the league of the I5s.
Also 8 GB is enought for FHD resolution.
SSD is a must.
Board must support DDR3 RAM, then overclock the RAM to 1600 and it will be all good i think.
Also get a 7950 maybe, 6950 are a bit old.
I wanted one for my sistem, but i couldnt find one, so i went 2 steps forward and bought an R9 280x secondhand (100 euros).

No, just no. An C2E is not on par with an i5. it's a long time dead socket that uses DDR2 which is currently more expensive than DDR3 cause of supply and demand and there's no reason to try and extend the life of that platform right now, an i3 is a much better option, still waiting on the OP answering my question about his budget to determine of he can do that, but I wouldn't put any money into a s775 system whatsoever.....

 

[alucasa]

Save up more.

That'd be my advice. Get at least i5-2xxx and build around it.

 

[Asvybre]

Do you have 350 to spend or have the parts you have bought already came out of that? that will make a big difference to what you are looking to achieve, honestly that CPU you have now is crap, you really should be looking at upgrading to an i5 and some ddr3 RAM 8-16GB if you can afford to. if not, then an i3 and entry level motherboard will still be miles better in terms of performance than you current.

Yeah I want to spend at most 350 on the whole system I guess, I think an i3 is better for my budget and yeah would like ddr3 and sata 3 for my ssd which this board doesn't have

 

[Asvybre]

Get the HD 6970 for 50
get the ssd for 40
get the TS550 for 35
get the case for 55
K/B bundle 45


buy a Q6600 for about 25
get 8gb ram for about 40

leaves you 60 for a better board , but you will find one cheaper than that. You can get new ones for about 40 on ebay.


The ssd and 8 gb ram will make the system quick, the cpu is a quad ( which will clock to 3.0ghz) and the HD 6970 is a pretty good card.

EDIT, you said you have a case? Why get another? You are better off investing that 55 in CPU and MOBO

And you say I should use the same board then? I have been looking for one. I also could get a bundle with the q6600

 

[Asvybre]

Maybe upgrade to an Core 2 Extreme.
That is in the league of the I5s.
Also 8 GB is enought for FHD resolution.
SSD is a must.
Board must support DDR3 RAM, then overclock the RAM to 1600 and it will be all good i think.
Also get a 7950 maybe, 6950 are a bit old.
I wanted one for my sistem, but i couldnt find one, so i went 2 steps forward and bought an R9 280x secondhand (100 euros).

Yeah so a would have to buy a new board for the 775? But for the 50 isn't the 6970 a nice deal?

 

[NdMk2o1o]

Yeah I want to spend at most 350 on the whole system I guess, I think an i3 is better for my budget and yeah would like ddr3 and sata 3 for my ssd which this board doesn't have

i3 will perform better than any quad you can find for that old platform and at least then when you come to upgrade again you can just buy an i5/i7 as you'll have the motherboard and DDR3 RAM... I really wouldn't waste time and money trying to buy old hardware for 775 there's no point.

 

[Asvybre]

Save up more.

That'd be my advice. Get at least i5-2xxx and build around it.

At what price range are those? Is that the base CPU for a good build for my needs?

 

[Asvybre]

i3 will perform better than any quad you can find for that old platform and at least then when you come to upgrade again you can just buy an i5/i7 as you'll have the motherboard and DDR3 RAM... I really wouldn't waste time and money trying to buy old hardware for 775 there's no point.

Are i3's really that better? I was thinking on that and also was looking for an AMD FX6300 and I liked it but I don't if they preform nice for the money

 

[NdMk2o1o]

Are i3's really that better? I was thinking on that and also was looking for an AMD FX6300 and I liked it but I don't if they preform nice for the money

Compared to a 6 year old non "I" series quad? yes, the fx6300 is also a better choice as it's a modern platform on DDR3 and would likely still outperform any 775 upgrades you could find but ideally I'd go with the i3 as they do tend to beat 6300's in "most" tasks, gaming included. So how much budget do you have and how much is already spent, not potentially spent?

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

And you say I should use the same board then? I have been looking for one. I also could get a bundle with the q6600

A friend of mine is playing Fallout 4 with a Q6600 at 3.0ghz with a HD 6970 on high settings. On MotoGp 15 he is pushing 60fps

Have a look at my specs, i am having a wicked time with old kit. Buy the best GPU you can, if the HD 6970 is it, you wont be disapointed. o/c Q6600 and HD6970 will play GTA v at 40 fps

If you are short of money you dont need to spend much at all to get a nice pc, remember you need a cooling solution too.

 

[NdMk2o1o]

A friend of mine is playing Fallout 4 with a Q6600 at 3.0ghz with a HD 6970 on high settings. On MotoGp 15 he is pushing 60fps

Have a look at my specs, i am having a wicked time with old kit. Buy the best GPU you can, if the HD 6970 is it, you wont be disapointed. o/c Q6600 and HD6970 will play GTA v at 40 fps

If you are short of money you dont need to spend much at all to get a nice pc, remember you need a cooling solution too.

Again why spend money on finding and buying a q6600 its obsolete regardless of how well your friend is playing this that or the other... if he can afford to go i5/i3 that's a much better option than trying to extend a 6 years old dead platform, theres nothing after that q6600 only a motherboard, CPU and RAM purchase, with an i3 he has the option to go i5/i7 in a couple of years and the i3 will still yield better performance!

 

[Asvybre]

Compared to a 6 year old non "I" series quad? yes, the fx6300 is also a better choice as it's a modern platform on DDR3 and would likely still outperform any 775 upgrades you could find but ideally I'd go with the i3 as they do tend to beat 6300's in "most" tasks, gaming included. So how much budget do you have and how much is already spent, not potentially spent?

For now only 45 on the Ssd,

Compared to a 6 year old non "I" series quad? yes, the fx6300 is also a better choice as it's a modern platform on DDR3 and would likely still outperform any 775 upgrades you could find but ideally I'd go with the i3 as they do tend to beat 6300's in "most" tasks, gaming included. So how much budget do you have and how much is already spent, not potentially spent?

I have only spent on the SSD, I am still dealing with the owners. But I can change if need.

 

[Asvybre]

A friend of mine is playing Fallout 4 with a Q6600 at 3.0ghz with a HD 6970 on high settings. On MotoGp 15 he is pushing 60fps

Have a look at my specs, i am having a wicked time with old kit. Buy the best GPU you can, if the HD 6970 is it, you wont be disapointed. o/c Q6600 and HD6970 will play GTA v at 40 fps

If you are short of money you dont need to spend much at all to get a nice pc, remember you need a cooling solution too.

That's very nice but yeah, I think I can look for an i3 as for a greater upgrade.. I'd want the case for that reason too, better air flow and nicer cooling.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

so you are hoping to buy i 3 cpu
compatible mobo
and 8gb ddr3
and HSF

all for 120 if you account for the stuff you alread intend to buy.

Lower your expectations or increase your budget.

£50.00 or offer
2 cores with HT
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Intel-cor...909521?hash=item33b08615d1:g:D4gAAOSwUV9WpS~S


£40.00 delivered new ( a good board)
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ASRock-H6...731899?hash=item58ad30167b:g:cLwAAOSwxH1UI8kk


£ 20.00 1600mhz ram 8bg
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ddr3-8gb-1600mhz-/272112562299?hash=item3f5b2c307b:g:KusAAOSwLnlWodWu

 

[Asvybre]

so you are hoping to buy i 3 cpu
compatible mobo
and 8gb ddr3
and HSF

all for 120 if you account for the stuff you alread intend to buy.

Lower your expectations or increase your budget.

£50.00 or offer
2 cores with HT
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Intel-cor...909521?hash=item33b08615d1:g:D4gAAOSwUV9WpS~S


£40.00 delivered new ( a good board)
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ASRock-H6...731899?hash=item58ad30167b:g:cLwAAOSwxH1UI8kk


£ 20.00 1600mhz ram 8bg
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ddr3-8gb-1600mhz-/272112562299?hash=item3f5b2c307b:g:KusAAOSwLnlWodWu

Ideally, an i3 with 4 cores would be the nicest, wouldn't it? And also the problem with those is the shipping, I'm from Portugal.
I also can get the board from here with around 45€.
EDIT: I don't think I can even find 4cores with i3..
I can get 4x1 gb for 15€ now and then get some more.

 

[Asvybre]

And also if I am going to upgrade the board I would like to get one at least with sata3 so that I could take full advantage of my ssd