Build advice for someone who knows nothing?

8-bit Hero

Solid State Member
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My computer recently broke down and since it's a 5 year old prebuilt, I'm highly considering building something new instead. I know very little about computers beyond the basics. Certainly not enough to make an informed decision myself. My budget is very low. Maybe 400 at the most and the lower I can keep it, the better. I've decided I'll likely keep my GPU and HDD (they are less than a year old, to be honest. And they aren't the problem). I've asked around and sort of came up with this but I've no idea if this is a terrible idea or what so I'd really like input. I do game on my PC but I'm fine with not playing a max settings and I don't expect to play max at 1080p. Just as long as modern games run, I'm happy. Newegg.com - SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM SATA Model SH-222BB/BEBE - CD / DVD Burners Newegg.com - RAIDMAX HYBRID 2 RX-530SS 530W ATX12V V2.2/ EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Power Supply, New Version with Build-in LED Fan On/Off Switch Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-B75M-D3V LGA 1155 Intel B75 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard Newegg.com - Intel Core i3-2120 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000 BX80623I32120 Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Elite 430 RC-430-KWN1 Black Steel / Plastic Computer Case My GPU is a GT 430. I have a hitachi 500gb harddrive. I mean it looks okay to me but I really can't tell if everythings compatible, if this is the best idea etc. Any help is appreciated deeply.
 
Everything looks good to me, but just a few things to point out. You'll need an operating system, but I presume you already have that? I'd also recommend a different/better PSU. It's always best to go with a well known brand such as Corsair, Cooler Master, and so on
 
Yes that PSU is better. I'm sure the other may have worked, but if the PSU goes, it could take the CPU or GPU with it.

As long as the OS was installed on that HDD then it should work. What OS is it btw?
 
Yes that PSU is better. I'm sure the other may have worked, but if the PSU goes, it could take the CPU or GPU with it.

As long as the OS was installed on that HDD then it should work. What OS is it btw?
Unfortunately, vista 32bit. I'll upgrade it when I can. I know it's a pile of junk but you take what you can.
 
:eek: VISTA?!?! :pcmad:

Anyway, just if you felt like upgrading again in the future, here's the order in which I'd go with:

1) OS
2) Graphics card
3) Another HDD (or perhaps SSD?)

Any more than that and you're probably better off getting a new pc
 
:eek: VISTA?!?! :pcmad:

Anyway, just if you felt like upgrading again in the future, here's the order in which I'd go with:

1) OS
2) Graphics card
3) Another HDD (or perhaps SSD?)

Any more than that and you're probably better off getting a new pc

I plan to upgrade more in the future. But for now, would what I listed even be worth getting or no? I don't want to end up wasting money or anything.
 
What you're getting now is fine, £400 is enough for a good upgrade but not enough for a decent pc. Personally, the minimum I'd put towards a new pc would be £700ish.

Edit - Plus, very rarely are you ever wasting money by upgrading over starting from scratch, sometimes it's just more hassle than it's worth, but you should be fine
 
What you're getting now is fine, £400 is enough for a good upgrade but not enough for a decent pc. Personally, the minimum I'd put towards a new pc would be £700ish.

Edit - Plus, very rarely are you ever wasting money by upgrading over starting from scratch, sometimes it's just more hassle than it's worth, but you should be fine

Alright. I'm not expecting a monster, just a solid PC considering again I am on a 5+ year old prebuilt with obsolete parts and such. I have a question on processors. I was suggested to get an Intel over AMD. I can find a quadcore AMD 3.3 ghz for 109 compared to the 125 dual core intel I listed. Is AMD just not as good a brand/worse off? What exactly is the big difference between a dual and quadcore performance wise?
 
Intel are often seen as given better performance, whereas AMD are seen as being better bang for the buck. Tbh you can get either and you won't notice any difference but I'd usually recommend Intel. Then again, if you're trying to keep costs down it's always worth considering AMD

As for cores, more cores means more processing power, in its simplest terms. It really depends on the program; if a program can only use 1 core, then a single core processor would be best, but if a program can use 4 cores, a single core processor could still run it, but just not as well as a quad core processor. However, if you look closely you'll see that (9 times out of 10) the more cores a processor has then the slower each individual core is.
For example say you have 2 CPUs; CPU 1 is a dual core running at 3.5 GHz, CPU 2 is a quad core running at 3.2 GHz.
If a program uses two cores at max, then CPU 1 would use both cores with a total speed 7 GHz, CPU 2 would use 2 cores as well (leaving the other 2 idle) with a total speed of 6.4 GHz.
If however, a program could use up to 4 cores then CPU 1 would only be able to use 2 cores at a combined speed of 7 GHz. CPU 2 on the other hand would use all 4 cores with a combined speed of 12.8 GHz, a lot better than CPU 1.

You may now be thinking that there's no point in getting a dual core processor (besides the price) but putting theory into action, the majority of modern games only use 2 cores, with very few just managing to utilise 4 cores.

Quick summary - AMD or Intel, doesn't really matter, just comes down to brand preference most of the time. Quad core is faster than dual core but only in certain situations. For you dual core will be fine, but if you have spare cash it may be worth upgrading to a quad core, but it's up to you.

And just in case you're wondering, no it's not worth getting a hexa/octa core processor. Yes they would run faster in certain situations, but those situations are few and far between.

Just on a side note (after just noticing) your mobo is a micro atx. Were you aware of that and do you know what it means?

P.S. Sorry if my explanation was a bit too much or too technical but somehow that's the easiest way for me to explain it.

Edit - And to think this was a 'quick reply' :)
 
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