Upgrade Advice Needed

[Nerdsauce]

Hey guys, I'm currently in a position where I have no choice but to upgrade my computer. My processor is dying and I've started to notice some irregularities such as extremely slow boot-up times, 100% cpu usage when only doing simple tasks (such as having 1 tab open in Chrome plus my word processing software running) and I've even had one or two BSoD's. I need advice on what are the best parts I should be getting as I'm more than slightly out-of-date when it comes to processor and motherboard choices. Here are the details:

 

Usage Requirement: Medium-level gaming (my most modern games are Skyrim and BiShock Infinite - I'd like to play these on at least High setting), 2D illustration, web development, some simple 2D animation although I'd like to start on 3D animations, and general pc usage.

 

Budget: £380 maximum. Sadly I can't go any higher than this as I don't have the income required.

 

Replacement Parts Needed: Processor, Motherboard and RAM (and possibly CPU cooling) - I have NO intention of over-clocking.

 

Current Specs:

(items in red need to be replaced, items in black I want to keep)

 

Motherboard - Foxconn H-I41-uATX ... http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=c01903990

Processor - Pentium Dual Core E5500 @ 2.80GHz

RAM - 4GB 10600 (DDR3-1333)

GPU - GeForce GTX 570 1280MB GDDR5 - KFA2 version

PSU - G7 Modular Power Extreme 850W

HDD - 1.5TB Samsung HD154UI ATA

 

Any help and suggestions you guys can give will be greatly appreciated ^_^

 

 

 

 

[XiaoPigs]

Hmmm which site are you going to buy the parts off?

[Nerdsauce]

Whichever one I can find the parts suggested cheapest on, I suppose. Though I would prefer a UK-based one such as Box.co.uk or the UK version of Amazon. I'd prefer to avoid Ebay if I can, I just don't fully trust that site or its sellers yet (heard too many horror stories that has kinda scared me off a bit).

[Nerdsauce]

I forgot to include what case I have, it's a generic HP mid-size ATX case.

• Height: 38.40 cm (15.12 inches)
• Width: 16.58 cm (6.53 inches)
• Length: 42.9 cm (16.89 inches)

With 2x 5.2inch bays and 1 3.5inch bay.

[TB-303]

You can get board, cpu and RAM bundles which might save you a few quid.

[Blade of Grass]

r.com/p/DatT]PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor (£143.94 @ Aria PC)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£24.49 @ CCL Computers)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£108.66 @ Dabs)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£78.47 @ Amazon UK)

Total: £355.56

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-28 13:32 BST+0100)

I think this would meet you needs most.

[XiaoPigs]

Processor: FX8350 - £155

MotherBoard + Memory if found I combo deal for the motherboard and memory http://www.amazon.co.uk/ASRock-990FX-EXTREME3-Extreme3-Motherboard/dp/B005POPQZA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1367152415&sr=8-2&keywords=990fx. - £140

Total : 195 :) I took all the prices from Amazon

And if you add the 212 evo price from above it should add up to 220 quid

Edited April 28, 2013 by XiaoPigs

[Nerdsauce]

Ok both Blade of Grass and Xiao Pigs have great suggestions - I actually was considering going down the AMD route, but got put off by so many people saying when you need it for slightly heavier tasks the performance isn't there and other such things. The only real difference (other than price) between both of your suggestions is the motherboard. Which one is going to offer the best performance/features for the price? I'm guessing a £108 motherboard is going to be slightly better than a £85 one, right?

[Nerdsauce]

Xiao - I think you're slightly off with your sums ... £140+£155 = £295 not 195 lol.

Anyways, here are the three options I've got so far (a third Intel option supplied by a friend):

 

Option One (all from Amazon.co.uk)

Arctic Silver 5 3.5g Thermal Paste
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO (120mm)
AMD FX8350 Black Edition 8 Core Processor (4.0/4.2GHz, 8MB Level 3 Cache, 8MB Level 2 Cache, Socket AM3+, 125W, Retail Boxed)
AsRock 990FX Extreme3 Motherboard
Corsair CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 8GB 1600MHz CL9 DDR3 Vengeance Memory Two Module Kit
£326.27

 

Option Two (all from Amazon.co.uk)

Arctic Silver 5 3.5g Thermal Paste
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO (120mm)
AMD FX8350 Black Edition 8 Core Processor (4.0/4.2GHz, 8MB Level 3 Cache, 8MB Level 2 Cache, Socket AM3+, 125W, Retail Boxed)
Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 Socket AMD AM3+ 7.1, Optical S/PDIF Channel Audio ATX Motherboard
Corsair CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 8GB 1600MHz CL9 DDR3 Vengeance Memory Two Module Kit
£360.87

 

Option Three (Intel - all from Box.co.uk)

Intel Ivy Bridge Core i5-3570K Dual Core Processor @ 3.4GHz - 3.8GHz Turbo Boost

Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H Intel Z77 Socket 1155 ATX Motherboard

Cooler Master TPC-T800 High Performance Gaming Processor Heatsink

Cooler Master 120mm Blade Master Cooling Fan

(all of above as bundle offer @ £299.99)

 

Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz RAM Module - 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) - DDR3 SDRAM

Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Grease for CPU Processor Heatsink
Total £358.20

 

Is it wiser to go with AMD at this price range, or go for Box.co.uk's Intel deal? And if AMD is the better option, which of the two listed above would be better value for money?