A little help with a barebones if poss?

[DeusVolt]

Hi,

I'm from UK, looking to put together a set-up from just cheap bare-bones set.
The main specifications of this barebones are: -
# AMD Athlon II X4 640 Quad Core
# 2 x 2GB DDR3 1333Mhz
# ATX Tower Case With 400w PSU
# Integrated ATI Radeon 4250 Graphics
(for further details the address is: Novatech Barebone Bundle - AMD II X4 640 Quad Core - 4GB DDR3 1333Mhz - AMD 880G Motherboard - 4 Bay ATX Tower Case & PSU)

My main query is firstly, is it possible to upgrade/bypass the integrated ATI Radeon 4250 Graphics card, as all reviews point to it being fairly pants.

Secondly, I am guessing for instance a new card like ATI Radeon HD 4850 1GB, or NVidia equivalent would require a ~600watt PSU?

Thirdly, would this all be ok with Windows 7?

Oh and any advice on whether my choice of hardware is ok etc. would be much appreciated - I'm aiming for a low-mid capability computer, having been chugging on a 3.4ghz 512mb ram with 256mb graphics card for the past 4-5 years I wanted to go all quad-core and play the generation of games I've missed out on.

Thanks for your time guys! Any and all help much appreciated!

-------------------

Just saw this:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 Processor,
MBD : Gigabyte GA-G41MT-D3
RAM: 4GB Corsair DDR3 1333MHz
Case: Xigmatek Asgard ATX Midi Tower

http://www.cclonline.com/product-inf...urer_id=0&tid=

Good name components, at a small extra cost - any thoughts?
Thanks again!!

[Nuclear Krusader]

They don't tell you what brand the mobo is. First red light there. Not even a picture so that one can see if there's a PCI-X slot for a video card (if there is one, then yes, you can disable the onboard video and install a VC of your choice).

I'm concerned about the PSU's brand as well. All in all, I'm concerned about the quality of the components they use in general.

[DeusVolt]

OK thanks for the feedback, any thoughts on the second kit?

I'm thinking I might just have to put my hand in my pocket and fork out the cash, for fearing of buying junk or conflicting hardware.

Thanks again

[Nuclear Krusader]

The second kit looks far more decent. I'll let glc or somebody else comment on the PSU as I'm not sure if the CX series from Corsair is the junky series or not.

And yes, you get what you pay for (well, most of the time, doesn't apply with antivirus programs), so if you want quality you have to spend a mite more.

[glc]

The 400 is the only decent CX. However, with that said I think you should buy completely separate components rather than depending on a barebones kit.

Give us a budget for what you need - case and its contents (motherboard, CPU, ram, video card, hard drive, optical drive, and power supply). GBP (quid) is fine, you don't have to convert to USD.

[DeusVolt]

I'm looking at £350-£400, pre-OS, (for which I'm gonna opt for windows 7 which adds nearly £100 on to that!).

Thanks for the feedback guys!

[glc]

If you want a quad core and a video card in that class, your budget is too light.

Coolermaster Elite 335 Case - Black [RC-335]

Antec High Current Gamer 520W Power Supply []

Asus P7P55D-E Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard [90-MIBBN0-G0EAY00Z]

Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (WD6402AAEX) []

LG GH22NS50 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - Retail [GH22NS50.AUAR]

Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C8 1333MHz Dual-Channel (CMX4GX3M2A1333C8) [CMX4GX3M2A1333C8]

Intel Core i5 760 2.80GHz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail [BX80605I5760]

That's 465 quid before you even start looking at video cards. Something is going to have to give!

Overclockers.co.uk used only as an example.

[DeusVolt]

But I want something really good for not much money - damnit!

Oh well, I guess I'll have to fork out the money, but for that price I might as well get it built by someone else. What hard times we live in

I might entertain dual core, as for gaming I've heard there's not much difference between quad and dual....

Well thanks for your help guys!!

And HAPPY NEW YEARRRRR!!!!!!

[Nuclear Krusader]

Don't we all?

For gaming it's the video card that is important, not so much the processor.

[glc]

Let's try this:

Coolermaster Elite 335 Case - No PSU | Ebuyer.com

Asus P7H55-M LX Motherboard | Ebuyer.com

Intel Core i3 540 3.06GHz Socket 1156 4MB L3 Cache.. | Ebuyer.com

Crucial 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz/PC3-10600 Memory Kit.. | Ebuyer.com

Western Digital WD5001AALS 500GB Hard Drive SATAII.. | Ebuyer.com

Sony Optiarc AD-5260S 24x DVD±RW & DL SATA.. | Ebuyer.com

Antec Basiq Power 500W PSU - 20+4pin 2x SATA 1x PCI-E.. | Ebuyer.com

314 quid without a video card, you can use the onboard video till you can afford one.

92 quid for this one:

PowerColor HD 5770 1GB GDDR5 DVI HDMI Out PCI-E.. | Ebuyer.com

[rwest]

Here's an AMD version using the same components except MB and CPU:

Asus M4A88T-M 880G Socket AM3 Onboard Graphics 8.. | Ebuyer.com

AMD Athlon II X4 640 Socket AM3 3GHz 2MB L2 Cache.. | Ebuyer.com

With AMD you get the quad core under the Athlon line, but I'm not sure how it compares to the i3 GLC posted. Maybe someone with a bit more knowlege can elaborate.

[glc]

Very comparable. I don't do AMD builds and can't recommend them so I'm glad you had an alternative.

I chose the 5770 for a specific reason - from Tom's Hardware:

This card remains one of our price/performance favorites, and it's a very good starting point for the serious gamer.

Of course you can get a stronger card, but at your budget point you simply can't afford it at this time. Everything else is cut as close as I can do it while still maintaining reasonable quality and performance.