hello :) could someone please do there best for me with a 300£ budget...thanks guys

[drew09dalt]

basically i am after the best computer build for 2 to 3 hundred pound. i know it isnt much and im not expecting to beable to play games on max settings but please do your best guys. my local IT shop offered me this for 300£: would it be any good? or can you guys give me a much better value for money spec

athalon am3 x250 (2x 3.ghz)

4 gb of ddr 1333 ram

22x dvd RW

geforce 7025 graphics

milti card reader and bluetooth

500gb hardrive

nvidia chipset

5.1 hd audio/ 6 usb slots

10/100 lan card

windows 7

2 bay case

now i have no idea about computers, gona get my uncle to build it for me thanks guys, any help appreciated

[Deleted]

For a £300 budget I would recommend considering a Llano build, like the A8-3850 as it has a built in Radeon HD 6550D and performs ~15-20% worse compared to an i3 2100 paired with a GT 430 in most games (and is considerably cheaper).

Give me a minute, I'll try to come up with something.

[drew09dalt]

i dont suppose you could paste me the full build? or should i just google LIano build? no experience at all :| thanks for the info

[Deleted]

This was the best I could do for ~£316:

CASE: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...5-15240-2.html
PSU: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...430CXV2UK.html
MOBO: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...s/f1a75-m.html
CPU: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...50WNGXBOX.html
RAM: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...m2a1600c9.html
HDD: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...b/HD502HJ.html

Specs:
Antec 100 Gaming Case with ASUS F1A75-M (mATX) together with the mentioned Llano APU (A8-3850) which has an integrated GPU (HD 6550D). 2x2Gb RAM modules, Corsair CX 430W (you could potentially drop this down to a less quality 350-400W PSU I guess) and a Samsung Spinpoint F3 500Gb.

Gaming on this? Except moderate framerate (at best) on lowest settings. WoW might be able to run smoothly at medium-high, but expect low-medium in raids/cities. Newer games will probably not run at all unless they are console ports. Upgrade-ability? Close to none. You could slap in a dedicated GPU later on but it would most likely be bottle-necked by the CPU (depending on what you get of course). But hey, for 300 there isn't room for much more tbh.

[OhpUldum]

Alright, first off, not too sure about the RAM modules. They seem too cheap for what they are. But, this was the best I could do for ~£311:

CASE: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...5-15240-2.html
PSU: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...430CXV2UK.html
MOBO: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...s/f1a75-m.html
CPU: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...50WNGXBOX.html
RAM: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...AM-313334.html
HDD: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...b/HD502HJ.html

Specs:
Antec 100 Gaming Case with ASUS F1A75-M (mATX) together with the mentioned Llano APU (A8-3850) which has an integrated GPU (HD 6550D). 2x2Gb RAM modules, Corsair CX 430W (you could potentially drop this down I guess) and a Samsung Spinpoint F3 500Gb.

Looks like a really good build for the price. Considering the price point you can't beat the Llano APU's right now.

[taekvideo]

Don't accept that offer... it's so.... eww.
Marest's is much better.

[Deleted]

Looks like a really good build for the price. Considering the price point you can't beat the Llano APU's right now.

Indeed. The other option is to get an i3 2100 build without a GPU and when (if?) more money rolls in get something like the GTS 450 or a 460/550 ti to pair it with.

[drew09dalt]

thanks for the help so far guys, yeah i think i want the option to throw some major upgrades in there because it sounds like i am gona need some in the future

[Deleted]

thanks for the help so far guys, yeah i think i want the option to throw some major upgrades in there because it sounds like i am gona need some in the future

Well, the Llano build I suggested is the absolute best bang for your buck you can get at that price - trust me. It has a decently powerful quad-core CPU after all, and paired with a 550 ti later on it can become a really powerful gaming rig at a very low cost (I'd estimate ~430).

But, as I said before, what you could do is get an i3 2100 build but without a GPU. It will cost you around 350 I reckon, and then when you get more money you can spend 130-150 on a decent GPU. Or, of course, just save your money and when you have 500-600 buy something decent. With a 300 quid budget there is only so much you can do.

[Deleted]

If you can push to £340, you could get a very nice pre-made PC from eBay.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Easypc-AMD...#ht_2762wt_987

It's not a bid auction, you buy it at a set price and it's from a reputable seller.
For the price, it's an absolute steal, and it even comes pre-overclocked for you.

It'd run WoW at High/Ultra with shadows turned down with good FPS, and most modern games at Medium, possibly more.

However, this doesn't come with Windows 7, so you'd have to buy your own copy for £70, which probably stretches your budget a bit much.

[taekvideo]

Hmm one thing, if you get Marest's build, go with this ram instead:
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...m2a1600c9.html
The llano gpu benefits a LOT from faster ram.

[Deleted]

Another option is to drop another £20 on an i3-2105, which has the Intel HD 3000 instead of Intel HD 2000. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Processor-In.../dp/B0051FFBX0 for OP, may be something to take a look at.

[Deleted]

Another option is to drop another £20 on an i3-2105, which has the Intel HD 3000 instead of Intel HD 2000. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Processor-In.../dp/B0051FFBX0 for OP, may be something to take a look at.

Actually, the Llano outperforms the i3 2105 in terms of gaming performance. And that with a pretty large margin:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4476/amd-a83850-review/5

[Rakudjo]

300 GBP = 485 USD
I dunno if Newegg does European shipping (edit: It doesn't), but these can probably be found elsewhere as well.

Computer
RAIDMax Blade Mid-ATX + 500W PSU - $60
WD Caviar Blue 500GB HDD - $45
AMD Phenom II X2 Black @ 3.2GHz - $88
Asus M4N75TD AM3 Motherboard - $93
xfx ATi Radeon 6670 - $100
4GB Corsair DDR3 1033MHz RAM - $28
Total: 414 USD = 256 GBP (before shipping)
This is just bare-bones, and assembly required. Assuming you have a KB, Mouse, and Monitor.

Addons
Plextor 24X DVD+-RW - $34
Asus USb Bluetooth 2.1 Dongle - $14
Bytecc 52-in-1 Card Reader + USB 2.0 - $10
Total: 58 USD = 36 GBP (before shipping)

Total: 472 USD = 292 GBP (before shipping)

The only thing this is missing is the OS, and it's just under 300 GBP.
Win7 32-Bit/Win7 34-Bit - $95/$100 = 59/62 GBP

Going 32-Bit would run you around 351 GBP. You can always downgrade the video card to compensate for the price of Windows 7.

[taekvideo]

300 GBP = 485 USD
I dunno if Newegg does European shipping (edit: It doesn't), but these can probably be found elsewhere as well.

Computer
RAIDMax Blade Mid-ATX + 500W PSU - $60
WD Caviar Blue 500GB HDD - $45
AMD Phenom II X2 Black @ 3.2GHz - $88
Asus M4N75TD AM3 Motherboard - $93
xfx ATi Radeon 6670 - $100
4GB Corsair DDR3 1033MHz RAM - $28
Total: 414 USD = 256 GBP (before shipping)
This is just bare-bones, and assembly required. Assuming you have a KB, Mouse, and Monitor.

Addons
Plextor 24X DVD+-RW - $34
Asus USb Bluetooth 2.1 Dongle - $14
Bytecc 52-in-1 Card Reader + USB 2.0 - $10
Total: 58 USD = 36 GBP (before shipping)

Total: 472 USD = 292 GBP (before shipping)

The only thing this is missing is the OS, and it's just under 300 GBP.
Win7 32-Bit/Win7 34-Bit - $95/$100 = 59/62 GBP

Going 32-Bit would run you around 351 GBP. You can always downgrade the video card to compensate for the price of Windows 7.

The conversions don't really works like that. Prices in other countries are almost universally more expensive than in the US (especially with their taxes).... except for a few exceptions, like Canada.
For example, i5-2500k = $220 in the states... converted would give you 136 GBP... but no it costs 160GBP with the VAT ($259 worth).

[Rakudjo]

The conversions don't really works like that. Prices in other countries are almost universally more expensive than in the US (especially with their taxes).... except for a few exceptions, like Canada.
For example, i5-2500k = $220 in the states... converted would give you 136 GBP... but no it costs 160GBP with the VAT ($259 worth).

Yep. I don't know jack about international prices. Thanks for the insight, though.

[Deleted]

300 GBP = 485 USD
I dunno if Newegg does European shipping (edit: It doesn't), but these can probably be found elsewhere as well.

That conversion doesn't work basically because prices in the US doesn't corresponds to prices in the UK like dollars convert to pounds.

To keep it simple, when dealing with user requests based in Europe, you use European sites. Not only because it makes it easier for the person asking to track prices, but it's also a lot more expensive to ship from the US to the EU (they add taxes to what you buy, unless you smuggle...) and you bypass the pain that is currency conversions when it comes to computer parts.

TL;DR: the suggested build that you posted will cost around 500 pounds, give or take.

Edit: Also, I'm not sure why you suggest adding bluetooth and card-readers to an already starved budget build.

[haxartus]

Newegg doesn't ship internationally, otherwise everyone outside of the states would buy from them and the local computer stores will go out of business.
The general conversion ratio used by the EU retailers is something like $1=€1. Meaning that a configuration that costs $1000 in US will cost about €1000 in EU. The exception is old hardware which may get a reduced price to sell faster.

[Deleted]

Newegg doesn't ship internationally, otherwise everyone outside of the states would buy from them and the local computer stores will go out of business.

Not really. Import something from the US to the EU and you will see. The added taxes make up for the low prices. I ordered a product for around $25 from the US a while ago and the shipping and taxes made the total cost $45 (not to mention that the bank takes a little of the conversion from dollar to SEK, so it ended up costing me around 350 SEK). Why this? Well... thank the European Union.

[haxartus]

Not really. Import something from the US to the EU and you will see. The added taxes make up for the low prices. Thank the European Union.

It's still cheaper but only 5-10% cheaper. Considering the slow shipping and the lack of warranty to the local retailers, generally it's not worth it.
Unless you buy stuff for over 10-$20k and then 10% is a lot.
But convenience is also a factor. If something breaks, I can get it replaced under warranty within a week, sometimes less. It would be significantly slower if I had to send it to the US.