Is this a decent board and processor for the money?

grub

grub

I have $150 CAD in amazon giftcards and $100 in Futureshop (bestbuy), and am looking at upgrading my pc.

I am looking at this MB and this processor, for approximately $150.
and 8GB of RAM for $100 at futureshop.

if anyone could help me out, it would be appreciated.

I don't really game, but am noticing that 4GB of RAM is almost too little for Minecraft.

The other option is finding 4 sticks of 2GB of DDR2 667Mhz. which is almost the same cost
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

If you consider the 4x2GB arrangement, you'll want to make sure the board can actually handle it, too. Some boards can't handle more than 4GB or so, all depends on the northbridge.
Can't delve into the MLB right now at work, remind me later.

--Patrick
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

I'll be honest, I'm not a huge fan of H81, but I looked around a bit and couldn't find any boards < CA$65 that weren't based on H81. Its expansion and features are (deliberately) limited, but if you're locked at that price point, it's probably the best you're going to get. The same goes for the processor. The "Pentium" brand got revived, but the chips wearing that name these days hold the top tier of the position that the Celeron name used to indicate back in the day. That said, its performance is on par with the Core 2 Quad 6600, which is saying its performance equals that of what was arguably the best CPU you could buy...seven years ago.

Newegg.ca has the MSI Z87-G41 on sale for CA$65 after rebate (It's CA$130 on Amazon.ca), but dunno if that would help you what with your gift card situation. Also, while the feature list is MUCH better than the H81, some of the reviews about it say that hooking everything up can be fiddly due to poor component placement.

Still, if you only have CA$150 to spend, you could do worse.

--Patrick
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

Well, then...

The Pentium G3258 is probably the best deal for that performance tier. The first i-level part you hit closest to that price range is the i3-4160, but the performance difference between the 4160/4150 is very small, so if the price on the 4150 is sufficiently better, then by all means save the $20 or so. Whichever one you get, make SURE it's on the mobo's compatibility list.

I'll dig into what I think would be the best $250 budget for CPU/MLB when I get home.

--Patrick
 
Eriol

Eriol

PatrThom the only techie, eh?

*flex*

Check out the System Guide here: http://techreport.com/review/26747/tr-july-2014-system-guide/9

They always have had good advice IMO. You have to read, and try and understand what you're reading, but they are good for giving a number of choices, not just 1. I linked directly to the "Sample Builds" page, but you can go back per page for individual components too.

And since you're in Canada, here's a few places that have good online presence for components:
http://www.memoryexpress.com/
http://www.ncix.com/
http://www.newegg.ca/ - Be really careful here, as their shipping times can be long sometimes as their warehouses are in the USA, but it can be very very worth it.

Obviously you have cards for Amazon and Future Shop so those don't apply to every component, but when spending the extra $100, look into them. Amazon and Future Shop have decent online presences, but with Future shop, have the item name EXACTLY and sometimes their search works. When in doubt, get the RAM there, as it is only really constrained by the type. Their selection of other stuff (cpu/mobo) is likely less than amazon. The other vendors above have everything else though.

Good luck.
 
grub

grub

That was my thinking. Futureshop for the ram, amazon for the processor and mb from my Dad (who works for a computer place (server based mostly) in kelowna).
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
Not the ONLY... just usually the first. And usually correct enough for me to not need bother hunting down links to post.
 
Eriol

Eriol

grub said:
That was my thinking. Futureshop for the ram, amazon for the processor and mb from my Dad (who works for a computer place (server based mostly) in kelowna).
Click to expand...
Does your Dad work at Wytek or something? Until May, I used to live in Kelowna.
 
grub

grub

Northern computer. Is wytek still around? I got my PC mod stuff from there 15 years ago.

He does their printer/copier repair and much of their wiring jobs.
 
Eriol

Eriol

grub said:
Northern computer. Is wytek still around? I got my PC mod stuff from there 15 years ago.

He does their printer/copier repair and much of their wiring jobs.
Click to expand...
Wytek is still the little hole-in-the wall place near the ICBC office. Friendly people.

Should have figured Northern. Their website screams "business clients only" to me.
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
Not the ONLY... just usually the first.
Click to expand...
My strength lies in being really good at searching for stuff.
Also, I'm extremely "requirements-focused," which means I'm willing to drill down between a dozen different models to find the one(s) that most closely meet stated requirements. It also means I search for components based on their characteristics rather than their manufacturer (i.e., I don't suffer from fanboi blindness).
And the more I search, the more I learn, which means I get better at picking things out, rinse, repeat, etc.

Fun tonight. Search for components tomorrow.

--Patrick
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

With a budget of CA$250:

CPU - Core i3-4330 - CA$150 over at Amazon.ca
MLB - ASRock Z97 Pro3 - CA$135 over at Amazon.ca

Total CA$285, which is > $250, I know. When I was doing the research, I forgot to keep the exchange rates in mind, so the CAD total ended up a bit high, sorry. If you want to bring the total price down about $20, you can stick with your original 4160/4150 choice (or the motherboard is only about CA$100 over at Newegg.ca after rebate)

--Patrick
 
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