Motherobard and CPU - €200/250

Telchak

Hi (:

I currently have a 2.7GHz Pentium Dual Core E5400 and am considering upgrading.

I've been kind of overwhelmed by the options of motherboard and CPU combinations, and was wondering does anybody have any suggestions of what I could get in a €200 to €250 range. I'm not particularly partial to AMD or Intel, but I do have a number of preferences to the motherboard.

Needs to be:
- Full ATX
- Have more than 4 SATA ports.
- Have integrated graphics (doesn't matter if only VGA) in case my graphics card ever breaks and I don't have the money immediately for a replacement.

IS it realistic to get a decent upgrade for this kind of price? (:

Monotype

For a little under the €250 mark delivered, you could get-
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/204534
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/242140

http://www.memoryc.com/products/description/4GB_G_Skill_DDR3_PC3_10666_1333MHz_Ripjaw_Series-9_9_9_24-Dual_Channel_kit_for_Intel_LGA1156_Core/index.html

Quite powerful integrated graphics in that, but there's a Sapphire one for a little cheaper if you want. mATX boards with integrated graphics are cheaper again.

Telchak

Thanks Monotype (:

I've been checking Pixmania based on your suggestion, and came up with this:

Asrock 890GX Extreme3 Motherboard - €106
AMD Athlon X4 646 3.1GHz Quad Core - €96.90
Coarsair 2x2GB DDR3-1600 Memory - €43.90
Cooler Master Hyper TX3 CPU Cooler - €15
Arctic Silver 5 Thermo Paste 3.5g - €4.90
24 to 48hr Delivery - €20.99

Total - €287.69

Decent build, or could I get more for a similar price? (:

Monotype

Even with their offer, pixmania's board is still €5 dearer although the processor is €3 cheaper than ebuyer. On the other hand, ebuyer's postage should be at least €5 cheaper and it's fast so you'd end up will a little saving of maybe €10.

Memoryc have similar RAM to pixmania at nearly the same price. Free delivery.
http://www.memoryc.com/products/description/4GB_GeIL_PC3_12800_1600MHz_Value_Plus_CL9_Dual_Channel_kit-2x2GB_/index.html

If you really want to save, go to scan.co.uk and look at their daily deals. You can get good combinations or pick up items a little cheaper. You have to click buy directly from the page. For example, the X4 645 is £78 (€92). If you don't want to buy today, a lot of things cycle around again quite quickly. Postage is similar to ebuyer - fast and about £10. They don't have the extreme 3 on that site, but there's a few alternatives, maybe not as good value.

Monotype

BTW, this is quite a highly recommended heatsink.
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/176157