What is the best barebone for me?

MegaHavok

Honorable
Oct 8, 2013
56
0
10,630
I have pretty much decided that i will be purchasing a barebones system from novatech. The only componenets worth keeping from from my current build are my GPU (GTX 550 Ti) and PSU (OCZ 550W StealthXstream). I am looking for an intermediate upgrade as i am off to uni in a years time (where i dont expect i will be gaming much) and intend to upgrade in a couple of years. I am currently experiencing some major bottlenecking with my Q8200 CPU so a processor upgrade is the main idea here.

So to my question: which of these barebones will best serve me for a couple of years, making the msot of my GTX 550 Ti (so no bottlenecking)?

1) Processor:Intel Core I3 4130 Processor
Case:Novatech Micro Tower Case
Motherboard:GIGABYTE Intel H81 Chipset
Memory:4GB DDR3 1333Mhz Memory
Power Supply:FSP 300W ATX Power Supply

PRICE: £230

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/barebones/bb-41304g.html

2) Processor:Intel Core I5 4430 Processor
Case:Novatech Micro Tower Case
Motherboard:GIGABYTE Intel H81 Chipset
Memory:2 x 4GB DDR3 1600Mhz Memory
Power Supply:FSP 300W ATX Power Supply

PRICE: £304.99

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/barebones/bb-44308b.html

3) Processor:Intel Core I5 4670K Processor
Case:Novatech Gaming Tower Case
Motherboard:Gigabyte GA-Z87-HD3 Motherboard
Memory:2 x 4GB DDR3 1600Mhz Memory
Power Supply:Novatech PowerStation 500W PSU (non Modular)

PRICE: £430

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/pcs/bb-46708b.html

4) Processor:AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8350 Processor
Case:Novatech Gaming Tower Case
Motherboard:AMD 990FX Chipset Motherboard
Memory:2 x 4GB DDR3 1600Mhz Memory
Power Supply:750W Gaming PSU

PRICE: £420

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/barebones/bb-83508a.html

Currently i am favouring the i5-4670k barebone as it would mean only upgrading my GPU in a few years when my GTX 550 Ti becomes outdated.

What do you think is best? (p.s i would prefer if you didnt just answer 'build your own' as i am bery much a novice)
 
Any of those machines is plenty for the 550 ti. Unless you plan on overclocking, however, I suggest you user the I5 4430 build. The main benefit of the K series is an unlocked multiplier for overclocking.

Also, I highly recommend replacing your PSU with a higher quality unit, OCZ PSU's are poorly built, using chinese capacitor and bad voltage regulation.

XFX unit's are very high quality (built by seasonic) and relatively cheap.
XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
 


Is the H81 mobo ok for future upgrades if i do decide to upgrade mY GPU/PSU in the future?