My PC spec - Time for an upgrade!?

Gee

Gee

Member +
Hi guys,

Built my PC a few years back now when I had some knowledge on building PC's and the components etc. My knowledge has now dwindled and I know nothing about what is a decent motherboard, processors, graphics card or what is a decent amount of memory!

I would say I am willing to spend about £5-600 pound and I generally use my machine for browsing, watching movies such as AVI's etc and the occasional games. Therefore a good spec sound card and good spec graphics card that will handle today’s latest games would be nice.

My motherboard is DDR not DDR2 so I am willing to swap the board in order to buy cheaper memory and I believe the highest about of RAM I can get away with on Windows XP 32-bit is 4 GIG?

A mini motherboard so that I can have a smaller tower would be nice, but not a necessity to keep costs down.

Anyway, here is my spec:


Motherboard:
AMD Sempron, 1800 MHz (9 x 200) 3100+

Asus K8N (5 PCI, 1 AGP, 3 DDR DIMM, Audio, LAN)

nVIDIA nForce3 250, AMD Hammer

DIMM1: 64MX64U-33B 512 MB PC2700 DDR SDRAM (2.5-3-3-7 @ 166 MHz) (2.0-3-3-6 @ 133 MHz)
DIMM2: 64MX64U-33B 512 MB PC2700 DDR SDRAM (2.5-3-3-7 @ 166 MHz) (2.0-3-3-6 @ 133 MHz)


So 1GB of RAM.............

Display:

Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700LE (256 MB)

3D Accelerator nVIDIA GeForce FX 5700LE

Monitor Acer AL1706 [17" LCD] (163823568)


Multimedia:
Audio Adapter Creative Audigy 2 ZS (SB0350) Sound Card



Think those are the main components, what would you recommend within my budget?
 
lingl9z

lingl9z

Member +
I built myself a complete system from scratch a few months ago which consisted of.

AMD Phenom x3 processor
Gigabyte Motherboard AMD 785G + SB710 Chipset
4GB Ram (your correct windows won't recognise anymore than that inless you upgrade to 64)
500GB SATA HD
Geforce 9800GT
Can't remeber what sound card but it was pretty high end dolby surround.
Lite Scribe DVD burner (burn pictures on the top of cd's etc)

All for around £300 it has no problems playing the newest games such as COD WAW etc aswell as doing all the other standard duties.#

www.aria.co.uk www.ebuyer.co.uk www.micromart.com etc are all very competitive with prices.

Rich.
 
Glanza_cl

Glanza_cl

Member +
the new quad core i7 processor is the absolute shiz! it depends what your budget is like, but if you you can get the i7 along with 64bit windows. 4GB ram is enough but having 64 bit just allows the flexibility incase you want more. most recent hard drives are all fairly good obviously something like a solid state one would be insanely quick but most more then quick enough for daily use :)

but if you want a basic upgrade, new processor and ram along with windows 7 and that should see you fine.
 
Gee

Gee

Member +
built myself a complete system from scratch a few months ago which consisted of.

AMD Phenom x3 processor
Gigabyte Motherboard AMD 785G + SB710 Chipset
4GB Ram (your correct windows won't recognise anymore than that inless you upgrade to 64)
500GB SATA HD
Geforce 9800GT
Can't remeber what sound card but it was pretty high end dolby surround.
Lite Scribe DVD burner (burn pictures on the top of cd's etc)

All for around £300 it has no problems playing the newest games such as COD WAW etc aswell as doing all the other standard duties.#

www.aria.co.uk www.ebuyer.co.uk www.micromart.com etc are all very competitive with prices.

Rich.
Click to expand...

Thanks.

What speed is your processor?

I could probably get a faster processor, better sound and graphics card within my budget then if you did all that for £300?

the new quad core i7 processor is the absolute shiz! it depends what your budget is like, but if you you can get the i7 along with 64bit windows. 4GB ram is enough but having 64 bit just allows the flexibility incase you want more. most recent hard drives are all fairly good obviously something like a solid state one would be insanely quick but most more then quick enough for daily use

but if you want a basic upgrade, new processor and ram along with windows 7 and that should see you fine.
Click to expand...

Basic upgrade is an idea, but my motherboard is only DDR and decent memory can almost cost as much as a better motherboard?

I would need to check that my board could handle a new processor also.

I looked at the most expensive PC on PC World and the spec was as follows:

Intel® Core 2 Quad Q9550 (2.80GHz, 1333MHz FSB, 12MB Cache) - £160 on Amazon after a quick search
4GB DDR2 memory - Peanuts, max I can go on XP anyway
512MB NVIDIA® GeForce 9600GT graphics - Seen for £55 after a quick search

Only left in the important stuff, HDD's etc I can handle and I would need a decent motherboard and sound card.

Think I will sort the motherboard first...should I go AMD or Intel?
 
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Gee

Gee

Member +
What do you think of this spec:

ASUS M4A78-VM 780G Socket AM2+ HDMI DVI VGA 8 Channel Audio MATX Motherboard - Ebuyer - £50
AMD Phenom X2 550 Black Edition 3.1GHz 6MB L3 Chche Socket AM3 Retail Boxed Processor - £75
ASUS HD 4850 512MB DDR3 Dual DVI HDCP HDTV out PCI-E Graphics Card - £80
Crucial 4GB (2X2GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 Ballistix Memory CL4 2.0V - £45

Total Price:£240

I would then need my SATA HDD's, a nice case and possibly a decent sound card,

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/168321
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/168972l
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/146705
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/143844
 
lingl9z

lingl9z

Member +
Gee said:
What do you think of this spec:

ASUS M4A78-VM 780G Socket AM2+ HDMI DVI VGA 8 Channel Audio MATX Motherboard - Ebuyer - £50
AMD Phenom X2 550 Black Edition 3.1GHz 6MB L3 Chche Socket AM3 Retail Boxed Processor - £75
ASUS HD 4850 512MB DDR3 Dual DVI HDCP HDTV out PCI-E Graphics Card - £80
Crucial 4GB (2X2GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 Ballistix Memory CL4 2.0V - £45

Total Price:£240

I would then need my SATA HDD's, a nice case and possibly a decent sound card,

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/168321
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/168972l
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/146705
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/143844
Click to expand...

Does it say on the motherboard spec sheet it can support AM3 processors as thats what the Phenom is!

Other than that all seems well, I've always gone with AMD but as said amd and intel are both top quality processors, although if you check bench marks which compare the newer intel and amd processors, intel seem to be on top, but with that they carry a bigger price tag.

I've had no problems with the AMD tbh runs everything i want, even lets me burn cd's while using photoshop and browsing the web, where as my old processor limited me to just burning a cd etc!
 
Gee

Gee

Member +
Yup.

CPU
AMD AM3/AM2+/AM2 ;Phenom™II /Athlon™II /Phenom™ / Athlon™ /Sempron™ Processors
Support 45nm CPU
AMD Cool 'n' Quiet™ 2.0 Technology (by CPU type)
Support CPU up to 125W
*Refer to www.asus.com for the AMD CPU support list
Click to expand...

Is the x3 you listed better than the x2 I have listed?

AMD Phenom II X2 545 3GHz Socket AM3 6MB Cache Retail Box Processor

Revision - C2
Core Speed (MHz) - 3000
Voltages - 0.875-1.425V
Max Temps (C) - 70
Wattage - 80 W
L1 Cache Size (KB) - 128
L1 Cache Count
L2 Cache Size (KB) - 512
L2 Cache Count
L3 Cache Size (KB) - 6144
CMOS - 45nm SOI
Socket - AM3
Click to expand...

I don't understand all this stuff anymore.
 
lingl9z

lingl9z

Member +
Tbh I've been told there's no reason to have a x3 processor when running xp as it only allows a max of 2 (or something like that, the convo with a mate was a bit more in-depth that explained it) apparently it'll allow you to run 2 programs at the same time which would usually max out a processor instead they both use one of the cores... if that makes sence, so im sure the X2 3ghz will be good enough. and yeah it accepts the cpu, all makes sence now.

Hopefully i haven't confused you any more than you was before!
 
Gee

Gee

Member +
Ahh I see.

Thinking of upgrading to Windows 7, but I probably just stick with the x2.

Think I need to upgrade my HDD's and DVD rom drives to SATA, seems to be the way forward.

You know where I can get some nice funky may be black cases that will hold the motherboard I listed?

(Rep added BTW)
 
lingl9z

lingl9z

Member +
Yeah that'd be fine with windows 7,

www.aria.co.uk has many cases from funky http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...+ARMOR++MX+VH8000BWS+BLK+WIN+?productId=37675 to standardish black ones http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...Case+24pin+SATA+Prescott+450W?productId=37580

all depends what your after, i do have other sites dedicated to cases if you don't find anything you like ! Sata drive are cheap enough to buy these days, got a 1tb HDD off ebay brand new for £49.99! deal if you ask me :)

however you can get SATA adaptors for standard IDE drives if you don't wish to upgrade yet.

Cheers for the rep =]

anything else just ask.

Rich.
 
Gee

Gee

Member +
Cool,

I'll have a search for one of those SATA drives!

In relation to cases...

I don't want a really tall tower, just something that has two slots for CDR/DVD Rom drives..I won't be having more than this. What are these towers called..are they 'mid' towers?

I've seen tall once with 4 slots for drives, these are the ones I want to avoid.

Do I want to be looking at mid tower ATX cases for the motherboard listed? And how would I ensure it it has all the USB slots showing correctly:

(6 ports at mid-board, 6 ports at back panel)
Click to expand...

==================
EDIT
==================

I might look stupid now..well more so.

MATX I assume = M for micro and ATX for motherboard type so it will fit Micro ATX cases!? I hope so, they are nice.
 
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Dub-Se7en

Dub-Se7en

Lifer
as a rule mid tower cases are usually 4 x 5.25" bays, MATX is indeed micro ATX

don't overlook a good quality PSU, it's essential for a stable computer :)
 
Gee

Gee

Member +
Yeah guys, don't worry. Got the PSU locked down ;)

In relation to the cases, this looks nice:

top1.jpg


My PC won't have a floppy drive though as there is no connection on the board from what I can tell in the description, so wondering what else I could have it one of both of the slots? Something funky. May check out www.kustompcs.co.uk

This is my other fav at the moment:

solo_front.jpg


I am looking at SATA hard disk drives now. Think I will for a 250GB or 500GB as my C: that Windows will be installed on and a 1TB for storage so that my C: just not get clustered and slows down.

I noticed there are two HDD sizes, 2.5" and 3.5". If I am right and the motherboard listed is a Micro ATX, then 2.5" HDD may be beneficial due to them taking up less space which is good if using a micro case.

It appears they have other benefits also:

Less Heat
Low Power Requirements

Theres hardly a huge difference between the two sizes I guess, but every little helps! I guess I am more concerned with the RPM? I would need a nice RPM for the drive to work fast which would be beneficial for game playing also?

5400rpm and 8MB cache seems to be the norm. May be I could go a bit better, like 7200rpm with 16MB cache?

Here are some 3.5" drives I spotted which may be good as my C: ?

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/161103
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/149873

Not sure what makes these different?

And spotted these for my storage drive:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164282
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/159391

Not sure about the Eco greens? I guess I can use them and they better for the enviroment :p

(Am I right here? Because I just noticed Ebuyer lists the 2.5" HDD's as laptop HDD's)

I was going to go for a SATA DVD RW dual layer drive too, but might just stick with IDE? Seems to be more choice and I have one IDE slot on the board so should be ok there.
 
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lingl9z

lingl9z

Member +
Good to hear :)

I've always gone with the 7200 rpm HDD's, not too sure about the diff in sizes though as i've never really looked at that when building a pc lol. The ones you've shown should be very capable for a quick pc.

IDE DVD drives etc are fine and if you have an IDE on the board even better saves messing with adaptors etc.

Rich.
 
Gee

Gee

Member +
Cool.

I'm almost set then.

Need to choose a case!

This one is also nice but only £17 so not sure wha the build quality is going to be like:

R0160915-01.jpg
 
lingl9z

lingl9z

Member +
tbh my case cost me £22 iirc and the build quality is pretty good, looks nice and does it's job, basically same as that one in the pic but don't have a gloss finish!
 
lingl9z

lingl9z

Member +
Yeah, that looks to be an ATX power supply, pretty sure it is, could be worth a second opinion. although my brothers mini atx did used the standard one.
 
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