Buying new hardware need advice please

[m16si]

Hello i was thinking of upgrading my computer with new Motherboard, processor, Ram and graphic card.

And another thing is that i don't have much money but i want to play latest games (not on high settings of course).

I was thinking of buying:

AMD 64 X2 4000+ because they are under their price now (is this one good) or will it be much much better if i would buy C2D Pentium.

Asus, Gigabyte or Abit mobo because they're cheap and they support DDR2 but what about FSB (im talking about cheap Mobos please don't include expensive ones)

2x 1gb DDR 2 Ram (Geil or Patriot) i really don't have a lot experience with RAM so please reccomend some (but cheap ones) and please explain if 800MHZ ram is enough.

Graphic card is simple i will buy used one im thinking (7800gt or 7900gt Pci-e because they're underpriced and very cheap at lease in my country im not currently thinking of buying graphic card with DX10 support.)

Oh and one more thing how strong (W) must my power supply be if i want to run that kind of system? And are there any converters from ATA to SATA because i don't want to change my HDD right now (Seagate Barracuda 250GB 7200PRM ATA).

Thnx

[puntoMX]

Not expensive and good, then I would look at these:

CPU: Pentium dual core E2180 2GHz

Good low cost CPU, can be OCed over the 3GHz with stock cooling and no voltage raise.

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-945GCMX-S2 (rev. 6.6)

Has solid capacitors around the hot aria eg. Socket zone, so it should last longer. You can OC the E2180 on this motherboard easily to 2.67GHz

Memory: Simple DDR2 667MHz 1.8v RAM would do on this motherboard, no need for more expensive RAM. I would take a look at the value line of ADATA and Kingston.

VGA Card: Take a look at the ATi 1950GT/Pro too, they should be dirt cheap by now, especially now ATi announced there new X3xxx series, witch will be released in about 2 weeks from now.

A 430W PSU would be safe, if you care about how much watts it sucks from the power outlet then take a look at the Antec EarthWatts or some green power from Coolermaster. They are not modular, so if you want that then go for a Crosair HX520…

Any questions more? Schoot .

[m16si]

How about this mobo?

http://www.nakupi.net/buy.php?&productId=7072

It comes pretty cheap!

sorry because of the language but this is my local store.

Edited November 7, 2007 by m16si

[puntoMX]

No problem, as long as I don’t have to speak your language . We can read between the lines.

You are picking not a budget board there, in fact it’s one of the most expensive (not server or workstation ) motherboards you can buy with onboard VGA.

It´s almost the price of this baby: http://www.nakupi.net/buy.php?&productId=7073

But you are a bit stuck on cheap motherboards with that store, only they offer ASRock motherboards, not that bad but just a bit less then Gigabyte. I would leave the Biostar motherboards were they are; just cheap build PCB and not so good components, although they are working hard to get better... If you get a 33/35 series chipset then get the RAID versions!

That motherboard I posted by the way is about 55€.

[m16si]

Thnx for help PUNTOMX!

But i went off the course there im not looking for mobo with integrated graphic card! I made a mistake there! Im looking for fair mobo without integrated graphic card! I will buy used 7800gt because they're silly cheap now!

And is there soo much diffrence between Amd 64 x2 4400+ and P D2C E2180 ? I mean the amd 64 x2 4000+ or 4400+ processors are soooooo cheap!

And is there a lot of diffrence between 667mhz ram and 800mhz ram?

i have another local store here:

http://www.enaa.com/oddelki/racunalnistvo/...asp?dept_id=205

what about there mobos ?

Thnx

[m16si]

i Now found these components fairly cheap and i think i can afford this:

GIGABYTE GA-G33M-S2, LGA775, I G33

Procesor Intel Core2 Duo E4500 2.2GHz, 775

GeIL Ultra DDRII 1GB PC2 6400 800MHz KIT (2x512MB)

Gigabyte 7800GT 256Mb PCI-E (used)

Do you think this is good rig ?

Im most worried about mobo and ram (do i need 2gb?) do i need p965 northbridge on mobo?

please look at these:

http://www.mlacom.si/tree.aspx?nodeid=2037

thnx bye

Edited November 8, 2007 by m16si

[puntoMX]

But i went off the course there im not looking for mobo with integrated graphic card! I made a mistake there! Im looking for fair mobo without integrated graphic card! I will buy used 7800gt because they're silly cheap now!

You were talking about a very tight budged, so I was aiming on not expensive boards and they come with integrated VGA. A motherboard with integrated VGA isn´t by necessary less good then a motherboard with no integrated VGA, they have in general more options for PCI/PCI- cards.

And is there soo much diffrence between Amd 64 x2 4400+ and P D2C E2180 ? I mean the amd 64 x2 4000+ or 4400+ processors are soooooo cheap!

No, there isns´t so much diference, but most of the people here that have a tight budged want to OC a little (altrough they say they don´t ). At stock speeds I would say AMD, but when you OC it´s all iNTEL at this moment.

And is there a lot of diffrence between 667mhz ram and 800mhz ram?

No, there is not so much difference between 667 and 800MHz, even the prices are about the same. Some motherboards like the ones with i845/846 series chipsets only support 667MHz of RAM, and if you like to gamble you could try 800MHz on it. As you can read on internet, a lot of people had problems to use 800MHz DDR on older chipsets, even when the BIOS supported it. If you buy a motherboard with a newer chipset, then 800 or even 1066MHz DDR2 will work fine.

i have another local store here:… …what about there mobos ?

From the 2 sites you linked I would pick one of these

-

GIGABYTE N650SLI-DS4

;

o Supports official 1333MHz FSB CPUs

o Onboard EEE1394 (firewire 400)

o A lot of upgrade options

o Solid capacitors, good PCB

-

GIGABYTE 945P-DS3

(rev. 3.3!);

o Supports official 800MHz FSB CPUs, but with the newer revision of the P945 it can handle 1066MHz FSB CPUs with ease. You can boot with 1333MHz FSB CPUs but it could be that it doesn’t run stable.

o It´s cheap and not bad at all!

o Solid capacitors, good PCB

i Now found these components fairly cheap and i think i can afford this:

GIGABYTE GA-G33M-S2, LGA775, I G33

Procesor Intel Core2 Duo E4500 2.2GHz, 775

GeIL Ultra DDRII 1GB PC2 6400 800MHz KIT (2x512MB)

Gigabyte 7800GT 256Mb PCI-E (used)

Do you think this is good rig?

Not bad, but the E4500 isn’t that much faster then a E2180, it has 10% more “power” and double the cache witch makes it way more expensive. I would spend that extra money on a better motherboard, for example one with an iNTEL P35 chipset and a ICH9R (yes, always the RAID version). Go directly for 2GB RAM, just a brand 667 or 800MHz module. No need for words like “Ultra”, “Mega”, “Super” or “Xtreme” here . How much will cost that 7800GT used buy the way?

Im most worried about mobo and ram (do i need 2gb?) do i need p965 northbridge on mobo?

2GB isn’t that extreme these days and would advice it.

You don’t need an i965 based motherboard, were did you get this from?

Did you forget about the PSU by the way?

--- EDIT ---

Check out this mobo, I think it’s the best option for it’s price:

GIGABYTE GA-P35C-DS3R, the factory link can be found here.

[m16si]

Thnx PuntoMX

I will buy:

GIGABYTE GA-P35C-DS3R DDR2/DD3

PATRIOT 2x 1GB DDR2 ram, PC2-6400, 800MHZ s hladil

PENTIUM DUAL CORE E2180, 2.000 GHz 1MB, 800MHz, LG (i must call in the store about the cooler i don't know if it's in the price)

Gigabyte 7800GT 256Mb PCI-E (used graphic card is approx. 55 $)

i want just one more advice about the Power Supply:

http://www.nakupi.net/menu.php?&category=245

Please pick one most appropriate!

Thnx

[puntoMX]

Wow, PSUs are expensive over there!

Check this one out from Chieftec, specs.

This will be enough for a wile, t has an efficiency of 65-70%, while more expensive ones have 80-85% but you can’t have everything for that price. I see it has 2 year warranty as well...

By the way, I’m for 99% sure it comes with the cooler.

[m16si]

Thnx PuntoMX !

Just more question sorry.

I was wondering how much comes the silent (w/o fan) power supply because im one of those people that don't like 10000 fans in computer and as silent solution as possible!

i owe you a beer PuntoMX

Thnx again

[puntoMX]

A beer?

Or 2

I would not go for a fanless PSU, most modern PSUs have a 12cm fan inside that would make like 18-24dB/A noise. Really, that Chieftec would be the best pick for it’s price. I know the brand and I can tell you they are on the same level as Antec .

An extra fan in the back, if possible 12cm, would be the second fan besides the CPU fan.

The CPU fan is controlled active, your motherboard will use he lowest voltage that is necessary to keep your CPU cool enough.

[m16si]

I thought of buying this Power Supply:

Xilence 480W | xp480.(12)r

http://www.levicom.de/xilence/en/xp480.(12)r.htm

[clidx]

do not get that psu. it has only 1 12V rail with 16A. since you are buying a dedicated card, i don't think 16A will be enough. of course, if it had 2 12V rails then it'd be fine. basically the core components like motherboard, cpu and graphics card get power from the 12V rail. you want about 20A. but then again i don't know much about this stuff.. better to wait for puntoMX to reply.

@below post, i must be going blind

Edited November 15, 2007 by clidx

[puntoMX]

The linked PSU has 2 12v lines too; I think you overlooked that .

m16si, I don’t know the brand so I can’t say any thing about it. Just to be safe I would go for the Chieftec 400W:

+5V	-> 26A
+3,3V  -> 28A 
+12V1  -> 14A 
+12V2  -> 15A
-12V   -> 0.5A 	
+5VSB  -> 2.5A

Combined 380W, so you can use one 12V line for the x1950pro your VGA card and the other one for the CPU, mobo and drives.

[m16si]

Are you sure that Chieftec 400W will be enough.

It will have to power:

1xfdd

1xhdd

2xdvd (rw, rom)

1xGraphic card (x1950pro)

1xmobo

1xCPU

1xsound card (audigy)

4xfans (80mm)

1xhdd cooler (2x 40mm fans)

2x ram sticks (2x1gb)

4x Led diodes

2x additional USB ports

And im sure i forgot a thing or two

Sorry for so many questions but i need to be 100% before i buy the hardware.

thnx

Edited November 15, 2007 by m16si