Your thoughts before I order?

CF93 · 5 Jul 2010 at 13:24

Hi.

Looking for your thoughts on this spec before I order - what would you change if anything? I'm going to reuse my current PSU (assuming this is up to the job,) and keep my current HDD for storage.

I'm looking for something that will play the odd game (don't get much time anymore) and is really mostly for office/internet use - I won't be overclocking either as I just want something fast and reliable. I don't really want to spend any more than this either, less if possible.

I've been out of the loop for a loooong time so really don't have any idea whether this is a good spec or not, wonder if I'd be better going for an i3, from what I read they seem to be pretty good?

Also, the SSD - do AMD support TRIM properly? I've read a couple of threads and I'm getting the impression it's really only Intel chipsets/drivers that it works properly on - or have I got that totally wrong?

(Don't need software either, I've got Win7 already)

Crucial RealSSD C300 64GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CTFDDAC064MAG-1G1) £119.99
OCZ Gold 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 (1333MHz) Low-Voltage Dual Channel (OCZ3G1333LV4GK) £89.99
Asus M4A87TD Evo AMD 870 (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard £84.99
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5670 512MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £72.99
AMD Athlon II X3 Tri Core 445 3.10GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £72.99

Sub Total : £375.28
Shipping : £9.50
VAT : £67.34
Total : £452.12

Thanks!

pastymuncher · 5 Jul 2010 at 13:56

With regards to the psu, it's more than enough for that rig.

Marine-RX179 · 5 Jul 2010 at 13:57

HD5670 is slower than a 9800GT and HD4770.

You'd better off getting the HIS 4850 1GB at £79.99, or stretch to around £125 to get a HD5770 instead.

CF93 · 5 Jul 2010 at 14:53

Marine-RX179 said:
HD5670 is slower than a 9800GT and HD4770.

You'd better off getting the HIS 4850 1GB at £79.99, or stretch to around £125 to get a HD5770 instead.

Is the 4850 faster than the 5670 as well?

Which of the 9800GT and the HD4770, HD4850 would be "better"?

As you can tell I really am walking in the dark here!

Marine-RX179 · 5 Jul 2010 at 14:57

CF93 said:
Is the 4850 faster than the 5670 as well?

Which of the 9800GT and the HD4770, HD4850 would be "better"?

As you can tell I really am walking in the dark here!

HD4850 is the fastest out of the bunch. It's about one level up from the HD4770 and 9800GT.

CF93 · 5 Jul 2010 at 15:00

Cool, I think I'll go for that then since it's not much more money. Thanks Marine.

Anyone got any more thoughts?

NormanPorkinson · 5 Jul 2010 at 15:02

Considered an i3?

Redmint · 5 Jul 2010 at 15:04

This is £10 cheaper and only 100MHz slower which you probably couldn't even notice.

Stickman · 5 Jul 2010 at 15:22

About the TRIM support... it makes no difference whether you're running an AMD or Intel processor, the Win7 you have supports TRIM either way. What you might be thinking of is the fact that there's software for some of the Intel made SSDs that makes up for a lack of TRIM support... but since you have it in Win7, don't worry.

CF93 · 5 Jul 2010 at 16:57

Redmint, Sitckman, thanks for your help.

So I'm definitely set on that SSD, and the HD4850 now.

Is an i3 a better choice for the processor? I'm guessing the i3 is faster and that makes up for the difference in number of cores?

Redmint · 5 Jul 2010 at 17:02

CF93 said:
Is an i3 a better choice for the processor? I'm guessing the i3 is faster and that makes up for the difference in number of cores?

Yes it's a bit faster but for what you'll be using the system for I don't think it's worth the extra £37 over the CPU I suggested.

CF93 · 6 Jul 2010 at 14:22

Thanks guys, think I'll stick with the X3 and go for the HD4850.

Forgot to ask, presume I'll need a bracket to fit the SSD into a 3.5" drive bay?

stulid · 6 Jul 2010 at 14:25

yes you will need an adaptor.

I only know of intel retail drives coming with a bracket.

Tikkabhuna · 6 Jul 2010 at 15:06

stulid said:
yes you will need an adaptor.

I only know of intel retail drives coming with a bracket.

My OCZ drive just came with one.

Are you sure your case doesn't have one? My dad just has his sitting freely. It doesn't have any moving parts so there should be no problem.

CF93 · 6 Jul 2010 at 23:51

Thanks guys.

One more question, sorry.

Is it worth getting the AMD Athlon II X4 Quad Core 635 2.90GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail for £80.99 instead of the tri-core? It's only 200Mhz less but is an extra core....

stulid · 7 Jul 2010 at 00:00

closest match i could find,

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/84?vs=122

The 710 is faster than the 445 in your spec, and some of those graphs are lower is better.

So I would presume that a quad 634 would dominate a tri core 445, so worth the extra.

PhoenixUK · 7 Jul 2010 at 00:25

Go for the 440, or 435 even ( around 50quid elsewhere if you look around ).

Regarding GPU i'd really look at a 2nd hand GPU, new ones are just sooo overpriced, at least the low end ones.

Preferably a 4830/4850/4870/4770 can be had for 40-50quid now and that would be your best shot. If not, then it all depends, I'd say the 4670 you've chosen is still good enough for casual gaming on lower res.

So, tbh, stick with that 5670 and get a 440 or 435, would be plenty of good for you and am3 socket will allow you for easy upgrades as well in the future.

What monitor are you using btw?

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EDIT: Actually I'd pick the 4850 over 5670 if it had to be a new card and you're on budget.

stulid · 7 Jul 2010 at 00:31

5670 suck, extra few quid will get a 4850

perry081064 · 7 Jul 2010 at 01:01

Tikkabhuna said:
My OCZ drive just came with one.

Are you sure your case doesn't have one? My dad just has his sitting freely. It doesn't have any moving parts so there should be no problem.

or even velcro it to the side of ya case, i used to do that with my old antec

Mak3R · 7 Jul 2010 at 01:04

stulid said:
5670 suck, extra few quid will get a 4850