New build - help out of touch bloke choose.

jumpy

jumpy

jumpy

Soldato
Joined
6 Nov 2004
Posts
2,646
Location
BOOMTIMES
Currently system is an old amd AM2 x2 2800+ dual core machine, 2gb ram.
It must be 8 years old now :o

Anyways, I'm looking at upgrading CPU, MOBO and RAM. (eventually other bits as money allows)

Existing case is ATX form factor, PSU is 680W hipper.

As with my last build, I'm looking at the top of the middle of the range in terms of CPU's.
Intel seem to have the edge? So I was looking at an i5 of some description, preferably a higher end i5. From what I've read I'd not use the extra cores/hyperthreadding of an i7.
Add a compatible mobo and 8gb RAM.

Right now I'm looking for suggestions, for me to go and look at/research.
Budget? Just for CPU MOBO RAM 300-400. Don't want to be a scrooge or a rothschild.

No idea about what socket to look at with intel.

I'm familiar with Asus and corsair products and been happy with their reliability with my existing machine; are these still good choices for mobo and ram these days?

I'm not worried by gfx cards just yet, though I suspect my existing geforce 7950gt (512mb) will be a bottle neck... all of that will come in good time - first get the basics.


Any suggestions as to what I should be looking for are welcome.
 
 
 
ooh, shineys!

Thanks, I'll have a closer look at those.

Q: do I need a new PSU? I guess what I really need to know is have the mobo power plugs changed configuration?

Also CPU coolers, do the intel retail chips come with a stock cooling fan or is that something that has to come as a separate item?
 
Thanks.
Overclocking is something I've only messed with a little tiny bit over the years, mostly with my current system running slightly over stock - because it was getting a bit long in the tooth :p
 
 
jumpy said:
ooh, shineys!

Thanks, I'll have a closer look at those.

Q: do I need a new PSU? I guess what I really need to know is have the mobo power plugs changed configuration?

Also CPU coolers, do the intel retail chips come with a stock cooling fan or is that something that has to come as a separate item?
Click to expand...

I'd definitely get a new PSU. Those Hiper PSU's are ticking time bombs! I'm surprised it hasn't nuked your current PC yet :eek:
 
 
to save some cash I would go for

1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £109.99
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 700W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £64.99
1 x GeIL Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD38GB1600C11DC) £28.98
but get the i5 2500k @£179 instead and not bother with the cpu cooler
for stock speeds and slightly above it's not required I run mine at 3.8Ghz no problems
just under 400 nicker


bullit
 
hmm, gonna have to think about that PSU perhaps - I know my first one (when I built my current system) didn't work from the get go - RMA'd it and it's been working fine ever since.

Also just having a look at the mobos suggested. I can't see any IDE connections (for my old data drive) are they SATA only?
Existing drives are SATA primary system drive and IDE old data drive (got all of my music etc etc on it).
 
jumpy said:
hmm, gonna have to think about that PSU perhaps - I know my first one (when I built my current system) didn't work from the get go - RMA'd it and it's been working fine ever since.

Also just having a look at the mobos suggested. I can't see any IDE connections (for my old data drive) are they SATA only?
Existing drives are SATA primary system drive and IDE old data drive (got all of my music etc etc on it).
Click to expand...

You're kind of stuck with IDE. All modern computers now use SATA. But yeah, a PCIE IDE card might be your option. Probably as a temporary measure until you get yourself a 1TB HDD.
 
Thanks guys.
Wow, who'd have thought IDE could be so old fashioned :p

I was considering a new drive either with the build, or perhaps sometime down the line, but now it looks like I'll have to deal with that a little sooner.

What's the scoop on solid state drives ? (I'd thought of using one as a system drive... perhaps, maybe... er.. )
They're sort of new? Perhaps best to go with a basic sata with a larger cache.
 
Ive Been using a SSD for a boot drive for about a year and defintely will not go back to a mechanical drive for the operating system.
 
jumpy said:
What's the scoop on solid state drives ? (I'd thought of using one as a system drive... perhaps, maybe... er.. )
They're sort of new? Perhaps best to go with a basic sata with a larger cache.
Click to expand...

Awesome. Not good for storage, but great for main OS and apps drive, or laptops. It will make your system a lot more responsive (apps open instantly, computer boots under 20 secs). Expensive, but I would look at the Samsung 830 64GB, M4 128GB.

128GB if you don't want to spend time cleaning up what's being stored on the C: drive. 128GB requires a bit of management, but a lot less if you are sensible.

HDDs will never match SSDs, no matter how much cache they have. Cache is useful for writing to the drive, but becomes useless for read access time, which is what computer drives spend most of their time doing.

For the money, I would start off with a good SATA drive first, put a 100GB partition for the OS and apps, and get a SSD later.
 
Last edited:
jumpy said:
hmm, gonna have to think about that PSU perhaps - I know my first one (when I built my current system) didn't work from the get go - RMA'd it and it's been working fine ever since.

Also just having a look at the mobos suggested. I can't see any IDE connections (for my old data drive) are they SATA only?
Existing drives are SATA primary system drive and IDE old data drive (got all of my music etc etc on it).
Click to expand...

Never skimp on the psu. Its the most important part of your PC. It supplies power to all your components. No point in spending out on nice new kit only for it to get ruined when your ropey psu goes pop.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom