Some help upgrading (moderate noob)

JaMeS89 · 24 Feb 2006 at 19:55

my computer is about 5 years old and apart from a few minor hardware adjustments, i havent done anything

im looking to upgrade my Mobo, processor, RAM and anything else that i need to upgrade if my mobo is upgraded

looking to use the AMD 64 X2 processor and at least 1 gigs of RAM (preferably more, around 2)

can someone recommend some stuff? no real price limit (around 300-500?), as low as possible though

(sorry, not a lot of knowledge: moderate noob

)

lee87 · 24 Feb 2006 at 20:09

what is your current spec, you will probably need a new gfx card and psu if its 5 years old.

What will the pc be used for?
Will you be overclocking?

JaMeS89 · 24 Feb 2006 at 20:10

do you want an Everest summary?

WONT be used for gaming, wil be used for running lots of processes (thats why i thought AMD X2 would be the best), downloading, music etc etc

lee87 · 24 Feb 2006 at 20:23

I won't need to know the full specs as you won't be gaming. Only need to know what psu you have. As its 5 years old i'll guess you will need a new one.

This has a Asus mobo with built in geforce 6 graphics. I've added a new psu which you will probably need.

CP-152-AM AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+ (Socket 939) - OEM (CP-152-AM) 1
£164.95 £164.95
FG-000-AR Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940) (FG-000-AR) 1
£14.50 £14.50
MB-119-AS Asus A8N-VM CSM Micro ATX (Socket 939) PCI Express Motherboard (MB-119-AS) 1
£54.95 £54.95
MY-046-GL GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC3200 Value Dual Channel Kit CAS3 (GE2GB3200BDC) (MY-046-GL) 1
£109.95 £109.95
CA-003-AK Akasa Ultra Quiet 460W Paxpower Active PFC ATX2.0 PSU - Black Nickel (CA-003-AK) 1
£43.95 £43.95
Subtotal £388.30
VAT £67.96
Total £456.26

Monstermunch · 24 Feb 2006 at 20:36

CP-134-AM AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+ (Socket 939) - Retail (ADA3800BVBOX) (CP-134-AM)
£182.95 £182.95
MB-088-AS Asus A8N-E nForce4 Ultra (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-088-AS)
£61.95 £61.95
MY-046-GL GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC3200 Value Dual Channel Kit CAS3 (GE2GB3200BDC) (MY-046-GL)
£109.95 £109.95
GX-066-XF XFX GeForce 7300 GS 512MB DDR2 TV-Out/DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (PVT72G-WANG) (GX-066-XF)
£41.95 £41.95
HD-048-WD Western Digital Caviar Special Edition 200GB 2000JS SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM (HD-048-WD)
£51.95 £51.95
CA-040-AN Antec Sonata II Piano Black Quiet Case - 450W Smart Power PSU (CA-040-AN)
£65.95 £65.95
Subtotal £514.70
VAT £90.08
Total £604.78

I think for a decent Dual Core system, you'll need to look around the £600 mark. This is the lowest price X2 processor with the lowest 2gb ram etc.

Raikiri · 24 Feb 2006 at 20:45

CP-152-AM AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+ (Socket 939) - OEM (CP-152-AM)
£164.95 £164.95
MB-042-GI Gigabyte K8N51GMF-9 nForce 6100 Micro ATX (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-042-GI)
£44.95 £44.95
FG-000-AR Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940) (FG-000-AR)
£14.50 £14.50
MY-006-OK OcUK Value 2GB (2x1GB) PC3200 184pin DDR Memory Dual Channel Kit (MY-006-OK)
£89.95 £89.95
CA-012-AK Akasa Ultra Quiet 400W Paxpower Active PFC ATX2.0 PSU - Black Nickel (CA-012-AK)
£33.95 £33.95
Subtotal £348.30
VAT £60.96
Total £409.26

This is about the cheapest you can do it for, although a seperate graphics card wouldnt go amiss

Explicit · 24 Feb 2006 at 21:29

One more:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+ (Socket 939) - Retail (ADA3800BVBOX) (CP-134-AM)
£214.97
OcUK Value 2GB (2x1GB) PC3200 184pin DDR Memory Dual Channel Kit (MY-006-OK)
£105.69
Asus A8N-VM CSM Micro ATX (Socket 939) PCI Express Motherboard (MB-119-AS)
£64.57
Arctic Cooling T1 Silentium Silent Midi Tower Case - 450W Seasonic Silent PSU (CA-000-AR)
£58.69
Hitachi Deskstar T7K250 NCQ 160GB SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM (0A31637) (HD-001-HI)
£56.34

Total inc VAT £500.26

Better off leaving your IDE hard drive behind and switching to SATA. Case includes a good PSU. Mobo has on-board graphics.

JaMeS89 · 24 Feb 2006 at 21:34

do i definetly need a cooling system? the best one (to me) seems lee87's one, as it has the mobo with built in graphics card

also, i dont think i need another hard drive atm as i have an external 120gb hard drive which i store all data on

which PSU is better (as im pretty sure i have to replace it)?

CA-012-AK Akasa Ultra Quiet 400W Paxpower Active PFC ATX2.0 PSU - Black Nickel (CA-012-AK)

or

CA-040-AN Antec Sonata II Piano Black Quiet Case - 450W Smart Power PSU (CA-040-AN)

that all in one case looks pretty interesting, that is PSU and cooling and an outer casing for the whole computer in one? but is there much point in getting a new case if i can keep my old case and get cooling and PSU separately?

JaMeS89 · 25 Feb 2006 at 18:43

anyone?

Explicit · 25 Feb 2006 at 18:48

JaMeS89 said:
do i definetly need a cooling system? the best one (to me) seems lee87's one, as it has the mobo with built in graphics card

also, i dont think i need another hard drive atm as i have an external 120gb hard drive which i store all data on

which PSU is better (as im pretty sure i have to replace it)?

CA-012-AK Akasa Ultra Quiet 400W Paxpower Active PFC ATX2.0 PSU - Black Nickel (CA-012-AK)

or

CA-040-AN Antec Sonata II Piano Black Quiet Case - 450W Smart Power PSU (CA-040-AN)

that all in one case looks pretty interesting, that is PSU and cooling and an outer casing for the whole computer in one? but is there much point in getting a new case if i can keep my old case and get cooling and PSU separately?

Makes more sense to get that case with psu included. You can keep your old case, but I would just take that silent, black, sonata case with psu included.

As to the cpu cooler, it's never a bad thing to keep your cpu as cool as possible, but the stock retail cooler is usually adequate. Choice is yours

JaMeS89 · 25 Feb 2006 at 19:10

will all cases work with all motherboards?

for the case specified, where is the CD/DVD driver?

JaMeS89 · 25 Feb 2006 at 19:16

also.. whats the difference between

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+ (Socket 939) - OEM (CP-152-AM)

and

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+ (Socket 939) - Retail (ADA3800BVBOX) (CP-134-AM)

and, which is the best RAM for running multiple programs etc?

Explicit · 25 Feb 2006 at 19:26

RE cases: yep, all ATX and microATX motherboards will fit the standard ATX case mentioned above (they are compatible). The sonata case has a door, behind which the dvd/cd drives are hidden.

RE OEM vs Retail: The retail version of that processor comes with 3 yr warranty, a heatsink & fan, and "trendy" packaging. The OEM version is a cheaper version of the exact same processor, without the fancy packaging, no heatsink (most people buy better ones anyway) and a shorter 1 yr warranty.

JaMeS89 · 25 Feb 2006 at 19:31

so if i werent to buy a cooler, the RETAIL would be better, if i were to buy a cooler, the OEM version would be better

can you answer the following q's

- Which RAM is the best, not for value, for general quality, speed etc etc

- Would my IDE hard drive still work with the new mobo?

thanks for the help

Explicit · 25 Feb 2006 at 19:40

JaMeS89 said:
so if i werent to buy a cooler, the RETAIL would be better, if i were to buy a cooler, the OEM version would be better Correct. But some people buy retail for the extra warranty and still get a cooler anyway

can you answer the following q's

- Which RAM is the best, not for value, for general quality, speed etc etc
The GeIL Value 2gb, despite the value name, is good bang for £££s. Spend a bit more and you can get something like Corsair 2GB XMS3200C2PT, OCZ 2GB PC3200 Dual Channel Platinum Series EL, or Mushkin 2GB DDR HP3200 High Performance Dual Channel Kit (assuming you don't want to overclock - or will use a divider if you want to overclock).

The very best ram for overclocking is the Mushkin 2GB DDR XP4000 Redline Extreme Performance Dual Channel Kit.

- Would my IDE hard drive still work with the new mobo?
It will work, yes.

thanks for the help

JaMeS89 · 25 Feb 2006 at 19:51

- For the RAM, yes i wont be overclocking, so is it worth the extra money to buy the more expensive options? 'Corsair 2GB XMS3200C2PT, OCZ 2GB PC3200 Dual Channel Platinum Series EL, or Mushkin 2GB DDR HP3200 High Performance Dual Channel Kit'

- Is there anything else that i need to take into consideration as i am, pretty much, building a new machine. My computer is 5 years old but will i have all the relevant cables etc etc to make this new machine?

- Also, AMD X2 3800+ says that it runs at 2.0Ghz, which to me seems slightly slow, is this not a "true" figure as it has a dual core?

Explicit · 25 Feb 2006 at 20:00

JaMeS89 said:
- For the RAM, yes i wont be overclocking, so is it worth the extra money to buy the more expensive options? 'Corsair 2GB XMS3200C2PT, OCZ 2GB PC3200 Dual Channel Platinum Series EL, or Mushkin 2GB DDR HP3200 High Performance Dual Channel Kit'

- Is there anything else that i need to take into consideration as i am, pretty much, building a new machine. My computer is 5 years old but will i have all the relevant cables etc etc to make this new machine?

The GeIL 2GB RAM is a very good piece of kit. AMD 64s love tight timings though, which is why I suggested one of the other kits. Most people happily run the GeIL kit, which is a bargain at £129, compared to the other kits. For a £500 budget, the GeIL kit is your best bet.

As far as cables are concerned, the new motherboard will include all the bits and bobs that you need, including cables. You may want to consider buying some round IDE cables, which would help case airflow. Same goes for the floppy cable, assuming you still want a floppy drive.

JaMeS89 · 25 Feb 2006 at 20:03

- Also, AMD X2 3800+ says that it runs at 2.0Ghz, which to me seems slightly slow, is this not a "true" figure as it has a dual core?

- Does it matter which cable i get for either IDE or floppy?

Explicit · 25 Feb 2006 at 20:04

JaMeS89 said:
- Also, AMD X2 3800+ says that it runs at 2.0Ghz, which to me seems slightly slow, is this not a "true" figure as it has a dual core?

Well, each core runs at 2.0Ghz. This may not seem very fast, but that's the beauty of AMDs. They have a better architecture and can afford to use lower clock speeds compared to their competitors, without losing performace. Having said that, most people have been reaching 2.5Ghz when overclocking.

Don't let the clock speeds put you off, base your judgement on the performance

The round cables are not essential and do not matter. The motherboard will have the standard cables you need. I only suggested round cables for improved case airflow.

JaMeS89 · 25 Feb 2006 at 20:08

ok, so they run at lower speeds but do the same job?

- Will GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC3200 Value Dual Channel Kit CAS3 (GE2GB3200BDC) (MY-046-GL) be fine if i don't want to overclock and want to run multiple programs (not gaming)?