£500 Spend MAX (pref under) - CPU + Fan, Mobo & Memory

xe-cute

xe-cute

xe-cute

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16 Aug 2003
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Location
Newcastle [UK]
Does this sound alright?

Intel core i5 750 2.66Ghz Lynnfield LGA 1156 (Retail) £158.99
Gigabyte GA-P55-UD5 Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Mobo £158.99
2x 4GB Kit (2x2GB) 240 Pin DDR 3 PC3-10600 Memory £135.98

Total £453.96


I can't really say what my computer is mainly used for as it has had so many hiccups over the last couple of years I have not been able to game on it.... So I've just used it for Photoshop & Dreamweaver for my web design. If I had to specify I would say I just wanted an all-round good set-up, not gaming specific (as unsure how much I will get back in to it - already have Xbox 360 & PS3 too)

One thing for sure is I want to get back in to music production, I also need to get myself a new decent soundcard, but I'll be getting that from elsewhere.

My current setup which I am replacing is:

AMD Athlon 64 x2 4800+ CPU (Socket 939)
MSI-RD480 Neo 2 (Socket 939) Mobo
4x Geil 512mb (2gb) PC 3200 DDR-400 (CL2.56-6-3-3) Memory

I am guessing I will see a major increase on upgrade?
My current computer for some reason even has a delay on keyboard & mouse clicks.

My current GFX Card is a Radeon X1800XT PCI-e 625Mhz which Windows 7 does not like at all with Legacy drivers (as it is no longer supported).... I am guessing this will be my weakest link (will it work on new mobo?) I have been looking at the XFX ATI RADEON HD 4890 1024mb GDDR5 PCI-e GFX Card for £143.98 - but it pushes me too far past my limit :( I also look at this for possible future upgrade to dual cards with X-Fire.

I mean I can't even afford a new case or any new hard drives (current are SATA - guessing they will work on new system). Also as said i need a new Soundcard too as my Sound-blaster Audigy 2 (SB0240) like the GFX card is no longer supported driver wise for Windows 7 and even on Vista it does nothing but snap, crackle and pop. I'm gonna try and get an E-Mu 1212 PCI-e Soundcard elsewhere (Hope I can get the PCI-e soundcard and GX card to fit and also have a spare slot for future X-Fire with dual GFX cards).


Anyway I could type for England. You think what I am contemplating buying will replace, mix & match my old system with no probs and that I have picked the right stuff? Any better suggestions?

Thanks in advance for any help on this matter, i appreciate your input.


EDIT: Forgot to say, my current PSU is a Corsair HX620W - My case is nothing fancy and a cheap piece of cr*p full size thing, although I do have some decent fans on it, the names of which I forget (So I am hoping heat issues will not be a problem with a stock cooler). Also trying to keep my system as silent as possible. Also best bang for my bucks type deal - I don't mind being a little slower if it means saving a chunk of cash (just want it a lot quicker than my current setup, or not worth bothering).
 
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Your choices look ok apart from the 8GB of ram you want, im sure 4GB would be enough for now, you would also need a 64bit version of windows for the larger amount.
 
Thanks for your response, yes I'd be using a Windows 64 version.

I think I need the memory as I always remember my VST/VSTi taking up tons of ram when producing music. Also if I was just to stick with 4GB I dunno what use the left over £67.99 could be apart from perhaps better CPU cooling than stock.
 
Intel Core i5 750 2.66Ghz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail
Gigabyte GA-P55-UD4 Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard
Club 3D ATI Radeon HD5770 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
OCZ Platinum 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C7 1333MHz Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3P1333LV4GK)


£499.96 (not including postage, i think you qualify for free postage link your forum account to your store account)

the onboard sound should be better than what you have already - Audio: ALC889A 8-channel High Definition Audio CODEC and the 5770 can play pretty much any game at max settings and 1920x1200 res which gives you the choice of gaming if you want it.

dont get anything other than an i5 750 !! (which is really fast)
 
Well I defo need a Pro soundcard, as I am in to music production, I simply can't use onboard. But I left that out of this price here anyway as will be buying that elsewhere.

I've also been looking in to Solid State Drives for the 1st time, But I can't decide if the market is mature enough and price competitive enough to jump ship yet. Just I like the sound of a fast boot-up and instant clicks & loadups etc (and golden silence). Obviously I would have to go over budget by quite a bit.

BTW I had to re-read your comment twice as I just couldn't understand how you sneaked a gfx card in there too that I didn't realise at 1st. My current one is a Radeon X1800XT PCI-e 625Mhz, I'm guessing the one you point out would show a marked performance increase over it and Worth the money? I was kinda going to hold off till I could afford a Radeon HD 4890 at some future point with it not being too important atm.

Thanks again for all your advice, I really do appreciate this. I'm ready to buy something at any moment. Just ironing out them last concerns.

UPDATE: Just realised, the nosiest thing in my current build that I am using atm is the GFX card. I'm not happy about that, so yeah, I think a new GFX card will have to be on the table too.
 
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Being the high-end model of the last generation, that 4890 you are planning is quite a power hungry hot and noisy beast - probably similar to your X1800XT. The current generation, but more mid-range 5770, on the other hand is almost as fast as the 4890, supports DX11, and should be cooler and more quiet if that's important to you. With that I'd say the spec above by arknor would be sweet. You can get a decent cooler later and take that i5 all the way to 4GHz baby!

Liam
 
arknor said:
Intel Core i5 750 2.66Ghz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail
Gigabyte GA-P55-UD4 Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard
Club 3D ATI Radeon HD5770 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
OCZ Platinum 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C7 1333MHz Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3P1333LV4GK)


£499.96 (not including postage, i think you qualify for free postage link your forum account to your store account)

the onboard sound should be better than what you have already - Audio: ALC889A 8-channel High Definition Audio CODEC and the 5770 can play pretty much any game at max settings and 1920x1200 res which gives you the choice of gaming if you want it.

dont get anything other than an i5 750 !! (which is really fast)
Click to expand...


any reason to go for that ram over this

Patriot Sector 5 Viper II 4GB (2x2GB) PC3-12800 1600MHz Dual Channel + 3D Mark Vantage (PVV34G1600LLKB) [PVV34G1600LLKB] - £82.99
 
@ Jono - As my DAW I'll be using FL Studio again (always loved it & life time license).

As the VSTs/VSTis go then basically every one going.
I run a music production community and I used to do reviews before my computer got so bad I had to get the company's to send them to a fellow staff member.

MY faves however are:

Z3ta+ (we just ran a competition lately too giving some of these away)
Nexus (yeah, it's a rompler .. but good for my Genre in music which is hard dance)

^ used the most.

Pro 53
Vangaurd
Absynth
FM8
Crystal
Vaz

^ my under-used, but also in my collection.


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@ Liampope - thanks for the response about the GFX card, yeah I never thought that the 4890 may be noisey. I kinda thought by now these things would be much quieter. I also use silent PC website as I really do want a silent PC, yet at the same time I can;t afford fanless cooling (I don't think). But yeah, the GFX card atm is the noisest thing I have in there and it drives me up the wall.

@ ssharp59 - Yeah, good question. Not sure if there is much differances in RAM these days.

P.S. lastly, you think this is a good time to buy? it really is a fine line atm for me cash wise. I'd love an SSD though. You think that market is mature enough and price competative enough to jump in and get one? Any problems with them still need sorting out or has all the lag etc gone now for small files?
 
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