Bargain basement spec check

Selekt0r · 13 May 2007 at 08:09

Well, the kids PC has finally died, so a bargain basement replacement is required. Given that their current PC is an Athlon 1.4, 1Gb RAM, Radeon 9600 I'm not looking for anything high-end.

I've put together the following AMD spec.

I've included a mew monitor too, as the current
I'm pretty sure that the bits are compatible, but it's been a loooong time since I've specced a new PC so it would be good to have some resident experts check it over.

I know the 7300GT is a low-end card, but would it do OK at 1280x1024 for current generation games on low-ish settings? I gather it's roughly equivalent to a 9800 pro so I'd have thought so...

I'm sure that the C2D fan club will be around to politely inform me that I'm an idiot for getting an AMD system. I really want to keep the price down and I can't see any way of sqeezing a C2D setup into the same budget.

Any comments/suggestions?

Thebug · 13 May 2007 at 08:27

Here you go a core 2 system with a quieter hdd better ram and better monitor - all for an extra tenner

no need for a 500w psu with that spec a 400w will be fine

Bounc3 · 13 May 2007 at 08:29

How about something like this?

HIS ATI Radeon X1650 Pro ICEQ Turbo 256MB GDDR3 AVIVO HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (RX1650P-256ICEQT)

Antec Sonata II Piano Black Quiet Case - 450W Smart Power PSU

OcUK Value Hanns-G HW191D 19" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Silver

Intel Core 2 Duo E2140 "LGA775 Conroe" 1.60GHz (800FSB) - Retail

GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC5300C4 667MHz Value DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB5300DC)

Samsung SH-183LBEBN 18x18 DVD±RW Dual Layer Serial ATA Lightscribe ReWriter (Black) - OEM

Samsung SpinPoint P SP2504C 250GB SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM

Gigabyte GA_965P_S3 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard

£509 including VAT and Shipping

All these products can be found on the OCUK website

Selekt0r · 13 May 2007 at 08:37

Keeny1979 said:
Here you go a core 2 system with a quieter hdd better ram and better monitor - all for an extra tenner

no need for a 500w psu with that spec a 400w will be fine

How would a C2D 2140 compare with the Athlon?

Thebug · 13 May 2007 at 08:38

Selekt0r said:
How would a C2D 2140 compare with the Athlon?

never said it would "compare" with anything.

Selekt0r · 13 May 2007 at 08:41

Keeny1979 said:
never said it would "compare" with anything.

Why suggest it then....? :rolleyes:

Thebug · 13 May 2007 at 08:43

Selekt0r said:
Why suggest it then....?

cos you said "I can't see any way of sqeezing a C2D setup into the same budget"

Selekt0r · 13 May 2007 at 08:45

Keeny1979 said:
cos you said "I can't see any way of sqeezing a C2D setup into the same budget"

OK - fair enough. Out of interest, how do the C2D 2140 perform?

Thebug · 13 May 2007 at 08:53

not sure mate its not been around long. just had a quick search on google but cant find any reviews. prob would be better to put the extra £19 and get a e4300 though.

I got a 6400 when they first come out and still got it - its superb, runs at 3.2 - 24/7 with low temps and its never given me a problem.

Selekt0r · 13 May 2007 at 08:56

If I pushed the budget for a C2D 4300 would I need to get better/faster RAM to overclock it, or can you run the PC2-5300 RAM at its rated speed and still overclock?

Sorry if this is a really dumb question BTW - it's been a long time since I put together a new system

Sho · 13 May 2007 at 08:59

try here if it help http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu.html?modelx=33&model1=433&model2=480&chart=174

Thebug · 13 May 2007 at 09:01

yes pc5300 would still be ok all you have to do is change the ram divider in the bios and make sure the ram voltage is on 2.1

the best overclocking ram for the £££££ is the pc5300 crucial balistix on this week only

but i never had a prob overclocking my 5300 corsair

Selekt0r · 13 May 2007 at 09:02

Sho said:
try here if it help http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu.html?modelx=33&model1=433&model2=480&chart=174

Thanks - already tried there, but it's a bit out of date. Doesn't even have the C2D 4300 listed.

Selekt0r · 13 May 2007 at 09:03

Keeny1979 said:
yes pc5300 would still be ok all you have to do is change the ram divider in the bios and make sure the ram voltage is on 2.1

Thanks! May have persuaded me.

Thebug · 13 May 2007 at 09:08

check out these fourums even if you only overclock a e4300 to 2.67 wich is easy done. you will have saved yourself £130 on the price of a e6700.

hp7909 · 13 May 2007 at 09:14

How about...

Nicos Rex · 13 May 2007 at 09:19

If you want to go the E4300 route and keep costs at rock bottom, consider the Asrock 4CoreDual-VSTA (Socket 775) PCI-Express/AGP DDR2 Motherboard.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-011-AK&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=

This will allow you to reuse your existing DDR ram and AGP graphics card and upgrade to DDR2 and PCIe as and when funds permit.

I have this combination on one of my PC's and have the 4300 running at 2.7GHz with stock cooling - simplest overclock I have ever done!

Selekt0r · 13 May 2007 at 09:29

Nicos Rex said:
If you want to go the E4300 route and keep costs at rock bottom, consider the Asrock 4CoreDual-VSTA (Socket 775) PCI-Express/AGP DDR2 Motherboard.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-011-AK&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=

This will allow you to reuse your existing DDR ram and AGP graphics card and upgrade to DDR2 and PCIe as and when funds permit.

I have this combination on one of my PC's and have the 4300 running at 2.7GHz with stock cooling - simplest overclock I have ever done!

I did consider this option, but I'd rather push the budget a little bit and get something which is more future-proof.

Thebug · 13 May 2007 at 15:27

Have a look here

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17728177