Cheapest Conroe system?

Biohazard

Biohazard

Biohazard

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29 Aug 2003
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I need an upgrade, whats the cheapest anyone could price one up? Christmas woes :(

I need:

C2D E6300 Allendale / Mobo / 1Gb / (PCI-E Graphics max 100 pounds)

I'll use my hard drive, but I need to get rid of the AGP stuff.

Hopefully some of you who list rigs for fun could help me out.. and recommend something to replace my Ti 4800 SE lol

Thanks :)
 
This should do you, the graphics card is slightly over your budget, if it is really important then you can get a 7600gt for about £100 but I'd recommend spending the extra on the 7900gs(although admittedly almost anything will be a jump from the 4800se :)). Other than that the system won't be particularly great for overclocking but will be solid enough in performance terms.

Intel Core 2 DUO E6300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.86GHz (1066FSB) - Retail £109.99
(£129.24) £109.99
(£129.24)
Asrock Conroe945G-DVI (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £45.99
(£54.04) £45.99
(£54.04)
Corsair 1GB DDR2 Value Select PC5300 Dual Channel Kit (2x512MB) (VS1GBKIT667D2) ( £72.99
(£85.76) £72.99
(£85.76)
OcUK GeForce 7900 GS 256MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £99.99
(£117.49) £99.99
(£117.49)
Sub Total : £328.96
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £8.25
Vat : £59.01
Total : £396.22
 
Intel Core 2 DUO E6300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.86GHz (1066FSB) - OEM £97.99
(£115.14) £97.99
(£115.14)
Arctic Cooling Alpine 7 CPU Cooler (Socket 775) £5.99
(£7.04) £5.99
(£7.04)
BFG 3DFuzion GeForce 7600 GS 256MB DDR2 TV-Out/DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £64.99
(£76.36) £64.99
(£76.36)
Gigabyte GA_945PL_S3 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £54.99
(£64.61) £54.99
(£64.61)
GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC5300 667MHz Value DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB5300DC) £129.99
(£152.74) £129.99
(£152.74)
Total : £425.59


Can save money and get 1gb, you cant really need super graphics with a ti4800 still, so unless its a requirement, this would be more suited to daily running :)
 
I'd do a mix'n'match from those two with some minor changes:

Intel Core 2 DUO E6300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.86GHz (1066FSB) - OEM
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket 775)
Gigabyte GA_945PL_S3 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
Corsair 1GB DDR2 Value Select PC5300 Dual Channel Kit (2x512MB)
OcUK GeForce 7300GT 256MB GDDR3

This is quite close to something I've actually built so I know it's sound.
I'll leave the prices as an exercise for the student. ;)

Jonathan
 
Snapshot said:
I'd do a mix'n'match from those two with some minor changes:

Intel Core 2 DUO E6300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.86GHz (1066FSB) - OEM
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket 775)
Gigabyte GA_945PL_S3 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
Corsair 1GB DDR2 Value Select PC5300 Dual Channel Kit (2x512MB)
OcUK GeForce 7300GT 256MB GDDR3

This is quite close to something I've actually built so I know it's sound.
I'll leave the prices as an exercise for the student. ;)

Jonathan
Click to expand...
I reckon the 7900GS is better value for money, it'll be useful for much longer than the 7300GT.
 
Let me define, I mainly play CSS and other source engined games. I got flight sim X but it runs like a dog. Does that help any as to the graphics part of the question?
 
mcwildcard said:
I reckon the 7900GS is better value for money, it'll be useful for much longer than the 7300GT.
Click to expand...
It's a valid point but VFM isn't the same as cheap. The OCUK 7300GT is only 60 quid so fits the brief very well but the equivalent 7900GS is twice that.

Jonathan
 
945 chipset, I guess. If you want to overclock go for the Gigabyte 965P-DS3 which really seems to be the favourite around here. It would also be worth upgrading the RAM from 5300 to 6400.

Jonathan
 
Biohazard said:
Why would that system not be particularly great for overclocking?

I'd be willing to go all out on a mobo, and scrimp back on the graphics until funds allow..
Click to expand...

Two reasons, it is the 945 chipset so only supports up to PC5300(667mhz) and secondly it is mATX which is never a great form factor for overclocking with. It will allow some overclocking but how much I can't say for certain. :)

The DS3 as mentioned is a much better bet for overclocking as the 965 chipset allows very high FSB speeds(~500mhz), if you get the 7300gt with ddr3 Ram then it shouldn't be that much of a downgrade from a 7600gt.
 
Biohazard said:
Let me define, I mainly play CSS and other source engined games. I got flight sim X but it runs like a dog. Does that help any as to the graphics part of the question?
Click to expand...

Upgraded to a E6300 and a 7900GS and play CSS and source games maxed out at 1280x1024 no problem at all, 90fps +, well until i installed VISTA! and now get 25-80fps.
 
semi-pro waster said:
Two reasons, it is the 945 chipset so only supports up to PC5300(667mhz) and secondly it is mATX which is never a great form factor for overclocking with. It will allow some overclocking but how much I can't say for certain. :)

The DS3 as mentioned is a much better bet for overclocking as the 965 chipset allows very high FSB speeds(~500mhz), if you get the 7300gt with ddr3 Ram then it shouldn't be that much of a downgrade from a 7600gt.
Click to expand...

What would you recommend ATX 965 in that case?

I take it the Abit AB9 would cover it? I do miss the Softmenu from other Abit mobo's I've had. My current Epox isn't as cut out for it.
 
As mentioned above, the gigabyte ds3 seems to be the most popular motherboard for this cpu... it's what i'd buy if i had an e6300 :D
 
A motherboard based on the 965 chipset should be better for overclocking so since that seems to be an aim yes I'd recommend one. :)

I don't know too much about the Abit as I haven't had too many dealings with them, a quick check in the Motherboards sub-forum seems to suggest that some people find them great but others have problems(like anything I guess) but it does seem that the FSB normally tops out at about 460mhz although this may be fixed with a bios update or something while the DS3 appears to get closer to 500mhz or above commonly. Basically I don't know enough about it to advise properly but that is what a five minute scan tells me.
 
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