Help Speccing Budget Components

Flight · 1 Apr 2009 at 14:56

Hi all

I'm fixing a PC for a friend. It needs a new Motherboard, Processor and RAM ( 2 x 1 Gb). Its running XP. He is only running Office and Outlook for basic home office and email.

Please could someone advice me on whether I can get a semi decent motherboard, processor and 2Gb RAM for around £100. I am really out of touch with what to look for at this end of the market.

Thanks

Kennysevenfold · 1 Apr 2009 at 15:04

does he have a graphics card.? apg/pci-e.?

Kennysevenfold · 1 Apr 2009 at 15:16

Product Name Qty Price Line Total

Gigabyte GA-M61PME-S2 (Socket AM2) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £45.99
(£39.99) £45.99
(£39.99)

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4400+ 2.40GHz (Socket AM2) - OEM £36.79
(£31.99) £36.79
(£31.99)

OcUK 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C5 800MHz DDR2 Dual Channel Kit £17.24
(£14.99) £17.24
(£14.99) Sub Total : £86.97 Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : Free
VAT is being charged at 15% VAT : £14.36 Total : £102.08

Flight · 1 Apr 2009 at 15:28

Nice one mate, thankyou. Presume I will need a cooler for the CPU as its OEM ?

He has a PCI-E card - Radeon 9250. Any advice on how that compares to the Radeon 3450 please ? Is it worth upgrading ?

Kennysevenfold · 1 Apr 2009 at 15:35

Flight said:
Nice one mate, thankyou. Presume I will need a cooler for the CPU as its OEM ?

He has a PCI-E card, but its old.

you could, but if the motherboard/cpu your mate has just now is and AMD AM2 socket, you can just use that with some new thermal paste

Flight · 1 Apr 2009 at 15:47

Kennysevenfold said:
you could, but if the motherboard/cpu your mate has just now is and AMD AM2 socket, you can just use that with some new thermal paste

Thanks again Kenny, I really appreciate the help and advice.

He has an Akasa 855BL cooler on a Sempron chip - Socket 754. I'm not sure if the AM2 needs a different cooler ?

Kennysevenfold · 1 Apr 2009 at 15:52

Ahh right, that wouldnt fit, in that case, (to try and stick to budget) how about this..

Product Name Qty Price Line Total

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4400+ 2.40GHz (Socket AM2) - OEM £36.79
(£31.99) £36.79
(£31.99)

Foxconn M61PMV nForce 430 (Socket AM2/AM2+) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £36.79
(£31.99) £36.79
(£31.99)

OcUK 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C5 800MHz DDR2 Dual Channel Kit £17.24
(£14.99) £17.24
(£14.99)

Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Low Profile CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2) £13.79
(£11.99) £13.79
(£11.99) Sub Total : £90.96 Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : Free VAT is being charged at 15% VAT : £14.96 Total : £106.67

Flight · 1 Apr 2009 at 15:58

Perfect Kenny. Thanks very much for the help and advice.

/salute

Kennysevenfold · 1 Apr 2009 at 15:59

Flight said:
Perfect Kenny. Thanks very much for the help and advice.

/salute

Not a problem, good luck.!

bobbydigital · 1 Apr 2009 at 16:13

The socket 754 cooler will fit as they all use the same lock mechanism, but the cooler itself might not be up to the job. Best to just get something new

siumatfung · 1 Apr 2009 at 17:52

im not trying to be off putting but i think an extra £50 for a E5200, mobo and RAM would be a better choice tbh

Kennysevenfold · 1 Apr 2009 at 19:01

siumatfung said:
im not trying to be off putting but i think an extra £50 for a E5200, mobo and RAM would be a better choice tbh

well of course it would, its £50 more