Help with first build

[Queboo12]

Hey guys, new to the forums and just wondering if you could help me with something quickly, thanks.

I've hit a dead point in my whole computer build list. I am getting a Micro ATX motherboard (for my InWin Dragon Slayer case) called ASUS - M4A78LT-M LE. Now on there website it states under the Specifications-Memory that - *AMD AM3 100 and 200 series CPU support up to DDR3 1066MHz. What does this mean? What is AMD AM3 100 and 200 series, I've never heard of it?

My computer is going to be running on:
CPU :AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Socket AM3 3.2 GHz
and
RAM: Corsair Dominator 4 GB : 2 x 2 GB Memory - DIMM 240-pin - 1600 MHz


Will this work?

Thanks so much for the help guys
Cheers

 

[Queboo12]

Wow! Thanks so much for the speedy response. Cant wait to get all the parts , now I know it will work! Thanks again guys, much appreciated and happy Christmas!

 

[Queboo12]

Do you guys mind if I post my whole proposed list of components that are going to be in my computer so you can evaluate it to see if it all goes together and works please
Thanks

 

[Queboo12]

Motherboard: ASUS - M4A78LT-M LE - AM3 SOCKET
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Socket AM3 3.2 GHz
RAM: Corsair Dominator 4 GB : 2 x 2 GB Memory - DIMM 240-pin - 1600 MHz
CASE: InWIN DRAGON SLAYER BLACK GAMING CASE
GPU: Sapphire-HD5770-Vapor-Graphics-Card
OCZ Freeze
Hard Drive: Samsung F3 HD103SJ 1TB
Cooling: Corsair Hydro Series H50
Dvd drive: Samsung SH-S223 22x DVD±RW DL & RAM SATA Optical Drive - OEM Black
Power supply: Corsair TX650W Power supply - 650 Watt

Just a reminder my case is a mATX one so it is quite small
Any cheap improvements/opinions/better parts for the sameish price are welcome - around £600 budget I would say.
Thanks a lot guys

 

[Queboo12]

I would do everything in my power to afford a GTX460 if I was you.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/172?vs=156

And do you have the psu already? http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-117-AN modular means its easier to do a tidy build in your small case.

Whats so good about GTX460 over the Sapphire-HD5770-Vapor-Graphics-Card when generally ATI + AMD are the best/cheapest gaming combo
Thanks for the suggestion btw, every little helps

 

[Queboo12]

The RAM won't run at 1600 without being overclocked on that board. Other than that it looks grand, though I'm sure someone can do comparative builds with a 600 budget.

Edit: Also agree with going with the 460. Much better card for around the same price.

What should I so with the RAM bit then. A. Buy a lower MHZ ram to suit my motherboard. B. Overclock my motherboard. or C. Just use that one anyway?

Will the difference in MHZ of ram have a significant effect on my gaming experiance? Will it cause my games to lag a lot more than if it were 1600mhz?

Also what does SATA 3gb/s mean? Is that generally bad or worse than 6gb/s for my gaming?

Thanks so much for the help lads, really helpful. Tbh supprised your not mods yet, doing a great job helping the likes of me (noobs ) with stuff like this, cheers

 

[Queboo12]

The 460 is simply a better card (and some would say has better drivers).

Ah ok, i'll trust you on this one Those performance differences is actually quite outstanding really, glad you told me about that GPU, gonna change my list now for that, thanks

 

[Queboo12]

And do you have the psu already? http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-117-AN modular means its easier to do a tidy build in your small case.

Ahh! Thanks for that gonna look into that a bit more, very helpful info cheers

 

[Queboo12]

1: Personally I'd just get some 1333MHz. It should work at full speed, no need to overclock it. Or you can stick the 1600MHz in it and it'll run at 1333MHz and you can overclock the RAM at a later date. It comes down to cost really.

2: No. There's barely a noticeable difference to the end user between DDR2 and DDR3 RAM, let alone different speeds of DDR3. Adding more RAM would make a difference as opposed to adding slightly faster RAM.

3: Faster SATA will read/write information off the drive faster so should make things snappier, but again, it's not something you'll find very noticeable except when transferring large files or amounts of data. As lethiX says, it's only really needed for SSDs with ridiculously fast read/write speeds.

Cool, thanks for the in depth reply. Understand it all now

Going back to the RAM, shall I just sod the expense and go for 8gb RAM or stick with 4gb and get 1333MHz.

Then that should be all and just hope it will play games well, like I want it too

Cheers

 

[Queboo12]

Sorry to be a pain, but will the Corsair Hydro Series H50 do as apparently it can be quite loud with the pump, and as my pc isn't a hardcore high end pc which needs such cooling capabilities, shall I keep it or go for something else, like a air cooled one?

 

[Queboo12]

These are the fans it has:
Picture of overall case with that fan on the right:

Fans on the top left of the case:

Fan at the front of the case which, I think, keeps the hdd cool:

 

[Queboo12]

The side panel is outfitted with grommets to mount up to four 120mm fans there, if that helps?

Edit: Shall I put some cool blue LED fans there or something to liven it up? Ideas?

 

[Queboo12]

The case comes with a 140mm intake fan in front, a 140mm exhaust fan on top, a 92mm exhaust fan in the rear and a single 80mm intake fan mounted on the hard drive cage. Add those to the optional side fans and this small case will house eight fans total.

 

[Queboo12]

Might just get the Thermaltake SpinQ Processor cooler. Seen one on google images with it in so it will fit