Its been a while... Upgrading

[wildheart]

So im looking to upgrade a computer which is/will be used mainly to play games. There are just a few question im not 100% sure on though. First of all what do you think to this spec:

Gigabyte K8NF-9 nForce4 (Socket 939) PCI Express Motherboard (MB-032-GI) £57.95

AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 90nm (Socket 939) - Retail (ADA3700BNBOX) (CP-121-AM) £126.95

GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC3200 Value Dual Channel Kit CAS3 (GE2GB3200BDC) (MY-046-GL) £89.95

Antec NeoHE 430W Modular ATX2.0 PSU (CA-044-AN) £54.95

Leadtek GeForce 7800GT 256MB GDDR3 VIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-069-LT) £164.95

Subtotal £494.75
VAT £86.59
Total £581.34

I think thats about all he will need to upgrade. Besides your opinions on what i have spec'ed i have a few question. Normally in the past i will build a computer from scratch and use what i know to be compatable parts. However when it comes to upgrading from a manafacturer standard pc these are the questions i have:

1) How do i know the PSU will fit the case? (p.s the old computer is about 2 yrs old) and is 430W PSU enough power or should i go for the next one up (500W i think it was)

2) Im normally a ATI man myself but i fancied going for a NVIDIA graphics card so Leadtek a good manufacturer?

3) RAM is a bit of a mystery to me, in terms on the manufacturers. Are Geil as good as any other? I had this RAM in my computer about 8months ago and it seems to be good for me

4) It doesnt say on the OC website but i presume the Gigabyte K8NF-9 is the revision 2 version?

If someone can shead some light on this it would be great!

Thanks all

 

[Havana_UK]

CPU, RAM & graphics are all great choices.

I can't speak from experience of the Gigabyte boards, but is there a particular reason why you selected one?

As far as manufacturer's cases go, some use standard components and some use special form factor ones.

In many cases you would be better to buy a new quality case, which may well have better airflow, case access, and will definitely take all standard components.

A good quality case can be had for ~£70 generally.

The PSU you have selected should be adequate - the Antec ones are pretty good I think, but not having used one I cannot speak from personal experience. Have you considered Enermax or Tagan alternatives? These are both high quality brands.

Hope this helps.

Hav

 

[fenderbass86]

1) I personally think 500W should be a minimum nowadays so, yes, go for the next model up.

2) Leadtek are a reliable brand, I have a Leadtek card myself, no problems.

3) GeiL are a fantastic brand, even though it's only 'value' RAM, it's very good for the money.

4) I think you should go with the MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum motherboard, because it has newer features such as SATA II over Gigabytes SATA I, a slightly higher FSB for better overclocking and a faster onboard LAN (10/100/1000 over Gigabytes 10/100).

 

[wildheart]

Thanks for the response Havana_UK

Yeah i selected a gigabyte board and a Antec PSU as they are what i have im my own computer and have been great i will have a look at the alternatives PSU's you suggested.

I would consider a different motherboard if anyone recommend something different. My gigabyte board has been ace for me and i really love the duel bios? (not sure if it is on this board as it doesnt say but its only a luxury)

 

[wildheart]

1) I personally think 500W should be a minimum nowadays so, yes, go for the next model up.

4) I think you should go with the MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum motherboard, because it has newer features such as SATA II over Gigabytes SATA I, a slightly higher FSB for better overclocking and a faster onboard LAN (10/100/1000 over Gigabytes 10/100).

Thanks for the advice fenderbass86. I think i will go for the 500W just incase. As for the motherboard the MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum looks good but the system will (probably) be running from IDE HDD's so i dont think the SATA2 will be required but i will definatly consider it if it offers higher FSB. hmm... but actually having the SATA2 there for any future upgrades would be a wise idea

 

[Dureth]

Don't bother with the 500w, the poster is talking out of their bum. Unless your running SLI setups with lots of hard drives and multiple DVD drives then your not going to come close to the limits of a QUALITY 430w PSU, which the Antec is. You might want to consider the Enermax, Seasonic and Tagan PSU's as they are excellent brands. You might also want to look at the Hiper PSU's as many on these boards have had excellent experiences with them.

As for the gigabyte board go for the Gigabyte K8N SLi nForce4 SLi for £64 instead. You get the extra features of the MSI board suggested as well as SLI.

The Geil RAM is an excellent brand. Tends to run at far better speeds/timings than stated on the tin. Rock solid in terms of reliability and the choice of most people on these boards.

The CPU is perfect also as it fits in as a good bang/buck choice. You may want to look at an X2 3800 also. While slightly slower in single thread app's it's still enough for any games currently out and will be better in the long run. However it is quite a bit more expensive.

Leadtek are a fne brand but just buy the cheapest 7800gt you can find. They are all the same under the sticker.

 

[fenderbass86]

Hmm, am I really talking out of my bum? You've just suggested that SLi setups will need more power and you've also suggested an SLi motherboard. If wildheart does then decide to go SLi, the 500W PSU I suggested is good enough. Who's talking out of their bum now?

 

[wildheart]

thanks for the replys guys, yeah if i go for the SLI mobo then the 500w psu would be required i think. But as im on a bit of a budget im not sure i will need to go for the SLI but thanks for your suggestions and help

 

[fenderbass86]

You'll only need SLi/X-fire if you game at really high resolutions with lots of AA/AF. I'm gonna be getting a 20" LCD so I'm only gonna get a single top end card. Plus, SLi/X-fire is a real budget buster.

 

[wildheart]

ok so i spoke to the person im building the computer for and he would prefer it to be under the £500 mark and after a lot of playing it seems the ~£100 makes a big difference in the spec.... best i could come up with is:

MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum nForce4 Ultra (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-046-MS) £64.95

GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC3200 Value Dual Channel Kit CAS3 (GE2GB3200BDC) (MY-046-GL) £89.95

Enermax Noisetaker 485W EG495AX-VE(G) SFMA ATX2.0 PSU (CA-007-EN) £49.95

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 90nm (Socket 939) - Retail (ADA3200BPBOX) (CP-118-AM) £91.95

Leadtek GeForce 7600 GT 256MB GDDR3 VIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-080-LT) £119.95

Subtotal £416.75
VAT £72.94
Total £489.69

Would you say this is a good £500 build?