Motherboard and processor query from inexperienced computer builder.

KoRnyKenneth

KoRnyKenneth

KoRnyKenneth

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Joined
6 Feb 2011
Posts
9
Hey everyone, I'm just looking for some help. I haven't touched the inside of a computer in a long time so forgive me if I don't make a lot of sense.

I used to have an old PC that ran most of the at the time games pretty well a few years ago. Unfortunately the motherboard died out and rather than buy a new one I bought a laptop for use in my University course of Gameplay Design and Production.

However, I'm now in need of a computer that runs games (Unreal Tournament 3's recommended requirements which can be seen below).

http://unreal.freakygaming.com/pc/action/unreal_tournament_3/system_requirements.html

I still have the graphics card HISX800 Series PCIe Graphics Card and 2 sticks of 2GB DDR RAM. My biggest problem is I'm clueless when it comes to which motherboard or processor to go for. If anyone could list which motherboard and processor would be best I'd be very very appreciative.

As long as it runs Unreal 3 I'll be happy, however if I had components that could run new games such as Dawn of War 2 (requirements below) I'd be pretty pleased. I assumed that the graphics card and RAM might be ok, but it's the processor which I need to look at.

http://www.game-debate.com/games/index.php?g_id=1185&game=Dawn of War 2 - Retribution

Thanks for reading and I'd be thankful for any help.
 
Hello and welcome to the forum :)

Do you have a budget in mind? the ram can not really be used as most motherboards use DDR2 or DDR3.
 
No budget really, but the cheaper the better. Not looking for top of the line.

Like I said, if it runs the minimum requirements of Unreal Tournament 3 then I'll be happy. Anything more is just a bonus.

As I said I'm not that experienced in motherboards so I wouldn't even know how much a decent one would cost.
 
For a new system DDR RAM will be no use. Modern motherboards require DDR3.

That graphics card will be pants compared to today's cards.

Unfortunately you'll need a whole new system.
 
Done this spec below:

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 460 OC 768MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £124.99
(£104.16) £124.99
(£104.16)
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599) £81.98
(£68.32) £81.98
(£68.32)
AMD Athlon II X4 Quad Core 640 3.00GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £79.99
(£66.66) £79.99
(£66.66)
Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black (with 500w Elite Power PSU) £64.33
(£53.61) £64.33
(£53.61)
Foxconn A7DA-S 3.0 AMD 790GX (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard £54.98
(£45.82) £54.98
(£45.82)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) £41.99
(£34.99) £41.99
(£34.99)
GeIL 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz VALUE PLUS Dual Channel (GVP34GB1600C9DC) £39.98
(£33.32) £39.98
(£33.32)
Sub Total : £406.88
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £83.48
Total : £500.86

Edit: Add £13 ~ for a DVD RW drive :)
 
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Bah, that sounds expensive. Still, I'm a student so I suppose I could apply for more money if I need to.

If easier to just buy all new components, what would you guys suggest?
 
Forum!

FINALLY! Someone got it right, everyone seems to put "forums", which ofc is wrong.

/rant

Hi Korny, welcome :)

As RJC says, DDR is now really rather out of date and you won't get anything decent for your money.

If you could provide us with a budget we'll do our best to get you sorted :)
 
KoRnyKenneth said:
Just seen that list from RJC.

Thanks for that, I'll have a look around. From the looks that should definitely run UT3. What about something like DoW2?
Click to expand...

It will run this fine, the GPU is very good :)

I made a slight mistake of missing a DVD drive, would you require windows?
 
As I said before, cheap is good. But I'd say anything between £400 to approximately £800.

I mean, as a student I wanna save as much money as possible but I know that's kinda silly to say considering it looks like I'll be better off buying a whole new system worth of components.
 
KoRnyKenneth said:
I think I'm ok for the OS and I should have a DVD drive around here somewhere, if not then my Dad will.
Click to expand...

Cheers, re-done the spec below:

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 460 OC 768MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £124.99
(£104.16) £124.99
(£104.16)
Foxconn A7DA-S 3.0 AMD 790GX (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard £54.98
(£45.82) £54.98
(£45.82)
AMD Athlon II X2 Dual Core 260 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £51.59
(£42.99) £51.59
(£42.99)
BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W Power Supply £46.99
(£39.16) £46.99
(£39.16)
Antec 100 One Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black £43.99
(£36.66) £43.99
(£36.66)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) £41.99
(£34.99) £41.99
(£34.99)
GeIL 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz VALUE PLUS Dual Channel (GVP34GB1600C9DC) £39.98
(£33.32) £39.98
(£33.32)
Sub Total : £337.10
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £69.52
Total : £417.12
 
Thanks for that revised list RJC.

That'd definitely run Unreal 3 I take it? What about DoW2? The expansion comes out soon and I miss my old PC gaming days so I'm pretty keen to get back into some PC gaming when I can. Sorry for all the questions, as said I'm pretty out of touch with computers these days.

Thanks for all the lists and suggestions people, much appreciated. I have a DVD drive around here and maybe some hard drives too. So that'd save me some money at least.
 
Heres a much better spec.

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
MSI ATI Radeon HD 5850 Twin FrozR II 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £144.98
(£120.82) £144.98
(£120.82)
Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black (with 500w Elite Power PSU) £64.33
(£53.61) £64.33
(£53.61)
AMD Athlon II X3 Tri Core 445 3.10GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £59.99
(£49.99) £59.99
(£49.99)
Asus M4A78LT-M 760G (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard £45.59
(£37.99) £45.59
(£37.99)
GeIL 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz VALUE PLUS Dual Channel (GVP34GB1600C9DC) £39.98
(£33.32) £39.98
(£33.32)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM 1yr Warranty (ST31000518AS) £37.99
(£31.66) £37.99
(£31.66)
Sub Total : £327.39
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £67.58
Total : £405.47

triple core cpu is much better.

and a 5850 beats a GTX460 easily.

KoRnyKenneth said:
I have a DVD drive around here and maybe some hard drives too. So that'd save me some money at least.
Click to expand...

a lot of the motherboards these days only have one IDE connector, so check your dvd drive and harddrive are not both IDE, also dont have a harddrive and dvd drive on the same connector as master and slave, that will really slow down the system.
 
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I'd have to agree with stulid here, not only is it cheaper but it has a great GPU that runs cool and silent unlike the nVidia 4-series which are renowned for their heating abilities! However, if you are at uni and you have to pay for heating but not electricity go for it! :)
 
I have to pay for heating AND electric :( Booooo! Still, I don't mind that. Bills need to be paid anyways. Whichever is gonna provide the best performance for the software I've listed and whichever will last the longest.
 
Cookeh said:
As much as I hate to say this, as I fear its stroking your e-peen, you are indeed correct!
Click to expand...


I just found the whole of the original post pretty hilarious! :P

But I'm researching around for parts from that build suggested and it's looking pretty solid. Will have decided before the next few days if it's what I go for or not. Every day I'm not working is another days worth I need to work and catch up on :(
 
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