Need to check pc build

the1ghj · 9 Jun 2009 at 22:10

hey there, ive just been trying to figure out a decent set up for a new pc. I have a budget of roughly £500 but can go slightly above if needed. So far i have this

Coolermaster Elite 330 Midi Tower Case
AMD Phenom II X2 Dual Core 550 3.10GHz Black Edition (Socket AM3)
Asus M4A78T-E AMD 790GX (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard
OCZ Platinum AM3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3
Asus ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB GDDR3
OCZ ModXStream Pro 400w Silent SLI Ready ATX2 Modular Power Supply
BenQ 22" G2220HD monitor
Sunbeam Core Contact Freezer CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM3/LGA775)

It comes to roughly £550. First off i just want to check the compatibility of the cpu and the motherboard. This is the first time ive made a computer and im not sure if this is ok or not, but i saw that under the specs for the motherboard there was no sign of the pheonom IIx2 for supported cpu type. So im under the assumption that this is not compatible even though it is an am3 type cpu. I heard the 790gx chipset was good as well as the southbridge but was wondering if there is anything out there that is good/better for the same/less amount of money. Can anyone give me any suggestions please? - also can anyone say whether or not the cpu will work on this board or should i think about a different one?

Also can anyone give me suggestions on any of the hardware.... problems, improvements etc?

many many thanks to any advice

p.s already got a harddrive

wbc1 · 9 Jun 2009 at 22:15

2 things, you might want a OCZ 500W PSU for a few quid more for that set up, 400W may work, but not much headroom. Try to get a 4850/70 with 1gb vram since you want to use a 22" monitor.

RJC · 9 Jun 2009 at 22:20

All looks good but the sun beam cooler may interfear with the motherboard heatsink.
Support for the cpu is on there website - Clicky

the1ghj · 9 Jun 2009 at 23:45

ok thanks. do you know if am2 coolers fit am3 cpus? i heard from someone that they do but wasn't sure, can you confirm this?

also it seems that with this motherboard i may need to update the bios. I actually saw a picture of my motherboard on this one site and saw that the bios version was not high enough. Im thinking whether or not its worth doing this bios flashing or just getting another motherboard.

razer1978 · 10 Jun 2009 at 00:27

i had a problem with my motherboard (asus m3n-ht) it didn't have the latest bios on it but still let me install windows then used the windows bios update tool to flash the latest bios

it might not be the case with your board because i haven't used a amd motherboard before so not 100% sure, i normaly use nvidia chipsets for sli

might be worth phoneing overclockers before buying they might flash it for you (could be a small charge but worth it if it means not having to rma the board ) they have been very helpfull in the past hence the only place i buy my pc parts :cool:

harman · 10 Jun 2009 at 08:03

I'd get a proper cooler that says it has support for am3. I'm not a AMD expert, but the am3 socket chips are likely to be more powerful then the am2 and will probably a bit more cooling.