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NotAGolf

NotAGolf

NotAGolf

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22 Oct 2005
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Right I'm after some advice on what to do with my computer. My spec is as follows:
AMD 64 4000+ (single core)
Asus A8N SLi premium
2GB Corsair
7800GTX 256mb
410GB hard drive space (1x160GB + 1x250GB)
OCZ modstream 450W
LG DVD-RW
Some kind of antec case

Now my brother wants a new computer. At the moment he has a real old banger of a pc, dont know trhe exact specs, something along the lines of:
AMD sempron 2Ghz odd
512 RAM
Onboard graphics
100GB hard drive, all generic tat from the local computer shop basically

I've said I will get the parts and build it for him but I want to know what my options are, ideally I want to sell him mine and get myself a new one but I'm a student and therefore am skint. So I thought I could sell him bits of mine and spend a bit more and get some newer gear for myself.

My PC is used for everything including gaming. I would overclock but nothing to drastic. As for my brother he wants a PC mainly for video/photo editing(only light work, nothing professional) with a bit of light gaming on the side.

So what do you my options are. My personal budget is around £200-300, everything for my brothers computer he will pay for (prob around the £450 mark).

Thanks for any advice
 
I'd say upgrade your mobo/ram/cpu, and pass on yours to go toward your brothers PC.

I'd say get these for yourself....

spec01aq4.gif


and then add these to your old parts you pass on, assuming he has monitor, kb and mouse.

spec02ju7.gif


Though not sure he needs such a powerful PSU, you can defiantely reduce that to something lower spec, but if he wanted something more in the graphics department later, it would be good for that.

You'd have Core2Duo, and he'd have something half decent that way. You could have course charge him a little for your old parts to if you like... ;)

BTW, i figured since he's video/photo editing and had the budget that 1TB of HDD space would keep him going a good while.

Everything specced is 'in stock', the WD hdd's are also cheaper then the other 500GB equivalents... ;)
 
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Thanks t31os.

How much improvement would I see from switching memory to that stuff, I would have thought I' be better off keeping mine (Corsair 2GB DDR XMS3200C2PT TwinX (2x1GB) CAS2) and getting him a gig or 2 of value stuff, and using the left over dosh to get a better cpu?

And dont you worry about charging him for it, you think a student would do all this for free ;) :p
 
Core2Duo takes DDR2, and the timings don't matter quite soo much as its run at a much higher FSB, or at least thats how i understand it. So you're DDR wouldnt run in a C2D mobo, unless you brought that cheapo ASROCK one (don't advise it when you have the budget for a better board).

I think your system is still fine, a simple mobo/ram/cpu/cooler upgrade would see good, and of course you brother gets a decent system out of it to... ;) ... but yours will obviously be better... :D

P.S. I can understand why you want to keep your Corsair, i proberly have the same kit, which new cost me £135+... :mad: now 2gb kits are half that price.. :( Just the way it goes, but i wouldnt choose not moving to DDR2 just for the sake of keeping that memory.
 
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Well I have done the deal with my brother and he will be getting my CPU, Mobo, Ram and PSU. He'll also give me the money to get the rest of the parts meaning I will have around £450 to buy a new CPU, mobo, ram and PSU. What are your suggestions? I would quite like a new gfx card as well so i could sell my old one for £70 odd.

So I have 450 for the above, or 520 for the above AND a gfx card.

(P.S. is ther any decent cases under £50 about either. Sorry for all the questions!)
 
Hmm, seems I've made a bit of a balls up. Only got £350 for cpu, mobo, ram and psu.
I'm going to get the 2GB Geil (£59) and either get the Akasa Ultra Quiet 460W Paxpower Active PFC ATX2.0 PSU (£52) or OCZ modstream 450W (£50ish)

That leaves around £250 to get a core2duo and mobo. No idea with regards to the mobo, I was think ing maybe an E4400 for the cpu though but there seems to be a lot around that price bracket. Any suggestions? I would like to overclock so I guess I would need a cooler too. Thanks
 
The spec i made for you should be able to fit in a PSU, though might be tight it should fit in...

I choose the 6320 for the larger cache... ;) the 4300 should be good though, and gives you a little more room for more on the PSU.
 
t31os said:
I choose the 6320 for the larger cache... ;) the 4300 should be good though, and gives you a little more room for more on the PSU.
Click to expand...
But the 6320 has a lower clock speed :confused:. It's also more expensive. But it has more cache and and higher FSB, whats the most important? What about the 6420 is it worth the extra £15?
 
mpledge52 said:
But the 6320 has a lower clock speed :confused:. It's also more expensive. But it has more cache and and higher FSB, whats the most important? What about the 6420 is it worth the extra £15?
Click to expand...

The 6320 will easily overclock past the 4300 and the extra L2 cache will offer a performance boost.
 
Overclocking potential and the extra cache... :D

Based the spec on what i'd choose myself if it were me upgrading..... I've just forked out on other things though, and my 939 setup does me just fine so i can't justify it myself, that would be what i'd choose personally though.

And of course i have a better 939 board from MM arriving tomorrow and i get to fit the Ninja cooler thats been sat in my draw for a few months... :D just needed a reason to pull the PC apart as its all cable tied down.

Good luck with the build anyhow mate... ;)
 
Do you think its is worth the £15 for the E6420?

And what is the best mobo and cpu cooler combination I can get for about £120. Is the Asus P5N and Noctua t31os suggested the best for this price bracket?

I guess the other option would be to cut back on the two a little bit and going for an E6600, or would I be better off clocking the nuts off a slower model?

Sorry for all the questions, but there's so many possibilities!!!
 
mpledge52 said:
Do you think its is worth the £15 for the E6420?

And what is the best mobo and cpu cooler combination I can get for about £120. Is the Asus P5N and Noctua t31os suggested the best for this price bracket?

I guess the other option would be to cut back on the two a little bit and going for an E6600, or would I be better off clocking the nuts off a slower model?

Sorry for all the questions, but there's so many possibilities!!!
Click to expand...

I've got the E6420 and I've overclocked it to 3.2GHz.

Try the Gigabyte DS3P and Noctuna - should be around the 120 mark.
 
mpledge52 said:
Do you think its is worth the £15 for the E6420?

And what is the best mobo and cpu cooler combination I can get for about £120. Is the Asus P5N and Noctua t31os suggested the best for this price bracket?

I guess the other option would be to cut back on the two a little bit and going for an E6600, or would I be better off clocking the nuts off a slower model?

Sorry for all the questions, but there's so many possibilities!!!
Click to expand...

Depends really, the average OC has been pretty much the same across the board i think, as in the chips are all getting around the same, obviously dependant on the stepping.

Don't think there is any real best board, both the P5N-E and the DS3P are equally good boards, though the Asus is a fiver cheaper. I personally think the cooling on the P5N-E looks better and the board is more attractive, but thats just my personal taste.

Both boards are popular right now, just see the amount of posts about both.... albeit the DS3P is proberly more established, and the P5N-E might need a bios update.

E6600 would be pointless if you can get the same clock from either the e6320 or e6420 since these new 6x20 c2d's have the increased cache unlike the older e6300/e6400. It gives you a better base clock, but if you're into clocking and get a decent clock its gonna mean little to nothing. Important factor here is having a decent cooler & knowing how to overclock safely.

Either way you go, this is going to feel faster then you old system, and more so if you get clocking... ;)
 
Okey cokey, think I have the final list then:

E6420
Asus P5N
Geil 2GB PC6400 800MHz DDR2
Noctua NH-U12F

Only thing left is the PSU. I know the Corsair would be best but it's a bit out of my price range. So i can have either:
OCZ modstream 450W (which I have atm - currently very stable)
OR
Akasa Ultra Quiet 500W Paxpower Active PFC ATX2.2 PSU (can get for a fiver)

Will these be ok to cope with the oc'd c2d and the rest of my system (7800GTX, 2 sata drives)?
 
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