Quick spec check -- £250-300

gee3000

gee3000

gee3000

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I've got the following system in basket, and wondering if I can do any better...

Corsair XMS2 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 PC2-8500C5 TwinX Dual Channel (TWIN2X4096-8500C5C) £70.99
Asus M4A77D AMD 770 (Socket AM3/AM2+) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £59.98
AMD Athlon II X2 Dual Core 240 2.80GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £46.99
Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black £42.99
Corsair CX 400W ATX Power Supply (CMPSU-400CXUK) £36.99
Sony Optiarc AD-7240S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
VAT : £42.92
Total : £288.16

Already have a SataII hdd so that's not in the order.

I considered a Coolermaster 335 case as it was cheaper but I thought I'd have to add a 120mm front fan to it anyway for airflow so better off sticking with the trusted 300.

Would onboard graphics be okay for basic office use? This system won't be used to gaming or intensive multimedia whatsoever.

Would it be possible to get into the DDR3 in this budget? :p

Thanks..
 
The motherboard you chose does not have integrated graphics!!:p

Have a look at this motherboard:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-357-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1482

This is what I would look at:

AMD Athlon II X2 240 ~ £47

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-252-AM

Asus M4A78LT-M LE ~ £58

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-373-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1481

4GB 1600MHZ DDR3 ~ £83

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-026-PA&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

Antec 300 ~ £43

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-101-AN

Corsair CX 400W ~ £37

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-017-CS

Sony Optiarc AD-7240S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) ~ £17

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-038-OT

The total comes to around £285 excluding VAT.
 
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I didn't realise about the graphics -- thanks CAT!

However, out of the 2 motherboards you recommended, 1 is DDR2 but has onboard gpu, the other is DDR3 without onboard gpu.
 
Sorry, just googled around and found OcUK listing doesn't state the M4A78LT-M has onboard graphics, when infact it does ;/

Would the onboard HD3000 gpu be good enough for Windows 7 and basic office tasks?
 
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CAT-THE-FIFTH said:
The Asus M4A78LT-M LE has the HD3000 IGP and uses DDR2:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-373-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1481

The Asus M4A785D-M Pro has the HD4200 IGP and uses DDR3:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-357-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1482
Click to expand...

I got confused too!! The first motherboard uses DDR3 and the second one uses DDR2!

TBH,I would go for the DDR2 based setup unless you want to have a better upgrade path.

The DDR2 motherboard has a much better IGP.
 
Tbh the system is for an uncle and he needs a system which will last him a good 5+ years. After 5 years I'd guess he'd have to buy a whole new system rather than upgrade this one.

So I need a system which will perform well for 5 years, without worrying too much about upgradability/future-proofing. I guess this means the DDR2 would be the better option...? In which case, should I go for my initial spec but with the Asus M4A785D-M Pro AMD 785G?
 
gee3000 said:
Tbh the system is for an uncle and he needs a system which will last him a good 5+ years. After 5 years I'd guess he'd have to buy a whole new system rather than upgrade this one.

So I need a system which will perform well for 5 years, without worrying too much about upgradability/future-proofing. I guess this means the DDR2 would be the better option...?
Click to expand...

Look around for an X3 425. This will be the best choice over an X2 240. OcUK don't sell them but for around £55 I would get one!!
 
Thanks for the recommendation - I've found one for £47 :)

So the final build:

Asus M4A785D-M Pro AMD 785G - £60.99
AMD Athlon II X3 425 2.7GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £47 (from competitor)
Corsair XMS2 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 PC2-8500C5 TwinX Dual Channel - £70.99
Corsair CX 400W ATX Power Supply (CMPSU-400CXUK) £36.99
Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black £42.99
Sony Optiarc AD-7240S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99

TOTAL: 275.95

Good to go? Ordering 3 of these :)
 
If you are lucky with the Asus M4A785D-M Pro you maybe able to unlock the X3 425 to a quad core. The Athlon II X3 processors are basically Athlon II X4 processors with one core shut down. In some cases they use perfectly good Athlon II X4 processors so they could meet the delivery quotas of X3 processors. If you are even very,very lucky a small number were based on Phenom II X4 processors!!

In both cases you have to be a bit lucky but it is always worth a try and there should be some guides on the internet on how to do this!!
 
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