Spec check + Questions

Curio · 20 Nov 2006 at 04:55

Will be "upgrading" after Xmas and have gone through tons of specs and have come up with this.

Abit KN9 nForce Ultra AM2 mobo
AMD X2 4200 Windsor cpu
EVGA nVidia 7900GS PCI-E video
OCZ 1GB (2x512MB) DDR2-800 CAS 4 RAM
XClio 450W PSU

NOTES: I'm not putting prices because I'm in the US. I'm not opposed to Conroe, however I've found that (over here at least) I can get many more good brand AM2 mobo's with all the options I require compared to Conroe compatible boards - which are extremely expensive for a good brand. Besides, I'm just kinda in an AMD mood right now

Also, I'll be adding another 1GB RAM at a later date.

QUESTIONS:

1.) Is AM2 fairly future-proof? Will I able to simply slap in an AMD Quad core (or whatever) in 18 months, without too much bother?

2.) Is there any indication on when mid-lower range DX10 cards will be out? If they're within the next few months I might save money now and get a 7600GT instead of the 7900GS. I'm on a very, very strict budget and ever penny counts

3.) Are there any compatibility problems with the above spec?

Thanks

harris1986 · 20 Nov 2006 at 06:51

i can't see any compatability issues with the spec, how ever i do think you are making a great mistake going am2 at the minute as price / performance there's really no competition to conroe! you say all good name boards are expensive but the gigabyte ds3 is a excellent board and cheap as chips too!

however if you are a amd fan boy then i the spec seems ok, whats your budget maybe we can advise you on a better spec? also what do you need on motherboards?

mikeymike · 20 Nov 2006 at 10:08

get the 7600GT instead of the 7900 and spend the extra cash on a better PSU

hp7909 · 20 Nov 2006 at 10:33

First, check this out.

If still want to go (X2) AM2 then, either go for 4400+, 4800+ or 5200+. Bit rare but they have 1MB L2 cache

Never heard of that PSU. Better go with a more reputable brand like Tagan or Enermax or FSP (Sparkle) or Seasonic or Corsair

Curio · 20 Nov 2006 at 14:11

XClio PSU's are very good quality. They're well known over here, but I'm sure I remember OCUK selling them a while back :confused:

Harris - the DS3 (both models I can see) are literally twice the price of the Abit AM2 board I have specced! That's the problem I'm having.....it seems that over here Conroe boards are just silly money

Also, I'm certainly not an AMD fanboy.....or fanboy of any kind....it's just that the X2/AMD combo is superb value for money compared to Conroe - at least over this side of the Atlantic!

Yellowbeard · 20 Nov 2006 at 18:39

If you want a good value and bang per buck, AM2 can be a great deal right now.

As to the PSU, that brand has been problematic at our forums. If OCUK no longer sells it, then that too may be a clue. No PSU is a bargain "IF" it has the potential to damage your system. Do some Googling before you buy.

Curio · 21 Nov 2006 at 00:59

Yellowbeard said:
If you want a good value and bang per buck, AM2 can be a great deal right now.

As to the PSU, that brand has been problematic at our forums. If OCUK no longer sells it, then that too may be a clue. No PSU is a bargain "IF" it has the potential to damage your system. Do some Googling before you buy.

Thanks for that. The XClio I'm looking at has overwhelmingly good reviews on the competitor site I'm buying from. I usually buy Antec, but they seem to be getting poor reviews at the moment. Also, I know not to buy crappy PSU's - my first ever purchase from OCUK was a Q-Tec :eek:

It went back within a week

hp7909 · 21 Nov 2006 at 03:25

Curio said:
{snip}The XClio I'm looking at has overwhelmingly good reviews on the competitor site I'm buying from{snip}

Bad/not-so-good PSUs DO work, its how they work & what happens when things go wrong, i.e. will it 'kamikaze' your system

Yellowbeard · 21 Nov 2006 at 03:32

hp7909 said:
Bad/not-so-good PSUs DO work, its how they work & what happens when things go wrong, i.e. will it 'kamikaze' your system

Or the fact that a cheap PSU, especially when under moderate or heavy loads, can damage your system components even when they don't explode. HDs and GPUs are especially vulnerable to this.

ATIorNvidia · 21 Nov 2006 at 08:20

harris1986 said:
i can't see any compatability issues with the spec, how ever i do think you are making a great mistake going am2 at the minute as price / performance there's really no competition to conroe! you say all good name boards are expensive but the gigabyte ds3 is a excellent board and cheap as chips too!

however if you are a amd fan boy then i the spec seems ok, whats your budget maybe we can advise you on a better spec? also what do you need on motherboards?

every1 doesnt have to buy core 2 duo!