spec me a cheap amd3 setup

terryuk22 · 2 Dec 2011 at 21:48

been a while since bean here, so gonna ask the pros for help !!!!

My friend wants to ugrade is amd 8 years old and just does music editing and video editing.

so looking to build a system areound a

Code:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-314-AM&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=1942

looking for everything to start again
preffer a board with usb3 and on board video but may sacrifice a feature

so need board (com on board would be handy) Video usb3
memory
cpu + fan ( and almost silent )
power supply
Memory
Cheap good video with hdmi out
sound card ( he does his own music)
Case

so starting from scratch i guess

Thanks all in advance

eddiew · 3 Dec 2011 at 08:51

You may say "just" music and video editing, but that's actually some of the toughest and most CPU intensive jobs!

Since you need "everything," I have to ask bluntly - is there a specific reason you want to use a the CPU you listed? The short of it is that it's not very good. The long of it will, I'm quite sure, appear in this thread rather quickly as the 2500K crowd wake up and have their coffee

What's your budget limit, and what software does your friend typically use?

nitram100 · 3 Dec 2011 at 10:05

We need a budget mate. If it stretches to an i5 setup then go for that, else I would go for a Phenom 6 core if it's music editing etc that you need.

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 3 Dec 2011 at 10:37

What software do you use and what is your budget. A 95W Phenom II X4 1045T can be had for around £104 if you shop around.

Here is a list comparing different CPUs in HandBrake:

http://s559.photobucket.com/albums/...n=view&current=HandBrakeChart22-11-2011-1.png

The Llano quad cores ,Athlon II X4 and Phenom II X4 CPUs under £100 are quite decent cheaper CPUs for video encoding. Most of them are faster than my Core i3 2100 in video encoding. However,for music editing the Intel CPUs tend to have the edge IIRC.

terryuk22 · 3 Dec 2011 at 11:22

sorry £250-300

eddiew · 3 Dec 2011 at 13:57

Yikes... For someone who makes his own music, I'd be expecting your friend to front in the region of £150 for the soundcard alone!

But let's see what we can do...

(This is by no means a "good" PC, but I think it would come out respectable nonetheless; a non-gamer would be ok with it.)

Intel i3
Intel i3 2120 (dual core with hyperthreading) : £102

MSI H67 Micro ATX board with HDMI and USB 3 : £62

2x2 GB G.Skill RipjawsX : £30

OCUK Black Knight mATX case with 450W : £20

Samsung DVD Rom : £14

250GB HDD : £78. (Awful time to be buying a HDD, try to salvage one from elsewhere!!)

Total: £306

AMD Alternative
Llano A4-3400 2.70GHz : £54

Any of OCUK's stock of FM1 motherboards : £72-85

OCUK Galaxy II case with 450W: £35

Total: £283

So you could choose either Intel i3 or AMD Llano for about the same price (all other components would be the same bar needing a bigger case). I can't figure out a way to get you a quad core into your budget though: a BD or Phenom II quad is £90, and the same again for a motherboard, leaving you £70 for all the rest, which simply isn't available.

Sorry, but you don't get a separate graphics on that budget

Both systems' onboard graphics are perfectly fine for everything except gaming, and will competently play back 1080p media however.

Soundcard
Both boards have onboard sound... but I can't stress enough that it's not really going to be enough for proper music work. Never met an onboard codec that could produce a decent sound. Cheapest suggestion I have is:

Creative X-Fi : £36

Which is by no means "pro" but is a darn site better!

*edited for clarity*

eddiew · 3 Dec 2011 at 14:02

*ignore...*

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 3 Dec 2011 at 14:30

terryuk22 said:
sorry £250-300

OcUK does not stock any of the cheaper £50 to £65 FM1 motherboards loads of other retailer have ATM. An example is the following which loads of retailers stock for around £55:

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?model=a75m-hvs

One of my mates used one recently in a build. It is quite a nice motherboard for the price.

Martini1991 · 3 Dec 2011 at 14:33

eddiew said:
Yikes... For someone who makes his own music, I'd be expecting your friend to front in the region of £150 for the soundcard alone! But let's see what we can do...

(This is by no means a "good" PC, but I think it would come out respectable nonetheless; a non-gamer would be ok with it.)

Intel i3
Intel i3 540 (dual 3.06GHz with hyperthreading) : £60

MSI H67 Micro ATX board with HDMI and USB 3 : £62

2x2 GB G.Skill RipjawsX : £30

OCUK Black Knight mATX case with 450W : £20

Samsung DVD Rom : £14

250GB HDD : £78. (Awful time to be buying a HDD, try to salvage one from elsewhere!!)

Total: £264

AMD Alternative
Llano A4-3400 2.70GHz : £54

Any of OCUK's stock of FM1 motherboards : £72-85

OCUK Galaxy II case with 450W: £35

Total: £283

So you could choose either Intel i3 or AMD Llano for about the same price (all other components would be the same bar needing a bigger case). I can't figure out a way to get you a quad core into your budget though: a BD or Phenom II quad is £90, and the same again for a motherboard, leaving you £70 for all the rest, which simply isn't available.

Sorry, but you don't get a separate graphics on that budget Both systems' onboard graphics are perfectly fine for everything except gaming, and will competently play back 1080p media however.

Soundcard
Creative X-Fi : £36

By random chance, this makes the i3 rig exactly £300 It's not a super pro quality card, but it is a lot better than the onboard audio

*edited for clarity*

The Intel system won't work.

eddiew · 3 Dec 2011 at 14:47

Martini1991 said:
The Intel system won't work.

Oh geez, that's an 1156 processor... Why is that hiding on the same page as 1155s?

Amended original spec to i3-2120, good spot!

CAT-THE-FIFTH said:
http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?model=a75m-hvs.

That's a good shout - let's the OP use a cheaper mATX case, and leaves just enough room for a basic X-Fi soundcard, within his budget

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 3 Dec 2011 at 14:54

Does the OP need an OS in the price?

Martini1991 · 3 Dec 2011 at 14:59

That HDD is a ridiculous price! I can still get a 2TB for a fiver more.

This is much better ; http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-252-SE&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=940
Cheaper and more capacity.

eddiew · 3 Dec 2011 at 15:03

I agree that HDD prices are currently mad... but I'm trying to do that polite thing as suggest components based on what OCUK actually have and price at - since I don't fancy a forum ban

honosuseri · 3 Dec 2011 at 15:07

The 500GB seagate barracuda is on offer this week at £68.99. That's cheaper and twice the capacity of the F3 drive spec'd earlier.

That is a tight budget though. I would opt for the H-67 mobo for sandybridge support and to get the usb3. If the budget doesnt allow the i3 2100 then add the intel pentium (1155) cpus.

You could go with AMDs Llano but i think you would have a better core system to upgrade if you went intel 1155. I'll add a link so you can compare CPUs. I'll compare the intel pentium to the i3 but you can change it.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/289?vs=405

*edit* Is it possible to reuse his old case? I'd sooner pay £40 for the bequiet 530W PSU than get a generic cheapo psu bundled with a cheap case

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 3 Dec 2011 at 15:19

eddiew said:
That's a good shout - let's the OP use a cheaper mATX case, and leaves just enough room for a basic X-Fi soundcard, within his budget

My mate was suprised as it seems a really nice motherboard for the price. It has USB3.0 and SATA3.0 ports.

I suppose another build,would be an Athlon II X3 and a cheap 760G based motherboard:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=cp-283-am&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=1945

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=mb-189-ms&groupid=701&catid=1903&subcat=1782

the motherboard has sata3.0:

http://uk.msi.com/product/mb/880gms-e35.html#/?div=Basic

However,the Athlon II X4 455 used to be around £55 to £60 but like many CPUs has gone up in price recently.

If we look at my HandBrake chart an Athlon II X3 445 is ahead of a Core i3 530:

http://s559.photobucket.com/albums/...n=view&current=HandBrakeChart22-11-2011-1.png

Hence,the Athlon II X3 455 should be ahead of a Core i3 540. OTH,the i3 540 is probably ahead of an Athlon II X3 for music editing.

TBH,a Core i3 540 for around £60 is a very good deal though. The thing is though that cheaper motherboards are not that easy to find brand new AFAIK. I suppose it might be worth looking on the famous auction website.

eddiew · 3 Dec 2011 at 15:26

I should mention I amended the i3 540 to a 2120 after having it pointed out that it's an old 1156 chip and the motherboards are all 1155

Martini1991 · 3 Dec 2011 at 15:29

eddiew said:
I agree that HDD prices are currently mad... but I'm trying to do that polite thing as suggest components based on what OCUK actually have and price at - since I don't fancy a forum ban

Yes, except that the one I posted is on OCUK, cheaper and twice capacity

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 3 Dec 2011 at 15:42

I came up with three builds.

The Antec VP350P PSU is made by Delta Electronics which is a decent OEM. I suspect it will be a more reliable PSU than the 450W unbranded one in the cheap OcUK branded case.

The motherboard has the SB850 southbridge with SATA3.0 and it has HDMI,DVI and VGA outputs.

Look at the HandBrake chart(67 CPUs listed),an Athlon II X3 455 should be slightly behind my Core i3 2100 in HandBrake.

The Phenom II X4 960T will be quicker than a Core i3 2100 in HandBrake.It will also be ahead of the Core i3 2120 if you look at the CPU positions in the chart.

However,it will be worse for music editing.

The 960T does have a chance of being unlocked to a six core. However,I am not uncertain how an unlocked CPU will fare on the motherboard.

The third build uses a Core i3 2100 will be better for music editing but worse for video editing than the Phenom II X4 960T based build.

eddiew · 3 Dec 2011 at 15:55

Martini1991 said:
Yes, except that the one I posted is on OCUK, cheaper and twice capacity

I didn't actually check TWO... shame on me, assuming that the smallest would be the cheapest

terryuk22 · 3 Dec 2011 at 16:19

well i told him to save another 50 quid,
But hes been doing soundforge and fruity loops for years with the old soundblaster card on something like a amd 17 slowly of course lol