Upgrading a PC's mobo , cpu & ram

popcorn1066 · 9 Aug 2009 at 18:19

I'm on a limited budget this time, so I'm thinking about upgrading my current PC rather than buying a new one, as it will allow me to keep some of my hardware.

Pretty much, all I really need is a new motherboard, CPU and some RAM, so here are my questions.

Motherboard - MSI DKA790GX
Are there any issues about installing this in an Aerocool Case?

CPU- AMD Phenom X4

RAM - Probably looking for 4gb, what should i be looking for?

I would like to keep my budget about £300, and keep my 6600gt nvidia graphics card as I don't play games anyway. graphics card is pci-e so should be fine.

Is this a good route or have I missed a potential problem.

siumatfung · 9 Aug 2009 at 18:56

300£ your not far from a new pc tbh 400-500£ will get you a pretty good PC nowadays

popcorn1066 · 9 Aug 2009 at 19:06

the total is coming in at around £230, but I don't see the point in getting a new pc - case, psu, fans, dvd drive, graphics card are fine, and I for 400-500 I end up re-buying most of this stuff, which I really don't need to do.

NathanT · 9 Aug 2009 at 19:19

Cant find that mobo on OcUK so can only make a comment about what I do know about it.

Its a AM2+ board, its pretty good and has the SB750 so pairs with the AMD chips well for overclocking if you plan to at a later date (even though you dont play games)

That board only takes DDR2 memory, I'd possibly look at a AM3 board for the DDR3 and future upgradability.

Chip is a good chip, but possibly soon to go down in price due to the x4 965 due out anytime now

siumatfung · 9 Aug 2009 at 19:22

i am not tellin you to replace everything i would think its more wise to not bottle neck you new system with the 6800 gfx card

Yurihyuga · 9 Aug 2009 at 19:41

you can pick up a 9600GT for around 40 pounds or a HD3850 for around the same which would allow your CPU to run fully. the 6600GT will bottleneck your performance.

popcorn1066 · 9 Aug 2009 at 19:54

thanks for the advice - am happy to upgrade graphics if need be, but how bad is the bottleneck going to be?

The reason I like my current card is the 2 dvi outputs on it, and as I don't play games I didn't really think it would matter if I didn't upgrade it.

mobo is a pcpro a-list.

popcorn1066 · 9 Aug 2009 at 20:56

saw this in another thread:

AMD Phenom II X3 Tri Core 720 Black Edition 2.8GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail

£97.99

Asus M4A785TD-V Evo AMD 785G (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard

£70.99

Corsair XMS3 DHX 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600C9DHX Twin3X (TW3X4G1600C9DHX)

£65.99

Total £234.97 inc VAT

which I'd be equally happy with, sacrificing X4 for ddr3 seems okay