So heres what i plan...

[acidrainy]

Originally posted by Knoxville
fx5200 isn't hugely better is it?

I've heard these things are clocking quite well......

I'm sure I've read that on hexus....

[TiG]

Mozzer,

A few things on memory to try and help, You definitely DO NOT want ECC memory these are designed for servers and its not going to help you. I'd suggest finding some Corsair 2700 or twinmos 2700 memory if you are not going to overclock, 2 sticks of 256 or 512mb will ensure you get dual channel ddr working (making your machine quicker)

I'd personally get the OEM and buy a seperate fan/heatsink, maybe one of those Aero7 things from Coolermaster (i think)

Personally i would say that your system doesn't need DirectX9 so i would advise you get a ti4200 over the FX5200, its going to be quicker for games you are likely to play.

Hope this helps
TiG

[Zaphan58]

Originally posted by Mozzer
On another note from RAM, should i get the OEM barton and a better HSF or just get the retail.

Depends if you plan on overclocking, if you dont then the stock HSF will be just fine, i would advice you not to overclock given your budget, its a great thing but when you havre a budget to stick to overclocking can throw all that out the window, speaking from experience you end up spendng a lot more on cooling and extras.

[acidrainy]

Originally posted by PotNood|e
i would advice you not to overclock given your budget, its a great thing but when you havre a budget to stick to overclocking can throw all that out the window.

The whole point of overclocking is the get something for nothing ; a faster computer than you pay for..... You can definatly get a good overclocking setup if you buy the right bits at the right prices.....

[Tom]

i cant beleive only one person has mentioned get two sticks of ram! get 2x256 if you can only afford 512, itll be faster than 1x512 as it will go in dual ddr

[Howard]

The retail HSFS with AthlonXPs are pretty good. If you want, get the retail.
The RAM you have chosen will be fine, you don't need owt else. But I agree with the fact that you need a better graphics card.
An FX5200 won't be much better than the GF4MX440.

[Mozzer]

Well i just put a bid in for the Aero 7+ (Gotta love that fan controller) @ £15, so... good pice if i get it, i'll goto £20 max).

I'll get the OEM barton 2500+, and from the things i've read on these forums the A7N8X-X doesn't support dual ddr does it?

[Zaphan58]

Originally posted by acidrainy
The whole point of overclocking is the get something for nothing ; a faster computer than you pay for..... You can definatly get a good overclocking setup if you buy the right bits at the right prices.....

Yeah i know that ive been overclocking for years now, what i was saying is if he has a tight budget to stick to, by overclocking hes just going to end up buying more expensive cooling etc. If he wants to save a little cash he could just stick with the stock cooling witch would just be fine, and spend the mony some where else i.e. the better graphics card.

[Mozzer]

Does the A7N8X-X support dual DDR?

[Trickle]

Whats an A7N8X-X? [I'm running p2p at the mo, so I'ttle take 10 mins to search on google]

My bog standard non Deluxe A7N8X is Asus's NFroce 2 board, so it does Dual DDR nicely. Not heard of an -X variant, only the Deluxe and iirc the Deluxe gold that has extra some free software.

[Lexeus]

the -x revision was designed to add fsb400 support on a budget

[Trickle]

Ah, you mean like NF7s revision 2. Yes I seem to remember deliberately ignoring all the re-reviews of all the existing boards like the A7N8X. So they renamed it eh? Cheeky money grabbing gits, its not as if mobo nomenculture is bad enough as it is.

[Mozzer]

Yeah...
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...duct_uid=49061

Haven't seen any mention of dual DDR anywhere though, and all the RAM slots on the cad are black, no distinctive blue ones...
Nothing in the manual either, i may phone Asus.

[dgr]

get a better case - a decent case will last a lifetime (ok, the lifetime of atx...)

[Trickle]

Right, thats the same non pro NF2 board that I have, although I'm not sure if I have the 400 cert chip or not (it does it anyway). Its deffinately DDR.

[Mozzer]

Dual DDR?