New build

[scaryjim]

I have an Athlon XP processor which I still use in a server at home and it is still plodding along over 5 years later!! My old ATI 9500pro graphic card which is over 5 years old is still working in a colleague's computer too!!

lol - you're making me all nostalgic CAT! My HTPC runs off an Athlon XP 2600+, my old PC ran a 9800Pro (my wife's ran a 9700Pro), and my Dev server at work is a Celeron 400 which used to have 32MB RAM (before I beefed it up a bit )

Oh, and if anyone's looking to invest in old hardware to re-use, I've got a couple of Athlon 2000+ systems for sale

[crusto]

Here is a Phenom II build then:

Phenom II 940 3ghz ~ £180 to £190
Phenom II 920 2.8ghz ~ £155 to £165
790GX motherboard ~ £80 to £100
780G motherboard ~£60 to £75
4gb DDR2 ~ £40 to £50
500GB HDD ~£45
HD4850 graphics card ~ £120
HD4830 graphics card ~ £90
Xigmatek 650W modular PSU ~ £60
Antec 300 ~ £40 to £50
DVD writer ~ £15
Vista or XP disc ~ £70+
22" Samsung LCD ~£140
Logitech keyboard and mouse ~£20

So for around £800 to £900 you can do a complete build which should last a while!!

I have an Athlon XP processor which I still use in a server at home and it is still plodding along over 5 years later!! My old ATI 9500pro graphic card which is over 5 years old is still working in a colleague's computer too!!

Is that the Gigabyte 790gx mobo. Googles giving me all sorts! Also, are there any nvidia compatible mobos of similar quality? Which do you recommend more? SLI or crossfireX?

[Biscuit]

Crossfire tends to work out cheaper and i think more efficient but neither are particualy worth it IMO. Just get the best single card solution you can and then sell and replace when you find yourself struggling with games.

[crusto]

Crossfire tends to work out cheaper and i think more efficient but neither are particualy worth it IMO. Just get the best single card solution you can and then sell and replace when you find yourself struggling with games.

So its possible to put nvidia graphics cards in there then, as long a i dont want to use crossfirex? Sorry about all the questions, im still trying to get my head around it all. Theres alot to take in!

If so, what would you recommend from each manufacturer?

[Biscuit]

So its possible to put nvidia graphics cards in there then, as long a i dont want to use crossfirex? Sorry about all the questions, im still trying to get my head around it all. Theres alot to take in!

If so, what would you recommend from each manufacturer?

Yeah u can match AMD boards with NVIDIA GFX fine or visa versa. Basically id recomend what CAT has been saying 790GX mobo with HD4850 GFX. The Nvidia option to the graphics would be 9800GTX+ but its more expensive and not worth the money

Just as a thought though, Im not sure if the 780G works with the quad phenoms...

Look on scan.co.uk for componants

[crusto]

Cool, ati it is then. Im assuming that 790gx is the chipset within the mobo. If so what make mobo would you recommend (it doesnt strictly have to be £80 - £100). If you think something is worth the extra few quid then please let me know. Theres too much info at hand that I dont fully understand to make an "educated" guess of my own!

[tonpal]

The Asus M3A78-T would be worth a look. It is selling at Scan for £102.91. I have seen a few people recommending J&W boards. The J&W JW-790GX-Extreme sells at Scan for £85.15. Both of these boards have 790GX chipsets.

The big advantage of the 790GX is that it has better integrated graphics than the 780G, however as you are using a discrete graphics card the integrated graphics on the 790GX cannot be used. At a quick glance the 790GX also has 2 PCIE x16 (graphics card) slots where the 780G only appears to have a single PCIE x16 slot.

[crusto]

The Asus M3A78-T would be worth a look. It is selling at Scan for £102.91. I have seen a few people recommending J&W boards. The J&W JW-790GX-Extreme sells at Scan for £85.15.

The big advantage of the 790GX is that it has better integrated graphics than the 780G. As you are using a discrete graphics card, the integrated graphics on the 790GX cannot be used.

Is discrete another word for crap? its all a bit confusing for me. Wouldnt i be better of with a 780g then?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Is discrete another word for crap? its all a bit confusing for me. Wouldnt i be better of with a 780g then?

A discrete cards means an add-in graphics card as opposed to one on the motherboard. The main advantage of the 790GX is that it can overclock better and is probably better with larger memory sizes. The 790GX probably has more connectors too(like USB and firewire) on average.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Here is a more detailed spec:

AMD Phenom 920:

http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx

£153 on Today Only

Phenom 940:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AMD-P...Hz-125W-Retail

£190

Biostar 790GX

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Biost...-SATA-RAID-ATX

£84


4gb Crucial Ballistix RAM:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/143844

£38

Xigmatek 650w modular PSU:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/650W-...2-QUAD-SLI-PSU

£57

HD4850 graphics card:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=875529

£124

Antec 300:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/143854

£46

DVD writer:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/139414

£16

22" Samsung LCD:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/145472

£140

Vista Basic 64 bit:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Micro...t-1Pk-OEM-(DVD)

£71

Samsung 500gb:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/500-G...ache-89-ms-NCQ

£44

Basically you are looking at £810 for the build if you go with the Phenom II 940. This excludes both speakers and a keyboard and a mouse! If you want to save some money you can go for the Phenom II 920 and a 780G motherboard.

If you check Today Only on the Scan website you can save some more money possibly. You will also have free postage from Scan if you have at least 20 Hexus posts. Ebuyer also have free postage over £49.99!!

I would subsitute the Biostar motherboard with the J&W motherboard if it comes into stock again:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/JandW...Board-Graphics

[crusto]

The link for that mobo points to a 790X. Is that the gx but without integrated graphics? Also I noticed support for up to 16gb of ram when the gx i looked at only supports up to 8gb. Plus the gx was more money.

Now im really confused!!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I just changed it back to the GX as some of the comments on Ebuyer said the 790X had some BIOS issues and was not supported well!! The 790X came before the 790GX and did not have integrated graphics. I would go for the 790GX instead!! Sorry about that!!

[crusto]

No problemo. What about the difference in ram capacities? would you recommend up to 8 or 16? Sorry, just checked out the new link.

Thanks

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

By the time 8gb becomes a limitation it would be time to change your processor,ram and motherboard!! 4gb will be perfectly fine for the next two years or so. This is because most people still use 32bit Operating Systems!! This basically means that the OS can only use 4gb of RAM in total(this also includes graphics RAM). With a 64 bit OS it can use more RAM. Hence you should use 64bit Vista!! The advantage of having the integrated graphics is that if you ever had a problem with your graphics card or had to replace it your computer would be still usable!! Vista Basic which I specified does not have all the nice graphics which the standard Vista Premium has. If you want the media centre facilities and the nice graphical bits of Vista then you will need to get Vista Premium which costs another £20. Vista Basic is more like XP in feel.

Here are the differences between Vista Basic and Vista Premium:

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/...2068722,00.asp

[Max Tractor]

dual core/matx case


MATX Cube Case £30

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135581


AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Socket AM2 (2.2GHz) Energy Efficient 1MB L2 Cache OEM £35.55

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/136868 you will require cpu heatsink

Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H, AMD 780G, S AM2+ £67.59

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Gigab...AID-HDMI13-ATX

or if it ever comes into stock

J&W JW-RS780UVD-AM2+(128M), AMD 780G £51.93

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/JandW...RAID-uATX-HDCP

throw in the fsp 700w psu watch out for it on scan today only -£30+

mix the hd and ram already mentioned





discrete/onboard on gx can be run together, also depending on OS/discrete ATI Hybrid CrossFireX™ Technology can be implemented

[Biscuit]

I commend CAT's dedication here