AM2 Mobo/CPU + MATX Case Advice

[amjedm]

I need some advice (please) with regards which AM2 mobo/cpu to go for.

Main use will be surfing so don't require anything really powerful.

CPU has to be X2 at least.
Don't want to spend over £50 on a mobo because of the use it's going to get, unless I'm advised otherwise that is.

The case I've taken a liking for is the Coolermaster Elite 340 Micro ATX Case. Coolermaster's site - http://www.coolermaster.com/products...detail&id=2541.

My other computers are in an Antec P180 and Akasa Eclipse case so I want to go for a small case this time (so I can put the computer under the desk).

Somebody please either persuade me not to go for this case (cabling/space etc.) or advise a similar case (can be ATX as long as dimensions are not too different).

[Koolpc]

I have the Coolermaster 330. Cracking case. Great at cooling. Very happy with it. Thing is, looking to change it now but for a more expensive case!! Lian Li probably!!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The Coolermaster looks a nice case for the price!!

Here are some close-ups of the case and its insides:

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1255274

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1232853

For normal usage a 690V based motherboard will do the job for £37:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/141239

If you want something with better acceleration for video this 780V motherboard is great for £50:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148368

Of course the AMD X2 5050e would be the best choice for a processor:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AMD-A...2-Cache-Retail

[Pob255]

I would be tempted to go for £52 for a 780G
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/JandW...RAID-uATX-HDCP

The low power 5050e is a good one to look at, so is the 7750BE for £5 at £56.57
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AMD-A...B-Cache-Retail

The Chifetec MicroATX cases are very nice, but not easy to get hold of, also PSU can be awarkard, normal at psu will fit but very tight as it's shorter than normal.
http://www.chieftec.com/bs-02b-b-sl.html
We have these at work, very nice cases but can be a right bugger to work with due to the small size.
To give you an idea of it look at the cm 330 here http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.ph...31&postcount=2
Now move the front back untill the the hard drive/3.5" bay overhangs the memory slots.
We get short PSUs from chieftec (made by seasonic) about 1.5" - 2" shorter than normal ATX PSUs

[amjedm]

The CM 330 does look like a nice case but I still prefer the 340.

I remember when Scan put the 340 on Today Only for around £21

Looking to build on a budget so currently prefer the 5000BE (£30) Burtie is offering in the For Sale section. Would that be a good choice compared to the 5050e or 7750BE (I don't know much about the processors).

As I'm going to use the computer for surfing more than anything else, would there be any benefit in going for one of the more expensive motherboards compared to a £40 (or cheaper) one?

The Chieftec cases do look nice but the CM340 has 120mm fans front and back which is the reason I prefer it.

Thank you.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The cheaper motherboards will do the job.

[scaryjim]

Main use will be surfing so don't require anything really powerful.

CPU has to be X2 at least.

These two comments seem to be in direct opposition to one another Why spend the extra on a dual-core if the extra core won't really be used (which it won't for web-surfing)? An Athlon LE-1640 should be more than sufficient and currently etails for ~ £33 against ~ £50 for the 5050e (prices from ebuyer).

Also, beware the 780V chipset! According to hexus' review:

AMD is set to concurrently launch a lower-specified variant, 780V (RS780C). The DX10 IGP remains the same, dubbed Radeon 3100, but is clocked in at 350MHz rather than the 500MHz for the G-variant. Further, there's no integrated UVD, DisplayPort, SurroundView or Hybrid CrossFire support, either. We expect to see retail models from £40 upwards.

Note that UVD, the hardware video decoding component, is not present so you won't get assistance playing back those HD movies! It would still be fine for web surfing, email and general office-type use, and acceptable for low-resolution, light gaming. If you have no intention of watching DVDs or other media content on this computer then I'd definitely go for the 780V. Avoid the 690G based boards, as they use an older chipset for storage / IO which is inferior to the one on the 700-series boards. If you won't be doing much / any gaming on it (or if (like me!) all your favourite games are more than 5 years old), Gigabyte's 740G-based board (a 690G with the newer southbridge) and Nvidia's NForce 7-based boards are also an option.

So, if you're mostly just going to be surfing, I'd recommend either:

This Gigabyte 740G Motherboard and the Athlon LE-1640 from Scan @ approx £75

or

This ASUS GeForce 7025 Motherboard and the same Athlon LE-1640 from Ebuyer @ approx £71

Both orders will come with free shipping (Scan thanks to your Hexus connection, and ebuyer on their supersaver delivery). The CPU is cheaper at Scan, but you need an order > £50 to get the free shipping at ebuyer. Of course, you could always buy your mobo and case from ebuyer and your CPU from scan, saving a couple of quid extra!

And talking of cases, my experience with MATX cases suggest that there's not a huge amount to choose between them. I've always sworn by the Antec Minuet (available from both scan and ebuyer), but it's not cheap! The most important thing is to make sure you're getting a decent PSU (the Minuet comes with a good one!) - you don't need much power but it's worth paying extra for good quality (again, I'm a big fan of Antec PSUs - I've built a huge number of machines with them and never had any trouble).

[DanceswithUnix]

Have you considered getting a barebones system? The Asus T3 systems seem to have gone up in price a bit, shame as they used to be cheaper than your proposed case & mobo once you add in the cost of a half decent PSU.

Something like this?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Scan have an OEM X2 4400 and a 740G motherboard for £74 on Today Only this weekend:

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

You can a cheap heatsink for under £15:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Index.aspx?NT=1-0-8-231-0

[amjedm]

These two comments seem to be in direct opposition to one another Why spend the extra on a dual-core if the extra core won't really be used (which it won't for web-surfing)? An Athlon LE-1640 should be more than sufficient and currently etails for ~ £33 against ~ £50 for the 5050e (prices from ebuyer).

I built a 'test' machine last week - S939 3000, 1.5GB RAM and it was painfully slow compared to the X2 3800 S939 PC I have. I'm hoping to use the new PC as the 'main' one.

I'm currently considering the Gigabyte 740 board on Today Only.

I'm hoping to put a Ninja Rev B heatsink in the case so the Minuet is out of the question . Hope to start the build with a modded Seaonic 120mm PSU.

Have you considered getting a barebones system? The Asus T3 systems seem to have gone up in price a bit, shame as they used to be cheaper than your proposed case & mobo once you add in the cost of a half decent PSU.

Something like this?

Thank you thank you thank you

I thought of the barebones yesterday but completley forgot about looking for them.

Have the following on the shortlist but the problem is the Ninja (152mm tall) won't fit (and I don't want to spend money on another heatsink) and they don't have 120mm fans - which I suppose won't be needed in a mATX case but...

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152741 or http://www.ebuyer.com/product/151171

[amjedm]

Scan have an OEM X2 4400 and a 740G motherboard for £74 on Today Only this weekend:

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

You can a cheap heatsink for under £15:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Index.aspx?NT=1-0-8-231-0

I've got an Arctic 64 which I hope to use in another machine and use the Ninja from that in the new build.

I think I'll be better off with the second hand 5000BE (same price as the 4400) but I think it doesn't appear on the Gigabyte compatibility list

[staffsMike]

As long as it supports brisbane cores the 5000 BE will be fine.

I shouldn't think there are many AM2 boards that don't support brisbane..

[Pob255]

These two comments seem to be in direct opposition to one another Why spend the extra on a dual-core if the extra core won't really be used (which it won't for web-surfing)? An Athlon LE-1640 should be more than sufficient and currently etails for ~ £33 against ~ £50 for the 5050e (prices from ebuyer).

Have you tried running single core cpu's recently?
They've become painfully slow, something I put down solely in software developers laps, it's all getting far more messy and bloated (even web browseing with the poliferation of flash, java and scripting)
Having a 2nd core help cut down on latency from to stuff running in the cpu que.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

TBH my notebook has a 1.7ghz Pentium M and 768mb of RAM and it is more than fast enough for web browsing, word processing,some light image editing and watching some video clips. I am using XP though.

[amjedm]

I want to get free delivery from ebuyer so have to increase order value to £50.

The CM340 is £32.35 and I'm thinking of buying a 2GB stick of memory from them. Any idea which one (the cheaper the better as long as it's branded)

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/143805 - Kingston 2GB DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 Memory Unbuffered Non-ECC CL5 1.8V - £19.99
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/158701 - Kingston 2gb Ddr2 1066mhz/pc28500 Hyperx Memory Cl7 (7-7-7-20) - £21.45
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/142399 - Crucial 2GB DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 Memory Non-ECC Unbuffered CL6 Lifetime Warranty - £21.45
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/142376 - OCZ 2GB DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 CL 5-6-6-15 Value Series Memory with Lifetime Warranty - £22.12
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/128499 - Kingston 2gb Ddr2 800mhz Hyperx Memory Non-ecc Cl5 (5-5-5-15) Dimm - £22.51
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/158366 - Corsair 2GB DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2 Xtreme Performance Memory CL5
- £25.99

Will order Gigabyte 740G from Scan.

[DanceswithUnix]

I built a 'test' machine last week - S939 3000, 1.5GB RAM and it was painfully slow compared to the X2 3800 S939 PC I have. I'm hoping to use the new PC as the 'main' one.

I'm currently considering the Gigabyte 740 board on Today Only.

I'm hoping to put a Ninja Rev B heatsink in the case so the Minuet is out of the question . Hope to start the build with a modded Seaonic 120mm PSU.



Thank you thank you thank you

I thought of the barebones yesterday but completley forgot about looking for them.

Have the following on the shortlist but the problem is the Ninja (152mm tall) won't fit (and I don't want to spend money on another heatsink) and they don't have 120mm fans - which I suppose won't be needed in a mATX case but...

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152741 or http://www.ebuyer.com/product/151171

I believe the ASUS T3, like the Shuttle barebones, have an integrated heatpipe radiator in the exhuast fan so no Ninja would be required.