£550 To Spend...What Would You Go For.

[bledd]

is your Vista OEM or RETAIL?

if it's OEM, then you need a new copy, they are tied to the motherboard -unless it breaks and is replaced under warranty

[scaryjim]

What sort of PSU should I go for?

Antec, Silverstone, Corsair, FSP?

I'm an Antec fanboy, but prices have gone north since I was last buying (my TruPower 650 has gone up about £10 since I bought it...)

Oh, and the 770 motherboards (along with older 790X/FX) have the *ancient* SB600 southbridge which has somewhat questionable IO performance - avoid unless you *must* have crossfire @ budget prices... the SB on the 740G is better!!

And for my second edit - If you want CrossFire as an option and can stretch the budget slightly have a look at This Gigabyte 790X Board - it's the first 790X I've seen with SB750, and would make a very nice partner to a Phenom II X3 in a full ATX system. It's going to push the budget up though...

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would think that the Asus 780G motherboard should be enough.

In this thread someone used it to overclock a Phenom II X4 920 to over 3.5ghz:

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/sh....php?t=2290234

The Phenom II X3 720 also has unlocked multiplier too. If the OP can afford a 790GX or 790X then he/she should go for it but the 780G will do the job also.

[scaryjim]

If the OP can afford a 790GX or 790X then he/she should go for it but the 780G will do the job also.

Couldn't agree more! I was just throwing it out there as a leftfield suggestion, as it's the best price I've seen for a CrossFire board with SB750. There are, of course, cheaper 790GX boards available if you don't care about CrossFire

[Mikey9980]

is your Vista OEM or RETAIL?

if it's OEM, then you need a new copy, they are tied to the motherboard -unless it breaks and is replaced under warranty

I have a retail version of Vista.

[Mikey9980]

Also the case I have chosen only supports an mATX mobo, so I couldn't really go for a full sized one.

[Warpy1]

I'm an Antec fanboy, but prices have gone north since I was last buying (my TruPower 650 has gone up about £10 since I bought it...)

I've always gone for Antec PSU's also, but have had 3 go in the last 2 years. I'm going to consider something else next time round, this has affected my confidence in the brand. I'll be considering Corsair or the like.

[Pob255]

The OCZ modXtreme are suposed to be very good (I'm not 100% sure who actually makes them, but FSP make there game and power versions)
I'd personally avoid the OCZ stealthXtreme as they are cut down budget units.

Antec again simular, there NeoHE (modular psu's) and Earthwatt are very good units and made by seassonic, as are Truepower trio I think.
Avoid the antec Basiq, again a cut down budget model
The Antec TruePower Quattro are good and made by FSP if I remember correctly, however too expensive for this budget.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Well,the prices of almost all PSUs have skyrocketed!!

My HX520W cost me £60 from Dabs early last year and now it costs around £80 to £85!!