Build advice

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

You could go with a 760G motherboard.Basically the 760G based motherboards have the improved SB710 southbridge over the 780G motherboards which use the SB700.However the 760G motherboards have inferior on-board graphics.

The Asus M3A76-CM is only around £50:

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

The XFX HD4870 1gb is around £132 too:

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

The XXX version is the same card as the standard XFX card but is clocked higher.

[Blitzen]

Would you change anything ? main purpose gaming.

The PSU...its not worth £80 when this is £1 less and a better unit and of higher quality http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/525W-...uard-SafeGuard

[Cornholio]

Blitzen..have the corsair risen in price !? i dont remember paying nearly £80 for my hx520...i was a little shocked when i logged on to scans site tbh.

So you rate that enermax over the hx520 ?

Also...to save me starting a new thread.

I think hes decided on the antec 300, and it seems to have good reviews, + its only about £40 so like £39 cheaper than the cooler master...which leaves some spare cash.

Question is...What cpu cooler would you whack on the AMD x3 720 ? Ive always been a freezer 7/64 pro guy lol.

And..i take it a 4870 will fit in that case..theres a pic here of one fitted with a gtx 260...



And..whats the cable length like on that enermax unit..ive had to get an extension for the 4pin connector on my hx520 & silverstone tj09 case (granted, its a beast...lol).

Would also probs chuck 2x 120mm LED fans in the front with a fan controller too if you have any ideas ?

Andy

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

If you have got £40 spare in the budget then why don't you go for the AM2+ Phenom II X4 940BE??
It is clocked 200mhz higher and has an additional core too. The processor is on today only too!!

The processor is around the same speed as an Intel Q9400:

http://techreport.com/articles.x/16147/1

The stock cooler for the Phenom II X4 is pretty decent too and there is no need to really an aftermarket cooler unless you intend to do some serious overclocking:

http://www.ixbt.com/cpu/images/pheno...ooler-125w.jpg

[Cornholio]

If you have got £40 spare in the budget then why don't you go for the AM2+ Phenom II X4 940BE??
It is clocked 200mhz higher and has an additional core too. The processor is on today only too!!

The processor is around the same speed as an Intel Q9400:

http://techreport.com/articles.x/16147/1

The stock cooler for the Phenom II X4 is pretty decent too and there is no need to really an aftermarket cooler unless you intend to do some serious overclocking:

http://www.ixbt.com/cpu/images/pheno...ooler-125w.jpg

I could get the X4 940..if i spec'd the system up as follows...

Have chose the Antec 300 case saving roughly £40, the enermax modular 525w (thanks to blitzen). Now..im quite satisfied at this system spec for the price tbh !

Final version possibly guys !?

[Cornholio]

I would opt for a UATX mobo but i feel that given the room in the antec 300 case, i might be better opting for a full ATX so access to sata ports etc isnt a struggle. As i feel it might be with the 4870 and UATX mobo.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

There is a Biostar 790GX motherboard for around £72:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Biost...ID-OnBoard-VGA

[Cornholio]

Is that biostar better than the gigabyte buddy ? And does that X4 940 come with a heatsink...they usually do but its worth checking ! Always thought biostar were dogsh!t tbh lol

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The 790GX is a better southbridge for overclocking than the 780G.

Here are the specs for the Biostar:

http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en-us/....php?S_ID=374#

Here are the specs for the Gigabyte:

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/...ProductID=3004

The Gigabyte does have all solid capacitors though unlike the Biostar motherboard and better onboard sound.

The AMD Phenom II X4 920 comes with a heatsink as it is a retail package.

[Cornholio]

He wont be overclocking, just running everything at stock speeds, so in that respect it looks asthough the gigabyte is the better buy.

[Blitzen]

Blitzen..have the corsair risen in price !? i dont remember paying nearly £80 for my hx520...i was a little shocked when i logged on to scans site tbh.

So you rate that enermax over the hx520 ?

Corsairs were around £60 but the prices shot up before the economic crash.....no idea why.
The cable length of the Enermax MODU is very good (i use an Antec 900 and all is great).

I have a Corsair HX520 aswell and the only place were it is a better unit over the Enermax is a 5 year warranty (Enermax has 3).

The build quality of the MODU is far superior.
Im not saying the Corsair is a bad unit....far from it, its very good. Just not as good as the MODU, and considering its £1 in it, there is only one choice as far as i can see

[Cornholio]

That makes sense, its all being purchased tomorrow morning from scan (only live 15 min or so away).

If the 4pin mobo connector is long enough for your 900 then it will be fine in the 300. Its just..when i bought my hx520, came home chucked it all together to realise because my case is quite tall the 4pin mobo connector was nowhere near long enough ! Had to trip back to scan and buy an extension.

If you can 100% say the cable length is long enough then il take your word for it .

Cheers for the advice, should be a fun system when its chucked together !

Makes my e6660, 8800gt bases system look old

good job its only got 1hdd atm, as this 4870 is quite long, and the antec 300 isnt ! hdd will have to go above or below the gfx card.

[staffsMike]

Now, my MODU 4pin wasn't long enough for the antec P180 mini. Due to having to mount the PSU with the fixed cables on the wrong side (for going behind the mobo) it didn't reach and would have been a stretch even if it was orientated the favourable way round. BEWARE.

[Cornholio]

mmmm, could just get this (its what i use) to be on the safe side.

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Akasa...)-AK-CB8-8-EXT

Whilst case manufactures thought it would be a good idea to mount psu's at the bottom...the psu manufacturers didnt think about damned cable length, argh.

[staffsMike]

Yeah thats why I had to run out and buy mid build.

[Cornholio]

Yeah thats why I had to run out and buy mid build.

Same, was another trip back to scan, you run one of those too then mike ? Worth buying one just incase ? Can always keep a spare