MY own computer upgrade finally, advice needed.

[Cornholio]

Will the hx520 psu cope with either an am2 sys or the c2d quad sys.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Will the hx520 psu cope with either an am2 sys or the c2d quad sys.

Yes it will be fine. I am running an HD4830,4gb of DDR2,two hard drives,an optical drive,a card reader,an overclocked Q6600 and an overclocked HD4830 on a 400w PSU.

[Cornholio]

Tempted to go q9550 and Biostar TPower I45. And use the current ocz reaper ddr2 i have.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Tempted to go q9550 and Biostar TPower I45. And use the current ocz reaper ddr2 i have.

The Phenom II X4 955BE has a DDR2 memory controller too so you can use your DDR2 in an AM2+ motherboard.

For instance this Gigabyte looks very good for the price:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/GIGABYTE-GA-MA790X-UD3P

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/...ProductID=3107

It is a crossfire motherboard too like the Biostar.

With an X4 955 the total should be under £230.

Here are some other 790 series motherboards too:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Index.aspx?NT=1-0-31-391-0

The other alternate is to see how much a Core i5 based setup will be next month.

[Cornholio]

The Phenom II X4 955BE has a DDR2 memory controller too so you can use your DDR2 in an AM2+ motherboard.

For instance this Gigabyte looks very good for the price:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/GIGABYTE-GA-MA790X-UD3P

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/...ProductID=3107

It is a crossfire motherboard too like the Biostar.

With an X4 955 the total should be under £230.

Here are some other 790 series motherboards too:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Index.aspx?NT=1-0-31-391-0

The other alternate is to see how much a Core i5 based setup will be next month.

I think the two choices i have cat are.

x4 955, 4gb ddr3, gigabyte am3 mobo.

or..

keep my current ram, go q9550 and biostar mobo.

Dont really want to swap to am3 and still use ddr2 if that makes sense.

Which is the better performer ? Everywhere im reading the 955 scores lower than the q9550...but if im buying a c2d quad am i not just buying old technology compared to the am3 system ?

[Cornholio]

Cat.

Would...

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/4GB-(...ered-CAS-9-DHX

Work with the 955be and ga-ma770t mobo ? Its only a few quid more than 1333mhz.

[Cornholio]

or even..

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/4GB-(...S-7-7-7-21-Kit

better timings than the corsair.

Or even..

https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...roductId=34482

Same price, slightly diff timings..but its ocz and its 6gb.


or

https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...roductId=34299

[Pob255]

I was going to ask about the motherboard seeing as gigabyte make
GA-965P-DS3
GA-EP35-DS3
GA-P35-DS3
GA-EP43-DS3
GA-EP45-DS3
they also make some amd based ds3 boards, but i ruled them out

Have you started with the basics like a better cooler and overclocking that e6600?
If you look at that review CAT linked the e8400 isn't really that far behind the Phenom II X4 955BE
And the e6600 is only very slightly slower than e8400 when both are at the same clock speed.

[ed^chigliak]

I don't see the point in a new motherboard if your existing DS3 will support the Q6700 CPU which it should do. Mine overclocked to 3.33Ghz without any effort and got me from 2 to 4 cores on an older Gigabyte motherboard plus a load more cache on the CPU. All this adds up to a much better PC without much expense. The few games that do support 4 cores I am now happy with the performance.

A Q9550 will be slightly quicker and runs at 95W instead of 105W but at so much extra cost I wouldn't bother. Just wait and see what happens with the i5 before deciding on a major upgrade.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The Phenom II can run only two channels of DDR3 at speeds of 1333mhz. However AMD processors are more sensitive to latency than outright memory speed. The advantage of the DDR3 1600mhz RAM is that it can run at 1333mhz at lower latencies hopefully.

These articles also examine the effect of DDR2 and DDR3 on the performance of the 955:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...55,2278-3.html

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets...spx?i=3551&p=3

Still have you looked at the Q6700 as a drop in replacement for the E6600 as it will offer slightly higher than stock performance and two additional processing cores??

Also the Core i5 is coming out soon and looks promising.

[Cornholio]

So..the phenom II wont run ddr3 1600mhz ?.

You seem against the am3 upgrade now cat ?

Dont really wanna buy the q9550 and mobo, then sell my mobo and cpu and be left with ram

when for the same cost.

I can buy the 955, mobo, ddr3 1333 4gb, and sell my mobo cpu and ram to get some funds back if that makes sense ?

So at stock clock speeds the phenom II will only run ddr3 1333mhz >

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

So..the phenom II wont run ddr3 1600mhz ?.

You seem against the am3 upgrade now cat ?

The Phenom will run it but at 1333mhz.

Not against the upgrade necessarily but I would want to wait until the Core i5 comes out if Intel keeps to the September release date. It would be negligence on my part if I just reccommended the Phenom only as an upgrade and 4 weeks later something came out for a bit more cash which was far better. The same goes for a Core2 quad upgrade. On top of this it should cause Phenom prices and Core2 prices to decrease a bit and as will the other bits. Also lower latency DDR3 running at lower voltage is also being released for the Core i5 launch and this may cause the existing higher latency stuff to drop in price too.

After all I am trying to recommend the best value for money upgrade.

[Cornholio]

The Phenom will run it but at 1333mhz.

Not against the upgrade necessarily but I would want to wait until the Core i5 comes out if Intel keeps to the September release date. It would be negligence on my part if I just reccommended the Phenom only as an upgrade and 4 weeks later something came out for a bit more cash which was far better. The same goes for a Core2 quad upgrade. On top of this it should cause Phenom prices and Core2 prices to decrease a bit and as will the other bits. Also lower latency DDR3 running at lower voltage is also being released for the Core i5 launch and this may cause the existing higher latency stuff to drop in price too.

After all I am trying to recommend the best value for money upgrade.

I see what you mean, and whilst its nice to wait and see what is coming out, i kinda prefer to live in the NOW, so recommendation at this point in time cat, ignore the I5.

I just know if i dont buy the upgrades the money will either get spent on my bike (kawasaki 636), my car, or something else that i didnt really wanna spend anymore cash on lol.

Im tempted to buy another 24" dell before they get discontinued too, but pc takes first priority me thinks.

[Cornholio]

The 955 is on today only now too at £140.29

hmmm, ide still have to drive a bit further and go to aria to pick up the gigabyte 770t anyway.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I see what you mean, and whilst its nice to wait and see what is coming out, i kinda prefer to live in the NOW, so recommendation at this point in time cat, ignore the I5.

I just know if i dont buy the upgrades the money will either get spent on my bike (kawasaki 636), my car, or something else that i didnt really wanna spend anymore cash on lol.

Im tempted to buy another 24" dell before they get discontinued too, but pc takes first priority me thinks.

Ok,then I would go for the Phenom II X4 955BE!! Regarding the RAM I would look at lower latency 1333mhz RAM or normal 1600mhz RAM and run it at 1333mhz and lower latencies.

Also I would look at the HP LP2475W 24" monitor as with a discount code and quidco it comes to under £400!!

PS:- awesome bike you have!

[Cornholio]

Ok,then I would go for the Phenom II X4 955BE!! Regarding the RAM I would look at lower latency 1333mhz RAM or normal 1600mhz RAM and run it at 1333mhz and lower latencies.

Also I would look at the HP LP2475W 24" monitor as with a discount code and quidco it comes to under £400!!

PS:- awesome bike you have!

I was waiting for you to reply so i can go to scan/aria.

Lol cheers on the bike, il post a pic hang on...



Quicky on the ram then cat seeing as ive been waiting for your reply so i can get going to scan and aria..which do i go for, im a fan of both ocz and corsair.

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/4GB-(...d-CAS-9-9-9-24

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/4GB-(...ered-CAS-9-DHX