Upgrading PC - Help/Advice please

[Ice_Black]

I have decided to upgrade my PC.

I currently have AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+, 2GB Rams, SATA Hard Disks.

Now I am looking for better performance when doing multi tasking.

Which model should I get for:

Intel Core 2 Quad or i5 (which one?)
Motherboard
Tower case

(Don't need Rams, Hard Disk, Power Supply)

My budget is £250

Will buy hardware from Scan or Ebuyer

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The Core i5 needs low voltage DDR3 whereas the Core2 or Phenom II processors can use DDR2 or DDR3 RAM.

[dirky]

What motherboard do you have? if its AM2+ you can drop in a new processor for a cheap upgrade.
No real point going for the C2D/C2Q since the socket is retired

[llololloy]

Would be much more cost effective to just put an amd quad core in your motherboard (if you can). Cheapest quad is like £80 allowing more money to spent elsewhere (ie faster hard drive, more mem, new graphics etc...) or you can get some pretty fast amd quads for £150 or so. Cheapest core2quad is over £100, plus cost of motherboard, plus hassle of full reinstall of OS etc..
But if you really must change socket it would be best to go for core i5 as like what dirky said they're phasing out 775.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

If the OP has at least 800MHZ DDR2 they could look at getting an AM2+ based build. Also another thing which would be useful to know is what PSU model the OP has.

There are some cheap AM2+ 790GX based motherboards currently available on Scan this weekened:

http://forums.hexus.net/current-barg...ml#post1845601

You could get a 790GX based Asus M3A78-T for around £59 and an X4 955 for around £121:

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


AM2+ motherbaords use DDR2 so you can re-use your DDR2.

[Ice_Black]

I will put more detail again what my system currently have:

2GB 800MHZ DDR2 (1GB each)
Corsair HX 520w PSU
Two SATA Hard Drive
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+
Gigabyte M61SME-S2 (Motherboard)
TV Card
Graphic Card: ATI Radeon HD 4650

I would like to upgrade my motherboard.. but I don't mind having amd quads.

maybe around £150 pr less ?

what motherboard and cpu I should get?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would get the following:

AMD Phenom II X4 945 ~ £114

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

OR

AMD Phenom II X3 710 ~ £85

http://www.svp.co.uk/technology/comp...etail-box.html

The AMD Phenom II X4 720 has increased a lot in price and it is better value to get an AMD Phenom II X4 instead.

Asus M3A78-T ~ £59

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

This motherboard is based on the 790GX chipset and is on special offer on Scan until tommorrow morning.

I would re-use your existing RAM.

I would also make sure that you register for free postage from Scan as you are a Hexus members with 20+ posts:

http://forums.hexus.net/scan-care-he...tup-guide.html

http://forums.hexus.net/scan-care-he...0-07-08-a.html

[Ice_Black]

Thanks CAT-THE-FIFTH,

That was very helpful.

I wanted to know how fast is AMD Phenom II X4 945 compare with AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ ?

where can I check the benchmark

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Thanks CAT-THE-FIFTH,

That was very helpful.

I wanted to know how fast is AMD Phenom II X4 945 compare with AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ ?

where can I check the benchmark

This webpage compares the X2 5200+ with a Phenom II X4 940:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=32&p2=80

The Phenom II X4 940 basically lacks the DDR3 support the X4 945 contains,has a lower HT speed and a higher 125W TDP.

You may need to update the BIOS on the Asus M3A78-T to support the X4 945 but since you already have an AM2 CPU it should be fine IMHO.

[Ice_Black]

Thanks.

Im thinking making on order online today but I can go there to pickup tomorrow?

Edit: I have made an order.

[Ice_Black]

I already have: Scythe Ninja II with 120mm fan Heatpipe (Socket 478, 775, 939, 940)

Can this be used for AMD Phenom II X4 945 ?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I already have: Scythe Ninja II with 120mm fan Heatpipe (Socket 478, 775, 939, 940)

Can this be used for AMD Phenom II X4 945 ?

It seems both versions of the Ninja II should work with the Phenom II:

http://www.scythe-eu.com/en/products...r/ninja-2.html

http://www.scythe-eu.com/en/products...a-2-rev-b.html

[Ice_Black]

It seems both versions of the Ninja II should work with the Phenom II:

http://www.scythe-eu.com/en/products...r/ninja-2.html

http://www.scythe-eu.com/en/products...a-2-rev-b.html

Hmm Thanks for link.

I checked on US site, http://www.scythe-usa.com/product/cp...00_detail.html

Phenom II is not mentioned.

[Ice_Black]

I have upgraded to a new system now It is working fine but i got an error before it boot up:

3RD master hard disk: Status Bad, Backup and Replace

That is an error for main hard drive with Windows 7 installed.

What does that mean? I never got that error before on old system.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I have upgraded to a new system now It is working fine but i got an error before it boot up:

3RD master hard disk: Status Bad, Backup and Replace

That is an error for main hard drive with Windows 7 installed.

What does that mean? I never got that error before on old system.

This indicates that there could be a problem with your hard disk. I would make sure that you have backed up any files as a precaution. I would also try plugging the hard disk into the different SATA ports on the motherboard and perhaps using a different SATA cable to see if the message is replicated or not.

[Ice_Black]

This indicates that there could be a problem with your hard disk. I would make sure that you have backed up any files as a precaution. I would also try plugging the hard disk into the different SATA ports on the motherboard and perhaps using a different SATA cable to see if the message is replicated or not.

I have just tried that, I tried different sata port and different cable.. still same errror..

hmm my Samsung HD gonna die soon I have made a quick backup.

I bought it from Scan last year, do I have a warranty? Can I replace it right away? (Hmm I cant remember where I put my receipt!!)