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I have been tasked with building my parents a basic computer for web browsing and photo storage. Also after reading on here about unlocking AMD processors I quite fancy giving that a go (and i realise its not 100% sucessful). Can anyone recommmend a good cpu/motherboard combi for around (preferably below) the £100, to achieve this? I have already got a PNY 9400GT and 1gb DDR2 800MHz for the build.
Also value PSU advice/recommendations would be usefull to!
Thanks in advance!
Athlon II x2 245 £47.45 (pretty sure that's an unlockable, or I'll be corrected by someone)
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AMD-A...MHz-65W-Retail
MSI 785GTM-E45 785+710sb chipset AM2+ (needed for ddr2) £51.58 (the 710sb is the key for unlocking)
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/MSI-7...Board-Graphics
This has a decent onboard graphics chip so you'll not need a seperate graphics card for just web browsing.
Sliverstone strider 400w (bronze 80+ effecienty rateing so it's good and effecient) £36.37
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/400W-...822-dBA-min%29
I would add in an extra gb of memory, 2gb tends to be the sweet spot for most basic use.
EDIT: Actually we can knock a bit off of that with the Gigabyte GA-MA78LM-S2 £39.56 http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Gigab...SATA-RAID-mATX
Only the 760g+710sb chipset so the onboard graphics is not quite as good, should still be good enough though and you can still put in a graphics card to improve movie/flash video playback.
It still has the 710 southbridge with Advanced Clock Calibration which is what you need to unlock the cpu
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/...ProductID=3189
total with that motherboard £123.38 a bit over the total budget :( however it'll be very tough to do much better.
The Athlon II X3 processors can be potentially unlocked to a Athlon II X4 or even a Phenom II X4,the Phenom II X2 can be potentially unlocked to a Phenom II X3 or X4,the Phenom II X3 can be potentially unlocked to a Phenom II X4,the Sempron 140 can be potentially unlocked to an Athlon II X2 and the 45NM version of the X2 5000+ can be unlocked to a Phenom II X4.
You will need a motherboard which has the SB710 or SB750 southbridge with ACC enabled to be try unlocking a processor.
This is what I would look at getting:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ 45NM ~ £35
http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx
ASRock ASR-A780GM-LE/128M ~ £43
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ASRoc...SATA-RAID-mATX
This motherboard has the SB710 southbridge and has been used to unlock the Sempron 140. The motherboard also has 128MB of RAM on the motherboard for the IGP.
400w Silverpower SP-400P2C ~ £26
http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx
Silverpower is part of the same company which owns Tagan.
The total comes to around £104 excluding postage.
I would say at this level of budget, buy an Acer Revo or a very low end Dell desktop.
DIY doesn't make sense for under £300 unless you want to be able to game.
Thanks for the suggestions guys.
I did consider the Revo, but I guess I like the idea of being able to upgrade/replace parts. I presume there isnt much you can upgrade in the Revo? Also, and equally important, I like the idea of unlocking the AMD's to essentially get a better spec machine for little outlay. In all honesty I think I just want a little project!
I know no ones gone in for an intel build here, so heres another idea:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Intel...0-BX80571E3200 £36
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Gigab...A-II-Micro-ATX £32
Works out a little bit cheaper still and that celly will clock like mad if u feel u need more speed, though its definately up to general work at stock
Either of the other PSUs is obviously fine, dont have anything to add there.
Hawker
Quote:
Originally Posted by arthurleung
http://forums.hexus.net/current-barg...dmi-linux.html
but cats suggestion is spot on ;)
I have seen the ebuyer deal and I must admit it is tempting. But i think due to the number of usb devices I would have to have on the desk it negates the Revos benefit of its sleek look/size. But at that price I am still tempted, and no doubt will be tempted right up to when i buy something on pay day!
Thanks again! (wish I had a thanks button available... one day!)
You could just have one single USB cable that go under your desk, connected to a USB hub which keep it sleek.Quote:
Originally Posted by chris_argyle
Well for anyone waiting with bated breath to find out what I ended up with:
Sempron 140 (missed out on the Athlon 5000+)
ASRock A780GM-LE/128M
2x1Gb PNY DDR2 PC6400
PNY 9400GT 512mb
Corsair 400W (I know its a bit OTT)
Coolmaster elite 335
Samsung spinpoint F1 320Gb
Sony DVD
LG 19" W1941S LCD
All componants bought brand new
Total £250
Oh and equally importantly the Sempron is now a stable (prime tested) Athlon II X2. :mrgreen: