What do you reckon guys, looked at a 5570 but the reviews didnt come in well, how about the GT240 ? The one thing i dont want is something that has a noisy fan ! Its only for playing SIMS 3 really, but must be in stock to buy tomorrow from scan.
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What do you reckon guys, looked at a 5570 but the reviews didnt come in well, how about the GT240 ? The one thing i dont want is something that has a noisy fan ! Its only for playing SIMS 3 really, but must be in stock to buy tomorrow from scan.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512MB...-DL-DVI-I-HDMI Or
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512MB...-DL-DVI-I-HDMI
Edit: for Sims 3 you could probably go lower than the two cards above as well!
Most of the cheaper GT240 cards use GDDR3 which makes them much slower than the GDDR5 version which is usually tested.
It is probably best to go with the HD4670 GDDR3 or HD5670 GDDR5 mentioned in the previous post.
The fan on that Asus 4670 SUCKS, read reviews everywhere about the noise on them, see...ive tried to stay away from XFX, might have to try them again. The motherboard being used will have onboard VGA anyway so if the card does decide to fail the pc will still be usable.
There is this...
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512MB...ink-DVI-I-HDMI
The 9800GT is still a better card than the GT240 GDDR5. The GT240 has less shaders and less ROPs than the 9800GT.
Here is one for around the same price as the XFX GT240 GDDR5:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512MB...112-Cores-HDMI
The card is bus powered.
Would you really buy a 9 series card now ? I mean, they are getting "dated" so to speak.
Its looking like il have to bite my lip and get the XFX 5670.
I wouldn't necessarily call the 9800GT a dated card but just a good card with "very long legs"!
According to techPowerUp the 9800GT is around 20% to 30% faster than the GT240 GDDR5 at all resolutions and around 10% to 20% faster than a HD5670 at all resolutions.
The reason that the GT240 and HD5670 don't win is because both are kibbled by the fact that they have a limited number of ROPs!
The 9800GT has 16 whereas the GT240 and HD5670 only have 8.
This has been done on purpose to stop the cards from competing effectively with higher end models and also to reduce costs.
The main improvement with the newer cards is with their idle power consumption.
It is a shame that you don't want to shop at Aria as they have a better selection of the cheaper cards:
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Compo...NQZXJQYWdlPSY=
The HD4670 Ultimate is available for under £60:
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Compo...roductId=38669
Even in cases with poor airflow the cooler does well:
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum...review-21.html
Yeah that passive 4670 was on the list, aria is only a bit further than scan but the customer service sucks ass there.
Passive 4670 (aria)
or
xfx 5670 (scan)
or
gainward 9800gt (scan).
Honest opinion cat, its obvious your the man round here :p
Although I'm not the moose, for the price i suggest the 5670.
Most performance = 9800GT
Good mix of performance and low power consumption = HD5670
Relatively,totally silent but has lower performance = HD4670
However Aria have an XFX 9800GT for £68 and an XFX HD4850 512MB for £82!
However an HD4670 should be fast enough to play Sims 3:
http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Ga...rmance/11.html
An HD4650 can run the game at 1680X1050 using maximum settings at around 32fps.
hmm, spanners in the works.
Rest of the pc spec if it hurts (its being bought/built tomorrow morning).
Scan :
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AMD-A...MHz-65W-Retail
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/2GB-C...d-CAS-9-9-9-24
http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=1105270
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Coole...X-Case-w-o-PSU
http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=893128
It was meant to be this sammy HDD
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/320-G...MB-Cache-89-ms
But its out of stock, argh. Do you know of any other single platter drives at around that price cat ?
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Samsu...SATA-Black-OEM
The Caviar Blue WD ones for around £35 ?
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/320-G...8MB-Cache-9-ms ?
If so that'll do nicely.
If it was me I'd go for that 4670 from Aria. Plenty powerful for what you want and it's silent.
Just had a quick look on the t'interweb, and the general opinion is that if you had to buy one of the two now then the 5670 is the one to go for. No doubt once she realises that it will play more than the sims 3 she will start playing a few more games. Ide rather they have "room" to play newer games.
Although, im now not sure if i should buy this psu
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/400W-...-pin-120mm-Fan
instead of the corsair.
This unit is better:
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Compo...roductId=39205
Unlike the CX400W it uses mostly Japanese capacitors and is made by CWT.
This Samsung drive in stock at Aria:
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Compo...roductId=33292
I still think that the 9800GT is a better choice for gaming TBH.
If i go for that PSU over the corsair, it frees up £10, which could then be put into a gfx card, purhapse...this ?
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Compo...roductId=38671
Or the 9800GT
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Compo...583#moreImages
Would that PSU power it though ? Ive heard things about OCZ PSU's cat...
?
Or theres the gainward 9800gt from scan.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512MB...112-Cores-HDMI
"Green Edition" though ?
It looks good for the money. I am not sure how quiet the cooler will be though!
The card is supposed to be a nit noisier than the reference one:
http://www.elitebastards.com/index.p...7&limitstart=9
OTH, it maybe possible to adjust the fan speed using software.
Regarding the OCZ 400W StealthXStream it is the only OCZ PSU made by CWT AFAIK - the others are made by FSP and Sirtec. CWT is a better OEM IMHO than FSP and Sirtec as they are simply more consistent. It also seems that unlike the more expensive units many of the capacitors in the 400W version are from Japanese companies. There seems to be cost cutting in the more expensive units as they tend to use Chinese and Taiwanese capacitors. IMHO the units above the 400W version are actually lower quality due to the capacitor choices.
If you want to stick with the Corsair since you feel better about it then fair enough. At least with Corsair there seems to be more consistency along their whole range.
The Green Edition 9800GT cards are slightly underclocked over normal 9800GT cards as they are bus powered. I know someone with the Zotac 9800GT Green Edition 512MB and it can run most games at 1440X900 and 1280X1024 fine.
The XFX 9800GT you linked to is the normal version although again I cannot comment on how much noise it produces.
Whilst i try to do product research before a build, i never seem to come up with as much information as you (hence why i ask you ;) ).
If it was you..what would you use to finish this build off then, as i value your opinion.
AM3 245
2GB Corsair ddr3 1333
Coolermaster 341 case
Asus M4A78LT-M LE
Coolermaster 120mm fan (as intake on front of 341 case).
DVD-RW
Im undecided on the GPU, PSU and HDD, i seem to read mixed reviews everywhere, and like mummy always told me, dont believe everything you read.
What makes it worse is i dont have long to make my mind up, buying the parts tomorrow morning. Budget £335 quid, £340 TOPS.
Regarding power supplies a decent 400W should be enough for your build!
My primary desktop is a Shuttle SD37P2 SFF with a 975X Crossfire motherboard,a Q6600,4GB of DDR2, a pair of SATA hard disks,an HD4830, an IDE DVD rewriter and an internal card reader.
I am running this off a 400W PSU!
I assume you want to avoid using Aria as much as possible?? :p
The case is on Scan Today Only as well as the fans:
http://www.scan.co.uk/todayonly/
The RAM will run in single channel as you need a pair of DIMMs for dual channel but it should not be a major issue in this case.
I suspect you want to avoid MSI too on the motherboard front so the motherboard looks OK.
The CPU looks fine as Scan has run out of cheap X3 425 processors it seems.
Have you considered going for a DDR2 based build at all??
Here is comparison of an HD5670 and a 8800GT underclocked to the same clockspeeds as the 9800GT Green Edition:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...70,2533-6.html
I dont mind aria..its an extra 30mins ish to get there, it stinks and the service is CRAP, i mean terrible. IF i have to go then i will, but its so much easier to just go to scan (when they dont have me waiting 40mins for them to get my goods).
Is it worth doing DDR2 build now ? Given the price of DDR2 memory against ddr3..., i would happily use MSI as they have seem to have sorted things out over the years and arent too bad now, but i cant see any MATX MSI AM3 boards on there. If ive been told to spend £335-£340, i might aswel spend it all and get the best performing system i can for her.
There is this 785G based motherboard for a few quid more:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/MSI-7...Board-Graphics
I would stick with the Corsair PSU if you feel more confident about it. It is made by Seasonic so it should be a solid unit AFAIK.
The 785G is mATX though?? It does cost more than the Asus but has more RAM slots.
BTW, you did see this comparison between an HD5670 and a 8800GT underclocked to a 9800GT Green Edition:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...70,2533-6.html
If i bought everything from scan :
AM3 240
Asus mobo
coolermaster 341 case
coolermaster led fan
2gb 1333
9800gt green
corsair psu
dvd-rw
WD blue 320gb
It comes in at £347.77 :(.
Is it including the Today Only offers??
Does the build need to be mATX??
What about the following:
Coolermaster Elite 330 ~ £23
http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx
MSI 770-C45 ~ £49
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/MSI-7...dio-GB-LAN-ATX
AMD Athlon II X2 245 ~ £49
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AMD-A...che-65W-Retail
2GB Corsair 1333MHZ DDR3 RAM ~ £45
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/2GB-C...d-CAS-9-9-9-24
Akasa 120MM fan ~ £4
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/120mm...value-case-fan
SATA DVD rewriter ~ £15
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Samsu...SATA-Black-OEM
512MB Gainward 9800GT Green ~ £81
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512MB...112-Cores-HDMI
320 GB Western Digital WD3200AAJS Caviar Blue ~ £34
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/320-G...8MB-Cache-9-ms
400W Corsair CMPSU-400CXUK Power Series PSU ~ £39
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/400W-...-year-warranty
The total cost of the build comes to £339.16! If you get the X2 240 the build will cost £336.95 which means you could probably get the HD4850 512MB within the £340 budget. The only problem is that you need to go to Aria!! :p OTH, you could also get the Samsung hard disk from there too:
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Compo...roductId=33292
Edit!!
You maybe able to get one of the Coolermaster 120MM case fans instead:
http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx
I cannot say how noisy the build will be though.
Hmm, see..if i ended up going to aria, i could get the 4850 and the OCZ PSU, so would save a tenner on the PSU.
But man, if you have ever been..it smells like off socks. Scan really dont seem to have much choice in the way of GPU's in stock. And the Today Only offers are pretty crap today too. Hmmm
Aria also have the 320GB F1 and the 500GB F3 in stock too.
They even have the X3 425 for £54 but I would get the RAM,motherboard and CPU from the same place as it is better in case you have a DOA or any issues.
Some of the "eco" 9800gt (ie the bus powered ones) are reduced clock speed, however the gainward isn't one them, it's the same as a full 9800gt.
These cards manage bus power only by using the g98b, which is a die shrunk version of the original g98, add to that is improved voltage regulation and reduced clock speeds & voltage when idle.
Umm check the AAJS I'm pretty sure the AAJS are dual platter, it's the AAKS that are single platter
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/500-G...MB-Cache-89-ms (500gb is cheaper than the 320gb ;) )
On PSU, personally I'd generally rate FSP over CWT however it will depend on the model.
CWT have made some right stinkers in the past, still better than your el-cheapo though.
That OCZ stealth 400w for £30 is a great price.
I'd not get that cheap £82 4850 from aria if it's the card they show, namely the rather badly cooled xfx 4850, the £88 one should be far better esp for noise http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Compo...roductId=38524 that pic is the one from powercolor if I remember correctly, same cooler they use on t PCS+ version.
ALso spoted on aria http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Compo...roductId=39374
Sapphire 5670 £70 ;)
or 9800gt OC (not a bus only card)
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Compo...roductId=39583
Gonna try and avoid aria guys, strictly for the facts that it stinks, and the service is crap, luckily i havent had to return anything yet, nor would i want to !.
I think the GPU will be that gainward 9800GT green edition from scan.
Is there any difference in the am3 240/245 cpu's ? apart from the 240 runs a multiplier of 14 whereas the 245 runs 14.5 (to gain that 100mhz higher clock speed).
As buying the 240 would save £3 or so lol
That is the only difference!
I think FSP makes some decent PSUs but some of the recent efforts have been a tad disappointing. It is primarily PSUs based around the FSP Epsilon platform which have been the main problem (some of the OCZ PSUs are based on them) and I was surprised that these units performed so poorly.
OTH, CWT seems to be more consistent in the last few years. Even Corsair uses them for some of their more expensive units such as the VX550W,HX850W and HX950W.