NEW mobo/cpu/gfx 64bit system on a BUDGET of 150gbp!

[keef247]

not sure mate...
prosessor says:Important: Intel's new Core 2 Duo are only compatible with Intel 975X, 965 Chipset based motherboards. Please check your motherboard for compatibility.

Mobo says: Chipset: VIA PT880
oh and will my "Tagan TG500-U25 500W ATX2.0 Dual Engine Silent SLi Compliant Silent PSU"
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acata...r_Supplies.html
do core2?

[imroberts]

VERY Slightly over-budget....

AMD Athlon 64 3000 + Socket939 - £48

256MB ASUS 7300GT Silent - £58

Abit KN8 SLi - £66

Or keep the ATI card and go with this motherboard instead...

Asrock 939DUAL-VSTA - £40

Also looking for a cheap upgrade path for my aging XP2500+

How would that 7300GT compare performance-wise to a 9800 Pro?

Also, I have lots of high quality PC2700 RAM in my current system... would there be any problems running, say, an A64 XP3500+ with the memory clocked at 266?

[shaithis]

Both will be fine.

You can get many different chipsets that support C2D, the only difference really over PentiumD compatability is a new voltage regulator.....if it has that, your golden and I beleive that board does.

PSU is more then capable as well.

[DanceswithUnix]

not sure mate...
prosessor says:Important: Intel's new Core 2 Duo are only compatible with Intel 975X, 965 Chipset based motherboards. Please check your motherboard for compatibility.

Anandtech did a set of three reviews using Core 2 on this board comparing DDR vs DDR2 memory, general memory performance and AGP vs PCIe on this board (result is it only has a 4x PCIe interface on its 16x connector so it is slightly slower than AGP).

It is not the fastest board on the planet, but it is flexible and cheap.

[shaithis]

Also looking for a cheap upgrade path for my aging XP2500+

How would that 7300GT compare performance-wise to a 9800 Pro?

Also, I have lots of high quality PC2700 RAM in my current system... would there be any problems running, say, an A64 XP3500+ with the memory clocked at 266?

The 7300GT will be a tad slower.....shouldn't be much tho.

If you want to step up from there, there is the 7600GS @ £70+, with the next step up again starting from £100 (7600GT or X800GTO2)

[imroberts]

The 7300GT will be a tad slower.....shouldn't be much tho.

If you want to step up from there, there is the 7600GS @ £70+, with the next step up again starting from £100 (7600GT or X800GTO2)

It's only the 128mb 9800 Pro, you reckon it will still be quicker than the 7300GT? If so, I may as well just upgrade with an ASRock mobo and XP3500+ for ~£100

[DanceswithUnix]

Not all 7300GTs are the same, the clock speeds can differ wildly and the quick ones come with GDDR3 memory. A fast 7300GT is faster than a 6600GT, but most are not.

I can't back this up with benchmarks (the cards are quite different eras) but I bought a 6600GT some time back in preference to a 9800 pro due to performance. The 7600GS is about the same as a 6600GT.

So a newer card gets you pixel shader 3 and more memory which is only just starting to become important. For more performance you are looking at over 100 quid.

[keef247]

Anandtech did a set of three reviews using Core 2 on this board comparing DDR vs DDR2 memory, general memory performance and AGP vs PCIe on this board (result is it only has a 4x PCIe interface on its 16x connector so it is slightly slower than AGP).

It is not the fastest board on the planet, but it is flexible and cheap.

thanks for a thorough and helpful post mate.especially the links.helps alot as the ddr issue was toying with me... i was thinking that i'd have to get ddr2 but apparently not so.cheers for clearing this up.i am really tempted... think I'll get this next month but not too sure...

[owen1978]

The 7300GT will be a tad slower.....shouldn't be much tho.

If you want to step up from there, there is the 7600GS @ £70+, with the next step up again starting from £100 (7600GT or X800GTO2)

Get the 7300GT with DDR3 from savastore and overclock it = 7600GT performance

http://www.savastore.com/productinfo...rreviews&pid=0

Not in stock though (u should wait, best bang for the buck)

[FInalD]

To be honest Keef you'd be better off waiting a month and seeing how much money you have then.
If you want a decent CPU, RAM, Grahpics as you've seen £150 isn't ideal, but if you could get like £300 by next month you should be able to get an E6300/E6400 a mobo (don't know much about conroe compatability tbh) and something like an X1800XT (can't get them from scan but OcUK have them for about £160ish and they are good cards.

FinalD

[keef247]

yeah thats what I'm considering at the moment...

[DanceswithUnix]

Get the 7300GT with DDR3 from savastore and overclock it = 7600GT performance

I think you are rather over selling it there. It might be the same G73 silicon as the 7600GT, but 4 of the 12 pipes are disabled plus a vertex unit. Only the memory interface is 7600GT speed (though admittedly that does help).

[FatalSaviour]

Just built a PC for my mother using the Asrock 775 DUAL-VSTA with a E6300 at the moment and it's running beautifully. ATM I'm using 2gigs of nice and fast Geil 800MHz DDR2 RAM, but have tried it with 1 gig of high quality Patriot PC3200 DDR Ram and it still runs like a dream.

This solution is what I'd recommend, as a 7300GT isn't going to be much faster than you're current 9800 Pro, so you're almost wasting money there...

The PCIe slot is limited to 4x on the board, but there's a good review on Anandtech, and the AsRock board is not too far off the benchmark scores being pulled in by the other boards, even when using high-end cards, and it certainly doesn't make much difference when using a lower spec card like the 6600GT in Mum's PC.

HTH