Forum Noob! - Needing new build advice

[Stey C]

Okay well seeing as a stick of memory has just gone down on me i think it made me realise that i could do with a full system upgrade seeing as ive been running the current system for over 5-6 year!

Current spec:
AMD Athlon 2.2GHz SINGLE CORE!! (standard cooler)
AsRock am2nf3-vsta Motherboard
ATI Radeon X850 AGP graphics card (amazing card 'back in't day!')
512mb DDR2 corsair value ram (other 512mb stick just went down)
Thermaltake Xaser III Case (weighs an absolute ton!)


Thinking of going with:
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition 3.4GHz
Corsair a70 Cooler
MSI 870A-G54 Motherboard
XFX HD 5870 Black Edition AMD / ATI Graphics Card 1GB
2 x 4 GB Corsair Vengence DDR3 ram

Now im not 100% sure on the above components yet, thats where i need advice/reviews or better alternatives to go with. Not really got a budget, just want a fairly high end system that will cope for a few years before upgrading again (this time i wont leave it as long... )

Could also do with some guidance on a PSU and maybe a new case, was looking at maybe a coolermaster centurion... bit more descrete than the thermaltake.

Ste

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

AMD Bulldozer is being launched in Q2 2011 around April or May AFAIK. Supposedly it will be shown at Cebit next month.

This will be the first fully new high end AMD CPU architecture since the Athlon 64.

Also,the AM3+ motherboards are being released in the next month or two and these will work with the current Phenom II processors and Bulldozer as well.

The current Sandy Bridge Core i5 processors are also quite fast but the socket 1155 motherboards currently have an issue with the SATA 2.0 controller. Intel will replace the socket 1155 motherboards sold so far but the replacements will only be available in the next month or two.

Edit!!

Once you get to 20 posts on Hexus you can get free postage from Scan:

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

The Phenom II X4 955BE is better value than the 965BE:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/amd-p...l-cache-retail

Both have an unlocked multiplier so you can easily increase the clockspeed of the Phenom II X4 955BE to that of the 965BE.

For the graphics card I would look at an HD6870 1GB since they are starting to drop in price to around £170 and below:

http://www.scan.co.uk/search.aspx?q=HD6870

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-x...dmi-2x-mini-dp

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/247611

At around the £200 to £230 range I would look at the HD6950 2GB or the GTX560TI 1GB.

[Stey C]

Thanks for the Info, the Free delivery will come in handy! Scan is only 10 mins down the road from me, but through the week i cant make it so i will definately be using the free delivery service.

With the new bulldozer coming out and the new mobo's would it be worthwhile waiting 2 months before buying? Phenoms may come down in price or i could get the bulldozer if they are reasonably priced.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I know your system is ageing but TBH if you can wait at least until the AM3+ motherboards are released then you have a better upgrade path.

BTW,what is the main use of the system??

[Stey C]

I could wait, im in no rush really... just ordered a Corsair XMS2 2GB to put me on... these speeds at the moment are diabolical!

Well mainly its just internet surfing, itunes and apps such as photoshop, office and other apps. Sometimes i can have all open at once. Also do some gaming but i do less and less lately due to the need for an upgrade, more than likely do more gaming once ive sorted out a new system, BC2, GTA IV, COD, Crysis Etc.

Ste

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

It seems that your motherboard will work with the Phenom II processors:

http://www.asrock.com/mb/cpu.asp?Model=AM2NF3-VSTA

The HT will be reduced in speed though.

[Stey C]

So it does! Didnt think it would being a fairly old board, not something ive ever checked. Think i will upgrade it anyway though as id like DDR3 support and overall a better spec board. The reason i put the MSI board in the list was due to OC genie which meant easy overclocking but this is available also on the ASUS boards. The am3+ boards may be worth the wait though so i think im going to hold out for a few month.

Cheers, Ste

[dfour]

You could easily get a cheap second hand am2 athlon duel core chip to tide you over until your upgrade as that could be a big difference to what you do on your rig.

[scaryjim]

If you fancy the idea of incremental upgrades you could get an Athlon II X3 for ~ £60 which will be a massive upgrade on your current single core. Then when AM3+ boards come out you could get one with some DDR3 RAM and drop your X3 into it for the mean time, getting a bulldozer CPU later on when you've saved up some more money. Hurrah for AMDs longevity plan If you had an Intel rig from the same period you'd have pretty much no upgrade path at all...

[Tattysnuc]

If you fancy the idea of incremental upgrades you could get an Athlon II X3 for ~ £60 which will be a massive upgrade on your current single core. Then when AM3+ boards come out you could get one with some DDR3 RAM and drop your X3 into it for the mean time, getting a bulldozer CPU later on when you've saved up some more money. Hurrah for AMDs longevity plan If you had an Intel rig from the same period you'd have pretty much no upgrade path at all...

You still wont! Assuming that your S1155 doesn't need more than 2 SATA ports, it'll be superceded next year if I've read right.

Ste - regarding your upgrade, I'd be tempted to upgrade your GFX card now, and buy your memory & improved cooler now, and then buy your new Bulldozer system when it comes out. At the very least you can overclock the nuts off it. I'd also try to get you to switch to a gtx 480 as they're on pre-order for <£200 at overclockers, but that's more for my own nefarious (folding) purposes...

[Pob255]

Upgrade graphics card for what? Stey C is on AGP not pci-e
She (I assume Stey C is female by the name, p.s. clever pun ) could try for a 2nd hand agp card but she'll be very limited and high end agp (ati HD3xxx series were the last agp cards) tend to go for quite a bit of money as they are fairly rare.

Personally I'd not wait for Buldozer if you need an upgrade asap just to make the machine usable, an AthlonII x3 or even x2 would be a good low cost option just to get you up and running.

I'd also check you hard drive, if you're still on IDE consider replacing that too, you can keep IDE as a data store drive but the difference between and older IDE and a sata drive is noticeable (unless it's on sata 1.5gbs when there's no difference at all)
Oh I just spotted you motherboard is, SATA 1.5 Gb/s,
That motherboard really is out of date.

You are looking at a near total system rebuild here

[Stey C]

Again, Thanks for the replies

as regards to the upgraded graphics and CPU for the current system, id rather not do that as it means throwing even more money into the old system.... oh and its AGP so the graphics card suggested wont work with the Mobo.

I think i could easily wait for the new bulldozer chip.... could also mean i could get a phenom much cheaper if they drop prices, thats if i dont go for the bulldozer

Ive also been looking at a Fractal Design Define R3 black pearl to house the new system as well as the XFX P1-650X-NLG9 XXX 650W Modular Power Supply.

Oh and as for the hard drive, ive just got a samsung 1tb spinpoint F3, but this isnt being used as of yet. (being saved for the new system)

Edit: an no i am not a female!

[Queelis]

Ive also been looking at a Fractal Design Define R3 black pearl to house the new system as well as the XFX P1-650X-NLG9 XXX 650W Modular Power Supply.

Edit: an no i am not a female!

Lovely case, that. Don't know about the PSU though.

And should've thought a bit harder before choosing a nick like that, does sound confusing

[Domestic_Ginger]

Pretty sure the PSU is a seasonic.

I would stick it out. Even if you only get a PII system; its going to be alot cheaper when Bulldozer arrives. AM3+ mobo and ram as soon as it arrives.

Without upgrading the GPU I think its pretty pointless in upgrading atm.

Now is a good time to buy DDR3 as its quite cheap. If you post prices of the components you are after people can offer alternatives.

[Biscuit]

I think if sandy bridge has taught us anything its that you shouldn't jump on a new platform straight away!

Just incase you don't know the full story; the large majority of sandybridge chipsets have been recalled due to a problem with the storage controller and have pretty much rendered the platform out of the game for the time being.

Personally, i will be waiting till even later in the year to do my upgrade (if i even do one) but if i where you i would just get the best of what you can get now and then play hear no evil see no evil

[Stey C]

If you post prices of the components you are after people can offer alternatives.

Just got back from scan now, went for the case for the new system .... have to start somewhere!

Fractal R3 Black Pearl

i could also do with a PSU... but i dont want to spend too much on one. Dont really know whats better than what.

The rest of the system is going to be bought around the time of bulldozer release to get the best deals i can. Il try and get a revised spec list up and people can give their opinions/alternatives

Cheers, Ste