Compatibility of Motherboard with Hard Drive

U

Ultra Sonic0

New Member
I am in the process of choosing parts for a relatively fast PC that is capable of running most of the latest games but not a huge gamer rig, partly because i cannot afford the prices of those things and partly because i don't play enough games to make it worth the money. Unfortunately i have run into difficulties as far as the compatibility of my chosen motherboard is concerned and i was hoping if someone who knows what they are doing could look at the specs in more detail and let me know (particularly the connection type between the two) Also, if they are NOT compatible, are there any suggestions for alternatives? (price range 50 pounds and under)

My motherboard is the: Intel DG41MJ Intel G41 (Socket 775) Motherboard
I am buying from here: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/...75allchipsetmotherboards/intel/blkdg41mj.html

My hard drive is the: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 16MB Cache Hard Drive SATAII 300MB/s <8.9ms 7200rpm - OEM
I am buying from here: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/...sata500gbto1tb/westerndigital/wd5000aaks.html

My case is the : Novatech Panther Micro-ATX Case
I am buying from here: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/cases/cases/novatech/nov-panther.html
-Please make sure that any alternative hard drives (and this one!) fit inside the chosen case.

Please note that i am settled as far as the motherboard is concerned and DO NOT want and alternatives for that part of the computer. Only hard drive suggestions please, preferably from the same site for ease of purchase.
Website: (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/?gclid=cojl3qec0aucfvaf4qod2bgcjg)

Thanks for your help
 
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For some reason for me those links are broken But that mobo will support that hard drive hard drive is sata and the mobo has sata i'm not sure if it has sata II or not the intel site implies that it doesn't which means that it will run at sata I speeds but still work.
You are aware that that mobo one has a conventional pci slot available meaning that a gpu upgrade is basically out of the question and hence gaming really wont be all that possible except on old games and the newer ones at really low quality if your lucky.
There are better options if your open to a diff mobo.
Do you alreadly have the cpu and ram?
 
Yes, i do have a CPU and RAM they are shown below and i do have a very basic knowledge as far as they are concerned but graphics and the like are a mystery to me so please. Why would my PCI slot be insufficient? Ok, so i can only have 1 graphics card, but so long as it is a good one surely it would function fine...?

RAM (x2): Novatech 2GB (1x2GB) DDR2 PC2-6400C5 800MHz Single Channel Kit
Links: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/...essors/intelcore2quad/intel/bx80580q8400.html

CPU:Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 4 x 2.66Ghz 4MB Cache 1333 FSB Quad Core Processor
Links:http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/...essors/intelcore2quad/intel/bx80580q8400.html


Thanks for your help so far
 
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You need a mobo with a pci express slot, preferably 2.0 i dont think they've made even a half decent pci card for years.

i cant get on the novatech website even the homepage

but this is one is on ebuyer for 36 pounds


http://www.ebuyer.com/product/161966

since you alreadly cpu and ram This has what you need and is from one of the best mobo companies around it is also m atx
 
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That looks like a great idea Thanks for that it looks like the perfect thing. but the hard drive DOES run on SATA II does that mean the motherboard in incompatible? But i would like to know (assuming that i DID get a good graphics card to go with this and plenty of RAM, over clocking and the like) DOES this system in general have the potential to run "good games"? In short, how good is this rig?

P.S. From what i have read, over clocking various parts of your computer is now relatively safe with good cooling systems, what are your veiws? IS it worth looking into? Or is the system better left as it is?

Thanks so much for your help again
 
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4 Gb of ram, i notice you have 2gb that should be fine for a while but you may want to upgrade and core 2 quad will be fine all games and i doubt you will have any problems, the quad may be a bit old but it is still very good for what it is.
If you got a good gpu say the current flagship from nvidia, the Gtx 580, you will be able to play all games on max settings.

Two things to note however, if you get a good gpu make sure your psu can handle it and due to the Micro atx size of the mobo and case before you buy a gpu make sure it will fit.

As for overclocking there is always a risk but in more recent years it has become safer. A lot of people on this forum have overclocked well using stock cooling even my motherboard for my Pentium 4 has safety features that will shut it down if there is any danger of damage.
The reviews for the motherboard i linked show people have overclocked on that board.

It is worth looking into if you want to squeeze a bit of extra performance out of your cpu it is good but there are risks, i'd say if you test your new rig and you feel you need the extra go for it carefully, but with the c2q it should be fine for most things you throw at it.
 
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Thank you very much I would have been totally lost without your help. To summarise my purchase will consist of: (unless you advise otherwise)

1) Motherboard:Gigabyte GA-G41M-ES2L G41 Socket 775 VGA 8 Channel Audio MATX Motherboard

2) RAM: (2x) Novatech 2GB (1x2GB) DDR2 PC2-6400C5 800MHz Single Channel Kit

3) Hard Disk: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 16MB Cache Hard Drive SATAII 300MB/s <8.9ms 7200rpm - OEM

4) CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 4 x 2.66Ghz 4MB Cache 1333 FSB Quad Core Processor

5) GPU: SUS GeForce 210 Silent Low Profile 512MB GDDR2 HDMI/VGA/DVI PCI-Express - Retail with PhysX, CUDA & 3D Stereo

6) DVD Writer: Samsung S223C 22x DVD+/-RW SATA Black - OEM

7) DVD Reader: Novatech Black 16x Internal DVD ROM Drive SATA - OEM

8) Case Fan: Xilence Red Wing Quiet Fan - 80mm

9) CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 CPU Cooler

10) Power Supply: Novatech PowerStation Gaming 400W Silent ATX2 Modular Power Supply

11) Case: Novatech Panther Micro-ATX Case

12) Keyboard, Monitor ect...

Note: I have deliberately chosen a VERY basic graphics card which i will upgrade later depending on the games i choose to run on it so there is no need for an alternative suggestion unless that one will not work for some reason.

and thanks very much again you have helped me a very great deal with this, i couldn't have sorted it without you!
 
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^ You could probably get a Radeon 4350 or, ideally, a 5450 for about the same price as the Geforce 210. Both are more powerful....the 5450 much more so.

I see you've changed the mobo? Good choice on that, because the core 2 quad would not have worked on the one in the original post. Still wouldn't try overclocking on the new one, though...not with that wimpy vrm section.



edit: That power supply appears to be the same unit as the OCZ Fatal1ty 400w, so it's not "bad", but 400w isn't going to hold a lot of upgrades...a low-mid range gpu at best. Maybe a 5770.


Why are you only buying from Novatech? Their selection kind of sucks.
 
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Thank you for the advice, Novatech does in fact have the Radeon and i have changed that according to your advice. I actually changed the Mobo when Innercx pointed out that due to its terrible design and age it had a TOTAL inability to take a half-decent GPU.

In answer to the second point about the power supply, i am not a MASSIVE gamer so i may be able to get along as it is but as power supplys are so easy to change i reasoned that i would upgrade that along with the card IF it was needed.

I am only buying from novatech mainly for ease of purchase and reliability because i know they have:
1) a brilliant customer support team
2) Reliable delivery service (i want to assemble over xmas)
3)the ablilty to send ALL the components together so i don't have to go chasing various company's for different missing parts.
4) Relatively good prices and a nice discount to match on shipping

Thanks very much for the advice on my GPU, this has been a great help!

P.S. Is my power supply strong enough to accommodate the Radeon you have suggested or do i need to upgrade that if i take that instead of the Nivedia?
 
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Thanks very much for the advice. As i have said before i know a little about the basic workings of computers but that is not including power supply's and GPU's. The whole concept of building a computer is new to me (though i have read about it extensively) so no doubt in the next month or so there will be half a dozen questions on why my computer isn't working before it is finished...:D

Before i make the order there are, however a couple of things i wanted to ask about running the built computer...

1) Once i have constructed the computer and it starts to boot up, how do i get from there to installing my chosen OP (Windows 7-64 bit) and making it a "working" computer?

2) Would there be any argument for using 32bit rather than 64 bit Win 7?

3) Can windows 7 run older office programs? (2003) or would i need to upgrade?

4) Would the bit choice have any effect on my experience in gaming (positive or negative)

Thanks again to you and Innercx for your time in helping me!
 
np man :)

1) Put the disk in and boot from it. The motherboard should give you a few options as it's initializing...one of them will be a button you can press for a boot menu. (may be labeled differently, but it'll have something to do with "boot". From there it's pretty simple.

2) Nope, not really.

3) I don't see why not.

4) With 32 bit you can't use any more than ~3.2GB of RAM, so in that aspect, yes.
 
Thanks for that info, glad to hear i shouldn't have to shell out another 100 odd pounds for an office upgrade. the last thing is: Will windows 7 or the 32 bit/ 64 bit versions have any effect of the programs i can run? For example: could i only play games or run programs less than 2 years old on windows 7? or will everything run as before on XP?

Thanks Again!
 
You may run into an occasional problem with abandoned software, but for the most part you can run just about anything. I've only come across one peice of software that won't run, and I just use XP mode for it. (only win7 pro and up have that, though)

I was running Quake 3 Arena just fine a couple of weeks ago...it came out in 1999. :)
 
Yep. It was a program to control a Digitech GNX3000...an old digital guitar pedalboard.

Really though, there aren't very many compatibility issues at all.
 
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