Computer Upgrade

Metallica17

Metallica17

New Member
So I want to upgrade the computer I have now as much as possible. I want to keep it under $400. I want to get a motherboard, processor, and ram. I'm thinking about getting this motherboard-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131595

This processor-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727

And this ram-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166

If anyone has anything better or sees anything wrong with this setup, please tell me. Thanks.
 
There is nothing wrong with that combination, but if I were going to buy a motherboard, AM3 CPU, and ram I would go with an motherboard that supports DDR3. The price difference between DDR3 and DDR2 is minimal, so I would aim for the later standard. A quick look showed this motherboard with similar specs at a similar cost.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131609

I tend to buy the cheapest memory modules as I do not overclock, so I wont guess at the best 2x2G DDR3 set.

Andrew
 
toolcrib said:
There is nothing wrong with that combination, but if I were going to buy a motherboard, AM3 CPU, and ram I would go with an motherboard that supports DDR3. The price difference between DDR3 and DDR2 is minimal, so I would aim for the later standard. A quick look showed this motherboard with similar specs at a similar cost.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131609

I tend to buy the cheapest memory modules as I do not overclock, so I wont guess at the best 2x2G DDR3 set.

Andrew
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Alright thanks toolcrib.

Just to check, would this ram be good for the motherboard that toolcrib suggested?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277
 
$10 more than what you posted up initially, but much better:

motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128443

8xx chipset, so sata 6 and usb 3 .'. potentially faster than the one you picked out with SATA 3 and usb 2, and more futureproof, as well as a heck of alot more features. Will overclock better too and be more stable because the Gigabyte has 10 phase, rather than the 4 that the initial one has, the gigabyte can go crossfire, which the Asus can't. However, with that said, the SATA port layout isn't the best for trying to crossfire cards because the second card will overhang the ports, unless you get a single slot card, then you might be able to scrape it. But even then, crossfire and SLI are near useless

CPU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

same as a 965 chip, just clocked lower. If you want it at 965 speeds, go into the BIOS and raise the multiplyer by 1 (up to 17 from 16) and hey presto, you have yourself a 965. That is also the better chip as it has C3 stepping rather than C2, so can overclock much better should you wish to

Memory:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

pretty much best bang for buck memory out at the moment. If you can't afford the extra $10, kock the memory back to the 1333MHz Ripjaws which will then put you $5 over and won't be too much of a hit to performance, the memory should be able to overclock to 1600MHz pretty easy so long as your case has decent ventilation
 
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What "500W" psu is it...

Also, he probably has a microatx case.

Also metallica....read the rules and take a look at your sig, the OS specifically.
 
bomberboysk said:
What "500W" psu is it...

Also, he probably has a microatx case.

Also metallica....read the rules and take a look at your sig, the OS specifically.
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Even if it is cheap crap, because he is only running a 7200GT and 1 hard drive, I don't think it would matter really. Obviously, a higher quality one should be bought, but at the moment wouldn't be completely essential.
 
Aastii said:
Even if it is cheap crap, because he is only running a 7200GT and 1 hard drive, I don't think it would matter really. Obviously, a higher quality one should be bought, but at the moment wouldn't be completely essential.
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7300L:P Also, it does matter...poor ripple suppression will be a slow killer of components, especially when utilizing components with higher power draw than the OEM components.
 
bomberboysk said:
7300L:P Also, it does matter...poor ripple suppression will be a slow killer of components, especially when utilizing components with higher power draw than the OEM components.
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shhh I read it before posting and had it in my head that is what it was :P

either way, lets say he uses it for ~6 months before he can afford to get a new, better power supply, 6 months with less than perfectly clean power isn't going to hinder the life so much that the components will die before they aren't obselete
 
Aastii said:
shhh I read it before posting and had it in my head that is what it was :P

either way, lets say he uses it for ~6 months before he can afford to get a new, better power supply, 6 months with less than perfectly clean power isn't going to hinder the life so much that the components will die before they aren't obselete
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6 months is plenty of time for a poor power supply to kill components, especially the no name power supplies. As even some of the "decent" power supplies such as those from OCZ and FSP have less than ideal ripple suppression, but are still (barely) within atx spec.
 
bomberboysk said:
6 months is plenty of time for a poor power supply to kill components, especially the no name power supplies. As even some of the "decent" power supplies such as those from OCZ and FSP have less than ideal ripple suppression, but are still (barely) within atx spec.
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If you are unlucky, yes. Because that system will probably not even pull 300W, it won't be too much stress on it at all. I'm not saying I would be happy to have a no-name PSU inside my case, but it isn't as bad as saying you can run a 5850 and the system suggested in the thread on a 500W PSU, but then saying "this POS PSU is 500W, it must be able to power it" because that isn't the case.

What is here is similar to your prebuilt Dell's, HP's etc and they all run for years just fine. Obviously, they aren't the best, but I assume you know what I mean
 
Aastii said:
If you are unlucky, yes. Because that system will probably not even pull 300W, it won't be too much stress on it at all. I'm not saying I would be happy to have a no-name PSU inside my case, but it isn't as bad as saying you can run a 5850 and the system suggested in the thread on a 500W PSU, but then saying "this POS PSU is 500W, it must be able to power it" because that isn't the case.

What is here is similar to your prebuilt Dell's, HP's etc and they all run for years just fine. Obviously, they aren't the best, but I assume you know what I mean
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Like i said earlier, i would like to know what sort of 500W is in it, depending upon what it is i would be better able to see what sort of system it would be even semi capable of powering.

Also, as far as dell's, the psu's in them arent the best, but they are better than you would find in other systems(many make use of psu's oem'ed by delta). HP on the other hand using mostly bestec units....my god those are terrible and i've seen plenty of them fail without the user doing anything even slightly system intensive.
 
bomberboysk said:
Like i said earlier, i would like to know what sort of 500W is in it, depending upon what it is i would be better able to see what sort of system it would be even semi capable of powering.

Also, as far as dell's, the psu's in them arent the best, but they are better than you would find in other systems(many make use of psu's oem'ed by delta). HP on the other hand using mostly bestec units....my god those are terrible and i've seen plenty of them fail without the user doing anything even slightly system intensive.
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I'm not vouching for them, they are crap to say the least and I too have seen so many go within the first year or two, however, I have seen so many more last for years without having problems. They may be piles of crap, but if they aren't stressed too much, they will be ok. Not great, and I still wouldn't ever ever use one though
 
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