Build Advice Advice for my build

[DMU_Matt]

Hello,

I am an amateur when it comes to building my own computer, I have done it in bits and bobs before but not full-on put it all together from new parts from scratch. So basically I need a bit of advice and input as to which specific hardware I should include. I have done quite a bit of research and have comprised a draft list of hardware (mainly following guidelines in Custom PC magazine).

Let me know what you think of what I have chosen so far and what case I should go for as that is my most unsure thing. (also keep in mind my budget isn't massive...I am lookin for a total in the realms of £200-£300

MB - MSI 770-C45
CPU - AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition
Fan - OCZ Vendetta 2
PSU - 500W OCZ ModXStream Pro
RAM - Corsair TWIN3X2048-1333C9 2x1GB DDR3

NVidia gfx card and seagate HDD are already sorted.

So....yeh, need suggestions on a case and also comments and suggestions about my selection.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Matt

[Rotcrack]

Hi Matt,

Before I can help you I need to ask you some questions,

Are you going to be doing any overclocking at all?

Are you looking to upgrade this build later on?

Do you want a good looking case or a functional one?

End of questions!

The parts you have got together all look fine but you may want to ask some other people... :P

Rotcrack

PS: Welcome to our friendly community of geeks.

[DMU_Matt]

Hi Rotcrack,

Cheers for the welcome

To answer your questions:

1) I want the option to overclock potentially as I am intending to leanr more about it later on and do it if I feel confident enough (if that makes sense... :P )

2) With regards to upgrading later on.... again I would like the potential to as I want it to be semi future proof after putting the money and effort into it.

3) I want to balance as best I can looks with functionality when it comes to the case, but over all I want my system to be quiet and reliable.

Cheers for your help, and let me know what you suggest.

Matt

[barndoor101]

i can see rotcrack recommending the x3 (if he continues his habit)

i have a personal preference for the titan fenrir, shouldnt be much more than the vendetta, and might help a bit more with OC.

antec 300 for the case

and id be tempted to get 4gb ram not 2, that way you can double to 8 in the future instead of limiting to 4-6.

[barndoor101]

and the titan is 30 quid from overclockers

crap forgot the PSU - yours looks ok though.

[Rotcrack]

Matt,

As Barndoor says I am a x3 junkie when it comes to balancing performance with price, but I believe it may be too expensive for this build.

The Antec 300 is the perfect case for this build but it may be a bit NOISY!

Keeping to your Budget I would recommend the below:

Case = Antec 300 (Good value as it is large enough for all but server systems) £40

Processor = Phenom II x2 550 BE (Cheap and cheerful) £75

(This is where I disagree with Barndoor101)

Mobo = Gigabyte GA-MA790XT-UD4P (Unlock the extra cores in the X2 & future proof AM3) £95

RAM = 2GB Corsair DDR3 PC3-1060 (Buy two if you want) £35 for one 2GB stick

PSU = 500W Silverstone Strider £50

Total = £295

(Most prices of Scan.co.uk except Case and processor of ebuyer)

Rotcrack

[DMU_Matt]

Ok so if I understand this all correctly we are all agreed on the following...

Case: Antec 300
CPU: Phenom BE
RAM: Some form of 2gb stick as opposed to multiple 1gb for future proofing
Fan: Fenrir? I agree I should replace the ocz with this one (I was being a little too cheap :P )

Now the things up for debate still are:

PSU and the Mobo.

Rotcrack, in your opinion what makes the PSU and Mobo you have suggested better than the ones already picked. I am mainly thinking about the mobo here as the prices don't vary too much from what my original pick was (for the PSU) but that mobo is about £40 up and that is a bit less appealing.

Now I noticed you did do a bit of explaining why it is better but it is probably due to my rather lacking knowledge of CPUs that made my eyes go a bit crossed when I tried to understand the benefits.

Cheers again guys for putting the time to this, it is very appreciated.

Matt

[Rotcrack]

Matt,

The processor that we have all but agreed on (Phenom II x2 550 BE) is actually a quad core processor with two core disabled so that AMD can sell at a lower price.

Now using the motherboard I selected you can unlock those extra two cores in the BIOS options. This means that your processor would be significantly faster.

Rotcrack

[DMU_Matt]

Well, that does sound very tempting indeed.

Would you possibly be able to explain to me how I would activate these 2 extra cores in the BIOS please?

Once I have got that sorted I think I am pretty much set.

Price was a little higher in the end than I was hoping but for what I am getting, and for that little tip about the 2 extra cores, it is well worth it.

Matt

[Rotcrack]

Matt,

I have a present for you here.

Enjoy it

Rotcrack

[barndoor101]

bear in mind that the other 2 cores may not work - they are disabled for a reason. However, sometimes you get lucky and they work perfectly. or you might get 1 extra core and have a x3. so it isnt a dead cert you will get to unlock the extra cores.

[Rotcrack]

Matt,

I have found an even better motherboard at a cheaper price. Biostar TA790GX A3+ MAke sure that you choose the A3+ motherboard if youre thinking of buying it as that allows it to use DDR3 memory. £82

Barndoor is correct but out of about 100 unlocks only 7 of them failed both cores, 10 failed one core.

Rotcrack

[DMU_Matt]

ok, couple more things...

Firstly, barndoor101, would you say it isnt worth the 'risk' (for want of a better word) and just save the £45 and stick with MSI?

Also, to Rotcrack, on that site you kindly linked me to it mentions success with the MSI board that was originally picked :-

('770-C45 – 1.3 Offical Bios/1.3B2 Special Bios – SUCCESS!!/SUCCESS!! *Thanks Edgemeal*').

So my point is, is it worth the extra money to go for the giga mobo when the MSI seems to offer the same potential advantage?

Sorry for bleeting on about the same thing like some mad sheep stuck on loop, but I like to be sure

Matt

[Rotcrack]

Matt,

For the MSI board it says it uses a special/official BIOS, ie. it may need a modded bios. It depends whether you want to go through the motions of downloading the BIOS and discovering its malware etc. etc. By all means go with the MSI, its just not the official bios that supports core unlocking.

Rotcrack

[DMU_Matt]

Originally Posted by Rotcrack

Matt,

I have found an even better motherboard at a cheaper price. Biostar TA790GX A3+ MAke sure that you choose the A3+ motherboard if youre thinking of buying it as that allows it to use DDR3 memory. £82

Barndoor is correct but out of about 100 unlocks only 7 of them failed both cores, 10 failed one core.

Rotcrack

Out of interest, when you say 'better' were you meaning due to value for money? 'cos when comparing that to the giga mobo you mentioned previously it doesn't look as good and I was close to convinced I should go for the giga board.

Matt

Edit: Also I understand what you mean about the MSI core unlocking...it would be a bit of a ball-ache if I had to go down the road of downloading unsupported BIOSs

[barndoor101]

Originally Posted by DMU_Matt

Out of interest, when you say 'better' were you meaning due to value for money? 'cos when comparing that to the giga mobo you mentioned previously it doesn't look as good and I was close to convinced I should go for the giga board.

Matt

Edit: Also I understand what you mean about the MSI core unlocking...it would be a bit of a ball-ache if I had to go down the road of downloading unsupported BIOSs

flashing a BIOS is fraught with danger even at the best of times - only do it if you have to.

so it might pay to get the more expensive MB simply so you dont have to do it. Nothing worse than bricking a piece of kit you just bought.

Also, the Biostar MB that rotcrack found is a better chipset than the MSI so you potentially have better performance, and i imagine it would overclock better too.

With any board, there is no 'risk' in trying to unlock extra cores, if it works, yay for you, if it doesnt, tough (lol). Its like when i did my build - i could have got a core i7 with a VID of 1.3 but instead i got one at 0.8 which makes the overclocking much easier. its just like dirty harry. Do you feel lucky?

[DMU_Matt]

ok, so you sayin I should go for the Biostar one or the slightly more expensive gigabyte one?

[Rotcrack]

Yes, the Biostar is best for unlocking and a good board for everything else for its price.

While the Gigabyte is better at general things its not so good at core unlocking and is more expensive.

[barndoor101]

flicking through the sept issue of custom pc (you are so lucky i happen to have this on my desk lol) it says that the biostar doesnt overclock as well as the gigabyte, the biostar get 78%. the gigabyte OCs well and gets 83%.

so all things being equal id say go for the gigabyte. might have to have a few meals of beans on toast though

[DMU_Matt]

ok, thanks for your help.

One more thing (I hope.... :P ):

I have been looking into this biostar mobo and I notice 'crossfire' mentioned a lot. Now from what I can gather it is to do with dual gfx, but my question is..... A) whether my NVidia 7 series card would work fine with it with no complaints, and B) How would I then sort out this crossfire ability if I was to purchase another card later on down the line to use in conjuncture with the previous card to save wasting it.

Matt