Hi all (not posted here for a while!), Need some recommendations for a decent board and chip for under £100 all in. Must support DDR3 RAM. Will mostly be used for light office-type use, coding, and occasional gaming (FSX, GTA4, not really modern stuff). At the moment I am using a Gigabyte G31M-ES2L with an old Pentium Dual Core, one option was to upgrade to the G41MT-D3 with a newer model of Pentium Dual Core but it doesn't seem like I'll see much performance gain there. I've not looked at AMD stuff for a few years; is any of that better value for money? Going to be using this memory with it. I know you don't get much for that kind of money, but I was hoping someone could venture some decent suggestions!
Which old Pentium Dual Core do you have if i may ask? Are you planning on selling your board and cpu when you get your new stuff? The G41 Combo supports DDR3, and its about £39, leaving you with £61 for a new CPU. You can pick up a second hand Q6600 for that money. Just a thought.
Hi, I'm not too sure which Pentium Dual Core it is actually, I can find out for you. I'm not selling it - gonna use it to build a new machine for the wife. (And that also answer's MrBungle's idea - I'm not keeping it when I can get something better ) Not too sure about second hand stuff. So, I was looking at the AMD Phenom II. Specifications look pretty good on paper. Here's one possible combination: AMD Phenom II X2 555 (or possibly the 560?) Gigabyte M52LT-D3 (Can you tell I like Gigabyte stuff?) I know it comes in a bit overbudget, but hell, it's christmas. What do you reckon? I build PCs every week at work but it's been a while since I actually specced one up for performance on a budget. I have absolutely no clue what I'm looking for these days
Lol both your links point to the Gigabyte mobo. You really do love them don't you? There is no point staying with LGA775 for a new build. Its out of date. Having said that, i'm building three computers for family for Christmas, and they are all 775 and all use the GA-G31M-ES2l. Overclock the hell out of those pentium dual cores!!! I've got an E5200 myself. As for AMD, i'm not sure as i've never built a system using them, but they have started to look VERY appealing for budget builds, because i3/5/7 are still too hard on my budget. Second hand stuff is fine if you get it on the Bit-tech marketplace. Prices are generally good compared to ebay, and people on the forum usually take good care of their stuff.
Oops, sorry about that. Link fixed Hmm, I'll have to try and find some reviews of the AMD stuff. Hoping to order today but I don't want to make a mistake, especially as this has got to stand me in good stead at least until the next time I'm permitted to buy some new hardware Deders> X2 seems to be about my limit budget-wise. Maybe second hand is the way to go...
Might want to shop at Scan btw! You get free next day delivery because you belong to the forum. Good prices too!
Thanks for the tip Nealie. I actually live about 15 minute's drive from Scan so I don't really need free delivery - might well be worth having a look there though to see if they can offer me better prices than Misco! (Though we use Misco at work so we can get a discount from them sometimes). Anyone have any thoughts on that board and chip? Reasonable budget system, or a bit of a dog?
Scan's current prices on that combination are only be a couple of quid cheaper, if you can get a discount from Misco and free delivery then it is probably worth it. If you can unlock a third core on the AMD Phenom II X2 555 then it will definately be a better purchase than a dual core Pentium given your usage. A similarly priced dual-core G6950 will clock to 4GHz but the H55 motherboard will cost you more.
