Hello everybody! this is my first post. Advise from the pros and knowledgeable are needed. PC ability / efficiency 1.PLAY GAMES! COD4,Fallout 3, supreme commander and eventually crysis at 1920 x 1200 reso n high quality 2.Heavy decoding converting and making videos. 3.Compiling VB.net 4.Watch HD bluray later on with Blu ray player. 5.Slightly Future prof it by at least 3 - 4 years I'm putting off the Video card untill prices drops, i have more cash or 5870 40nm less power and less heat. Relying on 790GX IGP for old games WC3 , CSS ,DII (dont laugh plz) I trust HD 3300 could fill in this gap for awhile at 1280 x 1024 resolution. Plan A = Quad Core 3GHZ 8mb L3 cache,Add GPU later Pros :Rival Q6600 intel above Cons: expensive by adding GPU card later on , low IGP for now Plan B = Dual Core Athlon OC 3GHZ 1mb L2 cache ,Palit HD 4850 Pros :Good Graphics, inexpensive Complete set up now Cons: Dual Core ,Low overall system power PLAN A MOBO : GA-MA79G-DS4H CPU : Phenom II 940 x4 3GHZ RAM : Kingston Hyper-X DDR2 PC2-8500 , 1066MHZ 2X2GB PSU : AcBel E2 510W HDD : Seagate SATA-II 500GB 32MB 7200RPM GPU : IGP HD 3300 , much later HD 4800 series PLAN B MOBO : GA-MA78G-S2H CPU : Athlon 5050e 2.6ghz 2x512mb L2cache RAM : Kingston Hyper-X DDR2 PC2-6400 2X2GB PSU : Same HDD : Same GPU : Palit HD 4850 Items on Hand Optical Drive :BenQ DVD/CD combo writer IDE LCD : Acer P20W Casing : Old ATX junk OS : Vista Ultimate Box , 32 & 64 bit I'm on a Budget But i don't like to upgrade too often so i'm putting my eggs in one basket.Gonna try to save up for GPU card and Water cooling parts to OC. Questions 1.Which Plan? help any advise or Cash is appreciated(j/k on the cash part) 2 .Is the PSU good?cuz it's not listed on certified ati/amd approved PSU. 3.Is the IGP HD 3300 playable for CSS,WC3 at 1280 x 1024 resolution high quality 4.Any things i need to skimp to save money? 5.Is 5050e going to bottle neck the HD 4850? Any input is greatly appreciate , the magnitude of this decision is paramount to the existance of the new pc on my desktop
Only a short post, but if you are intending on running Crysis + high res / high quality, I'd wait until you have the money for some serious GFX. The GTX285 is the most powerful graphics card out there now, but ridiculously expensive. Meanwhile, you can probably get a 1GB 4870 for <£200 if you search hard enough. Alternatively, the GTX295 if you fancy going the double core route, but if your budget only extends to a 4850 right now, I'd say keep saving. Also, if you want a top-end graphics card (especially one with 2 processors) you'll probably want a bigger power supply, e.g., Corsair HX620, or for 'future-proofing' (read: CrossFire or SLI) you could go for the HX1000, so you can stick any number of cards in there later for quick easy upgrades (when prices come down). Also, it might be worth investing in a case with more airflow if you have some serious graphics going on. Edit: not quite such a short post now, but I'd say the Phenom II right now is a good choice, as they fit AM3 sockets (unreleased as of yet) so you can upgrade motherboard later without having to upgrade processor, then upgrade processor say a year later.
On a short reply(going to work soon) Is investing in a good PSU really worth it?most PSU now come with OverVoltage and OverCurrent protection. How long can a good PSU last? Capacitor aging sucks, hate to throw away a US$200+ PSU
Its not the overvoltage and overCurrent protection thats key, its the crap ampage output. Most cheap 500W PSU's struggle to put out 300W on a good day.
If you intend to do video work the Phenom II is a good choice. You may find the 920 is easier on the budget though or there will be a 910 (AM3) coming out soon. As pimonserry has said if you want to run games at high resolution, particularly Crisis, you will need a top of the line graphics card. Think 4870 X2. I would also go with a "name brand" PSU. A good 500W PSU will be fine for a single GPU but you will want 600W for a dual GPU set-up (crossfire or a x2 card). The Corsair VX450 may be worth a look for a single GPU otherwise something like the TX650 for a double GPU. Phenom II 920 and 940 will not fit into an AM3 motherboard. An AM3 Phenom II will fit into a AM2+ motherboard though.
I'd personally go the first route, but get a bigger PSU as said above. PC Power and Cooling makes good ones that are quiet, easily put out their advertised wattage, and are generally very good. I'd suggest a MINIMUM of 650w, but 750w wouldn't be bad if you ever think you might get another video card, will run a bunch of HDDs, or will overclock everything to the max. As far as video cards go, you will need something pretty powerful. Another thing you'll need to take into account is that if you're currently using an AGP card, you probably won't be able to use it in a new system because the motherboard probably won't have an AGP slot - just PCI-Express and PCI. I guess my ultimate suggestion to you would be to keep using what you've got for as LONG as you can, and keep saving. Prices keep dropping, new stuff keeps getting released. If you can wait 4-6 months to upgrade, you'll pay less and get more. In the end, you really don't want to go "cheap" on anything if you want it to be futureproof, especially in the 3-4 year range. A good PSU will last you quite a while, so don't go cheap because you think it doesn't matter. With computer parts, you usually get what you pay for (if its cheap, there's usually a reason!) This ended up being a longer post than I thought it would hehe. To sum up! Save, don't skimp, power is your friend.
A 500W PSU will be perfectly fine for that build (must be good quality though). Even a Corsair CX400 (~50€ here in Finland) would be enough! Computers really don't use that much power. No dual card configuration with that one though, but budget builds don't have that anyway. My system with an OC'd quad, a 4870 and two HDDs uses about 340W from the wall on full load.
Plan A. It is a much better idea to buy quality parts one by one, then to buy half-assed stuff all at once. Plan B has no futureproofing, burns up all your cash, and you still don't have the rig you really want! Hmm, tough question. Assuming you are going for plan A, it's good enough for now. I'm also running OC'ed quad + 4870 + 3 HDDs on a 500W PSU, but mine is an absolute quality part. I'm not sure about yours, so you might have issues. Advice: keep it for now, upgrade together with the GPU. The games you list should all work fine. I can play Mass Effect om an integrated HD3200. However, i'd opt for a secondhand card for around 40 pound, you should be able to score a 2900XT or similar for that, and that will get you much better results!. Definately RAM. Get PC-6400, you will not notice the difference in real world performance. I have no clue Generally i'd say it depends on the game you use. Seriously though, do not go for plan B
Thanks Stig There's a reason why i cant keep using what im using. my Pentium4 rig 1.8GHZ AGP x 4 geforce 5500 is dead im using an ancient pentiumIII 497MHZ donated by my friend to research for new PC specs I think i'll go for the first RIG with phenomII and rough it out till i saved more cash. Uping the PSU to a good 650Watt PSU and grit my teeth ANTEC TruePower Trio 650W ATX Power Supply! hope this is a good PSU in the long run Upgrade Casing Shortly followed by an eagle eye on GPU card price drop or ATI HD 5870! native dual core GPU!! Thanks for the advice everyone really help clear my mind
