I am currenting running a 1ghz Althon with ECS motherboard and 512mb PC133. I have a budget of about £200 and wonder what you think I could get for it. I do some games, web dev and watch loads of videos and music Thanks
just did a quick check on komplett, went a bit over budget but think it would be worth it: Abit NF-7 v2.0 (must be loads of threads on this board here, to tell you how good it is!!) 2 sticks of crucial pc2700 (good quality ram, at a good price, and seeing as youre on a budget it will work fine!!) barton 2500+ cpu (this pushed the budget over a bit, but i thought the odd ten quid over the normal thoroughbreds is worth it) all for 216odd pounds...
I think what flix has said is spot on. You could also look at twinmos ram, nice and cheap but mine is superb. you will also need a new sink for that barton. I'm running an alpha pal 8045 which was about £30 I think, plus the 80mm fan, but there is a thread around about which heatsink everyone uses, have a look in there and see what takes your fancy. Also the barton seems to overclock really easily. mine went straight up to 2.21 ghz without any tweaking (400fsb) Ive got an asus a7n8x deluxe which is an amazing board, but from what ive been hearing the nf-7 is the most popular at the moment.
indeed, dont forget your heatsink, and here again i will reccomend the alpha as from the poll you can see a lot of people still run it.... only difference between the abit and the asus, is that the asus is more expensive, has less overclocking features, but could be more stable...from past experience (and sig) you can see that i like my asus boards, and ussually spend the extra money to get them, but that is just me personally, and i have built rigs with the NF-7 and the A7N8X and their both great boards...
well for just under £200 you can get this from komplett AMD XP2600+2.083Ghz 512mbDDR Asus A7V8X mobo, PC2700,Fan,USB 2.0 here also doesnt the barton come with a HCF?
only if you buy it retail, but some may say that buying oem and then getting a decent hsf that will allow you to overclock, or that will be silent, is better than going for the retail sink. Obviously the oem is cheaper as well!
Most people would much rather the 2500+ barton over the 2600+. Overclocks far better it seems. Abit Nforce2 board is better than that one anyway.
Ok so I have decided on AMD Athlon XP2500+ 1.833 GHz 333 MHz bus £70.42 Socket A (Barton) processor, 512 kb. OEM Abit NF7 V2.0 Mainboard for Socket A DDR nForce2SPP/MCP/Ultra 400,ATX,USB2.0,LAN £70.11 £140 My parents have said they will get me the CPU. So I need to find about £60-£70 for the Motherboard. That will hopefully come from relatives money. Still needed RAM and HSF do I get some crucial pc2700 x2 sticks 256mb = 512mb This the right stuff Or do I get a 512mb stick and then get another when I can. Or get faster RAM 3200? EDIT: Just noticed that pc3200 is about the same price as pc2700 link Am I stupid and missing something? Or another brand? Will have a look at the other thread for the HSF and get back to you
get the 3200, even though the 2500 is meant to use the slower fsb speed, it clocks to 400 mhz so easily it would be daft to buy the slower stuff, Its also daft to buy a barton3200 when the 2500 will run at the same speed so easily
I was going to say all that, but you got here first I'll say it anyway: Don't skimp on ram, that XP2500 *should* hit 2.2Ghz with ease, but with crappy ram you got no chance.
Yeah I think I will go with PC3200. I want good stuff though that I'm able to o/c. So Should I go for crucial or something else e.g. corsair or something. HSF what does everyone think to the Thermalright SK-7. Its £20 and really haven't got the money for it but somethings in life you need like bread and water
Im running twinmos in my rig, its nice and cheap but is really good. Mine is the stuff with the winbond chips.
So whats this winbond? Is it just the type of chip? this stuff This the right stuff? I will probally just get 1x 256mb stick and then get another stick when I have the money.
if its at all cheaper, i would give crucial a go, especially if you could afford 2 sticks of 256mb...crucial ram has always been very clockable for me...and lasts a long time too!
Yeah. Crucial are in my budget to get 2x 256mb pc3200 sticks. My parents will hopefully bring up my CPU for my birthday then I will have to wait to see how much money I have. Then get the order sent to my home and wait till I come home from uni or my parents or girlfriend comes to see me. My halls at uni won't sign for parcels. Although ebuyer and some other people are in Sheffield.
