Hi, I am new to this forum and I am in a bit of a pickle. I am using my standard Dell Studio Slim 540s as an all round computer at the moment, but now my brother has gone he has left me with his more powerful (but with older parts) custom PC that he made in late September 2008. I would like to get the best of both computers, so I think it would be a good idea to use parts from his older PC with my Dell. Budget: £50 of my own money plus some money I will get from trading useless parts and other spare computer parts I have found. Main uses of intended build: Internet browsing, school work, gaming, HD movie rendering. Monitor resolution: 1600x900 will you be overclocking: No. Hardware From the Dell Intel core 2 quad Q8300 @ 2.5 Ghz Weird Dell motherboard 0M017G P45/P43 Two modules of 2G DDR2 PC2-6400 by Hyundai and two modules of 1G DDR2 PC2-6400 by Nanya Unbranded Radeon HD 4350 dell slim case unbranded PSU @ about 300W Hardware from the custom PC Intel core 2 duo E8500 @ 3.16 Ghz Asus P5QL-E One module of 2G DDR2 CM2X2048-6400C5 (?) Corsair XMS2 Asus radeon HD 4850 Antec three hundred Corsair PSU @ 650W I will be using my own hard drive. Can any one tell me what parts I should use and the compatibility issues with all the wiring or the processors (if I use the Quad core) and anything else! I am willing to buy a few bits and bobs for about £50 + any money I can make off of the useless bits along with some other computer components I have found. In advance, thanks for helping me!
Im not too sure but I think that the Q8300 would be better for the HD video rendering, since its a quad. However if you game more then I think that the 8300 of your Brother's Pc would give you more oomph. I would definitely dump the dell case, and motherboard and keep the 4850 as you will need more power to make up for the lower clock speed of the quad ( if you go with it that is). Will you be overlocking? I would take the Antec 300 from your Brothers comp and Use the Corsair 650 as that should give you lots of future-proofing and overclocking headroom. Try and use as much of the ram as possible but I think the Ram runs at the speed of the slowest memory stick. What Os are you running?
It may sounds drastic but i have to say (since you want to be movie rendering) i, personally, would take the quad-core CPU from PC1 and use it in PC2 then sell everything else and use the money to get 8gb of ram and a 64-bit OS. There shouldn't be any compatibilty issues since the quad is listed as being supported by the P5QL-E since BIOS revision 905. 650W is plenty to power it and probably nicely stable being a Corsair PSU.
It's a topic that has come up many times, and there is much debate as to what is the best option for gaming. In my eyes, the answer is simple; go for the quad every time. Processors nowadays are fast enough for anybody, and certainly any gaming scenario around now. The dual core will generally show an advantage at lower resolutions; however, the framerates are usually so high that it is irrelevant. At higher resolutions, it becomes more GPU dependent; the difference usually isn't existent. Also, games are starting to make use of more than two cores. The other guys have given good advice here, Throbbi's suggestion of getting hold of matched memory is the way to go. Good idea would be to overclock the Q8200 as well. You will have to push the FSB pretty high, but the motherboard should be able to handle it fine.
Hey thanks guys. I am also running Windows Vista 64 Bit Sorry, I am quite new to PC building, but am I actually able to swap the processors so I can have the quad core in the Asus motherboard? I might also have to have two working computers at the end, but I will respond for certain at the end of the week after my holiday is over. Sorry for complicating matters even more, but if I have to, it will be for basic word processing and internet browsing. Thanks again!
Yes. What I would buy is some new Thermal Interface Material (TIM), also known as thermal paste, along with a cleaning solution such as arcticlean. You'll need to clean the heatsinks and processors with the arcticlean, and then re-apply new TIM when you remount the heatsinks. There's a hotly-debated article on bit somewhere about the best method, but to save confusion just follow manufacturers instructions. I'd also take the RAM from the Dell, and use it in the Asus board - with 6Gb RAM, you can most likely turn off your pagefile, which should improve performance a bit too.
As an after-thought definitely get the Quad-core and spend the 50 quid on a Titan Fenrir, or a Gelid tranquilo with an after-market fan and overclock that chip. There are plenty of socket 775 overclocking tutorials on the net to help you if you do decide to go this route.
I'm fairly sure keeping the page file is a good idea now matter how much RAM you have. Moving it to a different HDD will improve performance though
Definitely keep the Corsair PSU as they are decent shizzle. Make sure you get 4GB of RAM and the graphics card may need a boost.
Thanks For the help. Now I am back home I have found out I have to keep the Dell pretty much how it is, except I will swap the processors so it will have a dual core. I will buy a new CPU cooler and 4gb to slightly upgrade PC2.
