Please help me spec my PC!

custardy

Percy1983 wrote: »

The main difference is the graphics is a 2100 so directx 9 support and UVD1 (acceleration for 1 stream only) compared to the 4200/4250 with directx 10 suport and UVD2 (2 streams) (+a bit more 3D grunt).

It is worth noting there is only 2 ram slots, it might be worth getting one with 4 slots so use 2 now for 4GB and still have spare slots for an upgrade.

But overall that board wouldn't hold anything back.

something to watch is some boards drop the ram speed when all 4 slots are used

irisandalex

Shall look out for that!

Does it matter which DDR3 RAM I get?

irisandalex

Ok, I've gone back to your recommended motherboard, the MSI 880GM-E41 880G. £50.52. I can cope without SPDIF, it can drive two monitors, so I'm not aware of any reason to spend more.

I'm going with the AMD Athlon II X3 450 3.2GHz Socket AM3 95w 1.5MB L2 Cache processor. £58.84.

So how do I choose my 4GB RAM? I'm thinking that might be enough for now, although the 2GB on my current laptop is always full.

irisandalex

This is my provisional list:

Kingston 64GB SSDNOW V100 - SATA-II 2.5" - Read 250MB/s Write 145MB/s 247005 £78.99

AMD Athlon II X3 450 3.2GHz Socket AM3 95w 1.5MB L2 Cache Retail Boxed Processor 238326 £58.84

MSI 880GM-E41 880G Socket AM3 onboard graphics 8 channel HD audio mATX Motherboard 244433 £50.52

Extra Value 4GB DDR3 1333MHz Memory Module 232760 29.99

Casecom KB-7760 Black ATX Midi Tower Case - No PSU, No Case Fans Included 108280 £10.89

Casecom 300W ATX PSU Power Supply - 20+4pin 020083 £7.98

Tenda Wireless-G PCI Adapter 132449 £7.98

Cart total inc vat: £245.19

A.Penny.Saved

If you fit 4GB of memory you will need to use a x64 operating system to be able to use it. The most a 32 bit OS will see is about 3.2GB and it won't be able to use that very effectively.

irisandalex

A.Penny.Saved wrote: »

If you fit 4GB of memory you will need to use a x64 operating system to be able to use it. The most a 32 bit OS will see is about 3.2GB and it won't be able to use that very effectively.

Thanks for that, I'll be installing a 64 bit version of Windows 7.

irisandalex

gonzo127 wrote: »

RAM - 4gb DDR3 1333mhz good enough for most people, get a branded name such as Corsair should be ~£40 just check the voltages as some are 1.65v and others 1.5v so check this to make sure it will work with motherboard

Does the RAM affect things, as long as it's DDR3? What effect does the speed of the RAM have, I assume it just runs at the speed of the processor it's attached to?

Toxteth_OGrady

In answer to yuor second question, generally yes unless you want to overclock the cpu. Also higher specced RAM will have tighter access timings so it will speed things up but not massively.

irisandalex

Toxteth_OGrady wrote: »

In answer to yuor second question, generally yes unless you want to overclock the cpu. Also higher specced RAM will have tighter access timings so it will speed things up but not massively.

I don't understand the overclocking aspect - what clock speed can I go up to with a 1333MHz memory module?

Regarding the speed - would I be better to spend an imaginary £10 on better memory or a .1GZ faster procesor?

Toxteth_OGrady

One other comment on your choice of psu - I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. Your system as specced will draw about 226W so at 80% efficiency you need a minimum of 282W. That before you add any external usb devices, so 300W leaves you very little headroon. The psu is probably the most important bit of hardware in terms of overall system weakness - cheap ones tend not to deliver sufficient power and are unreliable. I would recommend something like this:

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Power+Supplies/650W+or+less/Corsair+Builder+Series+430CX+Power+Supply+?productId=42487