Computer Upgrade Issues

[robybobey]

Hi guys, I'm in despair. I decided a few weeks ago that I should upgrade my computer completely (it's almost 7 years old) so I've been searching around. However, I found out a few days ago that I'm a real noob when it comes to picking parts, therefore I need your help

I've found the processor I want: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AMD-P...Hz-125W-Retail

Memory(RAM): http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/4GB-(...S-5-5-5-15-EPP

Graphics Card: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/1GB-X...VI-XXX-EDITION

HDD: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/1TB-S...ache-89-ms-NCQ

Now it starts to get tricky (for me anyway). I've been advised that an SLI motherboard is the way forward (although I'm buying an ATI graphics card which I can change in the future).

The processor FSB/HT Speed is 2000 MHz. Does this mean I have to buy a motherboard with the exact same FSB/HT speed? All of the SLI motherboards I have seen are 5200MHz.

Sorry if the answer is blatantly obvious, I'm really confused.

Thanks in advance.

[awdrifter]

You don't need to worry about the HTT speed, if you pick an AM2 board (that has Phenom support), the HTT speed will automatically be downclocked to HT1.0 speed. The things to look out for when picking a mobo is making sure it has support for your CPU. Even though AM2 and AM2+ are pin compatible, not all AM2 mobo supported Phenom (and Phenom II). The PhII 940 you picked is 125w, not all AM2/AM2+ mobo supports 125w CPU either. So when picking a board, make sure you check the mobo mfr's website to make sure the board supports the PhII 940.

I'm not too familiar with Nvidia chipset, but I heard the 780a is good. If you're sticking with an ATI card though, go with a board that has a 790GX (or FX) chipset with a SB750, this is the best overclocking combo. I personally have great experience with Asrock boards, so I would recommend getting the Asrock AOD790GX/128M. http://ixbtlabs.com/articles3/cpu/ph...ocking-p1.html

[_HighVoltage_]

There are three reasons why people buy AMD processors:
1. You are poor.
2. You have been tricked
3. You are a crazy AMD fanboy

[robybobey]

Originally Posted by awdrifter

You don't need to worry about the HTT speed, if you pick an AM2 board (that has Phenom support), the HTT speed will automatically be downclocked to HT1.0 speed. The things to look out for when picking a mobo is making sure it has support for your CPU. Even though AM2 and AM2+ are pin compatible, not all AM2 mobo supported Phenom (and Phenom II). The PhII 940 you picked is 125w, not all AM2/AM2+ mobo supports 125w CPU either. So when picking a board, make sure you check the mobo mfr's website to make sure the board supports the PhII 940.

I'm not too familiar with Nvidia chipset, but I heard the 780a is good. If you're sticking with an ATI card though, go with a board that has a 790GX (or FX) chipset with a SB750, this is the best overclocking combo. I personally have great experience with Asrock boards, so I would recommend getting the Asrock AOD790GX/128M. http://ixbtlabs.com/articles3/cpu/ph...ocking-p1.html

Thanks so much! Really appreciated, i'll update you soon with my progress

Originally Posted by _HighVoltage_

There are three reasons why people buy AMD processors:
1. You are poor.
2. You have been tricked
3. You are a crazy AMD fanboy

Number 2

What's wrong with AMD? I might be going with the i7 yet lol

[thevictor390]

Phenom IIs are great on a budget. i7 is more powerful but also more expensive. It's just a matter of whether you are willing to pay for more performance.

[awdrifter]

Yea, a PhII are about $200-300 less than an i7 system (in the US anyways), but they are about 20-30% behind the Core i7 in terms of raw CPU power (both overclocked). In gaming the difference is smaller though.

Tom's Hardware's PhII 940 vs Core i7 review.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...m-ii,2119.html

[Hercules286]

Originally Posted by _HighVoltage_

There are three reasons why people buy AMD processors:
1. You are poor.
2. You have been tricked
3. You are a crazy AMD fanboy

Always Number 1 here.

The last time I had an Intel processor, it was a 286.

[SickGuy]

Scan FTW

[MadCow809]

Originally Posted by robybobey

Now it starts to get tricky (for me anyway). I've been advised that an SLI motherboard is the way forward.

what? SLI/nForce motherboard is the way forward? lmao.

[Crazyjeeper]

Originally Posted by MadCow809

what? SLI/nForce motherboard is the way forward? lmao.

As a former 680i owner, I have to agree.

Most nvidia chipsets are FTL

(My 780i has been good though, must be a diamond in the rough)

[waydee]

Originally Posted by _HighVoltage_

There are three reasons why people buy AMD processors:
1. You are poor.
2. You have been tricked
3. You are a crazy AMD fanboy

Hey now, when the first Athlon came out it was the fastest CPU around for a while - I had one of those!

I agree now though, the Phenom2 is good value though. I just stick to Intel these days though, CPUs have got to the point where they're rarely the bottleneck anymore - a fast core2duo is likely enough for almost everyone.

[robybobey]

Well guys, I have bought my stuff and built the whole thing.

This is what I bought:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550, Yorkfield Core, S775, 2.83GHz, 1333MHz, 12MB L2 Cache, 8.5x, 95W, Retail

Asus P5Q-E, iP45, S 775, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), DDR2 1066/ 1200/800 MHz, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX

4GB (2x2GB) Corsair TwinX DDR2 XMS2 Dominator, PC2-8500(1066), 240Pin, NonECC Unbuffered, CAS 5, EPP

1TB (1000 GB) Samsung HD103UJ Spinpoint F1, SATA 3Gb/s, 7200rpm, 32MB Cache, 8.9 ms, NCQ

650w Silverpower (Seasonic) SP-SS650HT "Green Power" 80 Plus Certified,Intel ATX 12V, 6×Serial ATA

Thanks for the help anyway, I took your advice and went for Intel

I'm just checking the temps of the cores in speedfan, they're all around 50C, rising to 70C under full 100% load. Does this seem ok?

[nist7]

How much was that C2Q9550?

Also, what video card did u decide on

[robybobey]

Originally Posted by nist7

How much was that C2Q9550?

Also, what video card did u decide on

Sorry I missed that out. Video Card:

1GB XFX HD 4870 XXX, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), 3800MHz GDDR5, GPU 775MHz, 800 Cores, 2x DL DVI-I/ HDTV

I paid £147 for the CPU

[Crazyjeeper]

The temps are safe, but you don't want to go much higher. If you have funds, I would recommend getting a more robust cooler.

Great build otherwise, couldn't have picked a better one myself.

[_HighVoltage_]

Originally Posted by waydee

Hey now, when the first Athlon came out it was the fastest CPU around for a while - I had one of those!

Please, do tell!
What Athlon are you talking about?
Are you talking about the AMD K-6 MMX? That overheating bastard of a child that was actually slower than a P166 MMX and would crash games like Quake 3?

Or are you talking about the AMD Thunderbirds and Durons, which were...again...overheating bastards. Yes, they did overclock quite well, but they were still slower than the Pentium 3 Coppermine and Tualatin.

The simple fact is - AMD have always been slower than Intel's offerings. Their only virtue was their price.

[robybobey]

Originally Posted by Crazyjeeper

The temps are safe, but you don't want to go much higher. If you have funds, I would recommend getting a more robust cooler.

Great build otherwise, couldn't have picked a better one myself.

Thank you

It took me over 4 hours to build it .

I would overclock this beast but I seriously have no idea what to do - total noob

[Crazyjeeper]

Originally Posted by robybobey

Thank you

It took me over 4 hours to build it .

I would overclock this beast but I seriously have no idea what to do - total noob

Buy a better CPU cooler. Then read this:

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1198647

On the CPU cooler side, If you can find one, the Thermalright 120 Ultra Extreme is about the best air cooler money can buy.

[robybobey]

Originally Posted by Crazyjeeper

Buy a better CPU cooler. Then read this:

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1198647

On the CPU cooler side, If you can find one, the Thermalright 120 Ultra Extreme is about the best air cooler money can buy.

Thank you again! Very much appreciated.

It seems like it's around £50 for the fan http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Therm...nc-1600RPM-fan

This is very expensive for a fan, but nothing compared to water cooling I suppose.

I'm thinking about overclocking my video card as well as speeding up the ram too , but from a quick google search, this seems more complicated than overclocking the cpu.

[Crazyjeeper]

Make sure you get one with the LGA775 brackets too. The one you linked is only LGA1366.