Are my parts compatible?

robbeardsley

Need some help in my attempts at building my own desktop. I've selected a motherboard, processor, graphics and sound card that I'd like. Now I need all the techies to advise me. Are all these parts compatible, and how well would they run together? Are there ant better options out there for the same price, or can I find the same quality elsewhere for less?

Here they are anyway:

Motherboard - Intel DG41KR

Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo

Video Card - Nvidia GeForce GT 240

Thanks in advance

Jonny7

just a quick side note -

That CPU is old, the motherboard is old, the graphics card is weak for the price, and no need for a soundcard unless you are a total audiophile.

If you perhaps want some suggestions, provide us your budget and what you intend doing on the PC.

robbeardsley

I always thought that Video card was new-ish at least.

Anyway I'd say my budget for the CPU, board and video card would be around €250. is that ok or am I cheapin out?

massy086

what psu and ram and case are you going to use. amd would be a better option i would of thought as they are cheaper maybe some chip that you could unlock the core,s or overclock it. As for graphics card what monitor are you going to be using ie what size

robbeardsley

500w+ PSU and 2gb or more of RAM.

And I'll be hooking it up to a 32" HD telly

Solitaire

But what resolution is the telly? 720p+ or 1080p? More importantly, will you be gaming with this build?

robbeardsley

Well I haven't got the telly yet. But I'm probably not gona get a full HD telly. So it'd be 720p/1080i

Solitaire

And what are you doing with the machine? Gaming? A lot depends on the answer...

What memory do you have? DDR2? What is the brand and model of your PSU?

robbeardsley

Well I plan on gaming, but just games like FM or other strategy games. I haven't bought any of the parts yet, the while reason for this thread is to ensure im not buying the wrong kit. Prob end up getting DDR3

Solitaire

DDR3 is going to blow your budget clean out of the water - €100 for 2x2GB

If you cheap out you could get a modern AM2 mobo and an AM3 CPU and dodge the DDR3

FM? Football Manager?

Get a GTS240 or HD5670 - whichever is cheaper. You probably won't be able to find one under €75 though, so a cheap HD4850 might also be a good idea for under €90 if your PSU can take the much higher power draw. Otherwise the mid-range is barren, with the HD4830 and HD4770 both gone and the HD5750 512MB starting at €110 (yep, even Pixmania ).

robbeardsley

I'll stick to DDR2 so :O

Bang on the money... Football Manager

I was planning on getting the GT 240. I might get one at a wholesalers i know. Still havent chosen a mobo, as ive gone of the idea of the Intel board i listed above. Im warming towards the AMD Phenom II series. Can you advise which one would be best, id like ram potential up to 4gb,dual core minimum

Solitaire

What's your current RAM like? What speed, how many sticks etc. With just €250 to play with it'd be good if we could recycle them as RAM is extremely expensive nowadays.

What else are you doing with this PC other than FM2010?

I'm guessing this with this or this should finish things... oh and another 2GB DDR2 if you have the money left over...

robbeardsley

But that mobo youve listed has an AM2+ socket, whereas the CPU's are AM3. Is that a problem, or am i being too detailed in pairing?

I was thinking of getting a Phenom II instead of an Athlon II, though im not sure which model

Solitaire

AM3 CPUs can be used on AM2 mobos, the newer the mobo's model the less chance you'd even have to update the BIOS

Why a Phenom2? Seems like extra money for additional power that you might not even need...

robbeardsley

I was thinkin of getting this mobo
http://www.dabs.ie/products/gigabyte-am3-amd-785g-matx-ddr2-a-l-64S6.html?q=GIGABYTE%20GA-MA785GM-US2H

Would that pair with the Athlon IIx3 400e
http://www.misco.ie/productinformation/~162171~WW~/AMD%20Athlon%20II%20X3%20400e%20Processor%20Socket%20AM3.htm

Solitaire

Mobo is okay, bit pricey though.

CPU is poor and horribly overpriced. Its a very slow low-energy model, not at all what you should be looking for. For less than €4 more you could get a 2.8GHz quad-core! :eek:

robbeardsley

Solitaire wrote: »

Mobo is okay, bit pricey though.

CPU is poor and horribly overpriced. Its a very slow low-energy model, not at all what you should be looking for. For less than €4 more you could get a 2.8GHz quad-core! :eek:

Could you link me some similar alternatives?

Solitaire

I already did a few posts back

robbeardsley

What about the Athlon II x3 435 with the Gigabyte 880gm-ud2h

that mobo comes with realtek audio card too. Looking for an alternative video card to suit

Solitaire

Fine, but I suspect that said mobo will be expensive (brand new next-gen model) and you'd be stuck blowing €90-120 extra on the DDR3 for it

robbeardsley

I'll source some RAM from a place i know anyway. I'll see how 2gb goes then prob get a 2nd stick.

What about the Radeon 5450? Good video card?

Solitaire

HD5450? Not for games. Not even FM, if you want the match view. Graphics, like RAM, has shot up in price, so expect to drop at least €75 for something usable and €110+ for something competant

robbeardsley

What about a 5670? Or that GT240?

Solitaire

They're the ~€75 bit I alluded to in my last post

robbeardsley

9800GT?

Solitaire

Slightly better than a GT240 but much heavier on power, and you never did tell me what PSU you have...

robbeardsley

I havent got one yet tbh. Any recommendations? Don't mind it being a juice guzzler. So long as it's a reasonable price and powers my gear well

Solitaire

robbeardsley wrote: »

I havent got one yet tbh. Any recommendations? Don't mind it being a juice guzzler. So long as it's a reasonable price and powers my gear well

Wait... you don't have a PSU yet either?!

robbeardsley

I was gona pick a PSU based on what other parts I got

Solitaire

Hmm... a <95W Athlon2 plus a HD5670 in a fairly basic system could be run even by an Antec Basiq 350W, which can be found for just €30 in some places. Once you go up to a GT240 or HD5750 you're moving into Corsair CX400 territory, which is usually around €45. But if you move "up" to a HD4830/4850 or 9800GT you're looking at a cheap Corsair VX450 or OCZ StealthXStream 500 at least.

robbeardsley

Still not entirely sold on my graphic card. I'm set on a geforce. But which one?

http://www.elara.ie/products/detailsfullat.asp?productcode=ECE1892296#spec

or

http://www.elara.ie/products/detailsfullat.asp?productcode=ECE1876491#spec

And are you sure 400w would be enough. I was told i should get 500 minimum, and that was when I had the 400e dual core in mind

Solitaire

Nope, you've been tricked Decent, branded aftermarket PSUs provide the amount of power on the label and usually have 12V current capacity (the important bit!) equal to over 80% (nowadays often over 90%) of the rated wattage of the PSU (eg. a CX400 is rated for 30A on the 12V rail, 30*12=360W which is 90% of the total 400W available ).

By comparison, of that 30A above a tri- or quad-core Athlon2 would consume less than 8A (95W/12 = <8A) even at peak. A HD5670 would use about 3A under a heavy 3D load when running a game (4A for a GT240 or HD4670/4770/5750, 5A for 9600GT, 6A for HD5770, 7A for HD4830, 8A for GTS250 and 9A for HD4850). Each 3.5" HDD or fan would consume a fraction of an amp, the mobo a couple of amps (just a little more if using onboard graphics, which we're not)... At stock speeds a very basic system with a 95W TDP CPU and a HD5770 will use around 50-60% of what a CX400 could provide. This is perfect, as 50% is the optimum efficiency point of a PSU and what you should be aiming for.

Of course, there are times where stuff uses more - most non-Turbo Mode CPUs will virtually never go past their rated TDP and even iof they did they won't head far past it unless overclocked. Graphics cards will sometimes use huge amounts of juice for a split second if under extreme duress, but this isn't a normal state for them outside of specific torture tests such as the latest version of FurMark or OCCT/Perestroika. Each 3.5" HDD (and, to a far lesser degree, 2.5" HDD and fan) will use many times their normal power requirement - often in excess of 2A per drive - for a split second when spinning up from off/idle. But these events are weighed up against the 100% mark of the PSU rather than the 50% mark, and it only becomes a big problem if you're running a fileserver with a ton of 3.5" HDDs.

Why a nVidia card? Fanbois (scourge of the universe ) tend to tell friends and... well, everyone else... to use whatever they like best rather than what the user actually need :rolleyes: In any case that GT220 is absolutely horrid and sickeningly overpriced. Touch. Bargepole. Don't.

robbeardsley

Informative to say the least

I'll go with the CX400 so probably. And the GT240. I can get the graphics card at a good price and I heard good things (maybe fanbois but regardless I have faith).

Any clue where I can get a good atx case?

Solitaire

You need a case too?! Why didn't you just say you needed a whole new build in the first place?

And it depends on your tastes, but the NZXT Gamma is usually available for under €40 and is a great case for the money. Thermaltake V3 too. And there's always the Antec 200...

robbeardsley

Where could I get that cx400 for €45? Only prices I've seen are 65

Gona research for a case, I'm very picky though.

Solitaire

Komplett have it for €46, Dabs for €49, and Pixmania will have it for under €45 once they get it back in stock.

robbeardsley

Could you direct me to an efficient, quiet CPU fan?

Solitaire

Stock coolers for AMD aren't bad, especially if they have to shift 95W rather than 125W+ If that isn't enough then an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev2 would do for cheap... I wouldn't go for more than a Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus, which for just ~€25 would probably be overkill for you