help needed looking to "future-proof"

MFCGMFC

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hey all

i'm looking to upgrade my mobo and ram

current setup is:

Asus P5l-VM mobo

Ram PC2-533 (2gb)

i've just upgraded my cpu to the e4500

also i want to upgrade my psu i've just found it that it is the culprit for the noise coming from my pc its not as silent as i thought it was its a 550w generic number

preferabbly i would like the mobo to accept quad core aswell as dual core and also 8gb max of the fastest DDR2 ram

any help would be appreciated

Cheers
MFCGAVMFC
 
hey all

i'm looking to upgrade my mobo and ram

current setup is:

Asus P5l-VM mobo

Ram PC2-533 (2gb)

i've just upgraded my cpu to the e4500

also i want to upgrade my psu i've just found it that it is the culprit for the noise coming from my pc its not as silent as i thought it was its a 550w generic number

preferabbly i would like the mobo to accept quad core aswell as dual core and also 8gb max of the fastest DDR2 ram

any help would be appreciated

Cheers
MFCGAVMFC

Couple of things,

Are you looking at SLI/Crossfire in the future ?

Do you need to stick to DDR2 as DDR3 is not far down the road.

In terms of PSU, I ordered one of these last week,

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...0W+Modular+PSU+-+Real+Silent+?productId=28904

Very quiet, modular and on superspecial as well at the momemt. Depending on your setup, there is a 500W and 600W versions as well if needed.
 
i'm not interested in SLI or crossfire just now mate

DDR3 put me off coase of the price but teh speeds look good

Cheers
MFCGAVMFC
 
Personally, I would go for the following bits of kit........

Motherboard - ASUS Commando (can do Quad, 8GB max, and heatsinks instead of fans, also very overclockable)
PSU - Corsair 620 Watt (You only attach the cables you need, and quiet)
Memory - Crucial Ballistix (of course)

Dont try and cut corners or save money on these 3 componants as they are the most important to a good running PC
 
i cant find that motherboard on scan or ebuyer mate plus that psu wold be overkill for my system, the 550w i have is serious overkill just now ruffly bout 350-400w is substantial to my needs but i want silence

Cheers
MFCGAVMFC
 
That Corsair PSU comes in a lower watt model also.
But if your thinking of future proof, then why not go for the higher watt version.
Who knows what hard drives, graphics cards, writers etc you might add in the future

Motherboard is on ebuyer (currently out of stock) - or this alternative
 
Last edited:
The Asus commando is an old chipset mate, great board but pointless getting a 965 chipset now.

The alternative is good, but it all depends on how much you want to spend and what features you need. Do you really need external sata or will you in the future? Do you really need built in wi-fi?

If spending £100 I would go for the Gigabyte DS4, but for £70 the DS3R would be fine, but it does not have firewire so if you need that then your looking at a £100 board.

I agree on the Corsair PSU, get it, amazing for the price, built by Seasonic who to me are the daddies of the PSU world but blumming expensive, so go for Corsair, same build quality just a different name and cheaper price, and they are very quiet mate.

Ram, for the price you can't go wrong with OCZ Platinum series or Corsair XMS, get 800mhz stuff.

Here are some options for you mate:
Gigabyte GA P35 DS3R iP35 Socket 775 8 channel audio ATX Motherboard £70
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/136365
My personal choice, I think it's the best mid range board you can get.

ASUS P5K AiLifestyle Series iP35 Socket 775 eSATA 8channel Audio ATX Motherboard £70
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/129125
Close to the Gigabyte but has some issues, may have been a bad batch.

MSI P35 Neo-F Socket 775 FSB1333 onboard 8 channel audio ATX Motherboard £59
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/128047/
Great board for the price, not quite up with the two above but it all depends what you want, you could still get a good overclock with this board.

Memory:
Corsair 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz PC2 6400 XMS2 Memory Non ECC Unbuffered CL5(5 5 5 12) £34.99
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/98710

OCZ 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz PC2 6400 CL 4 4 4 15 PLATINUM XTC with LIFETIME WARRANTY £41.59
My personal choice
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/116755

Corsair 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz PC2 6400 XMS2 Memory Non ECC Unbuffered CL4(4 4 4 12) E.P.P. Heat Spreader Lifetime Warranty £52.84
Is this worth an extra £17 over the first Corsair link just for the tighter timings? Your choice.
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/111439

PSU:
Corsair VX450WUK 450W PSU £45
My choice.
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/131052

That PSU will handle any card with plenty left over for your drives and USB devices. Very efficient with great rails, quality over quantity is what I say, that is probably better than a 600W Coolermaster extreme in terms of efficiency, Coolermaster only quote 70% where Corsair boast 85% with a big load, thus resulting in more power overall.

If you ever plan on SLI with top end cards then I would look at the 620W maybe higher.
 
i dont need external sata or built in wi-fi or firewire

need something that will support dual-core and quad core cpu's, fast ram, 3 sata hard drives, 1 ide slot, slots for my case usbs etc

Cheers
MFCGAVMFC
 
I thought so, that is why I linked to the ones without eSATA, firewire or wi-fi, lol. For that lot you are looking at £100 or above.

I would go with one of the above mate. There are also some Nforce 650i chipset boards which are great performers. But I have never had anything to do with those so can't really comment. But gets great reviews. Also it comes with eSATA for less than £70.
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/125082
 
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