Compatability

[Billy213]

this will b my 1st time at ever putting together the basics for a computer. as i am not old enough 2 get a job the parts i have to do it are limited beacse of prices

i'm lookin 2 buy a new case, mobo and cpu

case:
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?nov-cfapan&P=0

mobo:
http://www.asrock.com/product/775Dual-VSTA.htm

cpu:
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=3R9R

i have memory and a hdd that should work with this setup. i was just wondering about your thoughts on what i chose and whether the case, mobo and cpu will all work with each other

 

[Grafficks]

The case, mobo, and processor you have chosen will work with each other, if that's what you're asking.

Just don't use the generic power supply that comes with the case, spend a bit more for a quality low-end PSU from Antec, Enermax, Thermaltake, etc...

Copy what it says on the label of your memory and post it here, just to confirm that your RAM will work with the mobo.

You need a video card. Unless you have one already, you need to pick one. That motherboard you have chosen has a PCI-E x16 slot and an AGP x8 slot. Get a PCI-E graphics card if you haven't done so already.

Some other parts you didn't mention are DVD/CD drives and case fans. Do you have a CD/DVD drive already?


I didn't lay down any recommendations for the parts that you still need, so just ask if you need some links. Or you can just pick some parts and post it here for our opinions on them.

Best of luck and happy New Year

 

[tifc8lraz]

Welcome to Techspot :wave: ! The motherboard and cpu should be compatible with each other, althought I don't know about the case.

 

[Billy213]

wow thanks for the quick responce!

i will stick with the supplied psu 4 a little while as i'm strapped 4 cash lol. but i will eventually upgrade to something better.

i also have a dvd-rw which i got for christmas (pioneer dvd-111d)

i have a agp graphics card atm (ati 9250 128mb) and will eventually upgrade in the future.

and i have 2x256mb both are different lol

1. 256mb ddr-333mhz-cl 2.5
2. 256mb ddr-400mhz-cl 3

also, when i have some money, will upgrade to a 1gb ddr 2

with my hdd i am still debating on its reliability. so that will b my 1st upgrade i think to a SATA drive which is relativly cheap

also...how do u think this setup will run in terms of speed?

 

[Grafficks]

You have DDR RAM and you have selected the correct motherboard for it too. That motherboard (surprisingly) has two DDR-II slots and two DDR slots so your DDR-RAM will work.

However, it is never recommended to mix RAM speeds. Sometimes it won't work, and even when it does work it will run at the lowest speed of the two (in this case, 333MHz).

You say your current hard drive in unreliable, why do you say that? Tell us your hard drive manufacturer and model.

also...how do u think this setup will run in terms of speed?

What tasks are you looking for speed in? Even with a generic power supply and other low-end budget parts, it will be a superb PC for casual tasks like web-surfing, work, and anything that's not power-demanding.
However if it is used for extreme gaming, it will not hold so well.

 

[Billy213]

i think my hdd is unreliable because i get unmountable boot volume a lot. when i do a quick reformat it works, for about 5 seconds, then restarts and goes back 2 unmountable boot volume. whether its the hard drive or the pc its self i will never know lol. the model number for the hdd is:

maxtor diamondmax plus 9 80gb ata/133

and the only game i play is Battlefield 2. i played that on an pretty poor set-up lol

it was a micro thing a shuttle i think.

P4 2.4ghz
same ram as above
same hdd as above
same graphics card as above

i got it of my grandad because he had the unmountable boot volume thing. so he got a new pc and i fixed that 1.

 

[Billy213]

Update

just to let u know i have ordered the parts i said at the begining of this thread and they should all be here in about a week

for future refrence, would i be better off upgrading to a single 1gb ram or 2x 512mb??

 

[tifc8lraz]

just to let u know i have ordered the parts i said at the begining of this thread and they should all be here in about a week

for future refrence, would i be better off upgrading to a single 1gb ram or 2x 512mb??

If the 2 512 Sticks are Dual Channel and your motherboard supports it, you will see an improvement (10-20&) higher in performance that a single 1GB stick.

 

[Grafficks]

for future refrence, would i be better off upgrading to a single 1gb ram or 2x 512mb??

Dual channel makes memory faster because it's like having two lanes on a busy freeway as opposed to having one lane in single channel. That's a good way to put it...


When you upgrade, make sure you get 2x512MB of DDR2 memory. Your motherboard only supports 533/667MHz for DDR2 so don't get any DDR2-800MHz.

Interestingly enough, your motherboard supports both DDR2 and DDR.

This means it allows you to mix speeds of DDR/DDR2, and (most likely) also lets you mix different speeds of DDR (such as your current 333MHz and 400MHz).

This means you can actually keep your 2x256MB along with your future upgrade of 2x512MB, all while still preserving a Dual channel configuration. However, you will have all DIMM slots full at that point, and cannot add more RAM unless you remove some old modules.

 

[Billy213]

i read in the online manual that you can only use one or the other. thats its not possible to mix ddr and ddr2 together so my 512mb would be the max i could use. i will upgrade to a single dd2 512mb 667mhz asap though

 

[Grafficks]

i read in the online manual that you can only use one or the other. thats its not possible to mix ddr and ddr2 together so my 512mb would be the max i could use. i will upgrade to a single dd2 512mb 667mhz asap though

In that case, you are limited to a maximum of only two memory modules at any given time.

Your intended plan of action would be wise. Get one stick of 512MB DDR2-667 ASAP.

 

[Billy213]

i play BF2, the graphics part of the game doesn't bother me. however is 2x 512mb in dual channel enough to maintain stable gameplay? even with graphics on low -> medium

 

[Grafficks]

i play BF2, the graphics part of the game doesn't bother me. however is 2x 512mb in dual channel enough to maintain stable gameplay? even with graphics on low -> medium

Are you able to play BF2 with your current PC with acceptable performance?

Your current PC has 2x256MB DDR with Radeon 9250 128MB right? You are also keeping these parts when you get your case, mobo, and CPU. You won't see much of a performance increase in BF2 if you don't upgrade either your RAM or video card. Those are the two things to upgrade if you want better gaming performance.

Therefore it is likely that you will see the exact same performance you had before when you upgrade your case, mobo, and CPU.


To answer your question, 1GB (2x512MB) of memory is plenty for any PC. Yes it is enough. A plentiful 1GB of RAM puts the system comfortably ahead of the curve. Only if you want more performance or have a lot of money to burn would you go with 2GB.

Upgrading to 2x512MB of memory should be on the top of your list for future PC upgrades after the parts you ordered arrive.

 

[Billy213]

well if i still get hdd related problems my parents said they will get me a new 1 and my mobo and cpu arrived today case comes next wednesday

if i don't need a new hdd then i will get the 2x512mb. however if the hdd is needed then i will get a single 512mb to replace my current ram

 

[Tedster]

you will get better performance with your system with more ram than with a faster HD.

 

[Billy213]

as i said previously i am not sure if my hdd works properly. so that will be needed more than 2x512mb. i have found an 80gb SATA drive that will b fine for me