Want to upgrade my PC

Check the Spec's of your Mobo, if it's only DDRII then you will need to change the Mobo to be able to use DDRIII.

Motherboard
Manufacturer Packard Bell BV
Model MCP73PVT-PM (CPU 1)
Version PB80146101
Chipset Vendor NVIDIA
Chipset Model GeForce 7100
Chipset Revision A2
Southbridge Vendor NVIDIA
Southbridge Model nForce 630i
Southbridge Revision A2
System Temperature 23 °C
BIOS
Brand American Megatrends Inc.
Version PBDV11.P04
Date 09/01/2008
Voltage
CPU CORE 1.120 V
MEMORY CONTROLLER 3.088 V
+3.3V 2.176 V
+5V 5.027 V
+12V 12.096 V
-12V -12.608 V
+5V HIGH THRESHOLD 5.053 V
CMOS BATTERY 3.104 V
PCI Data
Slot UNKNOWN
Slot Type UNKNOWN
Slot Usage In Use
Bus Width 32 bit
Slot Designation AGP
Slot Number 0
Slot PCI
Slot Type PCI
Slot Usage Available
Bus Width 32 bit
Slot Designation PCI1
Slot Number 1



Seems it does not accept DDR 3 ram memory

So what motherboard and CPU/PSU would be recommended?

Your Mobo only supports DDRII

System Memory

* 2x 240-pin DDR2 SDRAM DIMM slots
* DDR2 533 / DDR2 677 / DDR2 800 DIMMs
* Supports up to 4 GB system memory RAM

Originally Posted by Gman496

Your Mobo only supports DDRII

Running the crucial scan only shows DDR 2 ram is only accepted, what a bummer - even if i upgrade this machine in the future would cost me more than upgrading a machine that is built for DDR3 ram memory. Gutted.

Now i know never to buy a DDR 2 machine.

So what motherboard is the best out there for DDR3 and what happens with my current CPU? Is that no good now?

How old is that machine? It looks like it only has a single core processor.

Keep it for surfing and go build yourself an animal with something like a Z68A board and pop a socket 1155 socket Intel Sandybridge i5-2500K (Best bang for buck).

Originally Posted by Gman496

How old is that machine? It looks like it only has a single core processor.

Keep it for surfing and go build yourself an animal with something like a Z68A board and pop a socket 1155 socket Intel Sandybridge i5-2500K (Best bang for buck).

Gman i bought this like in erm 2008 i think it was, just before i started Uni - so yes it is quite old. Probably will have to use it for surfing and build myself a new one. Or will have to get rid of this, will have a look at those links and see what i think, will get back to you

That looks good to me - better specs than my current MOBO - What else would i need? PSU, Ram memory, HDD, DVD/CD Re-writer and obviously a case. Hmmm, building a custom pc with these tools on websites the VAT end up killing you

Well, if you were to build that Spec you need to get yourself a nice SSD for the OS. Something like a 128GB Crucial M4 or a Samsung 830 would be my choice along with the normal HDD's for storage. A system like that with Win 7 would give you a cold boot time of Approx 7sec's from power button to Desktop.

As for the PSU, any of the better known brands would be fine and you would only really need to way up the wattage if you were using a savage graphics card (which would probably cost as much as the machine itself). That of course would be if were a hardened gamer.

Memory, again it's down to keeping to the well know brands and it' is of course governed by the Mobo's capabilities.

Optical drives, whatever takes your fancy.

Originally Posted by Gman496

Well, if you were to build that Spec you need to get yourself a nice SSD for the OS. Something like a 128GB Crucial M4 or a Samsung 830 would be my choice along with the normal HDD's for storage. A system like that with Win 7 would give you a cold boot time of Approx 7sec's from power button to Desktop.

As for the PSU, any of the better known brands would be fine and you would only really need to way up the wattage if you were using a savage graphics card (which would probably cost as much as the machine itself). That of course would be if were a hardened gamer.

Memory, again it's down to keeping to the well know brands and it' is of course governed by the Mobo's capabilities.

Optical drives, whatever takes your fancy.

so roughly what would you think my budget would be? for the stuff you recommended to me? I love the sound of 7 sec boot time - that is exactly what im looking for - SPEED!

Well, you can do the math from the links I gave you for the Mobo, Processor and SSD.

For the RAM you could get this 8GB DDRIII (which is compatible with that Mobo) for just under 40 bucks

Corsair Memory XMS3 8GB DDR3 1333 Mhz CAS 9 Dual Channel Desktop

You could also use your existing 625GB Western Digital HDD as the storage drive for your new rig. Replace it with a smaller drive and sell your old rig on?

SSD's and memory have never been as cheap as they are now. Ever since the floods HDD's are a ridiculous price so you could hold off on them until thing return to normal.

Here's an idea of the Crucial SSD prices from eBuyer

Crucial M4 SSDs | Ebuyer.com

All you are left with is a case PSU & optical drive and there down to you.

As for graphic cards, I'm not into gaming so I'm not up to speed on the newer generation just released. Unless your really into gaming or high end graphic design? a cheap & cheerful mid range card is plenty good.

Keep an eye on hotdeals UK for offers. Most if not all the stuff I recommended will see you right for many years & high-end boards like that are very upgradable. As you've found out, buying off the shelf PC's are fine for general use but the manufactures really use the bottom of the pile components on them. There is no such thing in today's technology as "Future Prof" so the nearest you will get to it is via a self build.

By the way,

That Mobo I linked you to has the new UEFI BIOS which has a graphical end user interface and incorporates features such as one touch Internet. That means you can actually get Internet access only (Almost immediately) without fully booting you system. For example, you just turned off your system because you are rushing out on a hot date, you intend to go to the cinema but because you're in love you forgot to check the Net to see what was on You can boot the system to internet mode because of the new BIOS, check the Cinema & away you go, and still catch that bus you were going to get

only the best stuff you pick out dont you Gman - building a PC of that spec i would say would set me back £550 not bad eh

What about these custom built PC's that are on for sale on eBay from power sellers? Would it be advisable to purchase from their or build your own?

Bit sceptical of those on eBay they could send you a PC what is completely different to what they advertised

Personally i would custom build mine end of the day you know what's gone in their and no one can mess about with the PC.

STOP!

Ask yourself this first?

What exactly do you want the PC to do? or is it simply a case (just like the Apple boy's) that you have to have the latest and greatest weather you need it or not?

If your current PC does everything you need? why change?

If Website development is as labour intensive as you intend to get? the everyday home\office PC will suffice.




If you were uncomfortable doing the build yourself you could buy a decent rig pre built.

hardwareversand.de are very keenly priced for components and for something like an extra 20 quid they will build the rig for you when you purchase all the parts from them. They don't accept credit cards though so you have to pay by bank transfer & their site is a little difficult to navigate even with the English option chosen.

There are loads of UK sites selling pre-built Mid to high end rigs too.

overclockers

Novatech

kustompcs

(Germany again)
ankermann-edv.de

I'm not recommending any of the above sites either, I'm merely making you aware of their existence

thanks Gman - there is plenty of information you have given me that needs a great deal of thinking and consideration

Hmmm those foreign websites i wouldn't even trust them with £0.01 of my own money

Gman whats the difference between this motherboard and the one you recommended?

ASUS - Motherboards- ASUS P8Z77-V PRO

MSI Z68A-GD65-G3 Motherboard (Socket LGA1155 ,Intel Z68 (G3) ATX, RAID, SATA, Gigabit, LAN): Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

Sorry for the late reply - been really busy at work aint had time to shop around for bits and bobs to build the custom pc.

Sat down now and having a look - my mate recommended the asus motherboard, but what is the difference with that and the MSI one?

Also said to get like a 700w PSU.

Originally Posted by j4v3d

Also said to get like a 700w PSU.

A good quality power supply with enough power is a very important factor too jv. One of the biggest resource hoggers for the power supply is the high end GPU's. If you are going for a beefy graphics card (especially for gaming) you need plenty of juice.

Once you have decided on all the different components for a new build you can use the below power supply calculator to determine your minimum power supply requirements for that particular build by choosing your components from its database.


eXtreme Power Supply Calculator Lite

Code:

You need to register to see links. Register.

As for the two Motherboards?

Again, It's dependent on your requirements. One thing you will find out is that there is normally a trade-off between different manufactures, no different from car manufactures. You'll nearly always get something on one particular board that may not be on another, but the one that's missing a certain feature usually has something else that the first board hasn't. It's swings and roundabouts. Some might have extra USB ports & USB headers, others might support faster or more types of RAM, or some might have a BIOS button reset on the board whereas some will only have a BIOS reset jumper on-board, some might even have the BIOS reset button conveniently positioned on the backplate which is available without the need to open the case to reset the BIOS. Some will have more fan headers than others etc.

Another important feature to watch for is the amount of onboard slots, not only for your present requirements, but for future upgrades too







I'm not going to tell you that one board is better than the other, because, they all have their own merits one way or the other. If you really wanted to get the perfect board with exactly all the right ingredients for your particular requirements? you would have to design and manufacture it yourself.

Decide on all your requirements first jv.

Pull up the Specs for both boards

Play one off against the other & see where the differences are and what one might have over the other.


Check for stuff like (These are in no particular order)


1. What socket series is it

2. Which processor range does it support

3. How many SATA ports does it have and what speeds are they

4. How many USB ports & on-board headers does it have and what speeds are they.

5. How many expansion slots and which types.

6. How many fan headers

7. Does it have a BIOS reset button or jumper & where is it located.

8. What type RAM does it support & how much is it's max capacity.

9. Make sure the board has high quality well branded capacitors.

10. If gaming is a priority? Check to see if it supports SLI or Crossfire

11. How overclock-able is it and how difficult is it to perform on that particular board

12. Get a good quality picture of the Mobo, it makes it easy to identify what's on-board and where each component is located on the board (Important too) A lot easier than reading through loads of text.

13. Check to see if it has a jv port. This is extremely important as it will give you options such as "Ask the audience" or "Call a friend" if you're finding it difficult to choose

well you've just nailed it on the head.. Excellently said and understandable to what you are saying. Time to get comparing then

Throw these two into the mix also jv

MSI - Z77A-GD65


Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H

-

Originally Posted by Gman496

Throw these two into the mix also jv

MSI - Z77A-GD65


Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H

-

them 2 motherboards are just OFF THE CHAIN! PHEW!

Right I've just gone and bought all the stuff to build my PC


GA-Z77-DS3H
Intel I5 3550
8gb corsair vengeance
120gb SSD
1tb hard drive
Coolermaster white case
OCZ 750w PSU
Samsung DVD RW

What do you think Gman?