Need your advise!

[CB2009]

Hello!

(My main language is Spanish but will try my best with your English!)

A few months ago I built a cheap system:

Biostar NF61S-M2 TE
AMD Athlon 64 x2 (2.1 GHz)
2 1GB DDR2 800
Onboard NVIDIA GeForce 6100 nForce 405
Onboard 5.1 Channels HD Audio
Windows XP PRO

I felt in love with this cheap computer because it runs faster than the others I have. One thing lead to another and started wonderig if there was a posibility to build a faster one; searched the internet and here I'm. Wonder if it would be possible to achieve a 3GHz speed without overclocking. Read quite a lot from this site and would like to buid around the AMD Phenom but need experts advise; have not decided if the X2 or X4; would like a motherboard with onboard video but there are not many choices and rather buy a video card than compromise speed; read quite a bit about the Asus M4A79 Deluxe (think it's the best choice until now); would go for the 8Gigs of memory unless I can achieve the 3GHz with 4Gigs; read that this combination would go best with Vista 64... To finish, I'm not in a "spending spree" but would not mind to spend if I can achieve the 3GHz; my final decision would depend on your OBJECTIVE ADVISE (I'm not a gamer; just want a really fast system mostly for internet use, music and videos storage... HOME USE!)

Thank you in advance for any advise!

CB 2009

 

[xPandaPanda]

How much are you willing to spend? Do you have preferences as to where you will buy your components?
a 4830 would suit your graphic needs
M4A79 Deluxe is a great motherboard if you plan on the x4, or if you get the x4, you could also get the http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128387 <-- this one you get more for your money
x3 is also a choice.
if you wait a bit longer until the 955 comes out, the price may drop for AMD chips, but seeing as there is a great sale for the 940 now, you could get that
for video storage (im guessing you will need a lot of space) you could get the western digital 1terrabyte black
or if you dont need a lot of space the wd 640gb black is also a good choice
if you would prefer onboard videochip, this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131382) might be good. how ever, for a fast system, it is better to get a MB and a videocard seperately

"would go for the 8Gigs of memory unless I can achieve the 3GHz with 4Gigs" from what im understanding of that, you say that you want to have a 3ghz processor not overclocked. and that you think ram effects the ghz? not quite sure what you are trying to say, but ram is "short-term computer memory." it affects how many applications you can run at once. so the amount of GHz depends on your processor, not your ram. since ram is cheap, i'd go for 4gigs

vista 64 bit need 4gigs of ram or higher. any lower than 4 gigs and you need the other one

 

[Outlander_04]

You can buy a 3 GHz AMD quad core

Its called the Phenom 940 BE

There are plenty of AM2+ motherboards available with 790G series chipsets which have the best onboard gfx available

If you just want to swap in a dual core processor then the Atlon X2 6000+ and 6400+ are still great performers . Check the web page for your mb for a cpu compatibility list .

You dont need more ram than you have .

You dont need an ATI 4830 gfx card . Thats a gaming card and wont give you any benefit , but it will use more power

 

[CB2009]

How much are you willing to spend? Do you have preferences as to where you will buy your components?
a 4830 would suit your graphic needs
M4A79 Deluxe is a great motherboard if you plan on the x4, or if you get the x4, you could also get the http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128387 <-- this one you get more for your money
x3 is also a choice.
if you wait a bit longer until the 955 comes out, the price may drop for AMD chips, but seeing as there is a great sale for the 940 now, you could get that
for video storage (im guessing you will need a lot of space) you could get the western digital 1terrabyte black
or if you dont need a lot of space the wd 640gb black is also a good choice
if you would prefer onboard videochip, this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131382) might be good. how ever, for a fast system, it is better to get a MB and a videocard seperately

"would go for the 8Gigs of memory unless I can achieve the 3GHz with 4Gigs" from what im understanding of that, you say that you want to have a 3ghz processor not overclocked. and that you think ram effects the ghz? not quite sure what you are trying to say, but ram is "short-term computer memory." it affects how many applications you can run at once. so the amount of GHz depends on your processor, not your ram. since ram is cheap, i'd go for 4gigs

vista 64 bit need 4gigs of ram or higher. any lower than 4 gigs and you need the other one

Thank's a lot for your advise!
Could not answer before because I have been really busy searching and reading information that has helped me a lot in my project.
Answers to your questions:
-I'm not letting price to be an issue but will look for best price!
-Rather buy everything from one place if possible!

After carefull consideration decided on the Phenom II X4 940BE and GA-MA790GP-DS4H (http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2887). Decided on that particular MB because it's AM3 ready, chipset is 790GX/SB750, on-board ATI-Radeon HD3300 and Built-in 128MB DDR3 Side Port; I think that's the best choice in my case without compromising my original goal and future updates.
Have not decided yet about the hard disks but your suggestions are really good.
My next concern is the cooling system for this CPU; welcome any good suggestion.
I was a little confuse and you are correct about RAM and GHz; but since I'll be running Vista Ultimate 64 (really demanding in RAM), I decided to go for the 8Gigs.
Well, thank' a lot again for your time and suggestions!

CB2009

 

[aevm]

Well done with the CPU/MB. You don't need a graphics card then, or at most add a HD 4770 later if you do want a little gaming.

Hard disk: these days I recommend the Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB, it's very reliable and very fast. The 500GB and 1TB versions are good too but where I live they cost more $/GB.

Cooling: it depends on how large your case is (the best coolers are huge and may not fit in your case if you have a smaller case). It also depends on what's available in your country. Are you going to overclock? If not, just use the stock cooler. That is, don't buy an aftermarket cooler at all.

 

[CB2009]

You can buy a 3 GHz AMD quad core

Its called the Phenom 940 BE

There are plenty of AM2+ motherboards available with 790G series chipsets which have the best onboard gfx available

If you just want to swap in a dual core processor then the Atlon X2 6000+ and 6400+ are still great performers . Check the web page for your mb for a cpu compatibility list .

You dont need more ram than you have .

You dont need an ATI 4830 gfx card . Thats a gaming card and wont give you any benefit , but it will use more power

Thank's a lot for your repply to my thread. Could not answer before because I have been very busy searching and reading information that has helped me a lot in my project (building a new one around the Phenom)(I'm not going to upgrade the one I mentioned in my thread).

After carefull consideration decided on the Phenom II X4 940BE and GA-MA790GP-DS4H (http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2887). Decided on that particular MB because it's AM3 ready, chipset is 790GX/SB750, on-board ATI-Radeon HD3300 and Built-in 128MB DDR3 Side Port; I think that's the best choice in my case without compromising my original goal and future updates.
My next concern is the cooling system for this CPU; welcome any good suggestion.
Since I'll be running Vista Ultimate 64 (really demanding in RAM), I decided to go for the 8Gigs.

Well, thank' a lot again for your time and suggestions!

CB2009

 

[Helloworld_98]

cooling system depends on if you want low temps, high overclocks or low noise levels, or the best you can get of all three.

if your willing to spend a pretty penny a compact water cooler would be the best bet since they will have all of those features.

Otherwise a thermalright ultra-120 or a Noctua heatsink will do the job.

 

[CB2009]

Well done with the CPU/MB. You don't need a graphics card then, or at most add a HD 4770 later if you do want a little gaming.

Hard disk: these days I recommend the Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB, it's very reliable and very fast. The 500GB and 1TB versions are good too but where I live they cost more $/GB.

Cooling: it depends on how large your case is (the best coolers are huge and may not fit in your case if you have a smaller case). It also depends on what's available in your country. Are you going to overclock? If not, just use the stock cooler. That is, don't buy an aftermarket cooler at all.

HI!

Thank you for your comment!
Your hard disk suggestion is what I have in mind (640GB) for storage; the OS will have a smaller one (I'm planning on moving My Documents Folder to the bigger drive).
Will keep your cooling advise in mind; since I'n not going to overclock (at least for now).
Case will be my last consideration; don't want a monster case that weights a lot... a good looking one with good ventilation!

Well, thanks again!

CB2009

 

[CB2009]

cooling system depends on if you want low temps, high overclocks or low noise levels, or the best you can get of all three.

if your willing to spend a pretty penny a compact water cooler would be the best bet since they will have all of those features.

Otherwise a thermalright ultra-120 or a Noctua heatsink will do the job.

Thank you for the advise!
Nothing fancy... just the cooling it needs!
Will look up your suggestions

CB2009

 

[xPandaPanda]

the stock cooling given with the 940 is decent if you dont intend to overclock.
if you do pick one, make sure it is AM2+ (if you pick phenom II 940)