Motherboard for phenom II X2 550

[SimDunn]

Hi,
I was wondering if anyone could give me a bit of advice as im going to attempt my first new build from scratch. Im a complete novice with new builds, but I have fitted computer parts like hard drives, memory etc before so I think I should be OK. I don't do too much gaming, but use video editing software and watch TV / sports streaming quit often. My old (dinosaur) computer is starting to play up and is becoming very slow, so im gonna throw it very soon.
I've been looking at the phenom II X2 550, but im not too sure what motherboard would be best with this CPU, budget-wise im looking to spend around £250-£300ish for the new build (if that possible?)
Id be grateful if someone could comment on what they think is a good, yet reasonably priced motherboard, whether this processor is any good and also if you've got any other hardware suggestions / general ideas which would work well for this new build please let me know

Thanks

 

[pr0phet129]

This processor is definitely good price to performance ratio. And with the right motherboard (SB750 or SB710) may be unlockable to a Phenom II x4 B50.

So to answer your motherboard Question, either a 785 or 790 chipset, these boards are £60 - £90 squid.

On your budget, something like the Asus 785TD-V Evo would do the job, and has the SB710 for core unlocking, although this isn't as successful as the SB750, it still might work. These boards retail at around £60 - £70. It also has a HDMI out as well as DVI ans VGA, so the onboard Graphics (ATi 4200 256DDR3) will handle movies and such very well. But no game!!!

If you want to game then Investing in a mid market GPU from ATi is your best option, with the release of the 58xx's the price of their 4850's has dropped. These retail at around £60 or go for a 4770 (better card) for around £70, which again is probably the best price to performance.

That totals £205 with ur CPU, + £50 for some 800Mhz CL5 xms2 + £20 for your PSU (700w winPower from InternetCT) + £30 for the case + £35HDD and +£10 for your DVD and your sorted!!

The whole thing from scratch is £350, if you use your current DVD and HDD its £305

And use your current case for the time being and its £270! This is a really good system, but might not look great in ur old case (but who cares if it works well)!!!

 

[SimDunn]

thanks for the reply and the info its much appriciated, as I said before because im a bit of a novice its a bit scary thinkng that im gonna be building a system from scratch, but once its done it should be good, its just taking the 1st step and starting it now!

 

[pr0phet129]

Yeh, but once you start, you cant stop!!!lol, its abit of a pringle!! I keep buyin n buyin stuff for my pc. 6month ago i biuld my own first system (even though i used to work at a PC shop, i never build my own system from scratch!!lol

I cost £350 and i thought!awsome, that all i need!!all i have left of it now is the DVD!!!lol!!

 

[SimDunn]

with the mobo, does the manufaturer make much difference or are they all similar as I've had a quick look at a few 790 chipsets and they start from about £55 like you said and go up to around £90-100, such as

ASRock A790GMH/128M Motherboard AMD Socket AM2/AM2+ AMD 790GX+SB750 Micro-ATX RAID Gigabit LAN (AMD Radeon HD 3300 Graphics)

Biostar TA790GXBE Socket AM3 , DDR2 533/667/800/1066,
PCI-Express , SATAII, Onboard DVI
10/100/1000 LAN / 6 Channel Audio / ATX

MSI 790GX-G65 Motherboard ATX AMD 790GX Socket AM3 UDMA133, Serial ATA-300 (RAID), eSATA Gigabit Ethernet video High Definition Audio (8-channel)

sorry if these questions sound dumb, but I've never really had to buy a mobo before so not too hot with the lingo, but i suppose we all have to start somewhere!