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Phenom II, Can I reuse my old Pavilion case?

Forum Systems : New Build Phenom II, Can I reuse my old Pavilion case?

Hi everyone, Where should i start?

My current computer is an HP pavilion a810n. It has the 3300+ Athlon 64 (2.4GHz), 512 PC3200 ddr sdram, 160Gb hard drive, etc. The motherboard is ASUS K8S-LA (Salmon GL6E) and is micro atx. The only part that is not stock is my Radeon 9550xl 256mb video card. The psu is a hipro hp-d2537f3r, which newegg says is 250w.

Now what I want is to make a mid range gaming PC (reusing as much as possible from the pavilion), using the AMD Phenom II 965, and an ATI 4890 video card. I know that my current motherboard cannot handle this cpu, and this is where I am stuck.
I could buy the Phenom, the 4890, a new motherboard, a cheap apex case and OCZ 700w power supply, but those things together sit around $700.

Or is it possible--well, reasonable, that i use my HP case and just install a new mobo, the Phenom and the 4890? If i could, that could shave a good $150-$200 off of my grand total.

Reply to cwf3261

^ You would anyways have to change your PSU...that hipro PSU is not of good quality and will not be able to handle the upgrade...and also you must have included the price of RAM in that $700...

Reply to gkay09

Hi newcomer and welcome to the Tom's hardware forum.

If yur case is ATX and have a good airflow (i don't think) you can use. For the others parts is better that you the CPU, the GPU and the PSU, a 250W PSU is't enough for the system that you want. Also you forget the RAM and maybe the HDD.

Message edited by saint19 on 01-14-2010 at 05:31:40 AM

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Reply to saint19

Yes, i suppose my case does have poor airflow. It has only one rear fan. I did include 2gb of ram in my quota, would that be enough (at least for now?)

Is the ocz 700w I listed any good? theres a combo on newegg with it and an XFX 4890 for $250.

I just stumbled upon this though.
ATI 5850 with a 600w Thermaltake psu -$300 This psu is free with combo...Is it good quality?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.310962

Would the upgrade from 4890 to 5850 be worth the extra $50?

Reply to cwf3261

^ What resolution will be gaming at ?
And that PSU that comes free with the 5850 is not of good quaiity...but little better than other junk though...
And you wont need 700W if you will be running only a single card...

Reply to gkay09

Thermaltake isn't a good quality? I'm not agree with you I have one for my rig and i don't have any problem till now.

------------------------------ Installing the CM Hyper 212+
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Reply to saint19

1024x768, but a monitor upgrade is possible in the future, along with some crossfire. Ive heard bad things about thermaltake, but the step up in graphics would be nice..
theres still always the 4890 and ocz 700w.

FYI, this is what i have in mind-

-GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P AM3 DDR3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard

-APEX Vortex 3620 SGCC / ABS ATX Mid Tower Gaming Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.319053
--$134.98

-AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor Model HDZ955FBGMBOX - Retail

-OCZ AMD Black Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3BE1600C8LV4GK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.313757
--$260.98

SAPPHIRE 100282SR Radeon HD 5850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card w/ATI Eyefinity - Retail

Thermaltake TR2 W0388RU 600W ATX 12V v2.2 Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.310962
--$299.98

Total-$695.94

OR

OCZ StealthXStream OCZ700SXS 700W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

319497XFX HD-489X-ZSFC Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.319497
--$254.98

Total--$650.94

which gpu/psu combo is worth the money?

ALSO is the RAM I've selected compatible with the motherboard?

Somebody please let me know if i messed up somewhere!

Message edited by cwf3261 on 01-14-2010 at 06:23:11 AM

Reply to cwf3261

^You don't need too much power, with a 500W or 550W PSU is enough.

Maybe THIS mobo is a better option.

And the 4890 isn't a option with the 5770 and the 5850 in the market.

Message quoted 1 times

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Reply to saint19

saint19 wrote :

^You don't need too much power, with a 500W or 550W PSU is enough.

Maybe THIS mobo is a better option.

And the 4890 isn't a option with the 5770 and the 5850 in the market.

Why this motherboard? Isnt the one I picked crossfire capable? Im trying to stick with combos to save $$$

Reply to cwf3261

@SAINT19 there are many types of PSUs from thermaltake itself...Am not sayin on a whole that the company is not good but that particular one is not good...
1. Notice that it doesnt have Active PFC ? - A very important factor to consider when choosing a good PSU...
2. Check out the efficieny of that PSU ? 72% ? Any good PSU will have efficiency above 80%...

@Cwf3261 I would suggest a config like this one - Will save you money without any significant loss in performance...
1. CPU + Graphics card
P II X4 925 + HD 5770 -
CPU - You wont notice any significant difference between this and that 955...You can easily set its speed to 955's speed by just increasing the BCLK in the BIOS...
GPU - Even this graphics card can max out any games at that resolution( actually an overkilll)...and also when you upgrade your monitor, you can add one more crossfire later on, which will be pretty powerfull...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.312206

2. RAM
GSKillz 4GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231277

3. Mobo + CASE - Same...

4. PSU - 600W would suffice for 2x HD 5770 in crossfire...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817341017
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.319635
or this one...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371015
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.319626

Reply to gkay09

Quote :

that particular one is not good

Yea men, sorry for that not always all the product of a manufacturer a good, just i don't read good the specifications.

Quote :

Why this motherboard? Isnt the one I picked crossfire capable? Im trying to stick with combos to save $$$

This mobo support Crossfire on 2 PCI-E 2.0 both at x16 and have 2 ports USB 3.0, maybe isn't a reason for $30 more, but IMO is a good investment for the future.

Message edited by saint19 on 01-14-2010 at 06:42:05 AM

------------------------------ Installing the CM Hyper 212+
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Reply to saint19

@Gkay09- Wow that is a hell of alot cheaper. So your saying i could just overclock this cpu to be as fast as the 965? I thought overclocking to a certain speed wasnt the same as buying one set at that speed from the factory, correct me if i am wrong though.
Is there some kind of program that i can simulate the whole setup and get benchmarks? does anything like that exist or am i just crazy?

If the performance loss isnt signifigant i may really consider this setup.

Message edited by cwf3261 on 01-14-2010 at 06:52:46 AM

Reply to cwf3261

@Cwf3261 To an extent you are correct "I thought overclocking to a certain speed wasn't the same as buying one set at that speed from the factory"
"certain speed" - High overclock...With the 925, you can still achieve 3.6-3.8GHz with a good air cooler...but to go above that, it would pose some problems...But its not the case with the 955 and 965 as the stock speeds itself is high so overclock upto 4GHz is possible with a good air cooler...
So if you are not planning for a high overclock, then the 925 would be good...and check out the customer reviews there at newegg...But if you want to go above 3-3.2GHz, it is highly advisable that you get an after market CPU cooler...

And as for simulating the performance, I doubt you will get any app like that...

If you are too skeptical about that performance of that CPU, then for $60 more, get this combo...
Faster CPU - X4 965
HD 5770 with Better cooler...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.315904

Reply to gkay09

So you would advise that strongly against that thermaltake psu? Dont get me wrong: I seriously trust your judgement over mine, but the 5850 is just so enticing, even more so because i get a full setup for just slightly more than my first build suggestion. So many choices!

Reply to cwf3261

^ You should be able to run the HD 5850 with that PSU...but it wont last you long...And as it does not have Active PFC and efficiency being low, the overall power consumption would be higher -> higher operating cost...

Message edited by gkay09 on 01-14-2010 at 08:07:02 AM

Reply to gkay09

Efficiency is not so much of an issue for me. Do you have any idea what those psu average lifespans are? if it wil last me 3 or 4 months im sure ill have the spare cash for a new psu by then.

Reply to cwf3261

^ Lolz 3-4 months will not be a problem at all...should last you say 1-2 years if you dont continuously play games(stressing the CPU and GPU all time, which in turn will stress the PSU for more power hence more chances of the PSU to go bad...)

And frankly HD 5850 and 1024x768 screen ...Never would I do that...a total waste of money on the 5850 I would say...
If you will be upgrading the screen within few months or even better within few days, then the 5850 is fine...but seriously if you are going to stick with that low res screen for a long time, then 5850 is not worth it IMO...

Reply to gkay09

Can you recommend a cheap-ish decent quality monitor? Or could a TV work just as well? i have been thinking about a new tv for a long time now...

Reply to cwf3261

^ Yeah a TV would also work fine...just make sure you get a Full HD (1080p) TV...
You can get a decent high res monitor for about ~$140
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824254039

Reply to gkay09

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