Upgrade or build ?

RobertM

MB:

http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=36060&agid=1232

http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=38185&agid=1232

http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=38301&agid=1232

Which one ?

Monotype

The ECS comes with DVI, VGA, HDMI and display port, which is interesting. Probably not much use to you since you'll be putting in a graphics card.
The gigabyte is 790X + SB850, but I don't see any major differences because of it, apart from it not having onboard graphics.
The Asrock Extreme 3 seems to have good reviews and a good price. Possibly because there's an Extreme 4 now with USB 3 headers. The only possible downside I see is the eSATA is only 3Gbps, but you'd need to have an external SSD to notice the difference. You can also connect one of the internal ones to get 6Gbps.

I've read some stories commenting on ECS's poor quality but these were bottom end boards, so this one is likely to be better. I haven't seen enough on their recent boards to comment. With Gigabyte and Asrock, you should be reasonably safe.

RobertM

I think this is it

Any other thing to add ?:o

Solitaire

I was about to say "horrible build is horrible" but its improved immensely in that last post

Three things -

Swap the HD5830 for, well, anything else The GTX460 threashes it into next week, and those can be picked up for under €150! The 1GB version is more expensive but is close to HD5850 performance levels. AMD has no presence in that market segment at the moment (the HD5830 is a joke. A bad one ) and won't fix that until they hit out with the HD67*0 in a couple of months

That RAM is still pricey. You can get medium-latency 4GB 1333MHz kits for around €65 now, so a CL7 or medium-latency 1600MHz kit should be much cheaper

Do you really need a SATA3 HDD?!? No mechanical drive can really utilize it, hell they can barely saturate SATA1 fully! The Samsung F3 1GB is a little bit faster IIRC and only costs a little over €50!

Monotype

Haha, I misread it as a 5850 and was thinking it was going for a very good price.

RobertM

1.I don't get it with the graphics card. I thought it was a 5850. Why does it say EAH5830, then ATI 5850 ?

2. Does the name matter with the RAM ? Like Corsair and the rest are expensive, but does a lower brand offer the same performance ?

3. When it comes to the HDD, I'm really lost, never ever understood them Could you tell me specifically a good one at around 1TB ? Except the one you mentioned earlier, just wanna compare them. And I think as always, bigger brands are more expensive, Seagate, WD etc.


EDIT: The total budget is 900 including delivery. So if you wanna change something in the config, just go ahead

RobertM

Right, I think this is it. Opinions ?

Solitaire

Looking good IMHO

RobertM

Solitaire wrote: »

Looking good IMHO

Just a quick question. Between a AMD and Intel which is better at overclocking ? AFAIK the AMD's use less power than Intel's is that right ?

Solitaire

Intel?

In terms of power draw its i3 > X3 > i5 > X4 > X6 > i7

In terms of platform cost its X3 > X4 > i3 > i5 > X6 > i7

RobertM

Sweet, last question, I promise :pac:. Someone told me that with the the Phenom II x4 black edition can be "unlocked" from the bios, thus making it a x6, is that true ? Could save some money if it's true

Solitaire

Lies! The next refresh will be cut-down X6 dies, but all the current models on the market are quad-core, born and bred

RobertM

Thanks for that. So all being said, will order this in the next few days Cheers for all the help lads.

RobertM

Was kind'of bored now and made a intel based system.

Which is better out of them two ?

Solitaire

First one would be better at multitasking and apps performance. Second one might OC a little better and use less juice, but as it is you've specced a case that is not only inferior to the V9 but which is also too physically small to fit an ATX mobo, which you have specced. And mobo is LGA1156, while CPU is LGA1366! :eek::o Plus that cheap little cooler isn't much good for keeping a 95W CPU in check, so it wouldn't stand a chance against a 130W LGA1366 behemoth! Revoltec still don't stock any LGA1156/1366 120mm tower coolers which is a real shame, as the CM Hyper 212+ is gone so there's no decent heatsink for LGA1366 under the Mugen 2's €33 price-point and feck-all for LGA1156 on HWVS now

RobertM

Going to order the "comp2" one then. Thanks for all the help so far. Still got a lot to learn

RobertM

After receiving the parts this morning tried to assemble it today but with no luck. When I push the power button, the fans start, but the monitor says "No signal" and then goes black.

The wires I've done are:

ATX - 24 pins
ATX - 8 pins
CPU fan plugged in
Video card - 2x6 pins

As I said, if I turn it on it just says "No signal" and then nothing, no beeps or anything.

Opinions ?

Thanks

Solitaire

Try resetting the CMOS. If it still isn't working, remove the mobo from the case and put it on an insulated anti-static surface (most likely the bag it came from!) and test with just one stick of RAM and either onboard video or a graphics card if neccessary.

RobertM

Just my luck.. Look what happened Am I fcuked ?

Solitaire

Yep. Something's gone spectacularly wrong - looks like the entire 24pin socket literally cooked off :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek: Massive, massive mobo or PSU issue. That's not your fault unless you dumped the contents of a two-litre bottle of Coke on top of it prior to trying to power it up! :eek::eek::eek:

RobertM

As I read through lots of these, some say that components might be damaged during transport. Is this true ? I've e-mailed HWVS but don't know if they are ever going to reply back.

Is this motherboard fixable ?

Solitaire

Almost certainly not. You've lost a power rail track and the pics suggest a major electrical element to the fault owing to the severe scorch marks where the track parted company from the PCB. Its not really fixable but it's not your fault either, it may have been bad from the start and/or been weakened in transit or nuked by a severely faulty PSU

RobertM

the psu is the XTX 650W one. If HWVS are ever going to reply back, should I send them the PSU back as well ?

Solitaire

Nope, I'm not really sure, if you have a mate with a tester I'd try that first before confusing the issue by sending back both. Some firms might not replace the mobo if they think the PSU was at fault so try the mobo first.

RobertM

Anyone knows someone around Dublin to repair computers ? It looks like there's only the small copper wire on the MOBO burned. The rest of it seems fine, so just want to double check.

Solitaire

That's a solder trace on the PCB itself and from just looking at it I'm guessing its a minor power rail. Even if you could get someone to fix it for less than eleventy-hundred quid I wouldn't like to make bets on the rail - and thus the mobo - surviving long

RobertM

I know, but I just don't know what to do. HWVS don't seem to answer their e-mails, and I don't know any german to call them. If they don't reply back, I'll have to buy another one. Can I do anything seeing that they're in Germany ? If it was someone based in Ireland, I would've went to their office and argued my case.

RobertM

Hey guys, I'm not even going to bother with HWVS anymore since they're not arsed to even answer a lousy e-mail. Could someone recommend a motherboard off elara, komplett or any irish based company that I could pick it up myself ? I'd like to buy it Monday.

massy086

RobertM wrote: »

Hey guys, I'm not even going to bother with HWVS anymore since they're not arsed to even answer a lousy e-mail. Could someone recommend a motherboard off elara, komplett or any irish based company that I could pick it up myself ? I'd like to buy it Monday.

go straight to gigabit tell them hvs are being useless they will rma it for you http://www.giga-byte.co.uk/support-downloads/customer-service.aspx

RobertM

Who wants to take this motherboard off me ? The RMA team told me to send it off, but until I get an answer it's going to take about 2 weeks, and to be honest I'd get a new one altogether. I was thinking of recycling the mobo, but maybe here someone wants it so they can send it to RMA and get it repaired.


P.S: the RMA requires that you send them a postal order of 30 £ in order to pay for the return of item through UPS.

So the mobo is on this page, gigabyte 890xa-ud3. have a couple of s-ata cables, the cd's that came with it etc.

I've already set my eye on a new mobo for me with some better specs, so will get it next week.


Thanks