(18/04/2010 06:53 PM)Assassinator Wrote: I actually had a PSU blow up on me before, when i upgraded my comp about a year ago. But that was an extremely shitty PSU with really no brand (I spent like 5 minutes looking for the brand, can't find it), that I got from my old computer that wee got many years ago... Couldn't handle my quad, popped and died. Now sitting on some 460W Coolermaster CPU that came with the case I bought, works fine.
Branded PSUs of the lower end should still be pretty cheap. Can get a 430W Thermaltake PSU (the basic one, not the fancy/silent/80+/whatever ones) for like $40AUD (~25GBP) here.
No idea about Arianet. Never heard of them, don't think you can get that brand here in Australia.
Arianet is Aria's own brand. They're no-brand components that Aria themselves have tested and inspected meaning they have some kind of quality control. They're still no brand but they're the best of the no-brand.
(18/04/2010 06:53 PM)Assassinator Wrote: I think I heard somewhere that at the same clock, Phenom2 is about 10-20% faster than Athlon2, don't know how accurate that is, so you may want to do some research yourself.
A bit of benchmark hunting shows a pretty small difference. The Athlon has the shared L3 cache disabled. It does make a difference but it's pretty small. Not worth the extra money IMHO.
(18/04/2010 06:53 PM)Assassinator Wrote: (18/04/2010 10:45 PM)ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote: Depends on your case's airflow, your temperate surroundings etc, as well...
Ultimately, I'd put the money for making the system MUCH quieter, since performance isn't an issue. I'd go for a lower CPU just to fit the cost of the cooler in.
It won't be all that loud, I found the case fans to be louder (which is why I have the front case fan disabled). Stock fan isn't like THAT bad.
And I heard the design changed (slightly) during the transaction to Phenom II... Has copper heat pipes and stuff on it now, and also looks quite a bit better than whatever I had.
Remember it's a cheap case. I'll do my best to improve the airflow but it still won't be amazing. I'd rather keep the cooler personally. Plus then it means I have a spare stock cooler to kludge onto my old Athlon Thoroughbred for experimentation purposes. Currently using a Pentium II cooler and case fan cable-tied on. It works but obviously not briliantly.
(19/04/2010 12:02 AM)Assassinator Wrote: (18/04/2010 10:45 PM)ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote: Warhammer isn't that graphically demanding from memory...
Probably isn't the only game he's going to be playing in the next 3 years, or however long until he decides to upgrade again.
It'll be around for a while but he's not into cutting edge games. Mostly plays tactical games and sometimes a spot of the Unreal Tournament series. Anything is better than what he's got at the moment. A Dell bought in 2003 that was spoon when it was new. Came with a Celeron 2.5GHz, 128MB (now 768MB) of DDR RAM, 40GB (now 80GB) hard drive and Intel pre-GMA graphics not upgradable due to a lack of AGP slot and free PCI slots. The motherboard has 3 but one doesn't work, another is used by a TV tuner and the third is for a NIC because the onboard one died too.
(18/04/2010 10:19 PM)ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote: Don't need 1066MHz, stick to 800MHz. Up to 4GB if you can, otherwise, probably doesn't matter much.
I was just following what the motherboard manual said. I'll drop in a 2x1GB 800MHz kit intead. 4GB would be a waste of a GB as it'll be running XP. I could add an extra GB in future if 2GB isn't enough.
(18/04/2010 10:19 PM)ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote: 4670 is like double performance of the 4650. Also check prices on the 5570, should be comparable to a 4670.
Aria don't sell the 5570 but a quick look on eBay puts them around £70. Reviews of the 4650 said it was pretty good for it's price. If the 4670 is a lot faster than the 4650 as you said then that's what I'll go for. It's only about £10 more than the 4650 on Aria.
(18/04/2010 10:19 PM)ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote: Yeah, you can cheapen the PSU if you want.
Done. Swapped it for a case/PSU bundle with a 500w PSU.