Which MOBO and Chip combination?

Right, i've been having some problems with my pc and have decided i might aswel have a go at building a pc from scratch.

I want a decent multimedia PC ready for future use in my living room, connected to my TV and audio setup.

I've been doing some reading up on mobos and CPUs and i am still slightly confused as to what i need to look at in order to determine what chip can be used with what mobo (other than socket type obviously). I've seen a
AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition, Callisto, S AM3, 3.1GHz, 7MB Total Cache HT 4000MHz, 85W chip
and a
Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H, AMD 785G, AM3, DDR3 1066/1333/1800, SATA 3Gb/s RAID, Micro ATX, VGA mobo.

I have basically picked these going off my budget and i am not entirely sure whether they are a good match.

Anyone got any advice/suggestions??

Thankyou! :cool

 

This is the mobo http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Giga...-1066-1333-1800-SATA-3Gb-s-RAID-Micro-ATX-VGA

and this is the chip http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AMD-...3-31GHz-7MB-Total-Cache-HT-4000MHz-85W-Retail

 

That Gigabyte mobo you posted is nice ( my friend has one)
and is perfect for HTPC
the HD4200 thats integrated will more than enough for video play back for some time.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128397

for the CPU I would go with the
AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor
Its more power than you will need but with HD video getting better all the time this will leave you some head room for the future
I have this CPU and Its sick for Price VS performance
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649

after that throw some decent ddr3 ram and a good psu and case.

If you don't have a case yet and its for the living room give this a look
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163055

 

Cool, thanks very much, thats just the sort of advice i need.

Thats what i was thinking, i might aswel get better components than i need just to prepare for the future.

As for the case, that one is nice but i was thinking of maybe an MATX to keep size down abit, hence the choice of motherboard. If you know of any nice smaller black cases, feel free to let me know! lol.

This will be an ongoing project over a couple of weeks or so. I'me just going to buy parts as i can afford to so theres plenty of time to think about what i should use anyway

 

Is clockspeed a good indication of how fast a pc will/does run, or does it depend on what componenets you use along side your cpu?

I'me fairly new to understanding the workings of a pc and have always just been under the impression that looking at the clockspeed would tell me if a pc was fast or slow.

I currently have a cheapish intel P4 3.0ghz cpu and 1Gb ram. If i was to use the AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor that paradoxdream has suggested, would i receive better results/speed?

The AMD phenom has a lot more features, etc, than my current chip but being a newbie to this, i dont really know what it all means.

Just wondered if anyone wanted to give me a lesson in cpus lol.

 

sorry, keep rambling on this thread but i currently have a Intel pentium 4 531 3.00ghz cpu running my existing machine. Is a AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8ghz a better processor? or not?

 

Cheers, well thats cleared that one up for me.

 

The rule of any PC is that it will only be as fast as your slowest component

As for the P4 Vs Phenom II X3 720
The X3 720 will destroy it effortlessly every time and twice on sunday and never break a sweat

The P4 = 1 Core (1 CPU) and Very OLD Architecture
The X3 720 = 3 Cores (3 CPU's) and Latest AMD Architecture with DDR3 Support

Higher clock speed Does not all ways mean Faster especially when comparing an older model Vs a newer one
To me Architecture is the most important thing in a CPU not clock speed

 

cool. sorry if it seems like ime asking stupid questions, but its the only way i'll learn!

I'm doing alot of reading up on the internet but its good to be able to ask people who know about these things directly.

thanks again.

 

NP
PS. never apologize for asking a question if any one ever gives you slack for asking a question then that means you are asking the wrong people

Some reading material for ya
http://www.overclockersclub.com/
http://www.anandtech.com/
http://www.guru3d.com/
Through all this sites you will find an abundance of information and reviews on various PC components

 

so... going back to my first question, what do i need to look for to ensure a cpu and a motherboard are compatible with one another? socket? chipset? FSB speed?

I might go for a mini ITX board so i need to make sure i know how to chose the right cpu..

 

Thanks paradoxdream :cool

 

I've decided i'm going to go for a mobo like this: J&W MINIX 780G-SP128MB, AMD 780G, AM2/AM2+, DDR2 SO-DIMM, SATA RAID , Mini-ITX, HDMI/ DVI/ VGA
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Jand...-DDR2-1066MHz-SATA-RAID-Mini-ITX-HDMI-DVI-VGA

Now paradoxdream had suggested the AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz cpu to go with a microATX board i was considering but thats AM3socket and the mobo i now want is AM2/AM2+ (i've decided on the MiniITX purely down to size and where the pc will eventually be positioned)

Can anyone suggest a nice CPU to match the J&W MINIX 780G AM2/AM2+ mobo?? I have been looking at the AMD Phenom II X4 940 but its just a little bit out of my price range and i think its probably more powerful than i need

Thanks in advance!

 

OR i could go for the ZOTAC GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi MOBO with a 775socket intel cpu (suggestions welcome).

What do yall reckon???

edit: with a Intel Core 2 Duo E7400, S775, Wolfdale, 2.80 GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 3MB Cache, 10.5x Ratio, 65W, perhaps?

 

If I am not mistaken All Phenom II are backwards compatible meaning they will work in an AM2+ the Phenom II X3 and X4 are the same socket so they both work in the same Mobo's

 

awesome! problem solved then
i've just read "However, AM3 processors are backwards-compatible with Socket AM2+, contingent upon a BIOS update for the motherboard."

one thing that would be nice though with the ZOTAC board is the built in wifi

 

This phenom x4 i was looking at was a different socket to the x3 http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AMD-...-30GHz-8MB-Total-Cache-HT-2000MHz-125W-Retail

maybe its an older one or sumat?

 

Your right I was thinking of this one
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AMD-Phenom-II-X4-955-BlackEdition-Sok-AM3-32GHz-8MB-Total-Cache-125W-Retail
Its only around 10 more quid

 

oh aye yeah. would you go for amd over intel?

i fancy tryin amd but i like the look of the zotax board (intel) that comes with wifi, coz that would be handy for me, plus it wouldnt take up the pci slot if was to decide i wanted wifi at a later date (as i wouldnt mind using it for a firewire card)

actually i could use external usb wifi couldnt i....