Compatible?

[John90]

Im trying to help a friend order some parts.

Would the
SAPPHIRE 100225L Radeon HD 3870
work with the
ECS A780GM Motherboard

The specs show that it doesn't have a PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot, but I wasn't sure if it's required.

If not is there a better motherboard for around that price?

Thanks,
John

Never mind, I should have used common sense before the post. I wasn't thinking. Anyway, since I already started the thread, is there another motherboard that would be close to the same price as the one above and offer more?

 

[objecterror]

No, the board technically using a '1.0', I'd say the technology is the same as some of your 1.1 USB drives, where the technology will be cross compatible, but, you won't see a noticeable change in performance unless you use the 2.0.

 

[John90]

Is there another motherboard you could recommend?

MSI K9N2G Neo-FD
ASUS M3N78 PRO (Not sure if he would be willing to pay that)
ASUS M3A78
GIGABYTE GA-MA770

Thanks again.

One last question..

Which of the three would be better?
Compare AMD Processors for Desktops: AMD Phenom?, AMD Athlon? FX, AMD Athlon? X2 Dual-Core, AMD Athlon?, and AMD Sempron? Processor

He wants to order Monday or Tuesday.

 

[objecterror]

One last question..

Which of the three would be better?
Compare AMD Processors for Desktops: AMD Phenom?, AMD Athlon? FX, AMD Athlon? X2 Dual-Core, AMD Athlon?, and AMD Sempron? Processor

He wants to order Monday or Tuesday.

I don't even think the Tri-Core processors we're fully optimized when intel introduced the quad-cores. I would go with a quad core, I haven't heard anything to neutral about the phenom processors, a lot of folks I see here use intel.

If your client/whomever your building for is on a budget, I wouldn't push it, if your gut tells you 'no' then don't do it.

Newegg.com - ASUS M3A78 AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards
or
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-MA770-DS3 AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX All Solid Capacitor AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards
for there broad range of cross compatibility with AM2/AM2+ sockets, that gives you dual core to start out with then upgrade later to quad core if he absolutely needs to.

 

[John90]

He want's AMD, not sure why, but im not going to question him, it's cheaper anyway.

Newegg.com - Once You Know, You Newegg
That's the list so far, wants that case and graphics card, the rest is pretty much changeable. Staying as close to $500 as possible.

I appreciate the response. Oh, and it's not a client, its a good friend and hes pretty limited on internet access right now so im TRYING to help out, but I don't know a lot about custom builds.

 

[objecterror]

He want's AMD, not sure why, but im not going to question him, it's cheaper anyway.

Newegg.com - Once You Know, You Newegg
That's the list so far, wants that case and graphics card, the rest is pretty much changeable. Staying as close to $500 as possible.

I appreciate the response. Oh, and it's not a client, its a good friend and hes pretty limited on internet access right now so im TRYING to help out, but I don't know a lot about custom builds.

Everything looks fine in this build here, I was going to mention lack of a powersupply, but, this looks good. I don't know about buying additional compand and remover, since the supply that comes with the heatsink last roughly 4 or 5 months.

Does he really need 4GB of ram? You'll save more going with 2GB and a system runs exceptionally well with 2GB, If you absolutely MUST have it, I suggest buying 2GB first, letting him run on a system with 2GB then upgrade later.

Here's another dual channel kit with good reviews:
Newegg.com - A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

Are you using a CD/DVD drive of any sort?

 

[John90]

He's got a decent CD/DVD Drive. It's almost brand new. The reason for buying 4GB now is, if he wants more later on then your going to have to pay for the shipping again. Around here at staples 1 GB is still like $80. Save more in the long shot I guess.

Do you see anything that could be upgraded for little cost?
Just to make sure, is that a good enough GPU for some of the newer games? COD4, and similar. If not, any other suggestions

Once again, thanks for helping.

 

[objecterror]

Alright, so the 4GB stays and there is no need for a combo drive. The graphics card for the price seems really good.

On the crysis benchmarks, that card goes beyond the minimum specs by roughly 30 or 40% getting a 40.0 from what I've read.
Can see more on that here:bit-tech.net | Review - Sapphire Radeon HD 3870
If you look around the forums, there are a lot of people that want to score big time scores on benchmarks for crysis, so a card that can stand up to it with medium to max settings is a definitely good card.

 

[John90]

That's what I like to hear, thanks.

Might order myself a couple for them random birthdays that pop up.


Alright, thanks for all the help! (They need a cheers smiley here)

Edit: Looking at the chart, it's pretty comparable to my 8800. That's great for the price.

 

[meat_helmet]

I would suggest this over the 3870:

Newegg.com - EVGA 512-P3-N975-AR GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards because its about the same price after th MIR, but slightly better, and its EVGA.

If you can squeeze an extra $50 or so, this is much better:

Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards