(05-10-2010, 10:05 AM)demori Wrote: [ -> ]Ah. I'm rethinking some parts after browsing Frys Electronics.
I found this BioStar TA790GXB A2+ AMD 790GX AM3 Motherboard for $70 which I'm assuming is the original budget board. It says AM3 in the title, but I only saw AM2+ in the description. (Fry's spec descriptions are lacking.)
I did some research on other mobos you might be able to use and I found this:
"(Note) If you install AMD AM3/AM2+ CPU on AM2 motherbord, the system bus speed will downgrade from HT3.0(5200MHz) to HT1.0(2000 MT/s) spec; however, the frequency of AM3/AM2+ CPU will not be impacted".
You might want to consider this Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2 AMD 785G AM3 motherboard:
http://www.frys.com/product/5981584?site...IN_RSLT_PG
That is an m-ATX as well, so it should fit your small casing. It's equiped for an AM3 processor, so no loss of system bus speed there! Plus, it's capable of handling DDR3 memory.
(05-10-2010, 10:18 AM)MLConian Wrote: [ -> ]You might want to consider this Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2 AMD 785G AM3 motherboard:
http://www.frys.com/product/5981584?site...IN_RSLT_PG
That is an m-ATX as well, so it should fit your small casing. It's equiped for an AM3 processor, so no loss of system bus speed there! Plus, it's capable of handling DDR3 memory.
I do like that mobo, but it does not support the budget 1600 memory I found. I cannot find any sub-$100 DDR3 memory for it.
I think the Biostar AM3 Mobo above might be the winner since I can get $80 DDR2 RAM to go with the $70 board. But now that you mention it, I'm thinking the model I linked is ATX instead of m-ATX. I can't find the spec on Fry's website though. Argh.
What RAM would you suggest for the Gigabyte board?
(By the way, how would DDR2 800 vs. DDR3 1600 RAM compare to one another as far as Dolphin performance goes?)
I can't find the Gigabyte mobo on Gigabyte's own website, though I found this at Micro Center:
http://www.microcenter.com/single_produc...id=0322042
At least that gives you a better overview of the board.
To be honest, I don't see why the memory you selected would not work on that board. Otherwise, just settle for 1333 Hz memory.
The memory I linked was DDR3 1600 and the board only supports DDR3-1800 (O.C.), DDR3-1666, DDR3-1333, and DDR3-1066. All the 1333 memory I could find was over $100 except 1 deal on Frys that is out of stock.
Edit:
Come to think of it, I can't even FIND any DDR3 1666 memory. It is only in the specs of Gigabyte motherboards of all motherboards on newegg. Is that a typo? Will 1600 memory work?
speed of ram makes very little difference. Just get some cheap stuff from g.skill and see how far you can oc. Most likely, you'll be limited by imc.
well, the compatibility case in most cases is pretty worthless imo. Most if not all ram of same type should work (ddr, ddr2, ddr3) You missed decent cooling.
(05-10-2010, 02:06 PM)boogerlad Wrote: [ -> ]speed of ram makes very little difference. Just get some cheap stuff from g.skill and see how far you can oc. Most likely, you'll be limited by imc.
I'm not sure what you mean by 'imc'.
(05-10-2010, 02:31 PM)boogerlad Wrote: [ -> ]well, the compatibility case in most cases is pretty worthless imo. Most if not all ram of same type should work (ddr, ddr2, ddr3) You missed decent cooling.
I'm trying to keep this build as quiet as possible. Do you have any recommendations for a better budget GPU that will stay cool? The CPU and everything else should be sufficiently cooled by this build has been my understanding. My biggest concern with the existing GPU is the lack of a heatsink on this particular model's memory. This is probably why it is so cheap. I'm hoping to get by on the fact that this will only occasionally need the power to run Dolphin as it will be a HTPC or low-end emulator for the remainder of its usage.
Is there a better (equally or less expensive) graphics card? (Or an easy way to compensate for the overheating? I'm thinking maybe sacrificing another $20 for a waterblock.)
imc is integrated memory controller. Some lucky ones scale up to 2000mhz+, but "normal" ones without binning or anything max out at 1600mhz imo. You could buy some ramsinks for like 5 bucks.
![[Image: fdYxe.png]](http://imgur.com/fdYxe.png)
