Check compatibility of custom PC components

[Tomtom111]

Hi,

I'm planning to build my own PC, I have gathered a list of components that I'd be happy to use and I think that they’re compatible with each other but I'm not entirely sure whether they are or not, so could somebody confirm if these are all compatible.

Asus F2A55-M PLUS
http://www.amazon.co.uk/F2A55-M-LK2...UTF8&colid=XZ3INQVSO36J&coliid=I1H3TUV77QRASK

AMD A8 5600K Black Edition CPU
AMD A8 5600K Black Edition CPU (3.6GHZ, 4MB Cache, 4 Core, HD6570, Socket FM2, 100W, Retail Boxed): Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

Thermaltake PSU Smart 630W 80plus white certificate
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thermaltake...UTF8&colid=XZ3INQVSO36J&coliid=I2R3FEL4EAU3KR

Seagate Barracuda 3.5" 500GB 720RPM
Seagate Barracuda 3.5 inch 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB 6GB/S Internal SATA Drive: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

MSI AMD HD7850 1GB DDR5 PCI-E Graphics Card
http://www.amazon.co.uk/MSI-HD7850-...UTF8&colid=XZ3INQVSO36J&coliid=I2DLR2TY7Z2C0C

Crucial RAM
4GB, 240-pin DIMM, DDR3 PC3-12800 memory module
4GB, 240-pin DIMM, DDR3 PC3-12800 upgrades for ASUS F2A55-M LK PLUS Motherboard, CT3630818 from Crucial.com

2GB, 240-pin DIMM, DDR3 PC3-12800 memory module
2GB, 240-pin DIMM, DDR3 PC3-12800 upgrades for ASUS F2A55-M LK PLUS Motherboard, CT3630833 from Crucial.com

Asus DRW-24B5ST 24x
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-DRW-24...UTF8&colid=XZ3INQVSO36J&coliid=I1MXXQW2GT8YHB

Fractal Design Core 1000 Series Micro ATX Case
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fractal-Des...377603332&sr=8-1&keywords=Fractal+Design+Core

Please don't suggest other components, such as an Intel CPU instead of AMD I'm really not interested unless one part isn't compatible, I just want to know whether the components I have selected are compatible.

Thanks for your help,
Tom

 

[madcratebuilder]

Your CPU choice has a embedded (imbedded) GPU. Check online reviews to see how it compares with the stand alone HD7800. You can get the A8 with embedded HD7800 for about $20 more than the embedded HD6500.

The mini well run much cooler without the stand alone GPU. Is this going to be a HT box?

 

[Tomtom111]

No, more for games, however as I am on a budget this is pretty much the limit of what I can get. As a result of that, a dedicated GPU card is really a must.

 

[Tomtom111]

Can nobody else help me on this?

 

[paulpicks21]

Hi Tomtom,

I am no expert on AMD, but it all looks to be compatible but I have a question on the ram you have listed, you have 2 different links, one for 4GB and another for 2GB. You are not planning on buying 6GB are you? I would advise against that, you want 8GB for it to run in dual channel mode and get best performance. 8GB is very cheap if you look around.

Everything looks fine if you are on a budget and the GPU should be great for games.

Out of interest what is your total budget? I assume you don't need an OS or Monitor etc.

 

[Tomtom111]

I didn't look beyond crucial ram, and on my budget of no more than £400 that would be a squeeze. Where else should i look for RAM, i saw a shop was selling 2nd hand RAM cards but wasnt sure. I will need an OS (W7) but I can get it for £40 for just the licence from amazon (I have a W7 disc already), but this isn't included in budget. As for screen, I have one but I want an upgrade fairly soon but it's not urgent. Thanks for your help.

 

[paulpicks21]

How much did you budget for Ram? I must admit I have just looked and it has gone up a lot in price lately, I bought 8GB over a year ago for around £35, cheapest I can find right now is £50 here

 

[Tomtom111]

When I looked through the compatible cards, I did think they had become more expensive. Are there other brands (Samsung/Kingston) that would be cheaper but to thr same standard? I could get a slower card in favour of more space.

 

[paulpicks21]

I cannot believe how much ram has gone up since I last looked! I paid £55 earlier this year for 8GB of 2400MHz top of the line stuff. Now it's £50 for 8GB of 1333MHz and the same for 1600MHz so it's makes no sense to go for the slower stuff.

You have a couple of options, you could go with the 8GB I linked to before for £50, you could buy just a single stick of 4GB for now and add a 2nd when you have the spare cash (although it won't run in dual channel mode so you will lose some performance) or you could by 2x 2GB which will run in dual channel mode. Most if not all games won't use this much memory so you should be fine for now and both the later options will set you back between £30-£35.

It's up to you really, but my main point was that you don't want to put 1x 4GB stick and 1x 2GB stick in that setup, most folks and manufacturers recommend matching sticks of ram in size, timings and brand etc. You may have issues otherwise.

Paul.

 

[Tomtom111]

Great, thanks for your help. If I understand you, getting a 4 and 2gb card won't be catastrophic but will reduce the performance of the system? If so I will defiantly look into getting 8gb instead, unless of course they sell 6GB set somewhere.. I can dream... What do you think aboit Samsung and Kimgston RAM cards, are they not as good as Crucial cards or soemthing? Thanks again.

 

[paulpicks21]

Ok well back to the 6GB thing, it really is not advised, you need both sticks to be the same size i.e 2GB each or 4GB each to run in dual channel mode. 6GB is specifically for triple channel chipsets where it would be 3x2GB, I am not saying a 4GB + 2GB won't work, but believe it or not even 2x 2GB will perform much better as it's a correct amount of ram for that chipset, you need to work with either 2,4,8,16 or 32GB, not 3,6,12,24.

I think Samsung make some fine ram, some of their stuff is very overclockable. As far as Kingston, I have no experience of them, but personally I would look elsewhere, there are so many great ram manufacturers and the prices are not that different. My favorite and many others on Seven forums is G.Skill, they make some great Ram and their service if something goes wrong is excellent.

Paul.

 

[Tomtom111]

Ok thanks for explaining it.

On a slightly different aspect of it, I wasn't sure to go for an actual wireless card, or a USB adapter, as if i put in a GPU card I'm not sure if there will be enough room for a wireless cardas well, in which case i would have to go for a USB adapter. As you can see in the photos the gpu port and wireless port are close together and the cpu card appears to take up two slots.
Thanks again

 

[Boozad]

You could always consider Powerline Adaptors as opposed to wireless dongles for your network solution.

 

[Boozad]

What do you think aboit Samsung and Kimgston RAM cards, are they not as good as Crucial cards or soemthing?

I use samsung RAM in my backup AMD rig and Kingston HyperX Genesis in my main Haswell rig and they're both absolutely fine.

 

[Tomtom111]

Thanks Boozad, although the powerline adapters are a good idea from what I've read they don't work with mutli plug adapters, and as I have a several of gadgets plugged into only just a couple of main plugs they really aren't an option. And thanks for clearing up my question about other manufacturers of RAM cards.
could you tell me if the GPU would block the wireless card port?

 

[paulpicks21]

It won't block it, it will be a snug fit but it will fit. I have fitted a sound card and my gpu in the same slots you need to.

Paul

 

[Tomtom111]

Awesome. Thanks for that. By the way, what is the 3rd PCI port from the right for? I know what the other two are for, as we have discussed. Thanks

 

[paulpicks21]

Well the GPU one will be PCI-e x16, the one below where you are fitting the wireless card will most likely be PCI-e x1 and the last one will be a standard PCI slot, non e.

Paul.

 

[Tomtom111]

How can I find the chipset of the CPU I've selected? I cant find it anywhere. Also does it affect the motherboard I can buy?