Computer Upgrade (need some info)

nacire

Hey folks, I've just recently been given a little bit of money to upgrade my system as I cannot build a new desktop or buy a lappy just yet.

I'm currently using:

Mobo: Abit IS7
CPU: Intel 2.6 with HT Northwood
Video Card: ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128mb
RAM: 2x512 Corsair DDR PC3200

My first thought was to put another gig of Ram in it and get the best agp card I could find for around 200 (one supporting shader model 3.0 for sure). Then after doing some searching via NewEgg.com and the internet, it seems that my cpu may bottleneck pretty bad with a top agp card.

So really I'm up in the air at this point. Do I get a new cpu? ram? video card? Or do I try to upgrade all three? Also I noticed when looking for a cpu upgrade they are a little hard to come by considering everything is dual core at the moment.

Anyhow, any insight or help any of you could lend would be great. Thanks so much.

nacire

Here is the Ram I was looking at.

Here is the Video Card I was looking at.

I've read a few places that my mobo is good for overclocking? I'm a total newb with the OC'ing and have never taken it upon myself to learn how. Is it worth it in my current situation? Also if anyone knows any good places to go to learn the very basics to overclocking that would be awesome. Thanks again!

Toomas

Get new mobo, cpu, video and ram. Cause pretty soon you cant run anything with that computer anyways.

And theres just no point to shell out $200 for AGP card when the new patch of affordable performance DX10 cards are just around the corner (well actually here if you can find 8800GT) and they cost bit over $200 too.

leilei

personally i'd sit with that current computer until it is absolutely necessary to upgrade, or until it dies/fries/disasters-in-some-way'd.

fairly content with my own a64 3200 (with similar video and memory setup as yours) has not been failing me on anything yet. Patience rocks.

EmAr

I have a similar setup and I just bought a pair of ram(2x512mb Kingston hyperx pc3200) to avoid the memory errors I was getting in Silo. That did the job though there's very little performance improvement.

Ruz

I am in the same boat really.
Mine is pentium 4 3.06 ghz , 1gig of ram with an Asus p4g8x Motherboard.
I could get another gig of ram( it supports up to 4gig) and new vid card, but hell, this still would n't suppport most of the latest games coming out.
Shame because its been a great machine. Had it for 4 years and never had to reinstall xp.

Another problem is that this board hasn't got pci express slots and most of the latest cards are pci express

Mongrelman

The last two issues of PC Gamer (UK) have a guide on building a gaming rig for £476. First issue was the components and putting it together, current issue is overclocking it.

I agree with Toomas here, I reckon it would be wiser to through the money at a new rig instead of tryign to squeeze more out of what you already have.

Something like:

Mobo: Gigabyte DS4
CPU: E6300 (for dual core) or Q6600 for Quad core
Graphics card: New 8800 GT and GTS due very soon so we'll have to see what they are like. But at the moment the 8800GT is the way to go (half the price of a GTX and only slightly less power).


To play many games nowadays you need shader 3.0, most of those cards being PCI express. Which means a new motherboard, which means a new processor and new ram. If you get an AGP shader 3.0 card it's just delaying the inevitable a bit (and not great performance for the game). I'd strongly suggest just putting that money and some research into a new rig.
Ram: Geil 2x1Gb Dual Channel Kit PC6400 (about £35 now)

James Edwards

Yep time to upgrade. Keep the money and save for a bit if you have to. Building my new system as well, as my current one is similar to yours. You'll need to get rid of the AGP setup, so new mobo , ram (get 2 gigs) and vidcard. Pick a motherboard that can still support your cpu if you want to save a few bucks and upgrade that part a bit later.

Something like this maybe...
http://www.asus.com.tw/products4.aspx?mo...l3=534&l4=0

I'm going to grab a GeForce 8800 GT myself. Cheap card that can hold its own with the higher end cards pretty well.

nacire

Hey thanks for all of the input guys. With my desires to build a new desktop and also get a laptop, I think I'm just going to tough it out until I can save up the funds. The money I got to upgrade my existing system will be a nice little launch pad to start my savings with.

I do have some questions though.

1. Is it worth it to buy a couple of low capacity Raptors and use them in a raid array for the OS/games and just get a larger slower drive for data storage? Just curious if the performance boost is worth it for us gamer/performance users.

2. When talking about DDR2 Ram speed is 800 the way to go or will higher speeds give you worty performance increase for the dollars?

3. Last but not least, I really want to take my first step into Overclocking with this next system, but want to do it safe and smart. I want to understand speeds, voltages, timings, etc. and their relation to one another. Could someone point me to a good and informative place for a beginner to start Overclocking?

pliang

Be sure to get a more stable fan...my computer fan almost stopped working a while ago.

sonic

There is some good advice in this thread! AGP is dead, all the old Intel/AMD sockets are dead, DDR is dead, so just wait until you have the money to get a decent AM2 or Socket 775 mobo and a decent intel/amd proc. DDR2 RAM is actually significantly cheaper anyway, so you will save some money there. Whenever the newest nVidia 9 series comes out, the 8800gt will be even cheaper and will knock the pants off any AGP card.

If you are on a limited budget, here is what you should do: Buy an AM2/Socket775 mobo with decent features (if you need help looking for this kind of stuff on Newegg, just PM me), a decent processor, somewhere around an Athlonx2 4800+ or higher, or an E4500 or higher, and a gig of dual channel RAM. As far as graphics card, if you wait long enough you can get an 8800gt for pretty cheap, or just go with a 7900gs right now, as they are about $109 and will run nearly everything (save Crysis) on high. You can use your existing HDD, power supply, case, etc. If you want to upgrade to 2 gigs once you get the money, it is the easiest component to upgrade and won't cost you much.

As far as your question about the Raptors, don't do it. The speed difference on Raptors is negligible, and you will be angry that you wasted the money once you realize it changed your loading times from 30 sec to 25 sec

And for DDR2 speeds, there isn't that much difference between 533-800 or more, so just go with what has good reviews and is decently priced (usually a DD2 667).

If you want to overclock, make sure you get a decent motherboard with some decent OC features (read the reviews on newegg to see how people pushed it) and head over to http://forums.anandtech.com/categories.aspx?catid=28 and find a guide.

If you have questions, feel free to PM me.

Mongrelman

Great place to learn about overclocking (and good components)

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/

nacire

Hey thanks for the overclocking links guys, I'm sure they will come in most handy!

I put together what I would consider to be a great bang for your buck system (sans the monitor and input devices). Certain decisions were made based on the savings offered, which could very well change by the time I actually purchase and build it. Also it seems NewEgg has increased the price on xvga's top end 8800gt so ultimately if that remains the case when I buy, I'll be looking elsewhere. I chose the power supply based on what it could do down the road and also the fact that it has longer cables which will work great in the case I want. Let me know if anything seems like a poor choice. Cheers!

Nacire's New System

*Edit* There are quite a few mail in rebates that aren't showing on the wish list. The Ram for example has an additional 40 dollar mail in rebate making it only 49.99 USD!