PC upgrade help.
11 November 2005, 12:42 PM
#1
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PC upgrade help.
Time to upgrade my PC. It's a good few years old now, built by myself and based around an Asus A7N8X deluxe mobo with an Athlon XP2800 running at 3200. (200 FSB) and watercooling. GFX wise it has an old but trusty 9700 pro, again watercooled and running above stock speeds. Ram wise 1Gb with two sticks of OCZ PC3200 Platinum in dual channel mode. HD's are two SATA Western Digital Raptors, and one Western Digital SATA 250gb.
Although it can still handle all the current crop of games, I've noticed default settings of 640X480 in newer games like Q4, which tbo was a bit of a shock. In BF2 I'm finding it difficult to see things in the distance which is ruining the game.
I'd really like an nForce4 board, something like the DFI LANParty with one of the new AMD dual core chips, 2Gb of DDR2 memory, and perhaps an X800XL or similar, but I cant afford everything above in one go wihtout using plastic as I reckon it's over £1K's worth (Not this week anyway
) and it would mean sorting out a few hassles with the watercooling.
Is there anything anyone can think of that would allow me to upgrade in stages while still having the use of the PC? I'm sure the ram will be OK but I'm almost 100% certain that I cannot use the old processor in the nForce4 mobo, or newer processors in my present mobo. I guess the 9700 is now scrap with PCI-E only on the new boards. Would I get any benefit from buying an AGP X800XL, or would this be a short term waste of money. Is the mobo I mentioned worth buying or should I really be thinking SLI or Crossfire for future headroom? I think the DFI could possibly have some sort of SLI work around but it's not officially supported by nVidia. I'd obvioulsy like a future proof upgade path so that anything I buy now will see me good for at least a couple of years.
Decisions, decisions
I've a feeling I'm going to be told to start saving
Although it can still handle all the current crop of games, I've noticed default settings of 640X480 in newer games like Q4, which tbo was a bit of a shock. In BF2 I'm finding it difficult to see things in the distance which is ruining the game.
I'd really like an nForce4 board, something like the DFI LANParty with one of the new AMD dual core chips, 2Gb of DDR2 memory, and perhaps an X800XL or similar, but I cant afford everything above in one go wihtout using plastic as I reckon it's over £1K's worth (Not this week anyway
) and it would mean sorting out a few hassles with the watercooling.Is there anything anyone can think of that would allow me to upgrade in stages while still having the use of the PC? I'm sure the ram will be OK but I'm almost 100% certain that I cannot use the old processor in the nForce4 mobo, or newer processors in my present mobo. I guess the 9700 is now scrap with PCI-E only on the new boards. Would I get any benefit from buying an AGP X800XL, or would this be a short term waste of money. Is the mobo I mentioned worth buying or should I really be thinking SLI or Crossfire for future headroom? I think the DFI could possibly have some sort of SLI work around but it's not officially supported by nVidia. I'd obvioulsy like a future proof upgade path so that anything I buy now will see me good for at least a couple of years.
Decisions, decisions
I've a feeling I'm going to be told to start saving
11 November 2005, 01:26 PM
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You'll see a benefit from 2Gb and a new GPU on your current set-up.
there are some AGP & PCI-E dual support motherboards, but doubt they are great overclocking boards.
Seeing as you're obviously a fairly hardcore overclocker (water cooling
) - you could try:
X2 3800+
2Gb ram - make/model will depend on you and the motherboard really
DFI lanparty or A8N SLI premium (tis an ok overclocking board)
X800GTo2 (can be bios flashed to X800 XT PE apparently!)
New PSU
Still hitting that grand mark...
Or go 1.5 or 2Gb on your current and get a second hand X800XL or 6800GT. still not cheap, possible less than half the cost of a full PCI-E upgrade.
there are some AGP & PCI-E dual support motherboards, but doubt they are great overclocking boards.
Seeing as you're obviously a fairly hardcore overclocker (water cooling
) - you could try:X2 3800+
2Gb ram - make/model will depend on you and the motherboard really
DFI lanparty or A8N SLI premium (tis an ok overclocking board)
X800GTo2 (can be bios flashed to X800 XT PE apparently!)
New PSU
Still hitting that grand mark...
Or go 1.5 or 2Gb on your current and get a second hand X800XL or 6800GT. still not cheap, possible less than half the cost of a full PCI-E upgrade.
11 November 2005, 02:15 PM
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Cheers m8. I think (hope) my present PSU will be OK, a SilenX 600w.
Prices I have found so far for the kit you mentioned (approx) -
X2 3800 £245.00
A8N SLI-P £129.00
X800GTO2 £140.00
2Gb Giel DDR2 £164.00
Mobo £120.00
Comes to about £800, which although a bit cheaper still means I might need to rob a bank
Prices I have found so far for the kit you mentioned (approx) -
X2 3800 £245.00
A8N SLI-P £129.00
X800GTO2 £140.00
2Gb Giel DDR2 £164.00
Mobo £120.00
Comes to about £800, which although a bit cheaper still means I might need to rob a bank
11 November 2005, 02:15 PM
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How about this...........
ASRock 939Dual mobo. Accepts AGP and PCI-E - £46 I have been hearing good things about it thus far.
Athlon 64 X2 3800 cpu. Decent overclocker from what I have read - £230
And keep the rest of your stuff until you can afford more. TOTAL - £276
Alternately, you could go for this......
Abit AN8 Ultra mobo. Great NF4 board - £88
Athlon 64 X2 3800 cpu. Decent overclocker from what I have read - £230
Sapphire X800GTO2 gfx card. These easily convert to X850XT PE speeds and 16 pipelines. Great bargain - £152 at the mo
And keep the rest of your stuff until you can afford more. TOTAL - £470
ASRock 939Dual mobo. Accepts AGP and PCI-E - £46 I have been hearing good things about it thus far.
Athlon 64 X2 3800 cpu. Decent overclocker from what I have read - £230
And keep the rest of your stuff until you can afford more. TOTAL - £276
Alternately, you could go for this......
Abit AN8 Ultra mobo. Great NF4 board - £88
Athlon 64 X2 3800 cpu. Decent overclocker from what I have read - £230
Sapphire X800GTO2 gfx card. These easily convert to X850XT PE speeds and 16 pipelines. Great bargain - £152 at the mo
And keep the rest of your stuff until you can afford more. TOTAL - £470
11 November 2005, 03:03 PM
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Originally Posted by _RIP_
Cheers m8. I think (hope) my present PSU will be OK, a SilenX 600w.
Prices I have found so far for the kit you mentioned (approx) -
X2 3800 £245.00
A8N SLI-P £129.00
X800GTO2 £140.00
2Gb Giel DDR2 £164.00
Mobo £120.00
Comes to about £800, which although a bit cheaper still means I might need to rob a bank
Prices I have found so far for the kit you mentioned (approx) -
X2 3800 £245.00
A8N SLI-P £129.00
X800GTO2 £140.00
2Gb Giel DDR2 £164.00
Mobo £120.00
Comes to about £800, which although a bit cheaper still means I might need to rob a bank
My maths makes it about 700 with one motherboard
11 November 2005, 03:27 PM
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Originally Posted by _RIP_
Cheers for looking that up for me D16GER, sounding a bit more in my price range now
Just for your info, I have just finished a build for a friend. It was the AN8 Ultra, 1 gig of ram, A64 3000 Venice and the Sapphire X800GTO2.
It flies! Very rapid system for the money (£600 including new case, dvd drive etc!)
The X800 converted first time no problems and easily clocked to X850XT PE speeds.
His scores were as follows....
3dMark 03 - 13,050
3dMark 05 - 6,350
Not too shabby at all!
Gives you some idea of what to expect!
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11 November 2005, 05:14 PM
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Originally Posted by D16GER
Hey no worries matey!
Just for your info, I have just finished a build for a friend. It was the AN8 Ultra, 1 gig of ram, A64 3000 Venice and the Sapphire X800GTO2.
It flies! Very rapid system for the money (£600 including new case, dvd drive etc!)
The X800 converted first time no problems and easily clocked to X850XT PE speeds.
His scores were as follows....
3dMark 03 - 13,050
3dMark 05 - 6,350
Not too shabby at all! Gives you some idea of what to expect!
Just for your info, I have just finished a build for a friend. It was the AN8 Ultra, 1 gig of ram, A64 3000 Venice and the Sapphire X800GTO2.
It flies! Very rapid system for the money (£600 including new case, dvd drive etc!)
The X800 converted first time no problems and easily clocked to X850XT PE speeds.
His scores were as follows....
3dMark 03 - 13,050
3dMark 05 - 6,350
Not too shabby at all!
Gives you some idea of what to expect!
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