PC UPGRADE.... What Should I do???

[donmezz]

Hello,

I was wondering if I could have some suggestions please....

My current specs are:

Asus K8N Motherboard
AMD 64 bit 3000 Processor
1 GB Samsung RAM DDR2700 (May even be as bad as 2100)
x800Pro - Fan is starting to sound a little abused after many hours of Counter Strike and Colin Mcrae
200GB IDE Hard drive

I have around £200 and would like to be able to play new games (i.e. Colin Mcrae Dirt and COD4... with reasonably good graphics, i.e. not 800x600!)

I'd prefer not to go over to the other side (PCI-E) as it would cost over budget, so I'd like to stick with AGP....

Have I got any chance or is it a lost cause???

Please help!!

[ajones]

Upgrading that processor is becoming harder all the time, as S939 CPUs are getting tricky to find.

You can get mobo/CPU/RAM for around 150... but that's leaving much for graphics card. You're in repurchasing XP territory too, but should be ok as long as you keep hold of the HDD.....

Have you checked out the second hand gear in the Classified section in the Shopping and Retail Therapy section? You can often pick up a second hand system fairly cheaply there.

[staffsMike]

Intel Pentium Dual Core E2160 - £43
motherboard - £45
2gb of PC5300 - £25
Ati HD3850pro 256mb - £95 or £105 for the 512mb version.

Pretty much £200 and it will do a good job.

There is an AGP version of the above video card if you wish to stick amd.

you can pick up a 939 dual core for around £35 (3600+ x2 ocuk)
and the RAM is available but expensive.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3600+ (Socket 939) - OEM
Crucial 2GB (2x1GB) PC3200 CAS3 184pin DDR Memory Dual Channel Kit (CT2KIT12864Z40B)

[hse180]

Intel Pentium Dual Core E2160 - £43
motherboard - £45
2gb of PC5300 - £25
Ati HD3850pro 256mb - £95 or £105 for the 512mb version.

Pretty much £200 and it will do a good job.

Thats the best way to do it...a complete set for £200...out with the old in with the new.

[staffsMike]

Selling your old stuff with probably fund an upgrade up to an

Abit IP-35 and certainly the 512mb HD3850pro

[donmezz]

HD3850pro PCI-Express do you mean?

Should I move to PCI-E then?

[staffsMike]

ATi are doing an AGP version but chances are it will be expensive so I don't see it being worth it.

The move to PCI-E is pretty much at it's cheapest right now.

For £400 you could get,

Abit IP-35 ~£65
HD3850pro 512mb ~ £110 for a decent brand
4GB (2x2GB) of OCZ or Geil ram from overclockers ~ £65
Intel Q6600 for £150 but you could drop that to as little as an E2140 (£40) and still have a decent PC once it's overclocked.
HSF ~ £15

~£400 and a lot of PC

[hse180]

HD3850pro PCI-Express do you mean?

Should I move to PCI-E then?

Yes, for your budget you could get a decent gaming system that can be upgraded if funds was available. And as staffsmike suggests if you sell your other bits you could get a bit better.

[Blitzen]

Intel Pentium Dual Core E2160 - £43
motherboard - £45
2gb of PC5300 - £25
Ati HD3850pro 256mb - £95 or £105 for the 512mb version.

Pretty much £200 and it will do a good job.

There is an AGP version of the above video card if you wish to stick amd.

you can pick up a 939 dual core for around £35 (3600+ x2 ocuk)
and the RAM is available but expensive.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3600+ (Socket 939) - OEM
Crucial 2GB (2x1GB) PC3200 CAS3 184pin DDR Memory Dual Channel Kit (CT2KIT12864Z40B)

Where are the E2160's for $43?
I have seen the E2140 for around that...was that a typo?

[staffsMike]

scan today only

and thats ebuyers price I think

[GSte]

Might need a PSU upgrade as well for the graphics card depending on what you have at the minute.

[donmezz]

cool, that's good advice thanks.

Think i will go for a new pci-e and try and sell the rest.

I was really after a 1950xt agp, but the second hand (cant get new) prices are incredible. around £150 on ebay with p&p... for an ageing 256 gpu

Thanks for the advice