Interim upgrade advice D805 to Conroe

[Chunkers]

I can't wait any longer to upgrade my gaming machine (ahtlon 2400 oc'ed, 9800 Pro, 1 Gb RAM, 80 Gb HD).

My previous plan was to buy an Athlon 64 X2 3800 but this view has changed and my plan is to buy Conroe compatible hardware (motherboard, DDR2 RAM etc) and pop in a D805 and try a bit of overclocking (target say 3.6 Ghz on air).

I am settled on a 7900 GT Gfx card after advice from this group but am struggling a bit to find a reasonably priced suitable motherboard currently available in UK with Conroe compatibility. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Spec will hopefully look like this :

D 805 @ 3.6 Ghz
2Gb RAM (Corsiar?)
7900 GT 256Mb
???? motherboard
Seagate 300 Gb HD
Antec server case
Enermax 535W PSU
Zalman Flower cooler

I have been looking at the Gigabyte motherboard (Gigabyte GA-8I945PMF?) but not sure how it overclocks. I suppose if it were necessary I could buy a cheap-ass motherboard and bin it when I upgrade?

I am working on the basis that this will be better value than going via AMD x2 3800 route..... what do you think?

Cheers!

Chunkers

[aidanjt]

First, most importantly, what kind of budget are you working on?.. what will you use the system for?.. and how long are you willing to wait?

[Chunkers]

It is a gaming machine, I play FPS games (although my current machine struggles) like BF2 Oblivion, FEAR. I am completely fed up with the current level of performance I am getting in games and will be buying my upgrade gear within the next 7 days.

I am flexible budget-wise but want a thrifty 'while I wait for Conroe' system to last me for 12 months but will probably keep the HD, Gfx card, case etc and just update the CPU / cooler (and motherboard if necessary) next year.

Chz

Chunks

[aidanjt]

ah ok.. well in that case you'll need a motherboard with either an Intel 965 or 975 chipset for an upgrade path to Core 2 Duo CPUs, if you want ATI crossfire support, 975 boards are the only option.. the Asus P5W DH Deluxe is a bit on the pricy side at £175 odd, but it's a great board.. And if you have the cash, I'd go for an ATI x1900XT, it's just stupidly fast. The Intel 805 would be more than powerful enough for the time being.

[Hottentot]

Looks like a bit of a minefield to me but heres a link

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=101408

I would wait until some conroe benchmarks appear with different chipsets and graphics cards.

[DanceswithUnix]

The games you list are utterly video card limited. Your average frame rate will go up with a faster CPU, but the times the game goes clunky will be graphics bottoming out.

Buying kit for unreleased hardware always has some risk involved, though Conroe is seems easier on the hardware than current kit so should be less risky. Still, I would be tempted to go the cheap/expendable route if I were you.

The 805 drops a hell of a lot of heat, specially when overclocked. Frankly, even overclocked is isn't that great for game playing.

I would be tempted to go for an Athlon64 3200 on socket AM2 with a cheap Asrock motherboard with integrated video. When Conroe comes out and the dust is settled, get something that not only is compatible with the CPU, but actually does the job well. There should be plenty of choice by then.

The 6100 chipset & cpu should be easy to pass on.

[philipbain]

To have an upgrade path to Conroe from the boards currently available you'll need a Core 2 compatible i975X (the X is important as older i975 designs don't support it) and ideally DDR2-800 CAS4 memory. With a (I should think heavilly overlcocked) Pentium D 805 that should run nicely and offer a straight swap upgrade when you want to swap in a Core 2 Duo.