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Thread: First Self Big Upgrade

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    First Self Big Upgrade

    Hi my current system is:

    AMD Athlon XP 3200+
    Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe
    Radeon 9800 Pro
    1GB DDR RAM
    Really old Soundblaster Live
    Xpro 400W Quiet PSU
    1x60GB ATA100 Seagate Barracuda
    1x250GB Maxtor ATA133
    1x320GB SATA Seagate Barracuda
    DVD-RW Drive and a DVD-ROM Drive
    Antec Super Lanboy Case

    I have a 17" Iiyama LCD and run Windows XP and games at 1280x1024. I play HL2 and CS:S fine but would like to play newer games (like FEAR and BF2 which I can run at the moment but at poor FPS and low quality settings) at that resolution at a fair FPS with the quality on high and things like 4x anti aliasing on.

    I'm looking to upgrade the CPU, motherboard and graphics card at first but then replace some of the other things when I get the money (e.g. that soundblaster)

    This is what I have come up with and I want to know if these are good components for a PC that I'd like to run Vista and future games. And no I don't want to wait for DX10

    ECS RD480-A939 ATI Xpress 200 ATX Skt939 for £50
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Skt939 2.0GHz 512KB for £102
    Connect 3D Radeon x1800GTO for £123
    Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro CPU Cooler for £16

    Also could someone tell me if I'll need a buy a new Power Supply Unit when I buy those new components.

  2. #2
    A. Nother
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    • mallett's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3
      • CPU:
      • Intel E6300
      • Memory:
      • 4GB Corsair 800 DHX
      • Storage:
      • 1TB Samy & 2x 250GB Hitatichi RAID 0
      • Graphics card(s):
      • XFX 7600GT XXX
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      • Seasonic S12 - 430W
      • Case:
      • Antec SOLO
      • Operating System:
      • Vista 64bit
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      • Iiyama 19" LCD
    welcome to hexus!!

    firstly id suggest that you dont go for the skt 939 cpu and mono as amd are droping this for its am2 socket which supports ddr2 ram
    as for the cpu maybe the 4200+ am2 would be better and only a little more then the 3800
    the cooler is fine and is prob the best bang-for-buck(pound just doesnt sound as good) you can get
    mobo, depends what your after if looking at overclocking or crossfire/sli and also the budget
    the gfx, if you can go for the 1800xt then i would as it is a much better card and to play the latest games at high iq then your gonna need it
    you also wanna get some memory too, something in the range of 2gb 667Mhz

    or you could jack in the idea of amd and go for some core 2 duo action, but would be best to wait on that atm as the mobos arent that good

  3. #3
    Welcome to stampytown! Salazaar's Avatar
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    • Salazaar's system
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    I'd go for something based around an AM2 or Core2 CPU, even if it means buying new memory and maybe getting a slightly slower CPU. It'd be worth it in the long run.

  4. #4
    radix lecti dave87's Avatar
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    Core2Duo would be my suggestion. Given the overclocks that have been achieved even on the lower spec (e6300) core2duos it would be mad not to. Having said that, however, if its your first forray into the world of overclocking, sticking to something that has been well documented, such as 939 or AM2 could be advantageous. Regardless of this - with the switch to PCI-E you can upgrade your graphics hopes - the 7900s and x1800s (and to a certain extent, x1900s) are falling in price due to the arrival of 7950 & x1950

    Memory wise, regardless of whether it is DDR or DDR2, you'll want 2Gb of it, games like BF2 run a hell of a lot faster with that extra Gb of RAM, and even on the desktop, you will notice an improvement on the number of things you can run at once

    Dave

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    Anthropomorphic Personification shaithis's Avatar
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    • shaithis's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus P8Z77 WS
      • CPU:
      • i7 3770k @ 4.5GHz
      • Memory:
      • 32GB HyperX 1866
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      • Lots!
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      • Sapphire Fury X
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      • Windows 10 x64
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      • 2 x Dell 3007
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    If you want to stick with 939 for costs reasons, look at the ABit KN8 Ultra motherboard.

    Will make sure you get a maximum overclock from your CPU.
    Main PC: Asus Rampage IV Extreme / 3960X@4.5GHz / Antec H1200 Pro / 32GB DDR3-1866 Quad Channel / Sapphire Fury X / Areca 1680 / 850W EVGA SuperNOVA Gold 2 / Corsair 600T / 2x Dell 3007 / 4 x 250GB SSD + 2 x 80GB SSD / 4 x 1TB HDD (RAID 10) / Windows 10 Pro, Yosemite & Ubuntu
    HTPC: AsRock Z77 Pro 4 / 3770K@4.2GHz / 24GB / GTX 1080 / SST-LC20 / Antec TP-550 / Hisense 65k5510 4K TV / HTC Vive / 2 x 240GB SSD + 12TB HDD Space / Race Seat / Logitech G29 / Win 10 Pro
    HTPC2: Asus AM1I-A / 5150 / 4GB / Corsair Force 3 240GB / Silverstone SST-ML05B + ST30SF / Samsung UE60H6200 TV / Windows 10 Pro
    Spare/Loaner: Gigabyte EX58-UD5 / i950 / 12GB / HD7870 / Corsair 300R / Silverpower 700W modular
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    Laptop: Dell Precision 5510 Printer: HP CP1515n || Phone: Huawei P30 || Other: Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Pro 10.1 CM14 / Playstation 4 + G29 + 2TB Hybrid drive

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    Senior Member Rack's Avatar
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    I would also recommend 2GB of Ram, it was holding my X1800XT back severely in FEAR.
    AM2 is also a good way to go as all future CPU's from AMD will be AM2 (for the immediate future anyway). You can pick up an am2 3800+ for the same price, I'd look at the MSI, Asus or Epox 570 board for value for money, and a set of 2GB DDR2 533MHz or even 800MHz can be had fairly cheaply these days.

    The 4200+ is a 10% speed increase for %20 cost increase - and you can easily acheive 2.2Ghz, I'd stick with the 3800+ myself... and I have :-b

    Gfx, i'd go for: from £140-150 - 7900GT or X1900GT, or if you can afford £200-220 then an X1900XT, or on a budget of £100 get a 7600GT

    3800+ = £102
    2GB PC4200 = £100
    ASUS M2N-E, NF570 = £62
    X1900GT - £140
    Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro CPU Cooler = £16

    Total - £430

    Conroe will be better and it also overclocks better, and the P5B Deluxe is looking like a solid board with the latest bios, but you'll be over £500 for that and an E6300. If you can afford it it's worthwhile, but don't take money away from graphics for the CPU.
    Last edited by Rack; 30-08-2006 at 02:14 PM.

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    Hello again, I think I should say I don't really want to have to buy new DDR2 RAM.

    I'm trying to get a fair system that will play newer games at the 1280x1024 resolution with fair quality on a shoestring budget (£350 is probably the maximum for now, and thats if I need £50 for a new PSU)

    I think I would have to rule a Core2Duo or AM2 CPU out for that reason. (Am I right in thinking you need DDR2 for AM2 or is that a misconception?)

    I would probably have to make do with my 1GB of RAM for the moment though until I could afford some more (hehe I'm lazy, no job, EMA = money source)

    Originally posted by shaithis
    If you want to stick with 939 for costs reasons, look at the ABit KN8 Ultra motherboard.
    This is probably a stupid question but ATI graphic cards do work on nForce4 right? I can't remember where but I seem to remember reading something saying they don't work well but then again I may have just dreamed it.

    Is it easy to overclock the x1800GTO or is it worth going for the x1800XT, I have overclocked my 9800Pro before but that was easy with ATI tool, is it the same for the x1800 or is there messing around with speeds, voltages etc and checking if it is stable.

    Same goes for the X2 3800+, is it worth paying that bit more for the 4200+ or is safely overclocking the 3800+ something a noob like me could do by reading some guides.

  8. #8
    Anthropomorphic Personification shaithis's Avatar
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    • shaithis's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus P8Z77 WS
      • CPU:
      • i7 3770k @ 4.5GHz
      • Memory:
      • 32GB HyperX 1866
      • Storage:
      • Lots!
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Sapphire Fury X
      • PSU:
      • Corsair HX850
      • Case:
      • Corsair 600T (White)
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 x64
      • Monitor(s):
      • 2 x Dell 3007
      • Internet:
      • Zen 80Mb Fibre
    Yes, ATI cards work on NForce boards, just not in Crossfire mode.

    I am not really sure on X1800 overclocking though, never had one to play with.

    I'd stick to the 3800 X2 and overclock it, it seems all AMD CPUs seem to hit 2.5GHz+ and the KN8 Ultra board handles extremly high FSBs, so low multipliers are not an issue at all.
    Last edited by shaithis; 30-08-2006 at 04:38 PM.
    Main PC: Asus Rampage IV Extreme / 3960X@4.5GHz / Antec H1200 Pro / 32GB DDR3-1866 Quad Channel / Sapphire Fury X / Areca 1680 / 850W EVGA SuperNOVA Gold 2 / Corsair 600T / 2x Dell 3007 / 4 x 250GB SSD + 2 x 80GB SSD / 4 x 1TB HDD (RAID 10) / Windows 10 Pro, Yosemite & Ubuntu
    HTPC: AsRock Z77 Pro 4 / 3770K@4.2GHz / 24GB / GTX 1080 / SST-LC20 / Antec TP-550 / Hisense 65k5510 4K TV / HTC Vive / 2 x 240GB SSD + 12TB HDD Space / Race Seat / Logitech G29 / Win 10 Pro
    HTPC2: Asus AM1I-A / 5150 / 4GB / Corsair Force 3 240GB / Silverstone SST-ML05B + ST30SF / Samsung UE60H6200 TV / Windows 10 Pro
    Spare/Loaner: Gigabyte EX58-UD5 / i950 / 12GB / HD7870 / Corsair 300R / Silverpower 700W modular
    NAS 1: HP N40L / 12GB ECC RAM / 2 x 3TB Arrays || NAS 2: Dell PowerEdge T110 II / 24GB ECC RAM / 2 x 3TB Hybrid arrays || Network:Buffalo WZR-1166DHP w/DD-WRT + HP ProCurve 1800-24G
    Laptop: Dell Precision 5510 Printer: HP CP1515n || Phone: Huawei P30 || Other: Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Pro 10.1 CM14 / Playstation 4 + G29 + 2TB Hybrid drive

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    The King of Vague Steve B's Avatar
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    if you're talking absolute price / performance, then i'd get the 3800 too, and an extra stick of DDR. if you want to overclock properly, you need good DDR, and good DDR is still quite expensive.

  10. #10
    Anthropomorphic Personification shaithis's Avatar
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    • shaithis's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus P8Z77 WS
      • CPU:
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      • Memory:
      • 32GB HyperX 1866
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      • Lots!
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Sapphire Fury X
      • PSU:
      • Corsair HX850
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      • Windows 10 x64
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve B
    if you're talking absolute price / performance, then i'd get the 3800 too, and an extra stick of DDR. if you want to overclock properly, you need good DDR, and good DDR is still quite expensive.

    Properly? One of the greatest things about the S939 A64 is that you don't need great RAM to 'properly' overclock it.

    Any half-decent PC3200 RAM will normally do the job fine.
    Main PC: Asus Rampage IV Extreme / 3960X@4.5GHz / Antec H1200 Pro / 32GB DDR3-1866 Quad Channel / Sapphire Fury X / Areca 1680 / 850W EVGA SuperNOVA Gold 2 / Corsair 600T / 2x Dell 3007 / 4 x 250GB SSD + 2 x 80GB SSD / 4 x 1TB HDD (RAID 10) / Windows 10 Pro, Yosemite & Ubuntu
    HTPC: AsRock Z77 Pro 4 / 3770K@4.2GHz / 24GB / GTX 1080 / SST-LC20 / Antec TP-550 / Hisense 65k5510 4K TV / HTC Vive / 2 x 240GB SSD + 12TB HDD Space / Race Seat / Logitech G29 / Win 10 Pro
    HTPC2: Asus AM1I-A / 5150 / 4GB / Corsair Force 3 240GB / Silverstone SST-ML05B + ST30SF / Samsung UE60H6200 TV / Windows 10 Pro
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    Laptop: Dell Precision 5510 Printer: HP CP1515n || Phone: Huawei P30 || Other: Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Pro 10.1 CM14 / Playstation 4 + G29 + 2TB Hybrid drive

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    The King of Vague Steve B's Avatar
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    bog-standard ram will probably hit 220-225, or if you get lucky with samsung UCCD's perhaps upto 240. the 3800 has a 10x multi, thats only 2200-2250MHz.

  12. #12
    Anthropomorphic Personification shaithis's Avatar
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    • shaithis's system
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    Why does that matter on an A64 system thats happy to run 100% stable with an asyncronous memory bus? Especially when the memory throughput is effected a lot more by CPU speed then bus speed?

    You can just underclock the RAM before increasing FSB to get the RAM back to around 200 while having the FSB way above 200.....and you will find that tiniest differences on benchmarking between that and a 1:1 RAM:FSB setup.
    Main PC: Asus Rampage IV Extreme / 3960X@4.5GHz / Antec H1200 Pro / 32GB DDR3-1866 Quad Channel / Sapphire Fury X / Areca 1680 / 850W EVGA SuperNOVA Gold 2 / Corsair 600T / 2x Dell 3007 / 4 x 250GB SSD + 2 x 80GB SSD / 4 x 1TB HDD (RAID 10) / Windows 10 Pro, Yosemite & Ubuntu
    HTPC: AsRock Z77 Pro 4 / 3770K@4.2GHz / 24GB / GTX 1080 / SST-LC20 / Antec TP-550 / Hisense 65k5510 4K TV / HTC Vive / 2 x 240GB SSD + 12TB HDD Space / Race Seat / Logitech G29 / Win 10 Pro
    HTPC2: Asus AM1I-A / 5150 / 4GB / Corsair Force 3 240GB / Silverstone SST-ML05B + ST30SF / Samsung UE60H6200 TV / Windows 10 Pro
    Spare/Loaner: Gigabyte EX58-UD5 / i950 / 12GB / HD7870 / Corsair 300R / Silverpower 700W modular
    NAS 1: HP N40L / 12GB ECC RAM / 2 x 3TB Arrays || NAS 2: Dell PowerEdge T110 II / 24GB ECC RAM / 2 x 3TB Hybrid arrays || Network:Buffalo WZR-1166DHP w/DD-WRT + HP ProCurve 1800-24G
    Laptop: Dell Precision 5510 Printer: HP CP1515n || Phone: Huawei P30 || Other: Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Pro 10.1 CM14 / Playstation 4 + G29 + 2TB Hybrid drive

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    Senior Member Rack's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by shaithis
    Why does that matter on an A64 system thats happy to run 100% stable with an asyncronous memory bus? Especially when the memory throughput is effected a lot more by CPU speed then bus speed?

    You can just underclock the RAM before increasing FSB to get the RAM back to around 200 while having the FSB way above 200.....and you will find that tiniest differences on benchmarking between that and a 1:1 RAM:FSB setup.
    Yup totally true.

    I would still recommend to just buy a 2G set and offload your 1G set - it is better to have 2 dimms rather than 4 still with skt 939 - but at the end of the day the 2G is what matters, as long as you have dual channel 2G, you should be OK. The 3800+ will still overclock well. With 1G I was unable to play FEAR at medium settings 1280x1024 with an X1800Xt. With 2GB everything was peachy.

    If you stick with 939, the Asus board above is probably good, not sure on price. I would stick to my recommendations on gfx, X1900GT or XT. Don't skimp there, it's the biggest part of your upgrade.

    motherboard: 80
    CPU: 100
    Gfx: 140 (X1900GT)
    1G PC3200: 60
    380..
    a little over budget, but well worth it for a well rounded PC.
    Last edited by Rack; 30-08-2006 at 08:30 PM.

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    The King of Vague Steve B's Avatar
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    so you're suggesting the purchase of a 2 gig dual channel kit, the cheapest one i could find on scan was corsair VS costing 140 quid (100 if you include getting 40 for the ram), over spending 60 quid of an already extremely money-tight budget, just to get an extra hundred mhz's in performance? not worth it imo. save the money and improve on a piece of kit that wont use already obsolete technology, like a better graphics card.
    Last edited by Steve B; 31-08-2006 at 12:25 AM.

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    Senior Member Dark Horse's Avatar
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    Ram overclocking doesn't mean anything any more. You can run ram async to the fsb so no it you can overclock the processor independently. There really is no reason to get pricey ram so just get 2gb of the cheapest stuff you can find and you will notice no difference except the weight of the saved pennies in your wallet.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve B
    so you're suggesting the purchase of a 2 gig dual channel kit, the cheapest one i could find on scan was corsair VS costing 140 quid (100 if you include getting 40 for the ram), over spending 60 quid of an already extremely money-tight budget, just to get an extra hundred mhz's in performance? not worth it imo. save the money and improve on a piece of kit that wont use already obsolete technology, like a better graphics card.
    Are you saying that the X2 3800+ would be decent enough but the bottleneck would be in the graphics card and that I should maybe spend a few quid more and get a bettter one like a x1800XT?

    Does anyone know if that KN8 is picky with memory, I first only got a 512MB stick of RAM for my computer and then I bought another 512 stick later but if I put them in dual channel configuration I get random reboots and crashes. Probably my fault for not buying identical pairs so maybe I'll need to get some new stuff. If I have to do that does it matter if I buy cheapo stuff or should I stick with Crucial - i.e. might it fail prematurely or not overclock as well?

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