My PC system need an upgrade?

[ghowthoo]

Hey guys,

Lately Ive been thinking of building a new system since my current one is somewhat out of date.

I was hoping though I could upgrade from it with a significant boost in performance to warrant purchasing components for it - since I recently bought a video card for it a few months back. (a nvidia geforce 6600 GT AGP).

My specs:

CPU: AMD Athlon XP 2000+ (1.67 Ghz)
Motherboard: Asus A7V333 Motherboard KT333 Chipset
Memory: 1GB Samsung PC2700 (2x 512MB)
Video: BFG Nvidia Geforce 6600 GT OC
HD: 1x WD 100GB 8MB cache, 1x WD 250GB 8MB cache, both 7200RPM
Sound: SB Audigy 2
CDROM: Samsung CDRW/DVD SM-352B
PSU: Allied 400W
Case: ASUS VENTO 3600 (I love it!)

I guess it doesnt really look too good in trying to upgrade it... Id have to revamp a lot of core things and probably have to get rid of the video card I purchased a few months back to get any kind of significant performance boost.

anyway thanks for any feedback!

 

[Maxiius]

Keep what you got and just upgrade,

CPU: AMD Athlon XP 2000+ (1.67 Ghz) (Maybe a 3200? $169.00 or better)
Motherboard: Asus A7V333 Motherboard KT333 Chipset (Bunch of new PCI-e MBs out there for around ~$100)
Memory: 1GB Samsung PC2700 (2x 512MB) (atleast a gig of new PC3200 or better ram)
Video: BFG Nvidia Geforce 6600 GT OC (switch to PCI-e vid card 7800GT)

Maybe bump up that power supply a bit also. So for around $600 or so you could boost your comp to a new lvl of performance. Just go to newegg and price out a wishlist

 

[maxxum]

The Asrock Dual motherboard can accommodate an AGP video card and has a PCIe interface when you decide to upgrade later (or never). The Asrock as a large following (including me ). It currently goes up to the top AMD processor and will be able to be upgraded to the new AM2 standard which is coming mid year.

You can keep all your older equipment and slowly upgrade (I would change memory next). A 3200+ and motherboard combo will run you about 220 with an increase in theoretical performance of around 30-40%. Or you can e-bay the top processor (probably a 2400 or 2600 processor w/ 266Mhz FSB) and get a boost of around 8-10%. Personally, I would hold out until May when AMD prices drop with the release of their new chips.

 

[avatar3k]

you might as well tell him to upgrade to 939, seeing as how you're telling him to upgrade basically everything...

3200+ 939, liteon dvd burner, same sound, same case, maybe better psu, 7800gt if you can afford, otherwise x800gto, 1gb corsair valueselect, 2 gb if you need/want/can afford

 

[Anoobis]

Well...this really depends on how much you want to spend.

 

[parlee]

i agree with u... i was planning on doing what u said here but the 754 mobos that support agp and pci-express are few and far between... u should get the asrock mobo, very stable board with few overclocking features, u can keep that 6600gt for another few months before ull really want to upgrade... a 3200+ in that board, 1 gb (2x 512) memory, i prefer corsair but its because thats the only memory ive used , value memory will best suit this computer since you wont be doing any insane overclocking, u can get a gig for under 100 bux (zipzoomfly) a 3200 will be around 220 and the mobo is around 60 i think, not quite sure... check the prices, im too lazy to ... but for around 400 bux thats a very good boost in perforamnce, and then later in the year when the 7900 comes out maybe ull be able to get a 7800gtx for around 300

 

[ghowthoo]

thanks for all the replies guys !

Yeah If i were going to upgrade it would probably be to 939 socket... i guess what im basically trying to figure out is what I am gonna do with this geforce 6600 gt since i spent like 250 on it! hehe... just stinks it'll go to waste and I know if I upgrade to a 939 system Id want a more powerful video card preferally one of the latest ones in regular or SLI format. thanks again all!

oh on another note can somebody fill me in on these "subnames" for the 939 athlon cpus? like venince and san diego and whatnot? I assume its bus speeds or cache or something?

 

[Anoobis]

Dude, eBay that 6600 GT and recover a little cash.

Those are codenames for the different release cores of CPUs.

I don't know them all, but I'm sure there's a list somewhere online or the forums guys will get you a list.

 

[maxxum]

There’s a chart over at AMD, I think on their forum with the whole tree of code names for their processors. The Venice series is the newest and last iteration of the lower core speed processors like the AMD 64 3200+. Without looking them up there is a method to the madness in choosing chips but it is based on overclocking. For instance, it would be a waist to buy the 3500+ when the 3200+ can easily overclock to the same speed, so most people say jump to the 3700+ which can overclock to the next and so on. Don’t quote me on the specifics though.

I think the Asrock board has gotten so much press because it doesn’t sacrifice speed on the AGP where all (?) others do. And you’re only talking about a speed difference of like 10% or so between AGP and PCIe with that particular video card. On the Asrock Dual loaded with a AMD 64 3200+ (Venice) you’ll be able to play just about any game out right now at mid to high levels. Add 2gb of dual-channel DDR400 memory and you’ll not feel the pain until you play FEAR which eats up a lot of power. The board will afford you the time to slowly upgrade over time. When AM2 and the 7900 come out prices will drop and by next Christmas you’ll probably have a nice system. No need to go fast.

Think of it this way, over the next months you’ll see your system gaining speed with each new addition whereas most people with top of the line computers see their speed dwindle

 

[ghowthoo]

hehe you guys rule!

 

[tenaciousleydead]

i would just bump your frontsidebus up to 400 and try to lower to ram timings to see if you get there then youll basically have a 2500?xp and could hold off a little longer until the new platform. also after they release the AM2 youll see biggg price reductions. make sure you have proper cooling on your cpu if you intend to up the bus. Peace.