Uprading Cpu/Mobo/Gfx

[oleander66]

Okay, I want to upgrade my CPU/Mobo/Gfx on a budget. Here's what I'm thinking:

AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego
eVGA Geforce 7600GT 256
DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D or DFI nF4 Ultra-Infinity

To go with what I already own:

2x 512 Dual Channel Corsair XMS 400 PC-3200
Maxtor DiamondMax Plus9 80GB
Samsung Syncmaster 997mb
RAID Samurai Gaming Case (420w Power Supply)

I'm also thinking of getting:

Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS
SONY Black IDE DVD-ROM (16x dvd-rom / 48x cd-rom

This would be for a gaming PC, no overclocking. I don't think dual core is worth it yet, right? Especially on a budget. Which mobo should I get? They seem like the same thing, but the Lanparty has more options that I probably wouldn't use? Would I notice a difference between the two in a game? Would this be a good rig? Is everything on par with eachother for gaming, no bottlenecking or anything? Should I get another 512 stick of ram? Is getting that soundcard worth it? It seems to be the most popular one for gaming. I heard it saves the CPU from having to use the onboard.

Obviously, I don't know too much about computers. Thanks.

 

[jaguarskx]

Your not overclocking or have a SLI setup. Save a little cash and simply get the DFI nF4 Ultra-Infinity.

Getting a SB Audigy2 will save a little bit of processing power, but since you are picking a fast CPU the impact is very minor (2% or 3%). The most important reason for a discreet scound card is to get better sound.

Some games like more RAM other don't need it that much. If you play Battelfield 2 a lot then it may be good to get another 1GB (2x512MB). For socket 939 get RAM in pairs, otherwise memory speed will take a performance hit.

You don't have any bottlenecks with your system.

 

[mad_fitzy]

Samsung Syncmaster 997mb

Is that a 1GB HDD. If it is throw it in the bin and get another one aswell as your 80GB.

 

[oleander66]

Hmm. Don't know what you're talking about mad. Yeah, jaguar. I decided to drop the sound card. But, I'm unsure about the mobo still. I'm also considering this now:
XFX PV-T71G-UDE7 GeForce 7900 GT EXTREME (520MHz) 256MB 256-bit
$289 and comes with Tomb Raider: Legend, which I could sell. If I got this, should I get the better DFI board? Also, how do you guys feel about dual core? Should I stick to single core, or make the 60 dollar jump to a 3800+? And if I did, could I still use the cheaper dfi board? Thanks.

 

[jaguarskx]

Samsung Syncmaster 997mb

Is that a 1GB HDD. If it is throw it in the bin and get another one aswell as your 80GB.

Ummm.... That the name of the monitor. I believe it's a CRT.

 

[jaguarskx]

XFX PV-T71G-UDE7 GeForce 7900 GT EXTREME (520MHz) 256MB 256-bit
$289 and comes with Tomb Raider: Legend, which I could sell. If I got this, should I get the better DFI board? Also, how do you guys feel about dual core? Should I stick to single core, or make the 60 dollar jump to a 3800+? And if I did, could I still use the cheaper dfi board? Thanks.

DFI makes good mobos that are geared to the casual overclockers to the extreme overclockers. Unless you see yourself having two GPUs in your system you will not need an SLI compatible motherboard.

Dual core are the future. Someone here started a list of games that supported dual cores, but it don't know where it is. There were about 15 - 20 games on that list mostly first person shooters like:

Doom 3
Quake 4
Farcry
Oblivion
Age of Empires III
Battlefield 2
Call of Duty 2
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon
Black & White 2
City of Villains
F.E.A.R.
Serious Sam 2
World of Warcraft

As time pass more game will come out to take advantage of dual cores.

 

[chenBrazil]

well dual core is potencially better for future as it will take longer to be considered too old for new games releases... but maybe you should check what is your budget... as your say... just $60 difference... get the 7900 instead 7600 ... so your budget seems to be more flexible than you meant... DFI boards are nice, good for OC... you can find some cheaper options from Asus , MSI even ECS with good features for your rig... if you are not going to use SLi get single slot MB and save some money... but honestly your choices are not so budget tied as well...