Shall I upgrade my system or buy new one?

[NABHA]

Collegs

Im a fun of stratige games and I bought my CPU 4 years back and i was fully satisfied with it( no single problem in runing any games) .
Below is the specification of the desktop
Pentium(R) 4 1.8 GHZ
512 MBof Ram
Sustem XP
40GB Harddisk.
24x10X40 Yamaha Safeburn
RAdeon 7500 - 128 MB

However this week I was about to buy the latest game "Medieval II Total War" with alot new requiremnts such us and im not sure if its worth going for upgrade only or buying an new desktop?. For example the DirectX® 9.0c, will Radeon 7500 be able to run?. Pls Help & Thanks

Minimum System Requirements For Medieval II Total War"
English version of Microsoft® Windows® 2000/XP
Celeron 1.8GHz Pentium 4® (1500MHz) or equivalent AMD® processor.
512MB RAM
8x Speed DVD-ROM drive (1200KB/sec sustained transfer rate) and latest drivers
11.0 Gigs of uncompressed free hard disk space
100% DirectX® 9.0c compatible 16-bit sound card and latest drivers
100% Windows® 2000/XP compatible mouse, keyboard and latest drivers
DirectX® 9.0c
128MB Hardware Accelerated video card with Shader 1 support and the latest drivers. Must be 100% DirectX® 9.0c compatible.
Monitor must be able to display 1024x768 resolution or above.

 

[apt403]

an upgrade is screaming your name, theres no reason to spend more money on that box.

 

[cdonato]

At this point, on this system an upgrade = a new system. If you were to upgrade you'd wind up replacing the cpu, mobo, ram prob the video card & power supply.

 

[exit2dos]

The 7500 is not a DirectX 9 card, plus you're just meeting the minimum with your RAM - plus installing this one game is going to take more than a quarter of your harddisk space.

Like the others have said, new system time - as if you're going to upgrade, then you'll have to replace everything.

 

[1Tanker]

Collegs

Im a fun of stratige games and I bought my CPU 4 years back and i was fully satisfied with it( no single problem in runing any games) .
Below is the specification of the desktop
Pentium(R) 4 1.8 GHZ
512 MBof Ram
Sustem XP
40GB Harddisk.
24x10X40 Yamaha Safeburn
RAdeon 7500 - 128 MB

However this week I was about to buy the latest game "Medieval II Total War" with alot new requiremnts such us and im not sure if its worth going for upgrade only or buying an new desktop?. For example the DirectX® 9.0c, will Radeon 7500 be able to run?. Pls Help & Thanks

Minimum System Requirements For Medieval II Total War"
English version of Microsoft® Windows® 2000/XP
Celeron 1.8GHz Pentium 4® (1500MHz) or equivalent AMD® processor.
512MB RAM
8x Speed DVD-ROM drive (1200KB/sec sustained transfer rate) and latest drivers
11.0 Gigs of uncompressed free hard disk space
100% DirectX® 9.0c compatible 16-bit sound card and latest drivers
100% Windows® 2000/XP compatible mouse, keyboard and latest drivers
DirectX® 9.0c
128MB Hardware Accelerated video card with Shader 1 support and the latest drivers. Must be 100% DirectX® 9.0c compatible.
Monitor must be able to display 1024x768 resolution or above.

As everyone has said....upgrade. Updating your current system, would be like putting a new motor/transmission in a 15 year old mini-van. The list of things to fix never ends... and not worth the moola. GL

 

[spanner_razor]

Yeah new system is the way to go as you'll need new ram, psu, graphics, motherboard etc. That machine you currently have will no way run medieval 2.

 

[melarcky]

that game is very Ram hungry my friend has it and he isnt enjoying it to muc due to the fact that he has 512mb ram... I would just build a new system everything on that system is to old and would be totaly pointless to upgrade... So what is your budget?

 

[digitaldoc]

Each of the components is a few generations behind current. It doesn't pay, as the others have also said, to put any moola into that box. Plan on a Core 2 Duo processor, at least a 250 GB hard drive, and 1 GB of RAM to be sure (unless you're seriously cash strapped and there are some less attractive alternatives...).

 

[NABHA]

Thanks ALL for your Value advice. I will go for new PC. My budget can go upto 1600 $. Can you help to build up a system which will Survive for the next 4 years without a single need for upgrade (if possiable).

I read the artical "THGC CPU Buyer's Guide by Spitfire_x86" and i find it very useful and I don't understand term " excellent overclocking potential "

 

[NABHA]

How good is below specification for gaming?
System Configuration:
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 2.67GHz (Dual Core) 1066FSB
CPU Fan: Intel Heavy Duty Cooling Fan With Heat Sink
Motherboard: Gigabyte 8N-SLI (up to 3.8GHz+ CPU support)
Memory: 2GB DDR2 533 PC4200 RAM
Video: nVidia SLI GeForce 7600GS Dual SLI video ( 2 cards)
Hard drive: 300GB 7200RPM SATA2 8MB Cache
CD/DVD drive: 18x DVD +RW/-RW drive (DVD-burner drive)
Sound: AC 97 6 channel 5.1 Full duplex digital sound
Network: 10/100 RJ45 onboard network (Ethernet, cable or DSL)
Ports: Six USB 2.0 ports,1 serial, 1 parallel
Case: Black Neon Mid Tower 600W with front USB & Temp control
Keyboard: Black PS2 Windows Keyboard
Mouse: Black PS2 Scroll Mouse
Speakers: Black Multimedia stereo speakers

 

[1Tanker]

How good is below specification for gaming?
System Configuration:
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 2.67GHz (Dual Core) 1066FSB
CPU Fan: Intel Heavy Duty Cooling Fan With Heat Sink
Motherboard: Gigabyte 8N-SLI (up to 3.8GHz+ CPU support)
Memory: 2GB DDR2 533 PC4200 RAM
Video: nVidia SLI GeForce 7600GS Dual SLI video ( 2 cards)
Hard drive: 300GB 7200RPM SATA2 8MB Cache
CD/DVD drive: 18x DVD +RW/-RW drive (DVD-burner drive)
Sound: AC 97 6 channel 5.1 Full duplex digital sound
Network: 10/100 RJ45 onboard network (Ethernet, cable or DSL)
Ports: Six USB 2.0 ports,1 serial, 1 parallel
Case: Black Neon Mid Tower 600W with front USB & Temp control
Keyboard: Black PS2 Windows Keyboard
Mouse: Black PS2 Scroll Mouse
Speakers: Black Multimedia stereo speakers

The 8N-SLI isn't Core2Duo compatable. :?

 

[exit2dos]

You also might want to save a little money and get the E6600 and some faster memory. You can easily overclock the 6600 to 6700 speed.

Since you're a gamer, you may want to consider a single 8800 card rather than dual 7600 anyways. You'll be wanting DX10 support next year.

 

[TabrisDarkPeace]

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 will do you, but more performance / cache in E6600 will offer more longtivity. (Cache helps in your games more than most, just as it does in large scale military simulators - not FPS's).

Mainboard: You don't need SLI unless you're a FPS freak.

Consider a Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 or even just the cheaper: GA-965P-DS3. (The DS4 and DQ6 are also nice).

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2361&ProductName=GA-965G-DS3

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_List.aspx?VenderType=Intel&CPUType=socket+775#Intel%20P965

Intel P965 based: GA-965P-DS4, GA-965P-DQ6, GA-965P-DS3, GA-965P-S3 ; don't pay more for an Asus because Gigabyte / Asus share manufacturing, but Gigabyte have easier BIOS + easy BIOS flash image backup/restore.

Video Card: GeForce 7600 GT factory overclocked a shade, but with a warranty on that overclock, might suite your game style fine.
SLI of 2 x 7600 GT is pointless as 1 x 7950 GT can outperform 2 x 7600 GT cards.
FSAA does not scale well with SLI using 2 low end cards - each with weak FSAA performance to start with , you're better off with one powerful, but affordable, card.
This saves money on the mainboard / chipset as you likely don't need 2 video cards, and with the GeForce 8800 GTX / Radeon 1950 XT and its replacement due out in March 2007 it is unlikely people will ever 'need' two video cards for gaming. 'Want' is a totally different matter though.


The Gigabyte 7600 GT is available in a Silent Pipe varient, with totally fanless cooling. I am running one right now and my PC is very quiet (which is something a strategy player can appreciate, vs explosions every 3 seconds in a FPS at 120+ fps at 1600 x 1200, max detail, max FSAA, etc :roll: )http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/VGA/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2235

If you want a silent video card, but with more than standard GeForce 7950 GT performance then check out:

http://www.xfxforce.com/web/product/listConfigurations.jspa;jsessionid=a7dPiupxOtq-2VO_E8?seriesId=185563&productId=638284

With a GeForce 7950 GT GPU core, but clocked at 610 MHz, and 1.6 GHz GDDR3 and passive cooling, this card can almost touch the performance of GeForce 7900 GTX cards. Just without the noise and at a decent price:

http://www.xfxforce.com/web/product/listConfigurationDetails.jspa?productConfigurationId=695916

Then just get a PSU to future-proof your PC for awhile:
http://users.on.net/~darkpeace/psu/List_of_Recommended_PSUs_Nov_2006.pdf

RAM: 2 x 1 GB of decent (non faulty, tested) DDR2-SDRAM is fine, even DDR2-533 or DDR2-667 with typical timings will perform fine. The 4 MB cache on the Core 2 Duo negates the impacts of more affordable memory on performance. (TomsHardware, Anandtech, and likely Xbitlabs have articles on this).

 

[NABHA]

Team

Many Thanks for all the information you have provided. I will keep you update. You all have been very supportive.

Cheers

 

[RyanMicah]

Thanks Tabris. As Paris would say "that's hot"

 

[melarcky]

well take away the e6700 and replace it with a e6600 and get a gf7600gt instead but if you can get a e6400 you could get something like a ati x1950pro

 

[luckyblur]

Well since I’m in the same boat I figured I would mention my system plans.

Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13GHz LGA 775 Processor - $219
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115004
ZALMAN 9700 LED 2 Ball CPU Cooler - $45
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118019
XFX GeForce 7900GT PVT71GUQL3 Video Card - $200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150195
ZALMAN VF900 - CU LED 80mm 2 Ball Blue LED Light VGA Cooling Fan/Heatsink - $49
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118006
Western Digital Raptor 74GB 3.5" Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - $140
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822136033
Antec Performance I P180B Black Computer Case - $75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129017
Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC 430W Power Supply - $24
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817153023

I am still reading reviews on ram and DDR2 so I haven’t chosen what I need to OC. Also it seems many are using the gigabyte boards to OC on which I’m trying to figure out the difference between the 5 C2D boards that newegg has.
GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
GIGABYTE GA-965GM-S2 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel G965 Express Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard – Retail
GIGABYTE GA-965G-DS3 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel G965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
GIGABYTE GA-965P-DQ6 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[luckyblur]

After looking at all the various Gigabyte boards I decided to chose the GA-965P-DS3 because it seems to be a real winner in all the reviews that I read.

The only downfall I see is its southbridge is the ICH8 and not the firewire supporting ICH8R that boards such as the MSI P965 Platinum have. However with the MSI comes some OC limitations.

Anyways I choose the DS3 and now to finish off choosing the ram.

 

[RyanMicah]

Firewire is great, it's fast, and sexy. I have yet to use it.

 

[axilon]

Firewire is great, it's fast, and sexy. I have yet to use it.

Sarcasm? <smirk>

 

[luckyblur]

Firewire is great, it's fast, and sexy. I have yet to use it.

I network to my laptop through firewire for the transfer speed.

 

[luckyblur]

Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13GHz - $219
ZALMAN 9700 LED - $45
GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 - $130
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel - $200
XFX GeForce 7900GT - $200
ZALMAN VF900 LED - $49
Western Digital Raptor 74GB - $140
Antec Performance I P180B Black - $75
Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC 430W - $24

Total is $1082, a little more then I had hoped. My only worry is that the 430W PS won't be enough. In addition to these components I will be adding 2 roms and a PCI IDE controller for two 160g hard drives which I have in my current system.

 

[RyanMicah]

Well then there ya go. I'm looking at getting a 16port gigabyte switch. But I don't have a laptop.

 

[carlhungis]

Out of curiosity, is the performance really worth the price on those Raptors? 150 bucks could buy you 2 250GB SATA's of the slower WD's. I am not bashing your choice or anything, I just honestly wondered if the price was worth it?

 

[luckyblur]

Out of curiosity, is the performance really worth the price on those Raptors? 150 bucks could buy you 2 250GB SATA's of the slower WD's. I am not bashing your choice or anything, I just honestly wondered if the price was worth it?

They are supposedly the fastest HDs out there and worth it for your windows and gaming directories. They have a new 150gb raptor out for like $220 but I felt the 74gb burnt a large enough hole in my pocket. Raptors are really for your movie storage, however I would assume that there is someone rich enough out there to afford a TB of raptors.

The excess heat and vibration noise does not really appeal to me but the case on my list has some HD rubber grommets or something that is supposed to help with that.