Upgrading... Could Use Your Help. :)

[Airek]

Hi folks - I feel like it's about time I upgrade my computer. Here's my current set up of things I believe I need to upgrade (in no order).

AMD 64 3000+
Geforce 6800GT AGP
1GB of PC3200 RAM
Motherboard (AGP, old, etc, need new for PCI-E, etc)

Now, I think those are the main things I need to upgrade. Things I have already that I'll throw in as well...

160GB Hard Drive
SB Audigy 2 ZS Sound Card

And also, I have things such as DVD burners, speakers, mouse, keyboard, monitor, etc.

-- So now to the good stuff. What to get. My computer is primarily for gaming. I'll be taking up Vanguard:SoH here in a few days. I'm trying to keep this somewhat reasonably priced as well. That's why I'm trying to use some of my decent older parts. What do you suggest? If you need more info just let me know. Sorry if I left anything out. Way past my bed time.

Airek

 

[apt403]

Whats your budget for the upgrade? What kind of psu do you have?

 

[akhilles]

You can upgrade to a s939 X2 or Opteron dual core & another gig of ram, depending on your budget & usage. If you game more, upgrade to x1800/x1900 or 7900. The cpu at stock is kinda limiting, imo.

 

[-silencer-]

Hi folks - I feel like it's about time I upgrade my computer. Here's my current set up of things I believe I need to upgrade (in no order).

AMD 64 3000+
Geforce 6800GT AGP
1GB of PC3200 RAM
Motherboard (AGP, old, etc, need new for PCI-E, etc)

Now, I think those are the main things I need to upgrade. Things I have already that I'll throw in as well...

160GB Hard Drive
SB Audigy 2 ZS Sound Card

And also, I have things such as DVD burners, speakers, mouse, keyboard, monitor, etc.

-- So now to the good stuff. What to get. My computer is primarily for gaming. I'll be taking up Vanguard:SoH here in a few days. I'm trying to keep this somewhat reasonably priced as well. That's why I'm trying to use some of my decent older parts. What do you suggest? If you need more info just let me know. Sorry if I left anything out. Way past my bed time.

Airek

That's the exact machine I had before upgrading. Don't bother with minor stuff here and there. The best bang for the buck at this moment is an E4300/E6300, P965 motherboard (Gigabyte DS3/Asus P5B Deluxe), 2GB DDR2-667 (800 if you're going E6300), Tuniq Tower 120/Scythe Ninja/Scythe Infinity, and something like a 7600GT/7900GT/1650Pro/1950XT.. should probably get a new power supply as well - Corsair (SeaSonic) 520W. Personally, I wouldn't go much higher than a $100 7600GT for video until you're ready to go to a DX10 card..

 

[Airek]

Thanks for the tips everyone. -silencer- I really liked the pieces you showed. The prices looked about like what I'm looking for. My overall budget for this is around $600. Give or take.

Going with a $100 or so 7600GT - would that be OK? If I upgraded all my parts accordingly and then went with a 7600 - it would still run well? I assume so. Going from AGP to PCI-E, I'm probably in for a world of surprise.

Also, I've had my current HD for about 3 years now. Like I said it's a 160GB drive, so plenty of storage for me. Now if I upgraded these parts I would format my HD and get a clean install of Windows XP. Question is, I've formatted maybe 2 - 3 times in the life of this hard drive. Is there a point where I have formatted too much and should look into getting a new hard drive, or will it be just fine? Thanks again.

Airek

 

[Featherstone]

Since you said you are gaming I would strongly suggest getting a better video card. People act like DX10 is coming out next month. While vista and DX10 Cards will be out next month actual games that use it won;t be out for upwards of 6 months. Do yourself a favor and get a good video card to use for the next 6-12 months so you can get your game on, then upgrade to a DX10 Card when they are cheaper and you can actually utilize it. I would personally go with maybe this x1900xt for $200.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814142085

I would also go for an E6400 or maybe an E4300. I personally think that the 30 buck to upgrade from a 6300 to a 6400 is worth it if you're going that route.

Note: You may want to wait for R600 to come out and see what that is like and enjoy the fruits of some price dropping.

 

[Airek]

Ok folks, taking some of the advice and reading other topics, this is what I've come up with so far.

Processor
Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz 2M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115004

Mother Board
GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128012

Ram
CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Desktop Memory

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145098

Video Card
connect3D 3059 Radeon X1900XT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16 VIVO Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814142085

Edit: I can't stop looking at this card. I've read some reviews and I believe I'm sold on this card now. Thoughts? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102067

---- Now I'm still very open for suggestions. If you see something dumb or unfitting please let me know. Things I'm the most unsure about currently are the MB and Video Card. Is the MB overkill? Not enough? And the video card. I tried to get something mid-range that will be able to perform well. I'm not too familiar with ATI cards, but reading what others are saying it seems like a pretty good way to go.

Also the question I asked earlier about the hard drive. Any input?

I haven't checked inside my computer to see what my PSU is. Its been a while. Any suggestions on a decent PSU that won't break the bank?

Thanks folks.

Airek

 

[akhilles]

Lowest would be:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104954

May not be enough for dx10. Get a 450w+ psu from here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Brand=1400&N=2000320058+50001400&Submit=ENE&Manufactory=1400&SubCategory=58

 

[Featherstone]

That Sapphire X1950XT would be awesome, you would love it.


Also I would go for a PSU more like this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817159055

or

This one is nicer and more future proof, but a little more expensive.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817341001

 

[Airek]

Thanks for the PSU suggestions. Very helpful.

One thing I'm skeptical about now is the RAM. To Corsair or not to Corsair? Is the speed OK? Or should I just go ahead and hit up PC6400?

Any ram suggestions folks? Also, about my hard drive. Any input?

Airek