what should i upgrade..

[rodr]

hey all, i currently have a pre-built sony vaio, and i wanted to upgrade somethings within a month or so, such as vid card, RAM and PSU.

processor: Intel Pentium D 820
chipset: Intel i945P
currently 2 x 256 MB DDR2-SDRAM PC2-4300
mainboard : intel prague

i dont have the exact same model of the mobo, since its a prebuilt sony vaio and they r not sold to the regular public.. and thats why im having a bit of problems finding out of stuff is compatible with my specs.

what is the 1st thing you would change to make it faster? mobo? processor? Would you even recommend a change?

PD - i was plannign to get something of the geforce 8600 series when they come out and 2x1024 mb ddr2 667 mhz of ram.

thanks for your advices.

 

[Assman]

Never buy a pre-build

it depends on what you want to do with your pc, if gaming, video editing than everything. If you're on a budget and want to upgrade something than i would say video card but don't even think about 8600, chances are it will be bottlenecked by your cpu and ram and you're gonna waste money. Get something inexpensive (until you can afford to build a new rig) like x1950 pro...

 

[rodr]

well.. cant go back in time, i didnt know i would have problems. why would it bottleneck the vid card if i get 2 gigs of ram and a new psu? would i need a new processor? mayb i dont need to build a new rig. i would really like to avoid this.

out of curiosity, how much would i need to build a decent (mid-range) rig?

 

[just2good4u3434]

Depends on what your going to be reusing from your old rig, or if you're going to build a completely new system.


E6300- $188
X1950PRO- ~$190 (Depends on brand)
2Gb DDR2 800 PC 6400- $200
Gigabyte DS3- $130
Power Supply- ~$100

Total- ~$800

EDIT: Forgot the power supply

 

[Assman]

E6300- $188
X1950PRO- ~$190 (Depends on brand)
2Gb DDR2 800 PC 6400- $200
Gigabyte DS3- $130

Total- $700

very nice bang for buck

 

[rodr]

what if i only get 2 gigs of ram and a new psu.. would that bottleneck it still?

plus probably the E6300, for $180... would that be ok?

 

[little_scrapper]

You didnt mention what video card your running now. What is it? Is it AGP or PCI-E, I will assume the video is lacking. I am also assuming you are a gamer. So I would say that a video card would be first priority. Second upgrade Id say is a tossup, upgrade that D820 to at least a E6300, or put in more memory. I think more memory is a must, 2x512 is minimum, but honestly the CPU would be more noticeable probably.

 

[Assman]

would that be ok?

it would, but make sure you flash your bios before processor update, and there's another concern for you. sony's pcs have locked bios (can't oc, shit like that), so you'll have to contact sony and ask them if the newest bios for your model support core 2 duo; i know it's going to be pain in the ass to get a little info out of them, cause as soon as you'll ask them about c2d they're gonna tell you that your model was not designed to support it, we're not responsible..., bs like that...

 

[little_scrapper]

would that be ok?

it would, but make sure you flash your bios before processor update, and there's another concern for you. sony's pcs have locked bios (can't oc, **** like that), so you'll have to contact sony and ask them if the newest bios for your model support core 2 duo; i know it's going to be pain in the ass to get a little info out of them, cause as soon as you'll ask them about c2d they're gonna tell you that your model was not designed to support it, we're not responsible..., bs like that...

he is quite right, soon as you ask about hardware upgrades they are going to tell you to bend over and turn your head and take it like a man. Prebuilt computers are not made to be upgraded easily. They tend to have just about the highest level of hardware the mainboard can take. Dell uses a proprietary heatsink attachment on their proprietary mainboards so even if you buy a new CPU, the HS wont fit and the old HS probably isnt powerfull enough to cool properly. Thats why you dont buya dell, you cant upgrade it.

They are ONLY interested in selling you a new computer. And that is exactly what they will try do do when you call them. Sony, Gateway, Dell...ALL THE SAME!!! Try do get hardware info out of them is not going to happen. Ask them how to upgrade your bios so that you will be able to put in a better CPU.....Tehy arent going to help you with that! Because if they did then you wont be buying another full system from them so why would they? This is why you build your own system from scratch.

 

[rodr]

IM on PCI-E right now.. came with a pos card lol. radeon x300.. so yeah. Vid card is priority, then RAM, and now im lookin at a E6300.. considering t he circumstances, and a PSU of course.

ABout the overclocking part, i wasnt really looking to overclock, plus, like u said it looks like it would be a pain in the ass to get all that info, for just a " we
r not responsible"

by the way what do you mean by 'flash your bios'?

<----------------- noob.

 

[Assman]

by the way what do you mean by 'flash your bios'?

This BIOS software is in some regards like other software. There are newer versions available that contain updates, enhanced, features, new features, and bug fixes. It is possible to install newer BIOS versions and upgrade, but the process is different from upgrading regular software that's installed on your computer. The BIOS software is not stored on the hard drive, but in a chip on the motherboard. To erase the software on the chip and program it with a newer software version you need to use a special program called a flash utility, and the process of performing the upgrade is called flashing the BIOS.

source

 

[rodr]

ok.. so basically i flash my BIOS while running the D820, and then i switch and it will accept the new speed of the E6300? without doing anything else while runnign the new processor. i c..

The E6300 is obviously compatible with my mobo right? the only problem i would have is doing the flash thing with the BIOS and thats it.

Didnt see your post there scrapper.. i guess its true what you say, its pretty lame. I don tknow if i blame them tho, but still lame..

but i guess ill be getting the following..

E6300
2 x 1024 MB DDR2 667mhz (prolly kingston)
Hiper 580W PSU
geforce 8600

to make a total of... $610 aprox... jeeez...

:? :?

 

[Assman]

like i said ask sony support if the latest bios for your model (you can download bios flash utility from their support site) will recognize c2d :!:

The E6300 is obviously compatible with my mobo right?

it's not obvious because you bought a pre-built!

 

[little_scrapper]

I think your 945 chipset will take a C2D, but make sure!!! Do you really need a DX10 card? IF you have that kind of money you may want to just get a new mainboard as well. Also, Kingston is good, but tends to be overpriced. You can generally find better timings for less money by going w/ a different name brand. Kingston is just like the uber compatable memory, it works with everything.

 

[rodr]

those r bad news.. to much crap, what if something goes wrong, i dont live in the US but i was plannin to get all those things from newegg still, someone was gonna mail them to me. So it would be kinda hard to return them if they dont work..

do u think i can pull the vid card off without the E6300? i thought i could

 

[Assman]

do u think i can pull the vid card off without the E6300? i thought i could

with the proper psu you can, but your performance will probably be limited by cpu

 

[rodr]

how bad would it bottleneck it? bad enough so its not worth buying?

remember ANY upgrade from what i have right now would be acceptable. Of course i think its worth gettin a DX10 vid card, if it costs what they say it will. i guess those mid-range DX9 card will be kinda obsolete..

 

[Assman]

but what's the point of getting dx10 card if you can't use dx10, i mean i doubt that sony will release vista drivers for your xp model because they want you to buy a new pc.

 

[rodr]

what? cant i run dx10 on XP?

But hell.. im buying almost everythin that i need for a new rig.(if i buy the processor). the only thing thats left is the mobo.. and that would practically solve all my problems right? it would be a lot easier to find out compatibilities. But im still not sure about it..

+ processor and mobo, would be like $310 extra

 

[Assman]

cant i run dx10 on XP?

no, you'll need vista to use dx10

 

[little_scrapper]

how bad would it bottleneck it? bad enough so its not worth buying?

remember ANY upgrade from what i have right now would be acceptable. Of course i think its worth gettin a DX10 vid card, if it costs what they say it will. i guess those mid-range DX9 card will be kinda obsolete..

You would only get a CPU bottleneck on low graphics settings. Super high frame rates. TomsHardware did the latest AGP roundup, first with a XP2500, then with a Athlon 64 3400 I think. The XP2500 bottlenecked, but the 3400 hardly had any and only at high frame rates. your 820 is way better than a Xp2500 and maybe close to a 3400. I think your CPU would be find at 1024 resolution.

As for todays DX10 video cards.....I think when the day comes that you NEED a DX10 card, The cards available today wont be up to the task.

 

[joefriday]

I seriously doubt his board is VRM11.

 

[rodr]

Actually the resolution i was planning to play with is 1280x1024,or seomthing like that. Not as high as 1600x1200.

As for todays DX10 video cards.....I think when the day comes that you NEED a DX10 card, The cards available today wont be up to the task.

so should i get a DX9 just for now?

 

[Assman]

yes, for now

 

[rodr]

what a shame..

I will prolly go for a 7950gt or something.

thanks, man.