Biostar motherboards = bad overclockers?

[ashblk]

I have a situation at hand, I currently have the following system and I wanted a little more speed and a little better video card ( I have onboard video).

Tforce 6100 AM2
3800 X2 (90)
2 gig ddr800
320 gig sata hard drive 16mb
dvd burner

At first I wanted to get a little video card, even though I don't game much, I just wanted something just to learn about since I've never used a dedicated video card before.

But people are saying my motherboard is trash and I should change that. I wanted to upgrade the processer and get something that runs at the lowest 3.0.

So what should I do?

1. Dump the motherboard and processor and go intel.
2. Dump the motherboard and get a better one and overclock the 3800
3. Upgrade the processor since I don't game and save for a little htpc card

Which makes more sense?

 

[o1die]

I would first set a budget and decide what games you want to try. Are you using vista or planning on switching? If so, you'll want a directx10 card. They start at about $50 for the ati 2400 or nvidia 8400 series. No point in changing boards or cpus if your system works well for what you do. I'm still using socket 939, as I mostly just surf the net.

 

[evongugg]

You could probably add a video card if you have a PCI-Express slot.
You system is current, I would stick with it for a few years.
You could upgrade the processor later on.

 

[aBg_rOnGak]

Well, IMO, compared to Asus or DFI, that board may be kind of 'underpowered', but it still 'sting' compared to ECS or non-TF Biostars. I would certainly buy a video card if it's my decision to make. you can still OC a bit with that board, but don't too much for a start, unless you are ready to buy much better aftermarket cooler

 

[lghtmup98]

What do you use the system for. Granted, you're processor is not the fastest out there, but if you don't game or do any large scale media encoding it is still a good processor. If you want to start doing some limited gaming and not spend a lot, I'd go with a 2600XT. Granted it is also not the fastest, but is leaps and bounds above the onboard graphics that you currently have. It also has great HD video decoding hardware and HDMI port making it perfect for HTPC use.

Just my opinion though!

 

[aBg_rOnGak]

Fully agree with lghtmup98

 

[ashblk]

Thanks for the replies, I've dediced to keep what I have and just add in a video card. I'm also gonna pick up some artic silver 5 from newegg.

I bought the coolermaster hyperTX cooler and the temps are decent but still kinda high but I think that's because my thermal paste pretty much is all gone and I never added some more when I changed the stock heatsink.

I tried the automatic overclock and I got to 2.3 with a mild overclock but I failed the stress test with orthos.

I did however tell the cpu to shut off at 60 degrees since I was kinda nervous it will overheat.

I'm running XP but might dual boot Vista ultimate and XP, I was thinking a 7600GT will do good or a 8400GS just for casual surfing.

 

[gomerpile]

I have a biostar no problem wiff ocing I am limited because of the sata but I could get a sata2 card and a sata2 drive and oc even more
805, 7800gs, p4m800v7
3400mhz: 475 core memory 1375
Really this biostar has been one of the most reliable boards I've owned, remember biostar has been making boards since the 8088 days