Upgrades for a couple of systems

[foxrocks]

Hi guys,

First, some background info to let you know a bit about what I'm after. I'm looking to upgrade my PC and that of my girlfriend. I have a 1680 x 1050 display and hers is only 1280 x 1024 so she needs a slightly less powerful machine. Her budget is a bit less than mine also.

She mostly plays WoW (which is quite CPU-intensive and comparitively light on the GPU), and will also probably end up playing The Sims 3 and Diablo III when they're released. She's upgrading from a socket 939 Athlon-based system which is starting to die. Those old 939 X2's sure have held their value well on eBay though!

I mostly play WoW and will play Diablo III and probably a bit of StarCraft but I don't need a monster Crysis-chomping rig either. I'm upgrading from a Gigabyte P35C-DS3R + E2160 combo that I will sell on or possibly RMA under warranty.

I wouldn't need to upgrade at all except my mobo is one of the unfortunate few Gigabyte P35's that just will not hold its OC settings on a reboot, even with updated BIOS, cleared CMOS etc. It's a known issue on these boards and generally a BIOS update sorts it out but I guess there's a fault with mine. Still it's not all bad - it's a good excuse to build a new PC which is always fun!

I plan on re-using some bits and bobs from our current rigs. This is what I have in mind so far (prices in £GBP - sadly no Newegg here )

Me:

CPU
Intel E8400 Core 2 Duo processor -- £104.89, Scan

Cooler
Xigmatek HDT-S1283 -- £20.78, Scan
Xigmatek ACK-I7751 mounting bracket -- £2.99, Scan

Motherboard
Asus P5Q Pro -- £86.35, Scan

Memory
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC6400 (already own)

PSU
Corsair HX520W -- £57.99, Scan

Video Card
MSI Zilent 8800GT 512MB (already own)

Case
Antec Sonata III (already own - I hope the Xigma fits inside as it's not the biggest of cases!?)


Mrs foxrocks:

CPU
Intel E5200 Core 2 Duo processor -- £49.98, Scan

Cooler
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro (already own)

Motherboard
Gigabyte P43-DS3L -- £54.98, Scan

Memory
OCZ Dual Channel Platinum Revision 2 XTC Series 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC6400 -- £21.99, overclockers

PSU
Antec Earthwatts 500W (already owns - came with my Sonata case but airflow is more of an issue in my smaller case so the modular Corsair PSU will benefit me more than her I think)

Video Card
BFG Geforce 7900GT OC (already owns)

Case
Coolermaster Praetorian (already owns)

We will both be re-using our hard drives and doing clean installs of XP. Sometime next year before Starcraft/Diablo/Sims 3 comes out, I will probably get an HD4850 and then the gf can have my 8800GT. Video card upgrades are not priority at the moment though when we'll just be playing WoW for the next few months.

Coupla questions:

1. I've seen the P5Q Pro get a lot of recommendations, but it isn't the cheapest board in the world. All I'm really after is a board that I can get a great OC on the E8400 with; Crossfire etc. is pretty much irrelevant for my needs. Is this an area I could save a bit of cash on (for instance a Gigabyte P45-DS3L is £17 cheaper than the Asus), or should I stick with that board if I want a 'guaranteed' good OC?

2. Is there much benefit to getting an E7300 over that E5200 (~£30 more), bearing in mind what my gf uses her PC for?

3. Do the P43 boards overclock ok? Is it worth the extra £11 to go to the P45 version?

4. Any other recommendations or comments?

Thanks for reading!

f.

x

 

[kilorth]

1st of all, if you plan to play Diablo III, that will not be released this year and I don't think ( but wish ) that it will be released in 2 years, meaning that maybe your computer will be able to run it, but prolly not so good, and that your gf's one, will not be able to run it.


Go for a P35-DS3L for the motherboard, it's cheap and work really great. Easy to get 4.0Ghz with an e8400.


I would do a small upgrade right now. As it seem you are doing right now. Than when Diablo III is announced, now I should upgrade and start from new at least one PC ( yours ) and check if your old PC can run it. Or just start anew right now for you, give the other PC to gf, and wait for DIII and give old PC to gf. ( That's exactly what I'm doing right now, and gf will play Diablo III)

 

[foxrocks]

Thanks for the reply.

I figured D3 would come out late next year but who knows. It doesn't seem particularly graphically demanding, that's for sure. But as I mentioned in the OP, we will both get video card upgrades before D3 comes out anyway.

Good point about the P35 boards, although these are getting harder to find in the UK by the looks of it. Do the P43/P45 boards OC a lot better than P35 or is there not much in it?

 

[foxrocks]

Well I've had a look around for P35 boards and these are virtually impossible to find at sensible prices in the UK brand new from retailers.

However you can get them on eBay, both new and used, for decent money compared to the P45 boards.

Gigabyte P35-DS3R can be found for about £40-50
Asus P5K-E can be found for about £50-60

I think those prices compare quite favourably to the P45-DS3R or P5Q-E so perhaps this is a route I could go down. Presumably they would need a BIOS update to accept 45nm CPUs though?