Should I upgrade or build new?

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chronotrigger456

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So I'm runnning on these specs right now:

AMD Sempron 2800+ (1.6 GHz, AM2, Manila core)
1.0 GB PC6400 DDR2 RAM (2x 512 MB)
160 GB HDD
256 MB ATI RADEON X550 PCIe
Win XP Pro SP3

I normally just surf the web, code, torrent, do light-medium gaming, and video edit on this PC. However, I'm finding it harder and harder to do the last two nowadays... Soooo I'm stuck between two options...

:eek: I'm debating whether to upgrade with these parts:

AMD Athlon X2 5200+ Brisbane (2.7 GHz) - $62.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103210

XFX GeForce 8500GT 512MB PCIe - $55
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150245

Wintec AMPO 2GB RAM - $19
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820161063

OR go with a completely new system. IF I were to go with that should I wait until the Core i7 becomes more mainstream and cheap or should I just go ahead and build lets say a Q8200 system for about $600?
 
caamsa

caamsa

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It depends on how much $green$ you are willing to part with. The cheapest way to go would be the current parts you have listed. But.........

If I were you I would pick up a better video card. Like a 4850 or at least a 4830. That 8500GT is a pretty crappy card. If you give a budget then maybe I or someone else can give you some ideas.

Is $600.00 your limit? I think the Q8200 would be a nice chip but I am sure that others would disagree with me for various reasons. Also are you planning on over clocking? That will make a difference in the parts you will want as well. I assume you have a OS, case, and can reuse some of your old parts. What kind of power supply do you have?

Like I said a bit more info would be helpful.

;)
 
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chronotrigger456

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Well, if I were to upgrade, I would only spend $200 MAX. And as for the budget for a new build $600 would be my limit not including monitor, Windows, and an optical drive.
 
ahslan

ahslan

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if upgrading, definitely get a cheap dual core...the 6000+ zipzoomflyhigh suggested will certainly meet ur needs and will certainly extend the life of your rig, but the one you suggested will certainly do as well.
Adding more ram would also be a smart upgrade (nowadays you can get ddr2 800 ram for dirt cheap...so try to at least have 2gb in ur rig...you will definitely notice a difference when multitasking or playing games)
And for the video card upgrade, the 8500gt is absolute trash...if you want a really cheap card that will allow you to play ur games at medium setting smoothly, you can get the ati HD4670...(theres actually one on sale that ends today on newegg...you can get it for $55 with a mail in rebate)...if you want something more powerful like a 4830, your gonna have to spend a little bit more money on the video card.
 
buzznut

buzznut

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+1 Ahslan. The HD4670 is a great card that gives you modern midddle grade gaming performance at a low price and you could prolly use it with your current power supply.

The dual core will give you a great performance boost. As will 2 gigs of memory in xp.
I vote go for those 3 and have fun.
 
caamsa

caamsa

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$200.00 would give you a nice upgrade. Just make sure your MB will take any of those new cpu's. Get a better video card like everyone has been saying and you will see a big difference in performance in comparison to your old system. I have a AM2 6000+ with a 4850 and it is more than enough power for me with my 1280X1024 19 inch monitor.

Then you can save your $$$$ and pick up a really nice quad core system in another year.


 
ahslan

ahslan

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shoot...i got an x2 6000+ and a 4850 and I'm able to play all my games on my 24" (most of the games i can play at max or close to max settings...cept the obvious few)
 
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chronotrigger456

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Well, apparently my motherboard (Biostar Tforce 550 v. 1.0) won't support anything higher than a Sempron 3000+!!!!!!!

I guess I'm only left with the choice of building a new system altogether.

I think I'll wait until mid-2009 and build myself a REALLY NICE i7 system.

Thanks for all the input everyone.
 
caamsa

caamsa

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Here is some more info on your board and possible work arounds.

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?s=ef55ec92c0e767058231cc3a7fa58cfd&t=501274

http://www.rebelshavenforum.com/sis-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=53;t=000259;p=0



I have used a beta/modded bios before on a MSI board to lock the agp and pci clocks so I could over clock the cpu and it worked like a charm.

Hell what do you have to loose at this point. Of course you would need a new AM2 cpu to test the end results but maybe you have a friend with one you could borrow? Or maybe take a chance.

:D
 
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chronotrigger456

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caamsa:

Ooooh! Nice find! Yes, I've flashed motherboards before. From what I've been reading, some of the OC issues in this MB have been fixed with the new BIOS. That's great! I had my CPU OC'd to 2.2ghz before, but it just wasn't stable enough (also at ANY speed that would've given a significant performance increase).

I'll definitely try this out! Thanks!
 
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chronotrigger456

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caamsa

caamsa

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