Upgrade or new build??

[dunn2k]

Ok so im currently running the following;

Athlon 64 X2 3800+
MSI k9N Neo-F - nForce 5200 - AM2
ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 256Mb
2Gb Patriot High Performance DDR2
250Gb Seagate Barracuda
550W PSU

My CPU is struggling with running multiple programs so its time for an upgrade. I was looking at either putting in a better compatible CPU for about £60 or getting the E5200 and a new MoBo for about £100. Any recomendations??

I also play games and would like to start playing the new games so was thinking that next month im going to need a new GPU too. Would you say that the minimum upgrade from where i am is the HD4850 512Mb for £70?? Any recomendations?? I was also looking at the HD4870 1Gb for £115 but am i really going to need that much power

Just looking for advice on where to go from here. Thanks all

 

[Newf]

I would buy an AMD 4770 videocard and a Western Digital WD6401AALS. This combination + a fresh reload of Windows (use the 250Gb as a secondary drive) should provide a significant speed increase without great cost. In addition, these components can be used in a faster system later as £££ allow.

 

[dunn2k]

I would buy an AMD 4770 videocard and a Western Digital WD6401AALS. This combination + a fresh reload of Windows (use the 250Gb as a secondary drive) should provide a significant speed increase without great cost. In addition, these components can be used in a faster system later as £££ allow.

Thanks for your response, do you have any thoughts on my CPU issue?

 

[o1die]

Check msi's website under "cpu support" for a bios version for the cpu you want to use with your k9n-neo f.

 

[tiger253]

I would get a new CPU also. More L2 Cache gives you better multitasking ability. And if you do upgrade to a new video card, you wouldn't want to bottleneck it.

 

[Newf]

With a BIOS update (7260v19.zip) through www.msi.com you can use an X2 6000+ running 3GHz @ 89 watts. It's faster, hotter and not a lot more money these days. I would not waste my money on this though. Your next move should be generational in nature rather than incremental for cpu power.

 

[tiger253]

I use to have a Athlon X2 3800+ @ 2.2Ghz ...then I built a C2Q Q6600 machine and it was tons better. I remember trying to play Crysis on Medium- jittering and stuttering.

If you already have a 7200RPM SATA HDD- good keep it. The E5200 is good too. I'm using my bro's computer right now and it plays CoD5 smooth at 2.65Ghz, using 2GB DDR2 800Mhz, WDC Blue 80GB 8MB Cache 7200RPM and 9800GTX @ 1280x1024.

 

[dunn2k]

thanks for all this info people. Iv been hearing down the vine that intel will be stopping the support for the 775socket platforms i.e. E5200, in about a year or so. Taking this into account i was thinking could i buy the Athlon X2 7850 BE and slot it into my system. But my MoBo only goes up to FSB1066 so im not sure on how far i could over clock the CPU. What do we think?

 

[megamanx00]

I think you should upgrade your CPU. Make sure you check out the CPU support page over at MSI. Also, your CPU support may depend on your PCB version so be sure to take a look at that. I say go with a cheap Brisbane 5400BE or 6000 and overclock it.

 

[geofelt]

If you are having problems running multiple programs, then the question is why???

Turn on the task manager and the performance tab.

Look at the resource monitor to see what is going on.
Do you have some unknown tasks running? Perhaps you are infected by malware.

I would first suspect insufficient ram. An upgrade to 4gb is cheap.
Are you getting lots of hard faults per second?

Is your hard drive activity high? What is causing the i/o's? What is the response time?
Perhaps you need a second or faster hard drive.

If your performance problem is with games, the vga card will usually be the most effective upgrade.
Make the jump big enough to notice. In your case, look at something like a 4650 or 4770. Verify first that yourr psu can handle it.

By the time you are done, it might be better to save up and do a complete rebuild.

 

[dunn2k]

If you are having problems running multiple programs, then the question is why???

Turn on the task manager and the performance tab.

Look at the resource monitor to see what is going on.
Do you have some unknown tasks running? Perhaps you are infected by malware.

I would first suspect insufficient ram. An upgrade to 4gb is cheap.
Are you getting lots of hard faults per second?

Is your hard drive activity high? What is causing the i/o's? What is the response time?
Perhaps you need a second or faster hard drive.

If your performance problem is with games, the vga card will usually be the most effective upgrade.
Make the jump big enough to notice. In your case, look at something like a 4650 or 4770. Verify first that yourr psu can handle it.

By the time you are done, it might be better to save up and do a complete rebuild.

Im having problems running multiple programs because my CPU cant cope. Thats what the task manager performance CPU usage tells me. To be fair im trying to convert videos, play football manager (FM) and use You Tube all at the same time so no wonder it struggle during the loading times in FM.

I dont see much point in upgrading the Ram, im running a 32 bit system so i guess i could get another 1Gb stick of Patriot Ram to maximise my capability.

As for the GPU iv found a HD4870 512Mb for £86 which is an absolute bargin in my opinion

 

[geofelt]

An upgrade to 4gb is cheap. With a 32 bit OS, you will only see about 3.5gb of it, but that is still a major improvement over 2gb.
4gb can help in games also:
http://www.corsairmemory.com/_appnotes/AN804_Gaming_Performance_Analysis.pdf

A vga upgrade will help with framerates,no doubt, but it will not help your multitasking.