Upgrade ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe

[alewisdvm]

Hello,
Running a AMD Athlon 64 x2 4200 with an old Nividia Geforce 7600GT, and pc6400 1gb OCZ x 2

Would really like to avoid buying new system, so was curious what I could do with what I have.

It seems systems today are so cheap, I could just buy new for about the same price is upgrading everything.

 

[wathman]

Depends on how much you are willing to spend. You could replace all those components for improvements and should have a decent system for $500-$600. You'll also end up with a pile of old hardware that won't be doing much. For $800+ you could build an entire new system with new case, PSU, OS, and keep the old computer in one piece, and available for re-purposing

 

[alewisdvm]

Depends on how much you are willing to spend. You could replace all those components for improvements and should have a decent system for $500-$600. You'll also end up with a pile of old hardware that won't be doing much. For $800+ you could build an entire new system with new case, PSU, OS, and keep the old computer in one piece, and available for re-purposing

That's what I was thinking.
I mean I like the motherboard. The CPU seems pretty good. I was wondering how much of a performace boost I would get from improving on the 2 x 1gb 6400 OCZ's and perhaps the gaming board. Maybe even getting 2 better gaming boards.

I really don't do gaming.
Just want a little more speed when multiple applications are running.

Also, curious.
I've always had AMD because I thought for the price point, it was a really good deal. Any opinion on that or are intel, etc...really competitive now?

 

[wathman]

For application speed, you'll want to move to a newer CPU. I'm assuming you have a 32-bit version of Windows, even if you upgrade your RAM, you'd only be able to increase it by 1.5 GB, and waste .5 GB from a 4GB configuration. Buying a second graphics card won't really do much for you if it's your CPU that's holding you back.

You'll definitely want to go with 4 cores as in an AMD Phenom II. You say graphics and gaming isn't a priority so you could probably do just fine with a mid range card. You are also correct that AMD will give you more performance for your money.

I'm not really current with AMD components, it's been a year or so since I did an AMD system. Other people on the forum will be able to be more helpful. In the stickies at the top of the forum, Fill out the advice request format and start a new thread. That will let others know what your needs are and budget allowance.