What can I re-use...recommend CPU\MOB

[raltrujillo]

I recently upgraded from XP pro to win 7 Ultimate...that's when I realized that my system is 6 years old!

I'm thinking of just replacing the motherboard, CPU and memory and maybe the GPU ...I'd appreciate and input and recommendations? So I'd recycle the case (Thermaltake Tsunami), power supply (Enermax Noisetaker 485w), fans and drives.

Here's the current system:
■Mainboard : MSI K8N Neo4/SLI (MS-7100)
■Chipset : nVidia nForce4
■Processor : AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ @ 2200 MHz
■Physical Memory : 2048 MB (2 x 1024 DDR-SDRAM )
■Video Card : NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Series GPU, 256mb
■Hard Disk : ST3250823AS (250 GB)
■Hard Disk : WDC (500 GB)
■Hard Disk : Seagate (250 GB)
■DVD-Rom Drive : HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-4163B ATA Device
■DVD-Rom Drive : SONY CD-RW CRX320E ATA Device
■Monitor Type : Samsung SyncMaster - 24 inches
■Network Card : MV88SE614x PCIe to SATA2 controller Yukon 88E8053 PCIe Gigabit Ethernet Controller (Copper)
■Operating System : Windows 7 Ultimate Professional 6.01.7600
■DirectX : Version 11.00
■Windows Performance Index : 4.8


APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Anytime

BUDGET RANGE: $500

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Office, surfing the internet

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Case, fans, keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS, HD, CD\DVD, power supply - Enermax Noisetaker 485w

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: no preference. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: (e.g.: US)

PARTS PREFERENCES: I have no personal preference to manufacture of components (IE Intel vs. AMD...I've had both), etc

OVERCLOCKING: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: improve windows performance index

thanks!

 

[obsidian86]

you gonna have to build a whole new subsystem

amd 630
4 gb ddr3
890gx board
cheap dvd drive
1tb samsung f3 hdd

$468.95

 

[False_Dmitry_II]

Doesn't he have a DVD drive?

What're you gonna do with the old parts? If nothing I'd sell the MB/CPU together and part out the rest on ebay, then buy a much, much better graphics card. Anywhere from a 4770, 4850, 4870, 5770 would be good depending.

Oh wait I just noticed that part saying basically no gamning. Then ignore the buying a new card part. The other part stands. Maybe an SSD with it or something...

 

[obsidian86]

maybe reuse the dvd drive but if its old i'd rather get a new one

i haven even seen 184 pin ddr in yrs it might be worth a ton or nothing th cpu might be worth something

i'd also sell the 250 gb drives load os on the 500 gb and use the 1tb as storage

 

[MadAdmiral]

Given the age of everything up there, I would NOT recommend loading the new OS onto an older HDD. Put the OS on the new HDD to take advantage of the speed of the new 500 GB platter drives. Use the older/slower drives as the data drives.

 

[raltrujillo]

Doesn't he have a DVD drive?

What're you gonna do with the old parts? If nothing I'd sell the MB/CPU together and part out the rest on ebay, then buy a much, much better graphics card. Anywhere from a 4770, 4850, 4870, 5770 would be good depending.

Oh wait I just noticed that part saying basically no gamning. Then ignore the buying a new card part. The other part stands. Maybe an SSD with it or something...

so you think performance won't suffer if I use the current graphics card?

 

[raltrujillo]

Given the age of everything up there, I would NOT recommend loading the new OS onto an older HDD. Put the OS on the new HDD to take advantage of the speed of the new 500 GB platter drives. Use the older/slower drives as the data drives.

Yeah, I agree on the drives...the 500gb WD is pretty new. the other 250's are pure storage...

 

[raltrujillo]

you gonna have to build a whole new subsystem

amd 630
4 gb ddr3
890gx board
cheap dvd drive
1tb samsung f3 hdd

$468.95

would I get any better performance with the Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

 

[MadAdmiral]

It's likely you're not going to be able to use the old GPU. Besides, the newer integrated graphics (890FX) is much better than that anyway.

Something else I just though of is using an i3/H55 build. You won't lose anything in processing power (over the X4 630), and you'll gain a lot in terms of graphics processing power.

CPU/RAM: i3-530 and G.Skill 2x2 GB 1333 mhz CAS Latency 8 $219
Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-H55M-USB3 $100 after rebate.
Rest is the same

Total: $433.

EDIT: You'll gain a lot of CPU power with the X4 955. That's the top of AMD's offerings.

 

[obsidian86]

you'll have one of the best overall performance processors in the 955

 

[raltrujillo]

any recommendations if I replace the Video card? It's not like I haven't played games..just haven't for a while. so I might want to play the new C&C or Half-life...if 3 ever comes out!

 

[MadAdmiral]

For a 1900x resolution, if you want to play on high details, you'll want at least the HD 5850 (HD 5870 if you want to max out the details on every game). If you don't mind dropping the details down a bit, the 5770 would be fine.

 

[False_Dmitry_II]

Actually if that old board is a socket 939 part that out too. Those dual core CPUs for that socket go over $100 by themselves on ebay.

I doubt your claims of intel IGP superiority over ATI's. Also saying a low end dual core will be faster than a quad from AMD.

Get an actual graphics card if you're considering playing. If you don't have one and decide you want to you won't be able to.

 

[MadAdmiral]

Doubt all you want, but the benchmarks are on my side. The integrated graphics for the new Intel dual cores are pretty amazing. They're actually capable of playing games (albeit at lowered details). As for beating a quad core, the i3-530 is more powerful than the cheapest AMD quad (X4 6xx). It's due to the hyperthreading and higher clock speed. Once you get up against the higher end X3s and X4s, the i3s fall behind. The i5 dual cores are just slightly behin the X4 955, but at $200 you'd be insane for buying one with the i5-750 at the same price.

 

[obsidian86]

he will be doing multiple office applications and minor gaming i would imagine him with a few FF tabs open maybe on a word processor with some music in the background and maybe have an antivirus running i'd prefer a quad core for that

 

[raltrujillo]

he will be doing multiple office applications and minor gaming i would imagine him with a few FF tabs open maybe on a word processor with some music in the background and maybe have an antivirus running i'd prefer a quad core for that

yep...outlook, norton, excel or word (sometimes both), FF with 6-8 tabs, media center or CloneDVD...VLC, and the like. I want a snappy response that will last a couple years....with a reasonable upgrade life

 

[MadAdmiral]

THen I would go with the AM3 build. The LGA1156 socket will not have much of an upgrade path, while the AM3 socket will see the next generation of CPUs.

 

[False_Dmitry_II]

I remember reading those benchmarks when those dual cores came out and they were definitely below the ATI IGP as far as gaming is concerned. They may have done some specific HTPC type stuff better but that was it. (and then he proceeded to break it by overclocking)

They also keep talking about how on the lower end AMD options are faster/cheaper. That it's only worth it to go intel once you're talking about at least an i5.