Looking for advice for upgrade

[tkachuk]

I've got some extra dough to spend and was thinking about using it for
an upgrade(s). +/- $400. First off...I only use my PC for games and
surfing.
My current rig:
P4 2.4C w/ Zalman.... oc'd stable to 3.2ghz
Abit IC7-G Max II
1 gig OCZ Gold 3700 (DDR 4x256mb)
2 x SATA HD @ RAID0
evga 6600gt 128mb AGP
Rosewill 550W PS
XP Pro

This system has been great and allows me to play all the games I like,
so far, without too much trouble. FPS are pretty good.
What should I be looking to do w/ this setup? I'm sure a new mobo and
CPU are in order but there are so many new ones out now I'm lost.
Guess I'm partial to intel's...never had an AMD system.
Can I use any of my existing hardware to keep cost down? Suppose I
should ebay all this stuff and figure out exactly how much $$$ I'll
have.
TIA for any advice.
Keith

 

[Bob Day]

I've got some extra dough to spend and was thinking about using it for
an upgrade(s). +/- $400. First off...I only use my PC for games and
surfing.
My current rig:
P4 2.4C w/ Zalman.... oc'd stable to 3.2ghz
Abit IC7-G Max II
1 gig OCZ Gold 3700 (DDR 4x256mb)
2 x SATA HD @ RAID0
evga 6600gt 128mb AGP
Rosewill 550W PS
XP Pro

This system has been great and allows me to play all the games I like,
so far, without too much trouble. FPS are pretty good.
What should I be looking to do w/ this setup?

No clue. What, specifically, are you looking
to improve about your system?

-- Bob Day
http://bobday.vze.com

 

[tkachuk]

the mobo and cpu i suppose.

No clue. What, specifically, are you looking
to improve about your system?

-- Bob Day
http://bobday.vze.com

 

[Paul]

the mobo and cpu i suppose.

I have a strategy for you. At some point, more games will
be released for DX10 and Vista. At that point, you'll need
to build yourself a new system, with a DX10 compatible
video card, (more memory for Vista), and at that point
you can invest in a better processor.

You already have a nice system, and need a triggering
event to help you decide when to upgrade. If we offered
a solution that increased the processor by 20%, would
you even notice ? And if you were to go out and buy
a $400 AGP video card, it would be obsolete and not
plug into your next (PCI Express) motherboard purchase.

Put the $400 in the bank, and wait for the next generation
of games, to see if there is a good reason to upgrade.

If you really gotta have an upgrade to play with today,
the best incremental I can come up with would be:

http://www.asrock.com/product/ConRoe865PE.htm
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Submit=ENE&N=50001157+2010340343+1050922263

I selected the ConRoe865PE because it would allow your
video card and RAM to be reused. The processor watts are
low enough, that your existing PSU can be used. But the
ConRoe865PE is an FSB800 chipset being run at FSB1066
out of the box. That means the motherboard cannot be
overclocked at all, as it is already overclocked just
to run the Conroe at "normal" speed. If you buy the
E6600 Conroe at 2.4Ghz, you'll have to be happy with
the equivalent of dual cores running at about 3.6GHz.
So it is an upgrade, but it is a perilous one - I'd want
to see some user reports of just how well the ConRoe865PE
before I'd part with any of my $400.

There are plenty of other motherboards for Conroe, but
they won't allow reuse of the rest of your stuff.

For some reason, the ConRoe865PE does not seem to be
widely distributed. And I don't know what that means...

Paul

 

[CBFalconer]

the mobo and cpu i suppose.

You can achieve a perfectly satisfactory system, and still unload
the $400, by simply sending me the money.

Please don't top-post. I fixed this one. See the links below.

--
Some informative links:
<<http://www.geocities.com/nnqweb/>
<http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html>
<http://www.caliburn.nl/topposting.html>
<http://www.netmeister.org/news/learn2quote.html>
<http://cfaj.freeshell.org/google/>

 

[Gojira]

You can achieve a perfectly satisfactory system, and still unload
the $400, by simply sending me the money.

Please don't top-post. I fixed this one. See the links below.

--
Some informative links:
<<http://www.geocities.com/nnqweb/>
<http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html>
<http://www.caliburn.nl/topposting.html>
<http://www.netmeister.org/news/learn2quote.html>
<http://cfaj.freeshell.org/google/>

Why does there have to be a smart ass in every group?Go play netcop
somewhere else.

 

[Gojira]

I have a strategy for you. At some point, more games will
be released for DX10 and Vista. At that point, you'll need
to build yourself a new system, with a DX10 compatible
video card, (more memory for Vista), and at that point
you can invest in a better processor.

You already have a nice system, and need a triggering
event to help you decide when to upgrade. If we offered
a solution that increased the processor by 20%, would
you even notice ? And if you were to go out and buy
a $400 AGP video card, it would be obsolete and not
plug into your next (PCI Express) motherboard purchase.

Put the $400 in the bank, and wait for the next generation
of games, to see if there is a good reason to upgrade.

If you really gotta have an upgrade to play with today,
the best incremental I can come up with would be:

http://www.asrock.com/product/ConRoe865PE.htm
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Submit=ENE&N=50001157+2010340343+1050922263

I selected the ConRoe865PE because it would allow your
video card and RAM to be reused. The processor watts are
low enough, that your existing PSU can be used. But the
ConRoe865PE is an FSB800 chipset being run at FSB1066
out of the box. That means the motherboard cannot be
overclocked at all, as it is already overclocked just
to run the Conroe at "normal" speed. If you buy the
E6600 Conroe at 2.4Ghz, you'll have to be happy with
the equivalent of dual cores running at about 3.6GHz.
So it is an upgrade, but it is a perilous one - I'd want
to see some user reports of just how well the ConRoe865PE
before I'd part with any of my $400.

There are plenty of other motherboards for Conroe, but
they won't allow reuse of the rest of your stuff.

For some reason, the ConRoe865PE does not seem to be
widely distributed. And I don't know what that means...

Paul

There probably isn't that high a demand for it,since AGP is pretty much on
it's way out,most people just make the move to PCI-E when they upgrade.A
Core 2 Duo CPU is definitely the way to go,but I'd put the money aside and
save up for as long as your present system still does the job,then do a
complete upgrade.

 

[kony]

I've got some extra dough to spend and was thinking about using it for
an upgrade(s). +/- $400. First off...I only use my PC for games and
surfing.
My current rig:
P4 2.4C w/ Zalman.... oc'd stable to 3.2ghz
Abit IC7-G Max II
1 gig OCZ Gold 3700 (DDR 4x256mb)
2 x SATA HD @ RAID0
evga 6600gt 128mb AGP
Rosewill 550W PS
XP Pro

This system has been great and allows me to play all the games I like,
so far, without too much trouble. FPS are pretty good.
What should I be looking to do w/ this setup? I'm sure a new mobo and
CPU are in order but there are so many new ones out now I'm lost.
Guess I'm partial to intel's...never had an AMD system.
Can I use any of my existing hardware to keep cost down? Suppose I
should ebay all this stuff and figure out exactly how much $$$ I'll
have.

The system as it stands is fairly well balanced. To get the
best bang for the buck from further upgrade ~ +$400, you
would begin building the replacement for this system. It
will take a little more than $400 though, since you're
looking at replacing at least motherboard, CPU, memory
(DDR2), PCI Express video card.

I suggest you get a little more of the value out of the
current system and put the $400 in the bank, adding to it
for a later replacement.

 

[tkachuk]

thanks...maybe i'll put it off until later.

The system as it stands is fairly well balanced. To get the
best bang for the buck from further upgrade ~ +$400, you
would begin building the replacement for this system. It
will take a little more than $400 though, since you're
looking at replacing at least motherboard, CPU, memory
(DDR2), PCI Express video card.

I suggest you get a little more of the value out of the
current system and put the $400 in the bank, adding to it
for a later replacement.

 

[Ken Maltby]

Why does there have to be a smart ass in every group?Go play netcop
somewhere else.

He said please, so it was a simple request.
He even provided references to further explain his position.

The primary function of these groups, is to provide a forum,
that will allow everyone access to those willing to provide the
benefit of their experience (good or bad, smart or not). The
net has no "cops" and no required understanding of what's
expected of posters, prior to their posting. It's learn as you
go, for most. Calling someone an ass who is willing to inform
a presumed new poster about some of the "Netiquette"; is
counterproductive, and tells us more about you than anything
else.

Luck;
Ken