Help me upgrade!

[KaiineTN]

A few yeras ago, I somehow managed to throw together the computer I'm on now, but it's starting to feel a bit dated and can't run a lot of the newer games all that smoothly. I'm looking to upgrade what I need to, but I'm not really sure what that is. I think it would probably be a good idea to get a new motherboard, processor, ram, and graphics card. I can probably keep everything else, the case, cd/hard drives, power supply, etc.

I don't know much about brands or what to look for, especially for gaming PC's, and what sort of differences in hardware (if any) there are for machines built for Vista or machines built for XP. I hate Vista. Don't make me use Vista. DirectX 10 can wait. Right? >_<

I don't need top end expensive stuff, just good enough to last another few years, at least.

Here's some current specs:

> Mainboard : Gigabyte GA-K8N Pro-SLI
> Chipset : nVidia nForce4
> Processor : AMD Athlon 64 3200+ @ 2000 MHz
> Physical Memory : 1024 MB (2 x 512 DDR-SDRAM )
> Video Card : NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GT

So... upgrade suggestions?

[Kramer]

seems like just spending 500 on any desktop these days will get you plenty (2gb ram at least, duo core processor, run of the mill graphics card)

[KaiineTN]

That's what I did for my secondary PC, which is running Vista, and it sucks ass. Random "low memory" errors when it isn't even running anything, etc.

[Tikker]

for your vid card now, is it agp, or pci-e?

if it's pci-e I'd just buy a better video card and see if that makes a diff

that might be all you need to do

[KaiineTN]

I was reading a bit on the motherboard and I guess it has two PCI-e slots? That's what SLI is?

"Verdict: A reasonably priced, fast board and the second 16x PCI Express slot offers a frugal graphics upgrade path

SLI, while initially targeted at the hard-core gamer, has been embraced by mainstream PC manufacturers with surprising enthusiasm. It offers even the casual gamer a simple, cost-effective way to keep up with the latest games releases. By the time your first card is struggling, a complementary card will cost an affordable amount and almost double performance."

So, I could throw a second graphics card in there (can they be different card models?) and have uber performance? I think a ram upgrade would probably be worth the money too. I could take out the old 512's and replace them with 2 1 gb sticks for like, $50 or less. Or hell, I could go for 4 gb, but I don't think that's really necessary.

[Harrison]

Buy an 8800GTX if you want to play new games but don't want to drop the cash on a 9800.

You have two x16 PCI-E slots and two x1.

I suggest personally to go with one single 8800GTX instead of two of any lesser card in SLI. SLI is overrated and more often than not will give you issues. It's not worth the off chance that it will just not work well in any given game. (more the game developer's fault for not properly supporting it, just like with dual cores)

[Tikker]

yup, stick in a new 8800 gt or better, and replace the 512 ram with 1gb modules and you'll be laughing


you could also probably upgrade the cpu to a dual core too and get some snappier performance

newegg doesn't have anything left for s939 cpu's left

they've got a 4000+ for like 30 bucks tho

I think you'd be better off finding a x2 somewhere tho

[KaiineTN]

I ran the PC Wizard benchmark and it seems like my processor performance is hurting the most, and my mobo seems kind of outdated seeing as how the best processor for socket 939 on newegg is only like $35, so I'll probably buy that, and some ram, and see how it goes? It's either that or basically build an entire new system, and I don't really want to spend a lot of money right now.

Man, decisions decisions... I'm looking around on ebay now at mobo/cpu bundles seeing if there are any deals out there. It might not cost as much as I was thinking it would.

[KaiineTN]

Decided to go the route of upgrading the motherboard as well, here's what I decided on:

Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131022
Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103210
Ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231098

Hopefully they were decent picks. The total came out to around $210, which isn't nearly as bad as I was thinking going this route would be. The GeForce 7800 GT should have some life left in her for a while yet, but when I do upgrade it, the rest of the system will be ready. Well, except for the power supply.

[Harrison]

Yeah, once you upgrade your video card it will be good for another 2 years or so depending on what games you want to play.

[Tikker]

i would have looked harder for a s939 cpu

nothing wrong with that mobo

[Dylan]

I'm pretty much in the same boat as Kaiine, what video card would you guys add onto that list he posted?

[numatu]

How much are you willing to spend on a video card?

[Dylan]

Hopefully not much more than a couple hundred

[Tikker]

seriously

8800gt or better

[Dylan]

What brand would you go with on that?

Also, my mom works for Verizon and gets "commission" by way of gift cards and offered me some Best Buy gift cards for my birthday if I want them. So if anyone wouldn't mind compiling a list of good parts available through http://www.bestbuy.com or the like I will give you 3 million space bucks.

[brinstar]

i always recommend BFGTech video cards. they are not the flashiest-looking, and they usually do not come with games, but they are rock solid and come with a lifetime warranty and free 24/7 tech support.

i had one burn out (the fan went bad, like i mentioned in the other thread) and since they didn't have any of those lying around they actually sent me a slightly BETTER one-- now i'm a customer for life

[Tikker]

there's something to be said for tech companies with lifetime warranties

all my ram is Kingston for that reason

[KaiineTN]

So I got the goods today, put everything in, turned it on, and the mobo started on fire. Okay, well, not quite a fire, but a chip started glowing/smoking. PCIE1_1 I think it was. I'm hoping it was actually a defective board and not something I did. Things were a bit different from the last computer I built, and I had to run out and buy a new power supply for it. So, technically, I guess it could have been caused by either the board or the power supply, which makes me nervous about the replacement when it comes. I put in the old mobo/power supply and things are working fine. Board said any ATX 12V 2.0 power supply would work, and this one fits the bill.

Anyone ever had something like this happen?

It's a good thing Newegg is pretty good with replacements.

All the CS people I talked to, both Asus and Newegg, spoke English as their primary language! I was surprised.