Upgrade for Christmas

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Alright, so my dad agreed to help me upgrade my computer for christmas!

What I have right now:
Display Adaptor: NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT
Processor: AMD Athalon 64 Processor 3200+
HDD: 2 200gb WDC WD2000BB-55GUA0
1.00 gb RAM
454 MHz

What should I upgrade? Is there anything else in my computer that would be important to mention (if so, how do I find out what I have?)? What would each do and/or cost?

 

I'd say RAM and video card.

Knowing what kind of motherboard you have would be helpful so we can know what kind of RAM you need, and what kind of video card will work. To find out what type of motherboard you have, you'll have to look inside the computer. The brand and model name are usually printed on the motherboard near the RAM and the northbridge chip. We need to know that before we can give an accurate estimate on prices.

 

Same question from me, I'm crap with hardware, the market moves too quickly for me to keep up.

Motherboard - ASRock K7VTA4 Pro
CPU - Sempron 2800+ (obviously runs at 2Ghz in reality)
RAM - 1Gb
Graphics - GeForce 6600 256Mb
HDD - 1x140Gb + 1x200Gb
Sound - Sound Blaster Audigy (cheap model)

I need to replace the processor so I can play new games. To replace that, I'll probably need to swap out the mobo as well. The RAM will probably scrape through for a bit. The card will do for a bit.

Swapping out the mobo and CPU will mean reinstalling XP, right? In that, probably formatting my Windows install drive as well (I've never EVER successfully reinstalled Windows and everything has been OK with the HD's).

Not too much money guys, my mum and dad will be treating me to a few bits, and I'd rather not take the piss.

 

Guys, what graphics slots do you have? AGP or PCI-E?

As I see, upgrading CPU with the same mobo doesn't make much sense in both your cases. RAM above 1 GB doesn't make a colossal difference, but if it's cheap... HDD, just anything SATA, though it's not like ATA 133 is horribly slow. I have ATA 100 myself.

Note that upgrading the mobo means swapping the RAM too. That's mobo + CPU + RAM + new graphics card if you're on AGP. That almost means a new computer. It might actually be more profitable to buy a new computer and sell the old one in one piece.

One more thing: At Christmas time, everything is expensive. Then and about a month after. At least here. Don't know, maybe where you live it's different, but it won't hurt to find out. Besides, that means a salary or two will come in the meantime, so you might be able to make a bigger investment. In my experience, it generally pays off when you spend very small cash or when you spend a lot of cash. But in between, it doesn't normally pay well. I think I'm not going to buy anything for my own PC, for instance, but if I buy a desktop one, I'll probably push the old one to one of my younger siblings for some cash from parents on top of my own PC funds. Either that or I'll wait until laptops are even cheaper since I don't really have that much time to play.

 

AGP

 

For Saber. processor can still be used for a short time. Whit things on low/medium it wil run most rpg, but high end shooters will be a problem. Keep the mobo and processor for a while. most likely a 939 board whit pci express. if so invest is a graphics card only and save up.

Next time you will need to replace the mobo, processor, memory and windows. Perhaps whit bad luck also the power supply unit. So be prepared and buy a dx10 card for the next pc. If you want to do it this week I advice the ati 3850 or 3870. It will use the next interafce, pciexpress 2.0, and dx10.1. That way it will not be out of place whit your next pc. For now it will work fine whit the dx9c you are running now whit win XP.

Again assuming you have socket 939 whit pciexpress and a strong enough power unit.
videocard between 100/150 euro for a medium gamingcard. power unit 60 euro. The powerunitdata would also help. It has a label.

For the memmory I am not so confident. Memmory is now on an all time low, but most likely not to be used on your next pc. For that I need to know your motherboardtype.


For Barmy. I assume you have an Oem version of windows. If so you cannot use it on a new mobo processor combo. If you have retail you can. When you go into the system menu you can find the serial number. when it ends whit oem,...

Upgrade kit for amd dualcore whit mainboard and memory is around 250 euro. An other 150 for graphics card. But again is your power unit up to it. The board is to old to keep. The memory is of an older type, not to be used in the next, the graphics interface is also to old.

So it will be a total overhaul meaning a total new pc. A new motherboard uses a new and better HDD interface and can be upgraded whitin 18 months. If you are going to do it for gaming think more to 700/800 euro. That will give you the amd dual core 6000 whti vista home prem. 2 gig ram and an nvdia 8600 gt.

You can shave off if your windows is retail. 110 euro. the optical drive costs 25 euro new. The power unit between 45/60.

Many straight from the box computers are shipped whit a just-enough power unit. The amd 6000 dualcore is cheap, 160, but uses 120 watt. Intel uses less, but costs more. Your current processor uses aroud 45 watt.

 

Erm, I opened my computer up and looked... I don't quite know where to look, but I found this number:

GF 6600GT 128MB

And this one:
SL-K8AN2E-GR

Err, I see 'Soltek', as well as PCI3, PCI4, PCI5, and AGP1. I think the card is in AGP1.

I hope that helps... if not, I will keep looking. Thankyou for your help.

 

XP will do me fine, I don't want or need Vista. I'll get a copy of XP it's no problem.

My case is pretty new and had a good power supply in it (at least I think so, I'd have to check to be 100% sure). Do you think I really need to upgrade the graphics? I thought a 256Mb 6600 would last me another good 6 months at least. The CPU and mobo definitely needs upgrade.

I was hoping to get a CPU like this http://www.ebuyer.com/product/117319 with the motherboard to go with it for around £100-120 all in.

Another thing to consider is that I'm pretty sure my RAM is normal old DDR... I've seen there's now DDR II, and I'm not sure if old DDR is compatible in the same slot or not... ?

 

Saber, your motherboard is a Soltek SL-K8AN2E-GR. That means you need DDR 800 RAM and a AGP 8x card.

You're kind of at a fork in the road. Every part of tech your currently have is outdated and has been replaced by a different standard. AGP -> PCIe, socket 754 -> socket 939 -> AM2, DDR -> DDR2 -> DDR3, PATA -> SATA -> SATA 3gbps, etc...

While you can certainly upgrade to more powerfull componets...they'll still be obsolete before you even buy them. Also, if you want DirectX 10 for any of the new games, you'll have to get one of the ATI HD 2600 or 2400 series cards. They're the only AGP cards I could find that support DX10.

 

Wait, so if all my stuff is obsolete and will be... what am I supposed to do? Upgrade to the ATI HD, or will that go obsolete soon?

What do you suggest I do, providing cost is not too big of a deal (a few hundred bucks is alright, but not too much)?

 

Saber - IMO the upgrade that will most effect gaming performance would be a new graphics card. I somewhat doubt upgrading to 2gb of ram will have too great an impact given that you're running windows xp and are unlikely to be cranking the video settings in games (because of other components). To upgrade your CPU much further you would need to upgrade your motherboard, which would not be compatible with the rest of your components. A new HDD is unlikely to have any discernible effect on gaming performance.

So having said that you won't go too wrong with the following cards:
nVIDIA 7600GS ~$100USD - directX 9c
ATI 2600 XT ~$115USD - supports directX 10, but this is likely to be superfluous to your requirements given the prequisite of vista and the demands of dx10 games....and the fact that most dx10 games to date also run on dx9 hardware
ATI X1950 GT - ~$130USD - only directX 9c, but thats probably about all that you'll be using, plus its quite a bit more powerful than the 2600XT.
...and I wouldn't recomending getting anything too much more powerful than these, because your performance would likely become bottle-necked by other components, you might end up requiring a new power supply to run it, and you'd be better off saving up for a new computer sometime down the track (and perhaps selling the old one, or passing it down or whatever).

I'd recommend the same to you Barmy for graphics cards, but you could perhaps also look at new processor - if you can pick up a decent compatible Athlon at 3200+ or above at a reasonable price then go for it.

 

Thanks for the advice.
3200+ for socket A mobo's are still quite expensive, because they're the best CPU that will go in an old socket A. I've had a look and you're looking £60+ for one, which combined with a new graphics at around £60-80 I really may as well build a new rig (as it's not that long off anyway really before I have to replace the lot).

I think I might be able to get a new machine quite high spec for around £400, and just drop my HD's in the new machine so I don't lose any data. I might be able to sell the old bits then and get a little bit of my money back (emphasis on 'little'!)

 

BA - You and I must have *very* different definitions for "quite high spec" if you're only going to spend £400...

The computer I've configured for a "if I had a lot of extra cash" moment isn't top of the line by any means and the total cost to build it is just over $2000.

 

To both. You both need an new motherboard, processor, memory and graphics card. if you want to upgrade, that's is the deal. Anything you put onto your old board will be a waste of money. Any agp card is obsolete. Sure they can boost your system a bit, but games like fallout 3 and the next kotor are not going to run on your pc's, or just barely.

Your best option is to buy a basic GAMING pc at a COMPUTER store, avoiding brands like HP. Packard Bell, Fujitsu siemens and Dell. Say to the builder that you want to upgrade later. It will cost more than the brands mentioned above, but that loss is compensated in the next upgrade.`

You can do it for 450/500 euro. Only at a shop that builds by themselves. You can start whit your old box but always must buy the Motherboard-memory-processor and medium graphics card. The old HDD can be used, (75 euro for a new sata disk) the old cd players cannot be used. vista comes on an dvd. dvd burner cost around 30 euro. an exta 110 for windows.

for amd: am2 motherboard, or am2+ No other. for Intel: 775. type p35 for gaming and future upgrading. Both cost around 100 euro. never save on your motherboard. The top[ 3 brands are asus, gigabyte and msi.

Processor: starts at 150 for amd, 180 for intel and goes al the way beyond 1000. graphics: at least nvidia 8600 series or ati 2600 series. varies between 120/200 euro. newer series are coming out as we speak and are priced in the same range. Memory: ddr2-800 Nothing less. for vista 2 gig. 50 euro for 1 gig. you can start whit one gig and but the other later.

It is not cheap lads, I know. This is the situation now.

 

Cheers for replies

Which is actually lower than the estimated price I gave for a new machine, so not really a problem for me. I mean, i've no qualms about buying a unit from a good seller on eBay, and I've seen them go quite cheap for at least a 'steady' rig.

Kitrax, if you spent $2000 on a computer (which is around £1000) then you got ripped off, big time. You can buy a brand new iMac for that, or an Alienware beast or something. Either that or the US market is cuckoo land.

I'd consider 'high-end' to be anything around a 6000+ dual core unit, with 2Gb RAM and a very good graphics card. I've seen units like that for less than £350 (which is around $750, or 500 euro), and that's on British market prices, which are typically a rip off. Obviously this is minus a monitor which I don't particularly need, and sound, of which I will use integrated on new boards... I'm assuming new boards will have good integrated sound. A PC that I use won't need to launch bloody space rockets, so I don't need an absolute animal. So long as it will cope well with new games coming out and last for a bit. I'm a bit of a gypsy when it comes to that, and the above set up has managed to last me a looong time. So, in reality, I'd say a 5200+ unit would probably do me and last. What do you reckon? I'm going to get a price from a little computer shop local to here, I know them and don't think they'd rip me off. I'll get a spec and price and post it here, see what you reckon

 

Yes, that will be it. It will also help Sabre. But he can wait a few more months. the 3200 can still play NWN2 decent.

Two years ago I played Oblivion on a socket A 2800 on 800/600. It worked just fine. It is just what you want. The 2000 pc is worht it. Some new mainboard cost 200/300 euro whittwo pci- e 16 slots for two graphic cards. Whit a reatail utlimate version of xp, a qaud core processor, ddr2 1066 overclock memory you will indde reach the 2000 euro

For the above mentioned price you might have an amd 5400 dualcore on an am2 board built into your current case. But I still advice a new many times faster HDD for aproxx 75.
euro.

And ofcourse a nice legal windows.

By the way, the euro has a higher value than the dollar. Aproxx: 1 euro for 1,45 dollar.(Go europ!)

 

Graphics cards for AGP can be compared here:

http://www.gph.benchmark.pl

Select "English" where it says "polski".

As for concrete models, I'm not really up to date with the latest trends, but out of Direct X 9c cards, the best bet is Radeon x1950pro if 1) you can afford it, 2) your power supply can hold it (it eats 66W, which is little less than your CPU). Out of Radeons of the DX10 generation, only 2600XT has the power to compete with the DX9 cards. And actually, it has quite a lot of power for its price, so it's a good buy, I'd say.

If you want nVidia, you're less lucky... unless you want a 7300GT DDR3 (the DDR3 part is extremely important - it's the type of RAM it uses and it makes a lot of difference - DDR2 versions are much weaker) for the cheapest you can pay. It's a very good cheap card using the same RAM chips as in 7600GT, as well as some other solutions taken from more powerful cards. Don't be discouraged by the low-end -300 designation therefore. It's better than 7600GS, by the way.

And don't touch 7600GS. The DDR2 version is bad and the DDR3 version will cost little less than 7600GT, while it's pretty much a similar card, so get GT if you want it. But for the same price, you can get Radeon 2600XT, which is a better buy. Just remember... DDR3.

The dollar is taking a dive, so it might be a good idea to order from the US if you're making a big purchase. People here do Christmas shopping this way this year.

 

I'm actually inclined to agree with this now. I've always rated the 7600GS slightly above the 7300GT as that it overclocks a hell of a lot better (bringing it up to and above 7600GT speeds), but I doubt this will be too important a feature for Barmy or Saber. Secondly, un-overclocked, the speed advantage over the incumbent 6600GT is only around 20-30%, so an extra $25-30USD towards a 1950GT or a 2600XT is well worth it, as both these cards will run at about 60-100% faster than a 6600GT. So....scratch my 7600GS recommendation. Note that the 7300GT runs at a very similar speed, and while it is quite a good deal for the price, I reckon a greater performance gain would need to be achieved to justify the upgrade.

Good points on the 1950 Chev, I'm actually begining to think that the 2600XT might be better simply because its only marginally slower, a bit cheaper, is less likely to require a new power supply, is more energy efficient, quieter and uses a newer architecture (and thus is more likley to see performance increases with future driver updates). Still if you manage to find a 1950GT for the same price as a 2600XT it would be a very good buy.

 

OK guys, this is what I've just cobbled together...

AMD Athlon 6000+ - £83.99 (Euro 117.62)

Socket AM2 Motherboard I picked - £33.74 (Euro 47.29)

XFX 8600GT 512Mb Graphics Card - £64.90 (Euro 90.98)

2Gb 800Mhz RAM - £38.29 (Euro 53.67)

160Gb SATA HD (to go with my 200Gb SATA - £28.56 (Euro 40.03)

Total price, including VAT: £293.16 (Euro 410.99)

That's damn expensive for me, but I'll push to that if it'll last me ages. Is everything compatible and pretty good? My PSU kicks out 400w, will that be enough to power this, or will it not be enough? I'll use my old crappy CRT monitor, because I can't justify the cost of upgrading it.

What do you think, guys?

 

In my opinion, that's good except don't buy a 160 GB hard drive. Doesn't pay and you already have a bigger one anyway. Perhaps skip it for a while. The PSU should suffice.