good upgrade specs?

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good upgrade specs?

Postby omar777 » Fri Oct 27, 2006 3:47 pm

Ive been Looking at new Hardware to build my new rig. Which i think needless to say, is overdue! ;)
this is what i have now:
-Pentium 4 @ 2.8Ghz

-2.5GB RAM (PC3200)

-Nvidia Ti4200 128MB

-Samsung 191t 19" TFT

-Antec 500-Watt PSU

-Thermaltake Shark case

-Windows XP Home Edition SP2

-Saitek X-52 Flight Control System

-TrackIR 4PRO with Vector Expansion

-Logitech 5.1 surround speaker system


Now, Some would say that i should just change the GPU but my MoBo doesnt have PCI-e so.....might as well do it now, plus i wanna  8)
now this is what i am looking at to buy:
-AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Toledo 2.4GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket 939 Dual Core Processor            

-ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce SPP  100 ATX AMD Motherboard                  

-LG Black  2M Cache IDE Combo Drive            

-LG Black  2M Cache IDE DVD Burner                  

-Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3400620AS 400GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive


Im replacing the CD/DVD drives because the ones i have are cheap and have caused me problems. as for the Memory, i already have 2.5 Ghz of OCZ. The GPU will be either a nVidia 8800 or a 7950GT/X. just gotta wait to see how the new ones turn out.
But im sure the CPU and MoBo are great. does this setup look good?
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 @ 2.66GHz
nVidia nForce 680i chipset
2X 250GB WD SATA3 HDD
4GB Corsair Dominator @ 1066
nVidia GeForce 8800 Ultra 768MHz
HP w2207 monitor
Thermaltake SHARK ATX case
TrackIR4 PRO
Logitech 5.1 s
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Re: good upgrade specs?

Postby Viper22 » Fri Oct 27, 2006 4:04 pm

Well, I would go for a Conroe system if you have the money, but if you don't want to spend more for RAM it looks like you are stuck to DDR systems, and newer systems (AM2, Core 2 Duo) are only DDR2.  

btw i have the Thermaltake Shark too and I love it
Mess with the best, die like the rest.

Core 2 Duo E6600
Gigabyte 965 DQ6
2GB Mushkin DDR2 800
eVGA 7900 GT KO
250GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10
Silverstone Zeus 750W
Thermaltake shark case modded with green fans and
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Re: good upgrade specs?

Postby GeForce » Fri Oct 27, 2006 5:28 pm

Socket 939 is dead. If you're buying new it's a bad idea to go for it.

Conroe is the best bet by a mile. If you insist on AMD, make sure to go socket AM2 as its newer and has DDR2 support.

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Re: good upgrade specs?

Postby cheesegrater » Fri Oct 27, 2006 9:52 pm

I think AM2 is pointless. They made AM2 so people can't say "Ohhh, look at AMD they are still using DDR RAM, they suck because Intel uses DDR2." When AMD releases new processors they will be on a new socket anyways.
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Re: good upgrade specs?

Postby ctjoyce » Fri Oct 27, 2006 9:55 pm

God f***ing d*** !!!! Is it really that hard?

Intel E6600 Conroe  
ASUS / Gigabyte P965 based motherboard.  
nVidia 7900GS  
2GB OCZ Platinum edition DDR2-800 RAM  
120GB Western Digital SATA3  
Hiper Type R 580W PSU  

I've posted this like 3 times in the last four days. READ THE STICKEY!!!! Its what its there for!!!!.

Cheers
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Re: good upgrade specs?

Postby NicksFXHouse » Fri Oct 27, 2006 9:56 pm

I think AM2 is pointless. They made AM2 so people can't say "Ohhh, look at AMD they are still using DDR RAM, they suck because Intel uses DDR2." When AMD releases new processors they will be on a new socket anyways.



I have to agree with that to a certain point... a good 939 system will run just as fast as any AM2 system and if the parts are selected correctly a good 939 system can out perform AM2.

Conroe is the only solution right now that provides the most bang... but also for the most bucks.
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Re: good upgrade specs?

Postby omar777 » Sat Oct 28, 2006 2:46 am

I hope you arent getting mad at me there cameron....

yeah, Id have to agree conroe the best way to go, but with the premium price.
I for one am just looking for different configurations that have a good trade off with performance and what i can afford. rest assure im not some idiot thats going to buy some OEM machine for cheap. But i think i should have a limit to how much i spend on my next machine. I have time, im reading up on hardware, saving money, and deciding as i go. Im sure everyone reccomends the conroe, some dont, others suggest something else.
im exploring my options and configurations.
Id just like to know if that is a good setup for a 939 socket? hope no one gets mad trying to answer it.
Last edited by omar777 on Sat Oct 28, 2006 3:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 @ 2.66GHz
nVidia nForce 680i chipset
2X 250GB WD SATA3 HDD
4GB Corsair Dominator @ 1066
nVidia GeForce 8800 Ultra 768MHz
HP w2207 monitor
Thermaltake SHARK ATX case
TrackIR4 PRO
Logitech 5.1 s
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Re: good upgrade specs?

Postby GeForce » Sat Oct 28, 2006 4:40 am

Conroe needn't be so expensive. Try the following:

- Intel Conroe E6300 LGA775
- Gigabyte DS3 (975X)
- 2x1Gb OCZ/GeIL/G.Skill DDR PC5300/PC6400 RAM

You're looking around $450 for that lot. And will overclock like a dream.

To be honest the E6600 really isn't worth the extra unless you're encoding video. Even in games the difference is marginal.

Jon 8)
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Re: good upgrade specs?

Postby ctjoyce » Sat Oct 28, 2006 6:04 am

Sorry to flip out at you Omar, I had just gotten back from a rough day at work.

Even still, the stickey is there for a reason ;)

Cheers
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Re: good upgrade specs?

Postby flymo » Sat Oct 28, 2006 11:47 am

looks like a good setup omar..... i would just say wait for the Nvidia 8series and you have yourself a good system

also the AMD x2's seem to overclcok quite nicely with no increase of temp or volts :D which is aways a plus :D
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Re: good upgrade specs?

Postby omar777 » Sat Oct 28, 2006 12:04 pm

oh no problem cameron, i know how those are. Its funny when you serve hot blistering coffee....you just want to chuck it at people! jk anyways...

Funny thing, i looked at it and i was going to check the hardware out after i posted. I started looking, and i like a lot of the LGA775 stuff. But im really picky what kind of Motherboard i get. well, i think with anything that i'll be getting.
Im starting to makes lists of different specs. trying to decide betweent he core 2 duo E6600 and the E6700. Is the extra price and freq. worth getting the 6700 over the 6600? or is performance nearly the same when it comes down to it and OC will take care of that?
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 @ 2.66GHz
nVidia nForce 680i chipset
2X 250GB WD SATA3 HDD
4GB Corsair Dominator @ 1066
nVidia GeForce 8800 Ultra 768MHz
HP w2207 monitor
Thermaltake SHARK ATX case
TrackIR4 PRO
Logitech 5.1 s
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Re: good upgrade specs?

Postby cheesegrater » Sun Oct 29, 2006 4:26 am

I think the E6700 is not worth it. E6600 is $300, and E6700 is $500. I don't think the small performance gain is worth $200. Also, after overclocking they should be pretty much the same.

As for motherboard, take a look at:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128323
Last edited by cheesegrater on Sun Oct 29, 2006 4:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: good upgrade specs?

Postby 4_Series_Scania » Sun Oct 29, 2006 8:23 am

[quote]Ive been Looking at new Hardware to build my new rig. Which i think needless to say, is overdue! ;)
this is what i have now:
-Pentium 4 @ 2.8Ghz

-2.5GB RAM (PC3200)

-Nvidia Ti4200 128MB

-Samsung 191t 19" TFT

-Antec 500-Watt PSU

-Thermaltake Shark case

-Windows XP Home Edition SP2

-Saitek X-52 Flight Control System

-TrackIR 4PRO with Vector Expansion

-Logitech 5.1 surround speaker system


Now, Some would say that i should just change the GPU but my MoBo doesnt have PCI-e so.....might as well do it now, plus i wanna
Last edited by 4_Series_Scania on Sun Oct 29, 2006 8:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: good upgrade specs?

Postby congo » Sun Oct 29, 2006 9:27 am

The A8N-SLI Deluxe would be fine, I'm using the vanilla A8N-SLI and I'm very happy with it.

A Conroe rig will cost more because it requires new RAM.

____________________


Omar, do you mind if I ask what exactly your 2.5gbs of RAM consists of? You will be better off with a dual channel ram configuration if you aren't set up in dual channel at the moment.

A 4400+ will be every bit as good as a 4800+, save money with a 4400+ and clock it up to 2.6ghz.

If you go Conroe, an E6600 is as good as a E6700 for the same reason as above with the AMD cpu.

___________________


But for the raw CPU power of the Conroe, I wouldn't touch them or I965 chipsets with a barge pole just yet.
Still, the fact remains that they are king of the heap right now in CPU power.

I was running IL2FB online with a friend and my o/clocked 3700+ (2.8ghz) was running 100% CPU utilisation (as usual) and my friend's conroe (stock 6600) CPU utilisation was around 58%................

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What's wrong with 975 chipsets and other mainboard manufacturers? Other performance ram, larger high performance HDD (320gb is the sweet spot), 7950 GX2 (?) graphics etc .
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Re: good upgrade specs?

Postby omar777 » Mon Oct 30, 2006 1:07 am

Well, there is still life in this rig of course but this machine is an OEM from an electronics superstore here on the west coast of the US. "FRYS" is the nameo. Its being a little buggy. had to have the HHD replace as it crashed a couple years ago.  And comes with those partition recover cd set.
Is it possible to OC an OEM? plus id rather upgrade for later in the future as this machine is about 3-4 years old. Now that i know a great deal more about systems, id like to build one according to my specs.
I do like the 975 chipset. and i do hope to OC whichever system i end up with.
I have considered getting a series7 agp card but, with DX10 stuff coming out....id rather wait till its debugged and get one of them. at least a PCI-e 7950.
Thanks for your input all! i will see what i can do with my current system. and if things work out, well there you go!  8)
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 @ 2.66GHz
nVidia nForce 680i chipset
2X 250GB WD SATA3 HDD
4GB Corsair Dominator @ 1066
nVidia GeForce 8800 Ultra 768MHz
HP w2207 monitor
Thermaltake SHARK ATX case
TrackIR4 PRO
Logitech 5.1 s
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