$500 - $750 upgrade advice?

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Lordsnake71

Junior Member
Jul 11, 2009
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Approximate purchase date: (ASAP, or when i make sure everything is compatiple) Budget Range: (US$500-750)

System used mainly for gaming, surfing the net, other home usage, watching movies from time to time.

I plan on gutting my older system and using as many parts from it as i can, even though its around 6 yrs old.

My old System: (ordered from alienware)
Intel Pentium 4 CPU 3.00 GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813131464] Asus P4C800-E Deluxe Motherboard [/url]
ATI Radeon 9800 pro
4x 512MB DDR memory
2x 160g Barracuda 7200.7 (hard drives, on raid) (may have 1 going bad but not sure)
Plextor DVDR PX-504A (dvd burner)
Lite-on-JLMS-XJ-HD166S (dvd player)
http://www.amazon.com/HPC-420-...&qid=1247355243&sr=8-1] HPC-420-102 DF Power Supply [/url]
Creative sound blaster Audigy 2
Networking card = Intel Pro/1000 MT
http://www.alienware.com/sub_pages/alienware_case.aspx] Alienware Tower Case [/url]
Moniter = Multisync FE2111sb (22" big monster, may try to replace in the future for LCD same size)
*If possible i plan on re-using the dvd drive, dvd writer, Floppy drive (yes i know outdated but still have a few games from them), power supply (unless i need to update for the newer components) networking card, and sound card (unless like i've been researching, the motherboard's on-board sound will prob. be just as good). Also the alieanware case and monitor(i usually run the resolution at: 1024x768)
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Possible hardware to upgrade with:

CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819103680] AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition Callisto 3.1GHz [/url]
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819103648] AMD Phenom II X3 710 2.6GHz [/url]
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819103649] AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz [/url]
*I may try to overclock but still new at that.

Heatsink:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835233029] XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler [/url]
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...2E16835207004&Tpk=CCTF] Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler W/TX-2 [/url]
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...arctic+cooling&x=0&y=0] one of these Arctic Cooling [/url]

Motherboards:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813131366] ASUS M4A78T-E AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard [/url]
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...Gigabyte%20MA770T-UD3P] GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard [/url]

Memory:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231200] G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 [/url]
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820227381] OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM [/url]
*I haven't really researched on memory yet, so there may be others that i haven't found yet...

Video Card:
Still to be determined depending on my budget. I have had problems with radeon cards on my computer, had 2 go bad before the warranty with alienware was up... and the latest one just died which is why I'm upgrading.
I'd like to try Invida but I'm not sure if it would cause problems with the asus motherboard.
I also just plan on one card for now but possible a 2nd for crossfire in the future, if this setup allows it.

Thx for the help, I'll post a followup later. :hello:
 
brblx

brblx

Diamond Member
Mar 23, 2009
5,499
2
0
no vbcode here, duder. :(

what kind of psu is the old alienware? i would assume it's name branded and not from an OEM? if it's fairly old (3-4 year or more, sounds like it), you may want to replace it as a cautionary measure, especially if it already offers limited overhead. post the model and the 12v ratings, also check to see if it has the 24x4 mobo connectors or a pcie connector (probably not).

there's no reason to run 3 sticks of ram in a dual channel mobo. stick to 4gb for now. either mobo will probably be fine, 720BE would be the choice to overclock, and they're a pretty good value stock. some applications benefit greatly from 3 cores (slightly less from all four).

for your budget, i don't see a 720be, am3 mobo, 4gb ddr2, and a decent video card being a problem. video card all depends on what you want to spend. gtx260's a nice deal if you want to do nvidia, but the 4890 is priced somewhat close. i'd go ahead and set aside $50 for a new power supply.
 
Lunyone

Lunyone

Senior member
Oct 8, 2007
482
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Lordsnake71

Junior Member
Jul 11, 2009
5
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0
Thx for the advice, those mem sticks look like a good deal, also if i need new hard drives and dvd drive those are pretty cheap.

OK i was talking to a co-worker and decided to change some stuff around by going with ddr2 memory. Let me know what ya think and if its all compatible.

Processors:
Phenom II X3 Black Edition 2.8GHz
Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition Callisto 3.1GHz

Motherboards:
Asus M4A78-E AM2+/AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI
*I'm not sure if the onboard graphics card will cause any problems with going crossfire on this thing? This is still my first choice i guess, even though the other board is cheaper.

GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P
*I'm kinda hesitant about this board even though it gets good reviews and the possible unlocking of the 4 cores on the possessors i listed, I've also never had a gigabyte board.

PSU:
Corsair CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V

Memory:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820146785] mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel [/url]
mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066

Video Card:
XFX HD-487A-ZHFC Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Crossfire Supported Video Card
*I've only started looking at the cards but this one looks good for the money. I plan on getting another one later but for now I should only need 1, I usually play city of heroes, wow, or warhammer.


Even after reading many review and stuff about memory I'm still lost in the dark about it. thought i read somewhere to go lower voltage on them? but I'm currently brain fried and will continue looking tomorrow.

Thx for responding :hello:
 
brblx

brblx

Diamond Member
Mar 23, 2009
5,499
2
0
that's a solid video card for $150.

i'd go with the gigabyte mobo, neither of those two has two full speed pcie slots.

psu is overkill, the 650 could run two 4870's, 450 or 550 would be fine for what you've got.
 
Lunyone

Lunyone

Senior member
Oct 8, 2007
482
0
71
For the RAM, I chose the DDR2 1066 mHz stuff, because you can get DDR2 800 mHz sticks that run at 1.8v (stock voltage), but usually need voltage adjustments to run at 1066 mHz. Now basically the DDR2 800 mHz sticks that run at 4-4-4-12 timings and at stock voltage are just about the same as DDR2 1066 mHz sticks that run at 5-5-5-15 timings at 2-2.2v. The 1066 mHz sticks are basically factor OC'd 800 mHz sticks that the company warranties. If you want stock voltage sticks, I'd recommend these:
G.SKILL PI Black 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL4D-4GBPI-B - Retail
They have good reviews and run at stock voltages (1.8 - 1.9v). You would have some room to OC them if you want too, but you shouldn't need to.
 
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Lordsnake71

Junior Member
Jul 11, 2009
5
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heyheybooboo

Diamond Member
Jun 29, 2007
6,278
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I just installed a ZEROtherm ZEN FZ120 120mm in a Antec 900. Solid mount, stands tall with good clearance on an MSI 790FX. Should crank it up this evening for a few test runs.

Not really counting on the rebate but maybe it will be a pleasant surprise. Here are some pics
 
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Lordsnake71

Junior Member
Jul 11, 2009
5
0
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Ok due to a combo deal from new egg i'm looking at going the ddr3 motherboard route.

ASUS M4A78T-E

I've been reading a lot of forums about the board and trying to figure out what memory would be good for it, and no one can give a really clear messed, even the manufacturer's web sites even list this board on them when searching for comparability. I even download the board manual but half the stuff doesn't show up in neweeg.


Any suggestions? Maybe a few different types for me to look at would help.

thx
 
brblx

brblx

Diamond Member
Mar 23, 2009
5,499
2
0
OCZ ram is usually fine. most of it, like the ram in your link, is meant to be run at a slightly higher voltage, though, so keep that in mind when setting your system up.

the extra speed (1333 vs 1600) isn't going to make a difference. i'd generally just buy the cheaper memory, though technically yes, you should get a tiny bit better performance with the lower timed OCZ.
 
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heyheybooboo

Diamond Member
Jun 29, 2007
6,278
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If you go DDR3 1600 I would pick your RAMs based upon the Asus QVL list with voltages and timings - better safe than sorry.

If you have a problem you then have free reign to bitch about it.
 
Farmer

Farmer

Diamond Member
Dec 23, 2003
3,334
2
81
I upgraded from a system from a similar era to yours. It's under my rigs. I went with 720BE, HD4870, 4 gigs DDR3, came up to be almost exactly $500, a few months ago.
 
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