Budget upgrade blah blah blah...

[hurrimadurr]

Ill preface this with the fact that this will, more or less, be my first build. My brother picked out the parts and assembled my current one for me, and Ive only replaced the gpu and hdd since. This computer is primarily for gaming/media.

Looking to upgrade with a budget of $500-600.
Currently have:
e6300 OCd to 2.4GHz
evga 8600gt 256mb
2x1gb corsair ddr2 800
asus p5b-e
Antec EarthWatts 500w. Still the same price as when I got it a couple years ago. Ha!
640gb sata 7200rpm

Considering upgrading to:
e8400 or e8500. I plan on OCing. How do they compare?
4870. I was looking at a 512mb - http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814121288. Or perhaps http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102801 with 1gb.
corsair 2x2gb ddr2 1066 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820145215
Unsure on the mobo. Dont know how to judge how OC-friendly a mobo is, and looking for something on the cheap.

I plan to OC the cpu as much as I can with, perhaps, a $30-40 replacement fan. I dont think my case is very well ventilated. It only has an intake on the front and a 120mm on the back, with no space for more. Perhaps I can carve a hole in the aluminum and shove another in the side or top... My current cpu idles at 50-52c, and my gpu at 53c (30% fan). Should I do anything regarding improving air flow?

Final concern is the PSU. Is mine sufficient or should I pick up a new one?

Ill be reusing everything else.

 

[Slugbait]

e8400 or e8500. I plan on OCing. How do they compare?

Not going into comparisons. e8400.

Unsure on the mobo. Dont know how to judge how OC-friendly a mobo is, and looking for something on the cheap.

On the cheap? How does $0 sound? Just update your BIOS before dropping in the new proc. You should be able to get to get to 3.8 with proper cooling, maybe a smidgen more...

Then save $5, and have 6 gigs of RAM instead of four.

I dont think my case is very well ventilated. It only has an intake on the front and a 120mm on the back

Airflow is fine.

Final concern is the PSU. Is mine sufficient or should I pick up a new one?

500W is the bare minimum for those cards, but at least one reviewer says "no" on the Earthwatts 500W. If you want only 500W, get a PP&C. This Tuniq at $47 AR is currently the best price at the 'egg that I could find, and it does 650W. Deals on PSUs come and go every other week.

Lots of deals every other week for HSFs, too. Definitely get one.

BTW, will the video card fit in your case? Lots of people overlook this when purchasing: too many people initially go cheap with their box on original builds...

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Ok, i've said this in the past 3-4 posts, GIGABYTE UD3R or P for you.

"No Asus for you, come back one year!!!" - Seinfeld

 

[hurrimadurr]

On the cheap? How does $0 sound? Just update your BIOS before dropping in the new proc. You should be able to get to get to 3.8 with proper cooling, maybe a smidgen more...

I was unsure of how it would work with my mobos lower fsb. My OC knowledge is still pretty basic. Will my mobo be a limiting factor, such that I should replace it down the line if I need the extra speed?

Then save $5, and have 6 gigs of RAM instead of four.

How important is the RAMs speed? And it will work fine with different sized sticks?

This Tuniq at $47 AR is currently the best price at the 'egg that I could find, and it does 650W.

Thank you. I missed that one, apparently.

BTW, will the video card fit in your case? Lots of people overlook this when purchasing: too many people initially go cheap with their box on original builds...

I always laugh at people complaining about the hugeness of the cards. Ive had cards just as big. My brother gave me the case, and its quite large...

How important is the cards vram? is 512mb->1gb worth $55?

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
Ok, i've said this in the past 3-4 posts, GIGABYTE UD3R or P for you.

"No Asus for you, come back one year!!!" - Seinfeld

 

[Slugbait]

I was unsure of how it would work with my mobos lower fsb. My OC knowledge is still pretty basic.

Turn up the FSB to reach the proc's cycle. Then turn it up again.

Will my mobo be a limiting factor, such that I should replace it down the line if I need the extra speed?

"Limiting factor"? It will be obsolete by the time you get a faster proc.

How important is the RAMs speed?

Not important at all, when all sticks run at 800.

And it will work fine with different sized sticks?

Yes.

How important is the cards vram? is 512mb->1gb worth $55?

Since you're not spending on the mobo, and you're saving $5 while getting an additional two gigs over your original plan, splurge. If it's not worth it now, it'll probably be worth it later.

Ok, i've said this in the past 3-4 posts, GIGABYTE UD3R or P for you.

"No Asus for you, come back one year!!!" - Seinfeld

I'm not sure what this is supposed to mean...what 3 or 4 posts? My Bad Axe II is the first non-Asus board I've used for my machines since my T2P4. Asus makes excellent boards.

 

[hurrimadurr]

"Limiting factor"? It will be obsolete by the time you get a faster proc.

I meant will it keep me from OCing the cpu as much as possible, or will that only be limited by my cooling? I really have no clue what effect the mobo's listed fsb has on its capacity to OC.

Anywho, thanks for the help.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Originally posted by: Slugbait

Ok, i've said this in the past 3-4 posts, GIGABYTE UD3R or P for you.

"No Asus for you, come back one year!!!" - Seinfeld

I'm not sure what this is supposed to mean...what 3 or 4 posts? My Bad Axe II is the first non-Asus board I've used for my machines since my T2P4. Asus makes excellent boards.

He could wait till he buys a Quad before he needs a good motherboard to run 9 1/2hrs of Prime95 blend @ 8.5x500fsb
With a Quad, then will he need this board other than that a wolfdale will get you some high overclocking

I recommend the same suggestion in 3 other threads about a UD3R or P board

 

[hurrimadurr]

It appears I have to replace my motherboard anyways, as it doesnt have a PCI-E 2.0 slot. Im going to be broke after this.

 

[Slugbait]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN

Originally posted by: Slugbait

Ok, i've said this in the past 3-4 posts, GIGABYTE UD3R or P for you.

"No Asus for you, come back one year!!!" - Seinfeld

I'm not sure what this is supposed to mean...what 3 or 4 posts? My Bad Axe II is the first non-Asus board I've used for my machines since my T2P4. Asus makes excellent boards.

He could wait till he buys a Quad before he needs a good motherboard to run 9 1/2hrs of Prime95 blend @ 8.5x500fsb
With a Quad, then will he need this board other than that a wolfdale will get you some high overclocking

I recommend the same suggestion in 3 other threads about a UD3R or P board

DAMN!! Didn't realize he should wait to afford something he didn't ask for in order to get blah-blah Prime95 blah-blah numbers/symbols for something that will cost him even more money. Sorry, my bad.

Shilling don't mean shit.

 

[Slugbait]

Originally posted by: hurrimadurr
It appears I have to replace my motherboard anyways, as it doesnt have a PCI-E 2.0 slot. Im going to be broke after this.

If I remember correctly, a PCI-e 2.0 card isn't going to take much (if any) of a performance hit on a PCI-e 1.x mobo. Why, exactly, would you need to get a new mobo?