Hey guys, I don't think I can resist upgrading any longer (it's been 3+ years). Here's what I've got now:
AMD Athlon 64 3800+ (socket 939 single core)
Corsair XMS DDR 800 2GB
Chaintech VNF4 Ultra
x1800XT 256MB
Tremble in awe of my computing power! Anyway, I've got a 600 watt Cooler Master I got a couple months ago when my antec died finally (for a year+ the only way to turn the machine on was to turn the PSU off, then on again, then hit the power button within 10 seconds, epic right?). I'm reasonably confident it will be OK for what I have in mind.
Details: I recently upgraded to Windows 7 x64. Really like it. Unfortunately, there has been some performance degradation in the transition from XP. I suspect the main problem is the single core CPU. I use this rig to play games @ 1280x1024, and mostly I play older stuff, like CS:S, and Heroes of Newerth (uses the Savage 2 engine, kind of similar to Warcraft 3 Defense of the Ancients). I also play L4D too. It's been a pretty good run, I played both Crysis games and Farcry 2. However, even CS:S and HoN tend to slow down significantly in intense moments. This was manageable in XP, but in Windows 7 it's become more noticeable. I suspect the x1800 is bottle-necked by the 3800, though I have no way of confirming this (though in the Windows 7 evaluation, the video card scores significantly higher than the CPU). I know Source engine games are heavily CPU dependent, and I believe the same holds true for RTS engines, which HoN kinda sorta is.
So, I'm planning to rip out the guts of the machine and get a new mobo, video card, and memory, hopefully in such a way that I can upgrade later. I'll keep my case (complete with dvd drive mounted with superglue), hard drives, etc. At some point I'll probably get a nice Corsair PSU, Lian Li Case, and a SATA combo drive that reads/writes all things, but for now I'm aiming low, since I'm going to try and score a 50 inch plasma and possibly a PS3 slim Black Friday. I'd like to keep this under $300, but feel free to try and convince me to spend more. Right now I'm looking at:
AMD Phenom II x3 720: ~$119
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103649
Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600 4GB: ~$92
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145260
Asus M4A77TD AM3 AMD 770: ~$85 (ignore $10 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131603
Total: $296 (No micro center or anything nearby, so I will be ordering from the egg)
I'm not really feeling the need for a new video card until either the 5850 hits around $250 (not likely any time soon) or the 5770 gets a driver update that kicks its performance up to at least 4870 levels. If I had to get a card now, I would probably lean towards a 4870. But like I said, right now I think my main performance issue is CPU related. DDR3 is pretty close to DDR2 now for what I am looking at, and I assume this build gives me some upgrade options on down the road with AMD. I'm planning on giving OCing and the 4th core unlock a whirl as well. I feel pretty good about my CPU/memory selection, but I'm not sure about the motherboard. I don't care about crossfire or integrated video, but I do want something solid. This is an area I would be willing to put a couple more bucks into if necessary. Anyway, what do you guys think?
AMD Athlon 64 3800+ (socket 939 single core)
Corsair XMS DDR 800 2GB
Chaintech VNF4 Ultra
x1800XT 256MB
Tremble in awe of my computing power! Anyway, I've got a 600 watt Cooler Master I got a couple months ago when my antec died finally (for a year+ the only way to turn the machine on was to turn the PSU off, then on again, then hit the power button within 10 seconds, epic right?). I'm reasonably confident it will be OK for what I have in mind.
Details: I recently upgraded to Windows 7 x64. Really like it. Unfortunately, there has been some performance degradation in the transition from XP. I suspect the main problem is the single core CPU. I use this rig to play games @ 1280x1024, and mostly I play older stuff, like CS:S, and Heroes of Newerth (uses the Savage 2 engine, kind of similar to Warcraft 3 Defense of the Ancients). I also play L4D too. It's been a pretty good run, I played both Crysis games and Farcry 2. However, even CS:S and HoN tend to slow down significantly in intense moments. This was manageable in XP, but in Windows 7 it's become more noticeable. I suspect the x1800 is bottle-necked by the 3800, though I have no way of confirming this (though in the Windows 7 evaluation, the video card scores significantly higher than the CPU). I know Source engine games are heavily CPU dependent, and I believe the same holds true for RTS engines, which HoN kinda sorta is.
So, I'm planning to rip out the guts of the machine and get a new mobo, video card, and memory, hopefully in such a way that I can upgrade later. I'll keep my case (complete with dvd drive mounted with superglue), hard drives, etc. At some point I'll probably get a nice Corsair PSU, Lian Li Case, and a SATA combo drive that reads/writes all things, but for now I'm aiming low, since I'm going to try and score a 50 inch plasma and possibly a PS3 slim Black Friday. I'd like to keep this under $300, but feel free to try and convince me to spend more. Right now I'm looking at:
AMD Phenom II x3 720: ~$119
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103649
Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600 4GB: ~$92
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145260
Asus M4A77TD AM3 AMD 770: ~$85 (ignore $10 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131603
Total: $296 (No micro center or anything nearby, so I will be ordering from the egg)
I'm not really feeling the need for a new video card until either the 5850 hits around $250 (not likely any time soon) or the 5770 gets a driver update that kicks its performance up to at least 4870 levels. If I had to get a card now, I would probably lean towards a 4870. But like I said, right now I think my main performance issue is CPU related. DDR3 is pretty close to DDR2 now for what I am looking at, and I assume this build gives me some upgrade options on down the road with AMD. I'm planning on giving OCing and the 4th core unlock a whirl as well. I feel pretty good about my CPU/memory selection, but I'm not sure about the motherboard. I don't care about crossfire or integrated video, but I do want something solid. This is an area I would be willing to put a couple more bucks into if necessary. Anyway, what do you guys think?
Last edited:
Facebook
Twitter