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hardware upgrade dilemma

V

velis

Senior member
OK, I currently have ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe with X2 3800+@2.57GHz and 2x512MB DDR 400 RAM.
This config is quite sufficient for me ATM, but I would like some more RAM for VMs / other hungry apps.

A friend of mine has expressed interest for my RAM, hence the dilemma. The way I see it, I have three options:

1) Get rid of current RAM (~ ? 100) and buy 2GB PC4000 RAM for ~ ?300
2) Get rid of mobo, cpu and RAM (I'm hoping for some ?350 value, more realistically ?300) and get myself a nice C2D mobo (P5B) + cpu (E6300) + 2GB 800/1000MHz DDR II (some ?700).
3) Forget all about it and just keep my current HW since it's sufficient anyway

So I'm looking at:
1) investing ?200 into technology that's quickly fading, but would serve me well for (hopefully) at least two more years
2) Investing ?400 into a new config that would be (hopefully - with the help of a massive OC) some 50% more powerful than existing one. But on the other hand K8L is just around the corner as are Intel's own revisions and C2D chipsets are still not fully mature reducing my mobo options.
3) Playing patient for another year or two and then just scrap existing computer and buy whatever is available then.

I must say option#2 seems quite appealing to me, but I'd hate to throw a good third of my monthly paycheck on something that may not be completely stable or be "obsolete" in a few months time due to new much more powerful components on the market.

So, how likely am I to OC the E6300 to >3.2GHz and if it is possible, what mobo and RAM would I need to achieve that? Also, can I use my existing Zalman 8500 as the CPU cooler? If the chances are low, I'll probably just stick with #3 for a bit longer.
 
I have being thinking about on and off upgrading my kit that is much like yours but I keep getting put off by the DX10 video card prices as I play games. I am going to wait for a few more DX10 Video cards to come to the market helping drive down the price. Then I will go for a D2C with 2/4g of DDR2.

For you I would say get the extra memory and wait for the upgrade and do the whole lot once the new Vista/CPU/DDR2 market settles a little more.
 
Yeah, I guess you may be right on this. Thing is, I already have an 8800GTS so my issues are not completely the same as yours. Whether it's a good DX10 part, only time will tell.

However, I particulary dislike option #1 since it costs half as much as #2 and offers a lot less for the money. Would you believe that I payed almost $300 for my current RAM and now it's worth jack sh*t.
 
Originally posted by: velis
However, I particulary dislike option #1 since it costs half as much as #2 and offers a lot less for the money. Would you believe that I payed almost $300 for my current RAM and now it's worth jack sh*t.
Click to expand...

Well, it must be worth something if your friend has expressed an interest in it. But buying more DDR RAM now is only worth it if you intend to keep your Skt939 system for some considerable time.
 
So, how likely am I to OC the E6300 to >3.2GHz and if it is possible, what mobo and RAM would I need to achieve that? Also, can I use my existing Zalman 8500 as the CPU cooler?
Click to expand...

OK, but what about the OC? Can I get a 6300 above 3.2 GHz? What mobo and RAM would you recommend for me if I went for it?
 
I think you would need water cooling to get the E6300 past 3.2. I think that its about at the limit there........An Asus P5B is a good bord to go with the E6300.
 
The E6300 is good up to ~ 3.5Ghz on air depending on your cooler (assuming you have a good motherboard and RAM). At 500Mhz FSB you'll likely need northbridge cooling too. I'm on 3.2Ghz, idling around 45°C and load at 54°C with the Zalman 9500. I also have a fan on the side of my case conveniently blowing air straight onto the northbridge.

Stay away from the Asus P5B (plain), but the Asus P5B-D (deluxe) is a good choice. If you want to save the cash, get a Gigabyte-965P-S3 as it's just as good OC wise but lacks a few things like eSATA and firewire, but is a lot cheaper.

RAM: I'd say anything with Micron D9 is a good choice. This thread should help:
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=28&threadid=1966035
 
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