Looking to Upgrade -- Enlighten Me

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WinnieThePujols

Member
Sep 1, 2005
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Alright! I'm looking to upgrade my computer. My budget is about $800. The $800 has to cover three components:
- a motherboard
- a video card
- a processor

My current system features an AMD Athlon 64 Venice processor, a Gigabyte GA-K8N Ultra-9 motherboard and a GeForce 7800 GT.

I have my eye on a new video card: a GeForce 8800 GTX...


Video Card
I was eyeing some video cards on eBay, and I saw some XFX 8800 GTX's going for under $500. They ended up in the high 400's with very reasonable shipping. The BFG versions of these cards seem to be going for a lot more. Can you explain why? I realize the BFG cards are pre-overclocked, but...

Also: is it worth buying an 8800 now? 768 MB of video RAM would be like triple what I have now...! Any news on what nVidia's next card will be, and how long it will take to be out? Is XFX a good brand?

Something like the 8800 GTS seemed to run Oblivion quite well in the benchmark test I saw... but after I factor in new, huge texture packs and tons of mods, I figure it won't be as pretty (which makes me want to go with the GTX). By the way: the highest resolution I'll run Oblivion is is 1650 x 1050...


Processor
From what I hear, an Intel Core Duo is the way to go. Ideally, I'd like to get a new dual-core processor around $200, and then pick up a motherboard around $100.

Is this possible? Obviously it is, but is it possible to get a good quality processor and motherboard for that price?

I'm thinking of maybe getting an Intel Core 2 Duo E6300/E6400... would it really be worth going up to a 6600 from there, or is that too big of a jump in price? (They are listed at $183, $224 and $316, respectively, in a recent AnandTech article I read).


I figure I'll end up spending $500 on the video card, $100 on the motherboard and then $200 on a new processor.

Provided I can find a card for that price on eBay again, would $300 suffice for the other two components? Can you link me to a couple on New Egg (or wherever) that you think would be worthy investments at around that price?


My current system runs Oblivion fine out of the box; however, after I install huge texture packs and load it up with dozens and dozens and dozens of mods, I start getting pretty ugly framerates. I want my upgrades to kick Oblivion's butt!

Thanks guys!
 
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Agentbolt

Diamond Member
Jul 9, 2004
3,340
1
0
Depends on what your monitor can do. Anything below 1280x1024 resolution, go with the 8800GTS with the 320 MB of Memory. Anything above 1600x1200 go with the 8800GTX. Anything in between use the 8800GTS with the 640MB of memory. Any of those three card will destroy anything Oblivion throws at them. None of the newer DirectX 10 mid-range cards are due out for awhile.

For ~200 bucks, get the E6400. This is assuming you have at least DDR2-800 RAM. You didn't include your old specs so we're kind of in the dark as to how to advise your upgrade.

For any C2D build, the best budget motherboard is the Gigabyte GA-965P-S3. Don't get the DS3 unless for some reason you really value solid capacitors.
 
happy medium

happy medium

Lifer
Jun 8, 2003
14,387
480
126
C2D E4300 ~3.38 GHZ
PNY 8800 GTS
2x1024 Kingston Value RAM
Gigabyte GA-965P-S3

This is what I'd buy. It's in Agentbolt's singniture. I would grab a 8800gts with a lifetime warranty though.
 
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WinnieThePujols

Member
Sep 1, 2005
87
0
61
Sorry guys, for not giving more info.

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-K89 Ultra-9 nForce Ultra
RAM: 2 GB of Kingston DDR SDRAM
Card: BFG GeForce 7800 GT

As for Oblivion: I'm going to be playing at 1680 x 1050; my monitor can go a little higher, but that's the native resolution; so if I go with the 640 MB version, will I be able to play at a high resolution and crank up AF / AA? And more importantly, will I be able to combine that with a ton of mods? (I'm currently running 95 mods on my old system and I get like 15 FPS outdoors, about 20 FPS in towns, and 50-60 FPS indoors). Would I see a dramatic improvement over that? I really only care about getting 30 or so.
 
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kilcan

Member
Feb 16, 2007
70
0
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Giving the same reply I have been since I saw the date myself. Wait until April 22nd, and buy the Intel Core 2 Duo e6600. They are slashing prices as of then and dropping the price down to $224. So essentially what you would now be paying for an e6400. The motherboard Agentbolt reccomended is a good one, and you would have to upgrade and get 2 GB DDR2 800 RAM. But you would want that anyway with the new vid card. Newegg usually has good prices (actually I found them cheaper overall than ebay) so keep an eye on them.
 
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kilcan

Member
Feb 16, 2007
70
0
0
Yes, now you need to make sure you by a motherboard that is DDR2 667 compatible. On the specifications page of the motherboards it will say the standard memory for that board. It does look as thought the board Agentbolt reccomended takes that type of RAM though so you should be fine.
 
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WinnieThePujols

Member
Sep 1, 2005
87
0
61
See, that's what I don't really understand.

The thing on that motherboard said "Memory standard: DDR2 800." Does that just mean that it can support up to 800, and anything below it? Or does that mean it has to equal 800?

Thanks! You guys have been a great help...

NewEgg:
"The GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3 motherboard utilizes the latest Intel P965 chipset to deliver up to 8 GB dual-channel DDR2 800/667/533 memory with Fast Memory Access technology for maximum platform performance."

I guess that answers my question!
 
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WinnieThePujols

Member
Sep 1, 2005
87
0
61
Alright: so since I have 667 RAM, should I stay away from the 6400?

I've read the 4300 overclocks really, really well. Will I need to buy any coolants for that, or will the stock heatsink work OK with that? And will I run into any problems with the 667 RAM if I overclock the processor? (I've never OC'd before, so I have no idea!)
 
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engiNURD

Diamond Member
Jan 15, 2004
3,975
0
76
The Biostar TForce965P is also a cheaper alternative to the S3, and a bit cheaper, too. Its in the same AT article as the S3, the doublemint twins gone wild or something. Check it out. I'd go for that, and the E4300. The intel stock cooler is good to about 3Ghz. So 9 *333 = 3.0Ghz / DDR2-667. So looks like you'll be good with that setup.
 
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Agentbolt

Diamond Member
Jul 9, 2004
3,340
1
0
Sometimes the E4300 overclocks really well, and sometimes it struggles to hit 3 GHZ. It's really the luck of the draw. The main benefit to getting it is that you can you can use cheaper memory to overclock it. It's maximum overclock will need memory that can hit DDR2-800 (which most decent DDR2-667 can do if you relax the timings a bit), whereas the E6300 or E6400 need memory that can maybe hit DDR2-1000 for their maximum overclock. Most good DDR2-800 memory will OC enough to hit that, but again, you need to relax the timings.

The stock Intel HSF will be fine as long as you don't have to up any voltages. The E4300 generally does need a pretty big voltage increase to go above 2.9-30 GHZ. (For example, mine runs at 3.38 GHZ, but I needed to up the VCore to 1.55 to get that, which is pretty darn high.)
 
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