Looking to upgrade to basic gaming system

[MRGOOCH]

Need suggestion for current mid-priced motherboard and cpu.My old system is no longer capable of playing newer games.

 

[ultra laser]

Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128059 (If you need RAID, get the DS3R)
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115016

 

[Ozoneman]

What do you have now? Would a simple video card upgrade do?

 

[MRGOOCH]

Asus A7N8X Deluxe
AMD Athlon 2600+
Antec 400 watt
Asus G4Ti 4200

 

[OrientalHero]

Hmmm, I had to use my older system recently with almost the same setup. I tried some games on it like Jedi Knight II. It wasn't playable. At least not at the resolutions I'd become used to... (800x600 was quite choppy)
If you didn't want to upgrade the mobo, the AGP Pro may give you compatibility issues with today's AGP graphics cards (see Wikipedia entry). And the higher end ones cost more than a PCIe Mobo and mid/low end graphics card and memory. Also, graphic cards need to be balanced against the CPU anyway.

But you probably already went through that thought process!

I suggest that you peruse the motherboard review thread at the top of the motherboard forum.
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2067695&enterthread=y
Recommendations on High End/Mid Range/Low end mobos with some explanations on the chipsets.
I'm using the recommendations on microATX at the moment as I want a semi portable rig.

Please bear in mind that mid September, there is a new chipset out from Intel for Intel's Core2Duo chips. This will probably drive some mobo prices down. But it's not that expensive right now to get a mid level system.

Anandtech is a little busy with their massive micro ATX mobo roundup so the articles/reviews haven't been coming so fast. So pop over to ars technica and look at their value gaming rig if you want more specifics. http://arstechnica.com/guides/buyer/guide-200707.ars/1

Hope that this helps.

 

[MRGOOCH]

Can you recommend a CPU cooler for the E4400. One that is easy to install,fits well and not overkill.

 

[leigh6]

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=FAN-AC7PRO

 

[Ozoneman]

Originally posted by: MRGOOCH
Asus A7N8X
AMD Athlon 2600+
Antec 400 watt
Asus G4Ti 4200

Yeah, I'd say you are ready for a complete upgrade. You will need to upgrade everything!

What I'd suggest is what I have in my sig, but if you want to go a little less on the mobo, look at the Gigabyte P35-DS3P. It has the same layout as the DQ6 just not as much cooling. And you will want to go better on the vid card than what I have. If you are in to gaming, I'd suggest at least the 8800gts.

 

[Laminator]

Why does everyone I know (including me) that owns an Athlon XP 2600+ has it paired with an ASUS A7N8X? Anyways, you can also try this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...ooler%2bmasteR%2bhyper

Performance is basically identical to the Arctic Cooler Freezer 7 Pro, so the only difference is the plastic shield that can potentially cool the components on your motherboard.

 

[MRGOOCH]

If I am not over clocking any components can I get away with the stock cooler?

 

[OrientalHero]

Yes, but it might be running rather hotter and/or noisier than other solutions.

Does this make any difference?

Not really in your average case, average environment. You get some people arguing that more heat = more wear and tear.

Take a look at some heatsink comparison websites (www.frostytech.com - look at their latest for the most comparisons) which usually show the stock cooler for Intel or AMD as a base comparison.

I'm not overclocking but I am planning an intel based system with nice large heatsink/fan so that the system is quieter (it's in my bedroom, and also when watching quiet movies).

Bottom line... £25 for a non stock cooler can be spent making sure your memory has a lifetime warranty, or on other parts of your system. Hey, that link to ars technica gaming rigs tells you this anyway...