Need help with upgrade..out of the loop for a while.

[sd]

Career and life have really gotten in the way of keeping up with the latest and greatest. I used to game pretty heavy, so therefore I upgraded a lot. I'm looking to upgrade from my XP 3200 with 1 GB of memory. Its been so long I can't remember what kind of memory I have, not to mention the video card thats in there. Guess I could crawl under the desk and take a peak.

Goals; 1. Build a nice system that'll run strong for a few years. 2. Upgrade to Vista. 3. Play a few games.

I'm looking to upgrade CPU, which means new MB and memory and most likely PS.

Heres where I need help. I know Intel's Core2 Duo looks like the way to go, but not sure which chip will give me the best bang for my buck.

Can someone please suggest a CPU, a good SLI MB, memory, PS, and video card?

 

[sd]

ok, how bout just recommending a cpu?

 

[ScrapSilicon]

Originally posted by: sd
ok, how bout just recommending a cpu?

Intel price cuts comin'

 

[Roguestar]

SLi? Lol.

Get a Core 2 Duo, a P965 motherboard and a good midrange DX9 graphics card (but ideally if you can afford it a DX10 card such as the 8800GTS 320MB). Power supply just get something like a seasonic 450W.

 

[sd]

Originally posted by: Roguestar
SLi? Lol.

Not exactly sure whats funny, but I told you I was out of the loop.

I'll most likely go with a 10x card. I'm looking at a E6600.

 

[slappynutz]

The E6600 is a nice chip. I've got mine overclocked from 2.4ghz to 3.24ghz without even touching the voltages. The Intel D975XBX2 (Bad Axe 2) is rock solid and stable, and unlike every other board I've ever owned has zero capacitor whine. Paired with 4gb (kind of overkill) of overclocked ram and an 8800GTX, I'm good for at least a couple years.

 

[Boyo]

Originally posted by: slappynutz
The E6600 is a nice chip. I've got mine overclocked from 2.4ghz to 3.24ghz without even touching the voltages. The Intel D975XBX2 (Bad Axe 2) is rock solid and stable, and unlike every other board I've ever owned has zero capacitor whine. Paired with 4gb (kind of overkill) of overclocked ram and an 8800GTX, I'm good for at least a couple years.

This is a start for your new build.

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: sd

Originally posted by: Roguestar
SLi? Lol.

Not exactly sure whats funny, but I told you I was out of the loop.

Personally I think the whole two-graphics cards thing is a total waste of money compared to buying one superior card, or waiting a while for better cards, that's all.