Need some help with upgrade

[ljd290]

hi
Im about to upgrade my motherboard and graphics card and need some advice about which direction to take.
Current specs

ASRock 4CoreDual-VSTA
Geforce 6600GT
2G of OCZ 667
Core 2 duo E6700
flatron L1715S
Sata drive
450w psu-no pci-e power lead

I want my comp to be good for games a dvd playback-the types of games i play are civ4 and sims 2

I have about £250 to upgrade and have been looking into motherboards and graphics cards.

Options

Gigabyte GA P31-DS3L+Sapphire x1950pro+PSU

OR

Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R+ATI Radeon HD 3850+PSU

OR

Sapphire X1950pro agp+upgrade monitor

Would i be better off upgrading the monitor before buying a good graphics card? If so, are there any good monitors that you could recommend for up to £150

thanks

 

[cozumel]

Option 2 with the GA-P35C-DS3R, 3850 and an Antec Earthwatts PSU 430W or 500W.

The monitor can only display what it receives from the graphics card. So I would say it is best to upgrade the graphics first.

 

[ljd290]

ok, thanks cozumel

The 3850 will work fine with the Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R?
Which im presuming is pic-e 1.1

 

[cozumel]

They should work fine together

 

[Denithor]

I think the DS3L should be considerably cheaper than the DS3R and has nearly the same features (better value).

Go for the e6750 instead of the e6700, probably more readily available and cheaper as well.

Definitely get the 3850 instead of the x1950pro, it's about twice the performance (3850 beats out the 7950GT and even x1950xtx) for a few dollars more.

And make sure your power supply is up to the task of running a modern video card, check the power requirements for the card and upgrade your PS if needed.

 

[cozumel]

The GA-P35C-DS3R has an ICHR9 southbridge meaning it has RAID function. It is also able to take DDR3. Pretty major differences. I assume the OP has gone for this option so that there is a level of future-proofing to his purchase.

 

[ljd290]

I already have the E6700(got it for half the price) hence the asrock mother board.

Ill go with the GA-P35C-DS3R+3850HD


I didn't think the Gigabyte GA P31-DS3L would support the 3850HD as it was a P31 chipset


Thanks again cozumel
and Thanks Denithor

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: ljd290
I already have the E6700(got it for half the price) hence the asrock mother board.

Ill go with the GA-P35C-DS3R+3850HD


I didn't think the Gigabyte GA P31-DS3L would support the 3850HD as it was a P31 chipset


Thanks again cozumel
and Thanks Denithor

There is also a DS3L model with a P35 chipset, which is what I think Denithor was suggesting. Personally, that would be my recommendation since it doesn't look to me like you're going to use the RAID function.

If you're going for the P35C-DS3R because it can take DDR3 that's up to you, but it's not what I'd do.

 

[ljd290]

ah i see, ok. thanks

 

[Denithor]

Yep, I was tired last night and misread the OP.

Pick up either the abit IP35 (has raid and firewire) or the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L (no raid/firewire).

Get one of these cards:
Radeon HD 3850
Radeon HD 3870
GeForce 8800GT 256MB
GeForce 8800GT 512MB

The 8800GT cards are a bit faster than the 3870 which is a bit faster than the 3850. All of these cards feature the capability to accelerate video decoding for smooth HD playback (for supported file types).

As for upgrading monitor before video card, that's the chicken and the egg problem. However, with your current 6600GT, I think video card comes first. If you get a new monitor you will be very unhappy with the performance of that card (especially if you go for like a 22" LCD or something).

 

[ljd290]

ok thanks Denithor
Im going to go with the GA-P35-DS3L as i've never used raid anyway.
and definately the 3850hd.



Ill have to look into upgrading the monitor in a few months or so.

Thanks very much for the help.