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Perfoming a small upgrade

S

state 08

Platinum Member
Currently, I have:

Pentium 4 3.2e Prescott
and a ATI Radeon 9800pro
all on a ASUS P4P800-E Deluxe.


I want to do a small upgrade, and spend about $300ish dollars.

I've picked out a MOBO and Processor combo:
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2717534&sku=MBM-SG80DC-830">
Abit SG-80DC SiS Socket 775 MicroATX Motherboard and an Intel Pentium D 830 3.0GHz OEM Processor</a>
and a EVGA GeForce 7900 GS KO

Reason I picked that MOBO/CPU combo is, 1. Price and 2. It uses DDR.
Don't really feel like buying new DDR2 Ram, and from what I have read, the performance difference doesn't seem too drastic. Also, I am so lost on video cards. I know just because a model number has a higher number doesn't mean it's better, but I wish it would for simplicity's sake. And then there's the XT's, GT, Ultra, and so on! Doesn't make it any easier.

I haven't built a computer since Summer of 2001, and just wanted someone's up to date input.

Thanks.
 
What are you doing with your system?

If you're gaming, I think you would be better served to keep your existing motherboard and processor and getting a 7900GT os something similar (the GT has more pixel pipelines). Or, spend a little more cash and get a core2 Duo.

I'm not sure what you're gaining by switching from your current rig to something very similar.

Try using the charts on the right hand side @ Tom's Hardware (www.tomshardware.com). That gives you charts where you can compare video cards and processors in various applications.
 
If I am not mistaking you are using pc3200 ddr400 right? You have an old AGP graphics card like me (dont feel alone).

amd athlon64 x2 4200+ (vista ready and you can go agp or pci-e with your mobo choice)
also I believe these processors are a step above the pentium d line.
159$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103543

Nice mobo w/onboard and pci-e x16 slot 60$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813138269
There is a combo on this page worth looking into also.

For kicks a evga 7600gt 110$ after rebate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130062

I think I went about 80-100$ over your budget but you didnt have a vid card priced. Its also a generation newer than what you have listed(albeit still 1-2 yrs behind current tech).

Hope I was of some help.

Disclaimer: I am still a noob at this also.









 
Don't get that Pentium D setup, nor an AMD setup. You could easily get a Core2Duo setup.

7900GT is PCI-E, while his current system is AGP.

For $300, were you looking to upgrade just the mobo/cpu? if so, go with this:
$190 - Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 Allendale 1.8GHz 2MB L2 Cache
$57 - ASRock 775Dual-VSTA Socket T (LGA 775) VIA PT880 PRO
=======
$247 + tax and shipping

Anandtech did several reviews on that board:
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2810
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2813
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2814

Summary: its a great budget board that supports both AGP and PCI-E, DDR and DDR2, and the new Core2Duo CPUs. DDR400 is still good for today's applications/games, and the 4x speed of the PCI-E 16x-sized slot only hurts performance on high end cards by about 10%.

You could use your current AGP card until more DX10 cards come out and are more affordable (along with some dx10 games to actually use the card to its potential, hehe). What monitor do you have? For resolutions of 1024x768 and lower, all you need is a 7600GT. For anything higher, go with a 7900GS or X1950Pro.
 
Engi ,

I agree but I think he wanted to hold onto his current ram which was normal DDR. Awesome find on that agp/pci-e board ! I learned something new.

Thanks.
 
yah, 16x pci-e speed, hehe... and it doesnt OC all too well... 300FSB max I believe, which isnt a problem with the new E4300 since it has a nice stock multiplier. With that combo, you could probably get 9*300 = 2.7Ghz on stock cooling. Use a divider for the ram, since its only DDR400 (200Mhz).
 
Originally posted by: engiNURD
yah, 16x pci-e speed, hehe... and it doesnt OC all too well... 300FSB max I believe, which isnt a problem with the new E4300 since it has a nice stock multiplier. With that combo, you could probably get 9*300 = 2.7Ghz on stock cooling. Use a divider for the ram, since its only DDR400 (200Mhz).
Click to expand...

The Processor you reccomended, and this Core 2 Duo E6300 seem like the same thing, and have the same price.

Which one would be better matched with the ASRock motherboard?
 
The E6300 has a stock multiplier of 7, yielding: 7*266=1.8Ghz. The E4300 has a stock multiplier of 9, 9*200=1.8Ghz. I recommended the E4300 because with its multiplier, you could overclock more easily, especially on the asrock board, because it has FSB limitations around 300Mhz. If you got the E6300 instead, you're OC would probably be around 7*300=2.1Ghz instead of 9*300=2.7Ghz.
 
Originally posted by: engiNURD
Don't get that Pentium D setup, nor an AMD setup. You could easily get a Core2Duo setup.

7900GT is PCI-E, while his current system is AGP.

For $300, were you looking to upgrade just the mobo/cpu? if so, go with this:
$190 - Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 Allendale 1.8GHz 2MB L2 Cache
$57 - ASRock 775Dual-VSTA Socket T (LGA 775) VIA PT880 PRO
=======
$247 + tax and shipping

Anandtech did several reviews on that board:
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2810
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2813
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2814

Summary: its a great budget board that supports both AGP and PCI-E, DDR and DDR2, and the new Core2Duo CPUs. DDR400 is still good for today's applications/games, and the 4x speed of the PCI-E 16x-sized slot only hurts performance on high end cards by about 10%.

You could use your current AGP card until more DX10 cards come out and are more affordable (along with some dx10 games to actually use the card to its potential, hehe). What monitor do you have? For resolutions of 1024x768 and lower, all you need is a 7600GT. For anything higher, go with a 7900GS or X1950Pro.
Click to expand...
This is a great upgrade idea but I would recommend going with an E6400(instead of the E4300) and the ASRock 775Dual-VSTA. Mainly so you could do like I did and use it as a transitional board until you can afford DDR2, PCI-E, and ultimately a better P965 motherboard like the Gigabyte S3 or DS3.

EngiNURD pointed out all of the flaws of the ASRock board quite well. It is a very stable board and definitely reasonably priced. It served me well. :thumbsup:

 
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