Time to upgrade the compewtar...

[LS8]

The Skinny: Built in Jan, 2007. Looking to keep it for at least two more years. System is used for web/email/source gaming/office stuff. I want to spend $200 or less.

Specs:
AMD Athlon 64 FX60 @ 3.0Ghz
Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe
2x1GB Patriot DDR400 (Cas 2)
ATi Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB
WD Raptor (gen1) 74GB
2x Sony DVD RW 16x
Samsung SyncMaster 225BW

This system has had Vista business 32 on it since day one and just last month got reformatted with Win7 64. I never had issues with 2GB and Vista so I'm not sure more memory would help. I've never used the full 2GB even when gaming (ok once I did when using Google Earth).

I'm thinking maybe video card + CPU cooler? I have the stock cooler now. The FX60 has been running at 3.0 on the stock cooler since early 2008 but it does run warm. I game at 1680x1050x60Hz. I was thinking a Radeon 4830 1GB... and with the a decent CPU cooler I might hit 3.2GHz.

What say you?

 

[mmntech]

If I were you, I'd get an HD 4850 and and a bigger HDD.

This Sapphire card is on sale right now for $99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102824

Then add this beefy Seagate 1tb 7200rpm SATA drive for $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822148433

The FX-60 you've got is still alright but is nearing the end of its life. According to Anand's charts, it's roughly equal to an Intel Pentium Dual Core E5200 at stock speeds.

 

[SunSamurai]

Originally posted by: mmntech
The FX-60 you've got is still alright but is nearing the end of its life.

"System is used for web/email/source gaming/office stuff."




I would recommend against Seagate. They have been falling downhill the last few years. Go take a look at the storage forum if you want to see. WD right now makes the beast deal 1TB drive. WD Black. Its also faster and more reliable than the Seagate based on reviews and testing as well. - Newegg


The ATI Radeon HD 4850 is the best GPU buy in years. This card would have cost 600$+ a few years ago.

 

[LS8]

Thanks for the replies. I should have mentioned I have a 2TB NAS for storage. Is the 4850 really worth the extra $?

 

[LS8]

I ended up buying this CPU cooler. I haven't changed the overclock yet, still sitting at 3.0GHz. My temps are waaaay down and noise is waaaay down. I might try bumping the speed to 3.2GHz tomorrow.

I haven't decided on the video card yet.

 

[LS8]

Well, I couldn't wait so I bumped the speed up tonight after all.

11x291=3200. I bumped the voltage up a smidgen as well, not sure if I needed to though. Booted into Windows no problem.

Right now both cores are sitting right around 100F. No crashes or BSOD so far. I'm about to play some CS:S and see how things go.

 

[LS8]

Temps rose steadily as I was gaming and seemed to top off at 131F. I'm going to run Prime95 for a while and see how things go. Still working off the original boot, no hiccups so far.

 

[jae]

I honestly wouldn't spend anymore money on the build.

 

[yh125d]

You could get another 2gb of ram for maybe $50-60, and a 4850 for ~80-100 but that's as much as I'd do with this build

 

[Rockinacoustic]

Upgrade the GPU first. If that doesn't do enough then overhaul the CPU/MB.

 

[LS8]

The hammer has been dropped on a new GTS 250 1GB.

As for buying a new CPU/motherboard, etc - I won't be doing that for a few years. I plan to keep this system at least two more years. I'm happy with the lower temps and slightly better OC.

Edit: I got a free copy of CoD:WaW with the video card, score!