Upgrade for son's computer

[TJones2]

Decided to give up on upgrading my system at this time, and will upgrade my son's system instead. This is what I'm considering:


ASUS M2NPV-VM mATX AM2 GE6150-NF430 1PCI-E16 1PCI-E1 2PCI SATA2 Video Sound GBLAN 1394 Motherboard

Mushkin EM2 PC2-5300 1GB 2X512MB DDR2-667 CL5-5-5-15 240PIN DIMM Dual Channel Memory Kit

XFX GeForce 7600 GS 400MHZ PCI-E 512MB 128BIT 533MHZ DDR2 VGA DVI-I HDTV Out Video Card

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Processor Socket AM2 2.0GHZ Orleans 2000FSB 512KB L2 Cache 62W 90NM Retail Box


He's a gamer, but the system he has now is a Barton 2500+, ATI 9800 pro, and 1gb of generic DDR. So, I'm thinking this will be a decent upgrade for a ten year olds system.

Opinions? Advice?

 

[happy medium]

The 7600gs is only a little faster then the 6600gt which is only a little faster then the 9800pro. Go for the 7600gt for a good upgrade. I also think any good upgrade should include a duel core cpu.

 

[bendixG15]

Do your son a favor and ask him about the upgrade.......

Only way he will learn ..... talk to him about it.

 

[TJones2]

Okay, I'll go with:

BFG GeForce 7600 GT OC PCI-E 256MB 128BIT GDDR3 Dual DVI HDTV Out SLI Ready Video Card


AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ EE Dual Core Processor AM2 Windsor 2.0GHZ 512KBX2 65W 90NM Retail Box

I have talked to him about it, he doesn't know anything about hardware, but liked the idea of his getting an upgrade for his birthday.

 

[crimson117]

From your parts it sounds like you're trying to keep the budget in check, which is fine.

Keeping that in mind, while an AMD x2 would be nice, you do save a lot of money ($100 or so) with the A64 3200+. And if you were going up past $150 for the proc, I'd switch to an intel core 2 duo rig anyway.

But I'd certainly go up to an x1950 pro, for about $100 more than a 7600 GS. It'll perform a lot better, and still be priced within reason.

If there's a little money left over, I'd also get 2x1024mb of ram. Grab a pair of these or find a similar deal on some no-frills, no-overclock ram.

 

[crimson117]

Originally posted by: TJones2
Okay, I'll go with:

BFG GeForce 7600 GT OC PCI-E 256MB 128BIT GDDR3 Dual DVI HDTV Out SLI Ready Video Card


AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ EE Dual Core Processor AM2 Windsor 2.0GHZ 512KBX2 65W 90NM Retail Box

I have talked to him about it, he doesn't know anything about hardware, but liked the idea of his getting an upgrade for his birthday.

If it's a gaming computer, then save money on that processor, and instead upgrade the graphics card.

 

[happy medium]

Originally posted by: TJones2
Okay, I'll go with:

BFG GeForce 7600 GT OC PCI-E 256MB 128BIT GDDR3 Dual DVI HDTV Out SLI Ready Video Card


AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ EE Dual Core Processor AM2 Windsor 2.0GHZ 512KBX2 65W 90NM Retail Box

I have talked to him about it, he doesn't know anything about hardware, but liked the idea of his getting an upgrade for his birthday.

For a 10 year old thats plenty. IMO. Enough thats its not obsolete and play some games.

 

[ebeattie]

Well I really would stand back and wait for the release of Nvidia's 8600 series of cards. From what I understand, these cards are DX10 compliant and are going to be considerably cheaper than the 8800 series. Although not the powerhouses that the 8800 series are, they should be more than plenty to futureproof that gaming rig for at least two years. Specifically starting with games like Crysis and probably every major title released after that IMO.

It might be a wait to get them, however I think that is the best possible route for the graphics card.

 

[ShawnD1]

Originally posted by: crimson117
If it's a gaming computer, then save money on that processor, and instead upgrade the graphics card.

This is the correct answer. If you switch to the absolute best CPU on the planet, your frame rate may double. If you switch to the fastest GPU, the difference will be probably 5-10x, and the cost would be in the same ballpark. He could use more ram as well, 1gb just isn't enough.

 

[loafbred]

I'll second (or third) the advice given to put more of your money first into a video card, secondly into more RAM, thirdly into dual-core cpu over single-core, and fourthly into Intel Conroe over AMD. In other words, you'll get much better gaming results by getting a $150 to $300 video card, $150 to $200 for 2GB RAM, and ~ $75 for a cpu.

 

[TJones2]

Not really an option, I'm using the parts from his computer to upgrade my wife's.

 

[bX510]

Your already buying 4 products to upgrade, I would say just buy a new computer.

 

[40sTheme]

If he's a gamer, you better teach him about hardware...

 

[TJones2]

I don't usually buy computers, I buy parts and put them together. The only exception to that in the past ten years has been a Macbook we bought last year. Love to teach my kid about hardware, but he's only interested in playing games. Maybe when he's older.

 

[Boyo]

I agree with the suggestion that you up your RAM to 2GB. For today's systems, it's a must. Also, definately go with Dual Core. You want to future proof this rig. I think your choice for a 7600GT is a reasonable card for a kid. He'll be able to play his games at a decent frame rate.

What PSU are you using?

 

[TJones2]

Antec Smartpower 450. Given that everyone seems to be recommending higher end stuff, I might just end up upgrading my own system after all and give him the one I have now.

 

[Crassus]

You may want to look into getting a nice 7800GT or 7900GT on ebay or an ATI card of that level. I agree with everyone else that for gaming this is where you get the best bang for your buck. So what does you wife's computer look like? 486 DX/2-66?

 

[TJones2]

Not that far off. Her computer is about five years old, an old Asus board with integrated video. Really awful and she uses it for work.

The original plan was to upgrade my machine, give it to my son and my son's machine goes to my wife. I decided to wait for the newer DX10 cards to come out before upgrading mine, but now I'm thinking I should go ahead, upgrade mine, get a motherboard that will last a couple years with a cheaper video card for now and upgrade the video later (next year). My gaming needs aren't as great as my son's, but since at some time I'll be handing it down I want it to last. This is what I'm now looking at for me:

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA2 3GB/S 7200RPM 16MB Cache NCQ Hard Drive


ASUS P5W DH Deluxe ATX LGA775 975X DDR2 2PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 3PCI SATA2 GBLAN Sound Motherboard


OCZ Gold XTC PC2-6400 2GB 2X1GB DDR2-800 CL5-5-5-12 240PIN DIMM Dual Channel Memory Kit


ASUS Radeon X1950 Pro EAX1950PRO/HTDP/256M 581MHZ 256MB 1.4GHZ GDDR3 PCI-E 2XDVI HDTV Out Video Card


Corsair CMPSU-520HX 520W ATX Triple 12V 40A Continuous 24PIN ATX Modular Power Supply 120MM Fan


Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Dual Core Processor LGA775 Conroe 2.13GHZ 1066FSB 2MB Retail


My son will get an Asus P4PSE, P3.2g, 200gb drive, ATI x850xt and 1.5gb of ram.

 

[magreen]

Are you overclocking?
A 975X board isn't a good matchup with the lower end Conroes, i.e. the E6300, E6400 and E4300. 965P is usually the better choice... do you need SLI?

 

[engiNURD]

There have been problems with OCZ's gold line, so I suggest goin with other ram. These patriot sticks are nice, and supposedly have Micron ic's (good for overclocking):
$205 - Patriot eXtreme Performance 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-800 PDC22G6400LLK ($255 - $50MIR)

If you only plan on goin 8*400=3.2Ghz, then these will do fine:
$180 - G.Skill 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-800 F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ

I like the hand-me-down chain... it allows me to keep upgrading my own rig while "upgrading" everyone elses, too, lol.

//edit:
The P5W DH should be fine if you don't plan on running higher than 450Mhz base FSB.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: TJones2
The original plan was to upgrade my machine, give it to my son and my son's machine goes to my wife. I decided to wait for the newer DX10 cards to come out before upgrading mine, but now I'm thinking I should go ahead, upgrade mine, get a motherboard that will last a couple years with a cheaper video card for now and upgrade the video later (next year). My gaming needs aren't as great as my son's, but since at some time I'll be handing it down I want it to last. This is what I'm now looking at for me:

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA2 3GB/S 7200RPM 16MB Cache NCQ Hard Drive


ASUS P5W DH Deluxe ATX LGA775 975X DDR2 2PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 3PCI SATA2 GBLAN Sound Motherboard


OCZ Gold XTC PC2-6400 2GB 2X1GB DDR2-800 CL5-5-5-12 240PIN DIMM Dual Channel Memory Kit


ASUS Radeon X1950 Pro EAX1950PRO/HTDP/256M 581MHZ 256MB 1.4GHZ GDDR3 PCI-E 2XDVI HDTV Out Video Card


Corsair CMPSU-520HX 520W ATX Triple 12V 40A Continuous 24PIN ATX Modular Power Supply 120MM Fan


Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Dual Core Processor LGA775 Conroe 2.13GHZ 1066FSB 2MB Retail


My son will get an Asus P4PSE, P3.2g, 200gb drive, ATI x850xt and 1.5gb of ram.

That's your best idea so far, except the motherboard. Do yourself a favor, and buy one of these motherboards: link. With the money you'll save, you could buy a faster hard drive for the system your wife will be inheriting. If she's like most people, she'll be better off with a faster hard drive, than with a faster processor. And if that Athlon XP system has SATA, grab a 250 GB Seagate 7200.10 for it, and she'll think her system is as fast as yours.

 

[yh125d]

Since he's gaming, chances are there's not a whole lot of multitasking goin on, so I'd go with an Athlon 4000+, its at newegg for only $79, and i have it as well as a 7600gt, and its more than enough to make a 10 yr old happy

 

[TJones2]

Originally posted by: magreen
Are you overclocking?
A 975X board isn't a good matchup with the lower end Conroes, i.e. the E6300, E6400 and E4300. 965P is usually the better choice... do you need SLI?

The plan is to eventually upgrade the cpu as well, perhaps to quad core.

Originally posted by: myocardia

That's your best idea so far, except the motherboard. Do yourself a favor, and buy one of these motherboards: link. With the money you'll save, you could buy a faster hard drive for the system your wife will be inheriting. If she's like most people, she'll be better off with a faster hard drive, than with a faster processor. And if that Athlon XP system has SATA, grab a 250 GB Seagate 7200.10 for it, and she'll think her system is as fast as yours.[/quote]

how are they for unrgradeability?