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Upgrading computer

C

Compnewbie01

Senior member
I currently am running an Epox EP-9NPA+Ultra motherboard, AMD64 3500+ Venice CPU, ATI X1800XT 256MB, 2 gigs of Corsair RAM, and 430W Antec PSU.

Now I want to keep this under $300 if possible. I'm not doing a major overhaul, but just something to boost my computer a bit and give me a little project to do. My thoughts were to first buy a black Antec P180 case and two 120mm fans. Then upgrade the CPU to a 4000+ San Diego (~$75 OEM). I would then buy a $40 heatsink and fan for the CPU.

Now I listed some other parts I am not upgrading so that I can ask the following questions:
1. Will the motherboard still be good for this?
2. Will the 430W PSU be sufficient (haven't had any problem with current setup)
3. Is OEM a BAD choice for CPUs?
4. Do new heatsink/fans come with thermal paste or do I need to use my own?
5. Does AS5 go bad after being in a desk for 1 year?
6. Will RAM/video card be slowed down/affected negatively from this?

Also, I have a Dell 2405FPW so when future games come out such as Crysis I will consider a new video card.

Lastly, just to show you the parts I am considering...
<a href="http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819103037">CPU</a>
<a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811129017>Case</a>
<a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16835106061>Heatsink/fan Choice One</a>
<a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16835106069">Heatsink/fan Choice Two</a>

Thank you all for your suggestions!

EDIT: Okay it looks like I forgot basic HTML links 🙁
 
Well you won't see a big performance leap by going from a 3500+ to a 4000+ unless you overclock. The 4000+ will likely go from 2.9GHz to 3.1GHz, so you need to consider whether that is a large enough upgrade to justify $75.

As for the he HSF, those two aren't all that great (anymore); I got a Big Typhoon myself, and installation is one of the worst I've seen so far. For that kind of money I would either get a Scythe Infinity or a Sunbeam Tubiq Tower. With the same fan, the perfromance difference is marginal, but the Scythe comes with a pretty good silent fan that's still good for overclocking, while the Tuniq comes with a louder and faster fan that *might" get you a few MHz more. Personally, I'd get the Scythe.

http://svc.com/sy-scinf-1000.html
http://svc.com/tuniq.html
 
I went from a 3200 Venice to a 4000 San Diego and didn't notice MUCH improvement in anything.
Of course you could just sell your 3500 like I did and recoup most of the cost. 🙂
I used the same heatsink that I had with my 3200 and the 4000 still runs at 30C.

If I had $300 sitting around, I'd spend it on a nice LCD or something. Or save it for several more months to do a complete upgrade.
 
Originally posted by: lobbyone
You could also go dual core with this CPU, which will work nicely with your 2GB ram, and the PSU will be able to handle it too.
Click to expand...

yeah, but that'd probably perform worse in games, and o/c less than his 3500 or a 4000.


It's a matter of choice. If you multi-task, an x2 will probably be best, but if you only multitask a little, nothing intensive, a 4000 does very well for a single core.

<edit>
After looking at some cpu charts at http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu.html?modelx=33&model1=486&model2=480&chart=166

You can expect 10-25% increase in multitasking performance with the 3800, depending on the apps. But you can expect a 10-20% increase in gaming performance with the 4000 depending on the game, for about $50 less. Also, if you get a 4000 and o/c it (if you don't, you're wasting a perfectly good San Diego core) you could easily get 2.8 on air, maybe 3gHz, depending on airflow, which would give you a 25-40% advantage in games, and lessen the 3800's multitasking advantage to 5-20%.
So unless you do intensive multitasking, or if you refuse to overclock, the x2 is probably best, but if you do some minor multitasking, but mostly games, the 4000 is a much better choice for $50 less.
 
Go with an Opteron 170 instead and OC it. The heatpipe HSF it comes with is good enough... should reach above 2.8Ghz.
 
300 bones! yes go for the 4000 if you just game and surf the net. but if you do things like photoshop and such then go with a Denmark 165 or 170 Dual Core Opteron s939. nothing wrong with OEM chips, you just get 1 month warranty versus 3 years if you bought it with the fan. AS5 does not go bad. Look into OCZ Power supplies the 600 watter(all black) for about 125 ducats. your system will only get better not worse with the upgrades you listed or mentioned above. you must supply your own thermal grease. the best HSF is made by tuniq tower, 60 bones, there was a recent artlicle about HSF just 2 days ago in anandtech, the article has a picture on the Zalmans but showed that Tuniq Tower was better than both of them. As for your video card, wait till christmas lets see what ATI has in store for us.
 
Thanks again for your suggestions. I am primarily a gamer so multitasking isn't that important to me. Also, I have no experience overclocking so I don't want to accidentally screw something up and I don't know about my Epox EP-9NPA+Ultra's OCing ability. If I were to upgrade my graphics card, it would probably be a 8800GTX in a few months when prices drop. I will NEVER pay more than $300ish for a graphics card and even that is pushing it.
 
Its much more beneficial to get dual core at this point. SMP enabled games will be able to utilize both cores, so dual cores will give a huge performance boost. There are already some SMP patches out for games like Call of Duty 3 and Quake 4. An upgrade from your 3500+ to a 4000+ would be quite worthless. You'd be much better off going with an Opteron 165 or 3800+ X2. The 9NPA+ overclocks very well, and overclocking is pretty easy. Just follow some instructions and know what you're doing.
 
Okay so I am looking at the Opteron 170 for $170 and I will just get a new case. Will probably hold off on graphics card until later this year when a really demanding game comes out. I just have to ask what is the difference between the Opteron and X2? Are they different dual core CPUs? Also, what are the odds that I will be able to easily/safely OC this new chip up to 2.8Ghz?
 
Originally posted by: Compnewbie01
Okay so I am looking at the Opteron 170 for $170 and I will just get a new case. Will probably hold off on graphics card until later this year when a really demanding game comes out. I just have to ask what is the difference between the Opteron and X2? Are they different dual core CPUs? Also, what are the odds that I will be able to easily/safely OC this new chip up to 2.8Ghz?
Click to expand...

the difference between opterons and X2's is that the opterons use higher quality silicon, allowing it to overclock more.

are you seeing any bottlenecks in your desktop's performance? if not, hold out on the upgrade. socket-M2 X2's can be had for ~$100, decent motherboard $100-125, good DDR2 2GB for $170. if you hold off til later this year (like you are for your graphic card), i think it'll be more worthwhile for you. you really shouldn't see much improvement upgrading your cpu
 
I would drop a GTS and an opteron 170 in there. Puts you at $500 and back into top form with an aging box.
 
I have no problem holding off on actual computer parts if it will be beneficial to me. I think I will go ahead and buy the case/fans for now though. If I do wait, will it be worth it if I just do a full blown upgrade of the CPU, motherboard, graphics, RAM, etc? I don't really know what DDR2 is and still want to know if my Antec 430W PSU will be good for the future. I just don't want to be spending $1000+ on a computer. I like the low triple digits for something that loses value so quickly.
 
I agree with alimoalem. Save the cash (aside for maybe a few fans now) for a new graphics card and better CPU down the line in the summer.
 
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