Upgrading PC - good solid advice sought.

[DueSouth]

My PC is slow and old and I want to upgrade the Motherboard, Processor, Ram and Graphics card.

After a bit of research I think I have found a good set of components.

- AMD 64 X2 3800+ processor:

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products...cm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=94640

I currently have a P4 2.66 GHz, forgive my ignorance but the X2 3800+ lists a clock speed of 2.0Ghz. I am assuming the duel set up compensates for this and then some?!?!?!

...

-Asus A8N32-SLI Premium motherboard:

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products...cm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=98337

- RAM:

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products...cm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=65719

...

With regards to the to graphics card. I am not 100% sure which card to purchase. I have been recommended the GeForce 7800 GT. However there are so many brands of this card, are they all likely to give me quality performance or is there one that stands out from the pack?

...

The object of this upgrade is to be able play the next generation of PC games really well. My current PC struggles on anything thrown at it (HL2, WoW, FEAR). I'd like this upgrade to allow me to play upcoming games such as UT2007 and not have to concern myself with slow down or anything unfortunate like that.

...

Do these components 'look good together'? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[thebigdude]

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2484

article here reviews the x2 3800+

 

[atybimf]

It's hard to compare A64 and P4 because of the different architectures. But the AMD X2 3800+ will be a lot better than the P4 you were running on.

 

[DueSouth]

Originally posted by: atybimf
But the AMD X2 3800+ will be a lot better than the P4 you were running on.

That's good news! So I won't have to worry about the clock speed being a performance inhibiting issue?

 

[markkleb]

Look into the Opteron cpu's also.

 

[furballi]

Get a quality video card. Your old P4 is adequate for at least another year.

 

[DueSouth]

Originally posted by: furballi
Get a quality video card

Which would you recommended? Everyone I talk to seems to suggest a Geforce 7800 GT or GTX, I am unsure as to which brand to buy... Leadtek, Gigabyte etc.

As far as I know the Asus A8N32-SLI will does not support my old P4. I do not think it is worth buying a motherboard that will support a P4 if in the long term (say a year) I would not be able to upgrade the processor without again having to upgrade the motherboard. All because this time I wanted a motherboard that would run a P4.

Can I also take the lack of replys telling me those parts are all wrong that this set up will work great together and produce a quality PC ?

 

[StrangerGuy]

Originally posted by: DueSouth

Originally posted by: furballi
Get a quality video card

Which would you recommended? Everyone I talk to seems to suggest a Geforce 7800 GT or GTX, I am unsure as to which brand to buy... Leadtek, Gigabyte etc.

As far as I know the Asus A8N32-SLI will does not support my old P4. I do not think it is worth buying a motherboard that will support a P4 if in the long term (say a year) I would not be able to upgrade the processor without again having to upgrade the motherboard. All because this time I wanted a motherboard that would run a P4.

Can I also take the lack of replys telling me those parts are all wrong that this set up will work great together and produce a quality PC ?

What are you talking about? I think you are confused. There is absolutely no way you run a P4 on an A64 motherboard. The interfaces for the P4 and the A64 are completely different.

As for a 7800GT, stick with the cheapest available, unless there is another one that has much better cooling or a great software/games bundle.

And oh BTW the X2 3800+ will be significantly faster than your P4 The X2 is so much more efficient that the P4 that it outpaces that P4 in everything despite a 600MHz deficit.