Upgrading system

[Kruppe]

Hi everyone, I will get right to the point. Here is what I have already.

A Coolermaster wavemaster aluminium cabinet http://www.3dvelocity.com/reviews/wavemaster/tact0.htm

Antec Neopower 650 blue powersupply

Nec DVD/CD drive

a new sata HD at 500GB (forgot brand)

Now I want a good gaming computer, also I decided to go with Vista home premium 64 bit edition. So far I came up with this gear:

ABIT IP35-E
Intel Core 2 e8400
2 pcs. Kingston HyperX 2 x 1 GB
XFX GeForce 8800 GTS Alpha Dog Edition 512ram

My main concerns are:
Better ram choices availabe?
What would I gain with a more expensive motherboard?

If we consider gaming, where would I get most bang for the bucks for 100 dollar more.

And most importantly, will it all fit in the cabinet, I don't know if my Wavemaster is too small for newer hardware....

😕

 

[DSF]

Go with 2x2GB of RAM and leave yourself room for future upgrades. As far as more expensive motherboards, you'd be looking at features like extra SATA ports, auxilliary PCI-e x16 slots, onboard RAID, onboard firewire, onboard WiFi, etc. If none of that matters to you, then stick with the IP35-E.

 

[Kruppe]

that makes sense..

Ram is a mystery to me though. Concept of CL, timings DDR 2 or 3 PC xxxx technology is foreign to me..

So I could use a general idea about usefull ram..

 

[DSF]

For the most part latencies/timings can be ignored. Since you're a neophyte, I'd recommend sticking to RAM that's designed to run at 1.8V. That way you won't have to manually adjust settings in your motherboard's BIOS for the RAM to run properly.

Stick with DDR2-800. It's fast enough to properly serve any CPU out right now and should work in any motherboard. As a guideline you shouldn't be paying any more than $85 or so for 2x2GB of DDR2-800. As cheap is RAM is, you may even be able to find rebates which bring the price as low as $65 or so. Quality RAM manufacturers include Corsair, Crucial, Mushkin and G.Skill among others. Double-check the specs though, as not every module made by those companies is designed for 1.8V operation.

 

[Kruppe]

Thanks for the Ram input.

I ventured onto the Corsair website and I am met by this list under XMS2

Part Number Speed Size Latency Package
CM2X1024-6400 PC2-6400 1GB 5-5-5-18 240pin DIMM
TWIN2X2048-6400 PC2-6400 2GB Kit 5-5-5-18 240pin DIMM
TWIN2X2048-6400C4 PC2-6400 2GB Kit 4-4-4-12 240pin DIMM
CM2X2048-6400C5 PC2-6400 2GB 5-5-5-18 240pin DIMM
TWIN2X4096-6400C5 PC2-6400 4GB Kit 5-5-5-18 240pin DIMM
CM2X1024-5400C4 PC2-5400 1GB 4-4-4-12 240pin DIMM
TWIN2X2048-5400C4 PC2-5400 2GB Kit 4-4-4-12 240pin DIMM

And this list under XMS2 Pro

Part Number Speed Size Latency Package
TWIN2X2048-6400PRO PC2-6400 2GB Kit 5-5-5-18 240pin DIMM
TWIN2X2048-6400C4PRO PC2-6400 2GB Kit 4-4-4-12 240pin DIMM

Those I looked closer at is listed as 2.1 V ram.


Could you point me in a right direction?

 

[DSF]

These should all be fine for you:
G.Skill DDR2-800
A-DATA DDR2-800
Mushkin DDR2-800

There are plenty of other kits that fit the bill on Newegg. Look for 2x2GB kits of DDR2-800 and check the specs to make sure they are rated for 1.8V.

 

[Kruppe]

Thanks that was good info. Live in europe so I am gonna buy locally. The Gskill looks most appealing atm.

 

[Roguestar]

If you can't use the suggestions DSF posted, just get yourself the cheapest set of 2x2GB DDR2-800 sticks you can find, then. Crucial's EU site might be good value for you, actually.

 

[Kruppe]

Think I have the complete purchasing list ready:

ABIT IP35-E
Intel Core 2 e8400
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit
XFX GeForce 8800 GTS Alpha Dog Edition 512
Vista home Premium 64 bit UK

My cabinet is a coolermaster Wave master, will I have any problems fitting all this stuff?

Also lets say I had anoter 100 dollars to spend. Where would I get the most gaming performance?

 

[Roguestar]

Gaming performance upgrade tree:

GPU>CPU>RAM>Hard drive

So you could see if there's a better graphics card you could get. There's nothing reasonable within $100 and the one you've picked out is grand, and seeing as your CPU is the E8400 it's great already and with 4GB of RAM you're all set. No point spending it now when anything else you add to it would be a minimal improvement at best. Save it for a year from now!