what can I expect from this upgrade?

[mizzou]

I didn't have much money unfortunately, but I combined christmas money + some out of the pocket to upgrade an old PC so that my wife can have my current box and then I can use salvaged parts from old computer + new parts to get awesomeness

Not sure what kind of performance gain I can get, but I notice that modern games are chugging at medium detail levels (witcher, COD4, etc.)

current rig

athlon 3500+ 120nm
1 GB ram (2x512) (I think DDR 533?)
7900GS (will be taken out and replaced w/ 6600gt, wife doesn't get the best card I have =)
ECS Nforce4 939 mobo


New Rig w/ used parts
(salvaging CD/DVD drives, cables, )
2 gb ram (2 x 1gb) ddr2 800
7900GS
Athlon 64 x2 5000 black edition (yes I will overclock)
Gigabit GA-M57SLI-S4 NF570 SLI AM2



I really wanted to switch over to Intel, but I just don't have the money to do it since the MOBO's and CPU's cost almost twice as much each.

Plus, with that $30.00 credit, the 5000 was a great deal!

I would have also liked to wait but my wife's current rig is getting rickety (MOBO problems mainly and running slow)

She has a
p4 2.53
Radeon 9700 Pro (can't use the 6600gt because it's PCI=E)
512 MB Ram (2 x 256)



All in all, new upgrades cost this much

2 GB ram $48.00
Athlon 64 x2 5000 black $99.00 (With $30.00 combo credit)
Gigabit SLI Am2 mobo = $84.99
CPU cooler $21.00

 

[Denithor]

Well, you should see some improvement overall but probably not as much as you are hoping. You are going from a 2.2GHz single core to a 2.6GHz dual core, which is a great improvement in CPU power. All general use applications will run faster and it should definitely feel more responsive.

However, in games (especially newer ones like you mentioned) you were more GPU limited with that 7900GS than you were CPU limited with the 3500+. So upgrading your memory and cpu is great but won't have a huge impact on gaming because your video card is still going to be the limiting factor.

I would say sell her old system off for whatever you can get for it (get a new DVD burner from Newegg for $25 if you need the old drives for the old box) and sell the 6600GT also. Give her the 7900GS. Use the cash you raise from selling the old stuff to get yourself a Radeon 3850 ($165 from Newegg). That will give you the performance you need and hopefully won't cost you too much after you sell the old stuff.

Just to note: your comment about Intel parts costing twice as much is not valid. You can get a solid overclocking board (IP35-E, P35-DS3L) for about $100 and a highly overclockable e2160 for $80. You don't even need a cooler, the stock cooler is good enough to handle speeds up to ~3GHz (which are easy with this setup). So these parts would actually be cheaper than what you bought ($100+$80 versus $99+$84+$21).

 

[mizzou]

well,

all the IP35 boards I've seen are about $129.00. (taking into account shipping)

The E2160 is an excellent overclocker, but I think that may be more of a gamble. If I get a crappy cut and it doesn't want to overclock, or if it doesn't like a cheap Intel MB or cheap RAM, I would rather put my chips in with the black edition 5000.

Either way, at 3.0ghz for both chips if they can hit that, there's probably not even that much difference between the two. =)

The only thing that would really persuade me to get the E2160 would be the fact that it is socket 775 and that it would upgrade much better then a socket AM2 board.

Considering that this is my 6th computer upgrade, I know that I haven't once upgraded a CPU during the same socket roadmap for either manufacturer =)

-----

Either way, the 5000 black edition probably isn't the most wise purchase, it just felt like the most appropriate for the circumstances.

 

[Denithor]

Just to clarify, I wasn't knocking your choice, simply wanted to point out there were other options.

And the major point I was making is that you are most likely going to need a faster video card to get your gaming performance (in new games especially) up to an acceptable level.

 

[happy medium]

I'd get this p35 board for 90$
http://www.clubit.com/product_...l.cfm?itemno=CA4830813

I'd get this 2160 MO stepping for 80$
http://www.clubit.com/product_...l.cfm?itemno=CA1938281

2 gigs ddr800 =48$s

Sell the 7900gs for 80$

Buy the cheapest 3850/8800gt I can find (about 175$)

Total: 333.00$

This setup will triple your gaming performance and have good upgradability.

Your way

2 GB ram $48.00
Athlon 64 x2 5000 black $99.00 (With $30.00 combo credit)
Gigabit SLI Am2 mobo = $84.99
CPU cooler $21.00
7900gs

Total 246.00$ no gain in fps in games and lack of upgradability.

Just spend the extra 90 bucks!

Edit: I bet you can get 90 bucks for the pent 4 2.53, 9700pro, and the ram!?

 

[mizzou]

selling the 7900 GS would be a cool idea, but I would have to get a better PSU unfortunately to run it =(


Also, I probably should have stated this earlier but I already purchased my setup

I'm always open to review my purchase though, Since I didn't spend nearly as much research on this setup as I had on most others in the past.

 

[Blain]

Your PS should be a good, solid unit.
You don't have to spend a ton on one, but you do need quality.

 

[mizzou]

its an enermax 450 with plenty on 20v rail.

I just don't think it has enough beef though to run a 8800 plus everything else I have plugged in.

 

[TemjinGold]

Believe me when I say that 450W Enermax has enough beef to power nearly TWO systems configured like yours at the same time.