Would this be a good upgrade?

[LW07]

Alright, i'm kinda on a budget, so heres my current system:

X2 4800+ S939 @ stock speeds
2 gigs PC2700 ram
X1900XT 512mb
Windows XP Home Edition

upgrading to:
Q6600-$190 (Or should i save $80 and get a E7200), not OCing
Vista 64 Home Premium OEM- $100
4 gigs of ram- $55
Gigabyte EP43-DS3L mobo- $87


total: ~$440/ ~$360 with E7200

gonna keep the X1900XT for now as it does pretty much everything i want, even plays crysis decently. want to stick with it until gaming at 1024x768 on medium becomes impossible

 

[MichaelD]

It would be a huge upgrade for you. You won't gain too much in the video department, but maybe a little. The GPU can only process info as fast as it's given to it. Your new MB/CPU would be appreciably faster than the old setup, so you could see a little bit in the graphics department. But being that you game at 1024x768, I doubt you'd notice

CPU/processor-intensive tasks like zipping/unzipping files, video editing, it's no contest. The new setup crushes the old one.

I would go with the quad core Q6600; it's a fantastic CPU. Good job on the 4GB of RAM; with Vista, you'll need it.
With your proposed new rig you'd be good to go for quite some time and ready for a beefy GPU and a 22-24" monitor.

 

[mpilchfamily]

Why must people consider this an upgrade. This is a new system build. If your changing out the entire system its not an upgrade.

Overall it looks good but wht kripple such a nice new buiold with that old video card? Don't forget to buy a nice new PSu to support that system. Don't try using the one from your old system. It may seam like it can handle the new system but age is not a good thing for PSUs. Not to mention current PSU designs are better suited for current systems. Old designs didn't dedicate as much to the 12V rails like current ones do. So while an older 600W unit may be able to handle the system a newer 400W unit can do it as well and with better efficiency.

 

[MichaelD]

Good catch about the powersupply, mpilchfamily; I overlooked that.

Being that he's still on a 15" monitor, I think his X1900XT will do OK. That card is PCI-E, right? B/C if it's AGP he wont' be able to use it on the new system.

 

[Ichigo]

Originally posted by: mpilchfamily
Why must people consider this an upgrade. This is a new system build. If your changing out the entire system its not an upgrade.

Overall it looks good but wht kripple such a nice new buiold with that old video card? Don't forget to buy a nice new PSu to support that system. Don't try using the one from your old system. It may seam like it can handle the new system but age is not a good thing for PSUs. Not to mention current PSU designs are better suited for current systems. Old designs didn't dedicate as much to the 12V rails like current ones do. So while an older 600W unit may be able to handle the system a newer 400W unit can do it as well and with better efficiency.

I don't understand why you are making the distinction. It's basically just semantics.

 

[Denithor]

Upgrade...new system build...meh!

These guys haven't asked the most important questions. What do you do with your system? Mainly gaming or video work or general surfing or what? If gaming, are you limited to the 1024x768 or is that your choice due to GPU limitations? What model PSU do you have?

For gaming:
MSI 9800GT $105AR -or- Gigabyte 4850 $150AR
Asus 19" LCD $120AR

If you're using your system mainly for gaming, don't bother upgrading the CPU at all. Upgrade the video card and monitor instead. Grab either a 9800GT or a 4850 and a deal on a 19" LCD and call it a day.

Video work:
Q8200 (2.66GHz, 4MB cache) $195 -or- e8400 (3GHz, 6MB cache)
EP43-DS3L + 4GB + Vista64 are good choices

Kind of a toss-up between faster dual or slower quad. If you opt for the quad, go for the newer model, the Q8200. 45nm means lower heat generation, higher stock clocks since you aren't planning to OC. At stock this matches the Q6600 but with less heat & power consumption so it will cost you less over time.

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: Denithor
Upgrade...new system build...meh!

These guys haven't asked the most important questions. What do you do with your system?

They haven't asked because everyone knows...
you need the same configuration for ultra-high res gaming as you do for video rendering or surfing the web.

A nice base unit to start out with are dual Xeon E5450's, 16GB DDR2, HD4870 x2's in Crossfire, 4 x 300GB VelociRaptors in RAID 6 and Sound Blaster Live.

 

[LW07]

I'm not limited to 1024x768, i just prefer playing at that resolution

 

[betasub]

Originally posted by: LW07
I'm not limited to 1024x768, i just prefer playing at that resolution

And some ppl aren't forced to squint, they just prefer the way the world looks that way.

 

[LW07]

I primarily use my system for gaming, and my monitor is 19 inch(1440x900) LCD.

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: LW07
I primarily use my system for gaming, and my monitor is 19 inch(1440x900) LCD.

Yep. You mentioned gaming (Crysis) in your original thread and you also stated the res you game at. You essentially said you were building a gaming rig. All the relevant info was there.

I stick by what I said in my original reply, plus a new powersupply, as mpilchfamily said.

 

[aclim]

some people here dont get it. Gaming at that low resolution a nice CPU/RAM upgrade will help alot. Go for it. I would go with a fast dual core and OC it. 4gb og ram, vista64, nice PSU. Then down the line upgrade that GPU.