Another request your thoughts thread. How far should I go....

[wanger]

Hi

My current rig is:
Asus P5nE-32SLI Mobo with E6400 CPU overclocked to 3Ghz
8800GT Video card
4gb OCZ PC6400 memory
Samsung F1 Sata HD
Cheapy Aluminium case
Tuniq Tower cooler
CL X-Fi Music Sound card
Corsair 520W PSU
Vista 32bit

I'm in the mood for some upgrades, but not really sure quite how far to go. I was thinking about the following:

4870 512 Mb Graphics
E8400 CPU
Asus P5Q E Mobo
2Gb OCZ reaper PC8500 RAM
Hiper Osiris case
Corsair 620W modlar or 750W single rail PSU.

I definatley want the 4870, the case and the new PSU, but wasn't sure whether it would be worth getting the new mobo and / or cpu.

I know that I could run the cpu in my current mobo, but I've already fried the NB on one of these 680 boards by overcloking it to 410MHz (no voltage increase) , so I'm reluctant to go above 400MHz fsb in case I do it to this one. If I replace the lot, I'll have enough spare bits to build my mum a new PC for X-mas, but I could save my self a few pounds and just get her a cheaper Mobo, and keep my one, and then upgrade both the cpu and mobo next year once the new i7 kit is down in price a bit.

I do play games, but mostly its World of Warcraft and only occasionally dabble in FPS. Other than that its only photoediting, and general web / home office use (thus my choice of a E8400 over a Q6600).

I'd appreciate your thoughts on whether it would be worthwhile getting a new mobo and / or CPU or just get the PSU and graphics.

Bearing in mind we both (me and Mum) use 32 bit OS's should I split my exiting 4Gb so we each have 2Gb or just give her all my current PC6400 and buy 2Gb of newer faster PC8400.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Admiral Huddy]

To be honest, that's quite an expensive upgrade for little gain. You might achieve some slightly better overclocking over the E6600, as most newer chips run much cooler.

Plus if you are reluctant to go above 400MHz, then swapping out PC2-6400 for PC2-8500 would not be productive.

 

[Grimley]

Unless you are playing World of Warcraft at some insanely high resolution its not worth getting the 4870. I'd get another 8800GT & sli it & add the 750W PSU (I'd be a bit sceptical about the 520 running a C2D & 2 8800GT's) not worth getting an E8400 unless you plan on overclocking that too. I've read some asus boards die if you flash the bios in windows as the board will probably need a bios upgrade for the E8400.
Good choice of new case, definitely get that!

 

[wanger]

Many thanks guys.

I understand your thoughts about going SLI on the 8800Gt, but as I can get a 4870 for £170 and could probably sell my current 8800gt for £60 the 4870 would effectively cost me £110. I can get another 8800gt for £85 so I thought that a 4870 would be worth the additional £25 difference. Although I mostly play WoW, I do also play the occasional fps. I've played Crysis all the way through and I'm gonna get Far Cry 2 and the Crysis expansion in the new year, so its nice to have something to display these games in their full glory.

EDIT: Just been checking some SLI reviews and people are comparing 2 8800's to a 9800GX2 and even a 280, so many thanks guys, that's the way I'm going.

Would my existing 520W Corsair PSU be man enough to run a 4870. I run 2 dvd drives (although rarely have both running at the same time), and 2 Hard drives, + the 3 case fans. If so that would save me a few more pounds.

As per your advice I'll stick with my current CPU and mobo. Maybe the 1st mobo I had was a duffer and I'll try to OC this one a bit more, but I'm still wary of burning the NB. I'll keep 2Gb of my memory and give her the other 2Gb.

For mums PC I'm thinking the following:

Intel E5200
Gigabyte GA-EP31DS3L or Asus P5N-MX

or

AMD 64X2 5200
MSI K9A2VM-FD 780V (AM2+ for a little future proofing)

Is this a reasonable bang for buck combination or would you recommend something else. She isn't a power user and doesn't play games so reliability, efficiency, and noise are more important.