Assistance is needed

[Solidus]

Okay basically I need to know what I need to upgrade urgently on my pc

Put the upgrades in 3 groups 1 being the most important

AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3400+

2.2 GHz Performance Rated at 3.4 GHz

511.5 MB

Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 (Build 2600)

NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 (GeForce FX 5600)

MPU-401 Compatible MIDI Device (sound card)


I also want to know which fans and cases are best for sound dampening and cooling…

 

[The $6m Dan]

1) FX 5600
2) 512 Memory

Your CPU and OS are fine. I don't know much about sound cards so I couldn't comment on that. I use the onboard sound on my DFI board which keeps me happy.

If it was me, I'd want to upgrade both the memory and the GFX, but depending on your budget you may or my not be able to do that. Really depends on how much you want to spend.

An X1600XT and 2GB of RAM could be had for around £220.

 

[xirokx]

how much dya have to spend?

 

[Solidus]

well I can get £500 for the upgrade...i am also intrested in the SLI tech in nVidia...can anyone enlighten me on it...is it any good etc..

 

[semi-pro waster]

well I can get £500 for the upgrade...i am also intrested in the SLI tech in nVidia...can anyone enlighten me on it...is it any good etc..

SLi is impressive but not really all that much use unless you have a lot or money and/or play at very high resolutions. However I don't specifically recall there being any SLi socket 754 motherboards(I'm open to correction) which would mean replacing CPU, motherboard and graphics card(s) and probably PSU at a minimum which is going to come to well over £500 not to mention that you need more Ram.

You could get a socket 754 PCI-E motherboard, X1800XT and 2gb Ram for £350-400 which is about as cost effective as you will get I think.

 

[Devlish]

Right, options, note IMHO, i'm not professing expert knowledge, just what ive been thinking for my gaming system, facing roughly the same issue as you, I have a 3200+ and a Radeon 9800Pro. A lot depends on your MB, the make of RAM etc.

1. SLI is a waste of good cash, the technology moves too quickly for the minimal advantage, and a single card you could buy tomorrow would probably kick the crap out of your SLI system today. If you were talking twin 7900's overclocked and all that entails and you were really an enthusiast about stretching every single FPS out then mebbe, but not with your budget. I dont understand SLI at all, I mean you get what, a 25% improvement over what you'd get with 1 card? crazy. But then im not an enthusiast.

2. So if we're talking bang for buck, youve got 2 options, AGP or PCI-E. The permutations are endless but i've been giving this some thought with my system. My two options are to expand my present AGP system or switch to PCI-E. Taking expand your present AGP:

GX-058-PC PowerColor ATI Radeon X850 XT 256MB DDR3 VIVO TV-Out/DVI (AGP) - Retail (GX-058-PC) £149.95 £149.95
MY-046-GL GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC3200 Value Dual Channel Kit CAS3 (GE2GB3200BDC) (MY-046-GL) £89.95 £89.95
SC-034-CL Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music - Retail (SC-034-CL) £69.95 £69.95
Subtotal £309.85
Shipping (City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)) £8.25
VAT £55.67
Total £373.77

I went for the X850XT over the 6800GS because I think it has better performance for the buck. The 7900GS im not a big fan of because of its limitations in the AGP slot. The RAM is overkill as well, you may be able to get it cheaper by just buying another 512 to match your existing RAM. You will probably also need a new PSU depending on what you have currently. I like the SB and with the extra cash you can buy a half decent speaker system or better you'd be thinking about buying a new system next year at the lastest.

3. Option 2 is PCI-E. I take it the 3400 is a S754 processor. So:

MB-113-AS Asus K8N4-E Deluxe nForce4 4X (Socket 754) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-113-AS) £49.95 £49.95
MY-046-GL GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC3200 Value Dual Channel Kit CAS3 (GE2GB3200BDC) (MY-046-GL) £89.95 £89.95
GX-018-BG BFG GeForce 7900 GT OC 256MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-018-BG) £209.95 £209.95
SC-000-HT HDA Digital X-Mystique 7.1 Gold PCI Dolby Soundcard (SC-000-HT) £46.95 £46.95
Subtotal £396.80
Shipping (City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)) £8.95
VAT £71.01
Total £476.76

Hey presto a S754 PCI-E system which should keep you ticking over for a while. Again, the PSU issue, you will most definitely need a new one unless you have a decent one at the mo. The Mystique is meant to be a good card. I'd read through the other forums for specific advice on each component. Again at some point the Processor is going to limit your upgrade path, when that is I have no clue.

Cant say much about silencing and fans.

 

[Solidus]

i am more of an nVidia fan...donna why but i just do....also...what would you suggest for a cooling system i keep my pc active for long LONG periods of time

 

[semi-pro waster]

i am more of an nVidia fan...donna why but i just do....also...what would you suggest for a cooling system i keep my pc active for long LONG periods of time

There isn't much difference in stability between ATI and Nvidia although ATI release fewer drivers but they seem to be more solid in general terms. If you are a Linux user then I think Nvidia is still better supported but there certainly isn't much to differentiate them otherwise.

The Arctic Freezer is quite highly thought of and also fairly cheap at around £15 plus it fits all current socket designs including socket 754 which you require.

 

[Solidus]

okay here is a good one...is it hard to put in parts yourself.....what are the common mistakes..

 

[semi-pro waster]

okay here is a good one...is it hard to put in parts yourself.....what are the common mistakes..

Nope, building a PC is really simple now, if you can build a Lego model then you can build a PC.

Best advice I can give is to take your time and don't force anything unless you are sure of the positioning(some people have managed to put Ram in the wrong way round for instance and that has notches to mean that should be impossible). Be careful that you put the risers(little brass pins normally but sometimes plastic) for the motherboard and match them up with the holes, be careful to line things up and if you get stuck you can always ask the forums

 

[pcAnywhere]

Having very recently built my first PC I can only stress what SPW said. I was concerned about fitting the HSF to the CPU but.. dead simple and no stress (to me or the chip!). The hardest bits were:

1) Fitting the reset and power switches and front of case LEDs; two manuals (case and mobo) with very differing instuctions. The answer? Assume that ground is normally the black wire and hey-presto it all works.

2) Fitting the mobo into the case and aligning the IOs to the plate. The answer? Either a large case or a small mobo *or* patience (something I don't usually have, but still only took me two attempts!)

Memory, HDDs and Opticals are really easy to fit and with XP, installation is childs play (but it takes an age)

 

[Solidus]

okay...one more thing...the 2 best graphics cards are what? and which card to get so that for the next year or so i will not have any game problems (graphics wise) .... forget the price....what is the best choice? you know what ....what is the best graphics card(s) to get...the best.....

 

[semi-pro waster]

The best graphics cards at the moment are the X1900XTX and the 7900GTX, I'd personally choose the X1900XT however because at ~£320 it is anywhere from £50 or more cheaper than either of the above two and is easily fast enough at stock plus you ought to be able to overclock it nicely.

 

[Solidus]

so whats the main dif between the 2....