Best way to upgrade pc?

Olib

Olib

Olib

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18 Sep 2005
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17
Hey, im wondering what to do to my pc to upgrade it, currently ive got:

Asus A8V-X
Athlon 64 3500 (newcastle)
1gig Duel Channel Ram (2x 512)
ATI X800GTO

Its been around 2 years since ive glanced at PC parts, so am pretty lost atm, but im considering:

1. Forking out on an 8800 + replacing ram with 2x 1gig (650?)
2. 8800 + 2x 512 in addition to my current 2x 512 (550?)
3. Not bothering doing anything and putting up with this one for longer (free ofc)
4. Getting new mobo/proc, but not top of the range, and getting new gfx card and ram (800-900?)
5. Or any other suggestions, i really dont want to spend more than say 6-700, but am willing to listen if its more sensible.


Basically use the system for games, sometimes photoshop and dreamweaver, game im struggling with a bit atm is BF 2142, system isnt running it too well (most settings on low/off, a few on medium to make it prettier) and im getting 20-30fps on average.
 
CP-126-IN Intel Core 2 DUO E6300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.86GHz (1066FSB) - Retail (CP-126-IN)
£114.99 £114.99
MB-061-GI Gigabyte GA_965P_DS3 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (MB-061-GI)
£89.99 £89.99
MY-034-GL GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC5300 667MHz Value DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB5300DC) (MY-034-GL)
£139.99 £139.99
GX-134-SP Sapphire ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-134-SP)
£111.99 £111.99
Subtotal £456.96
VAT £79.97
Total £536.93

Less than £600 but would stomp your current system into the ground. More than twice as fast all round.
 
If you have the money then of course option #4 will be the way to go; mobo and cpu don't have to be top of the range, just make sure you get a decent mobo then you can always oc the cpu later.

Otherwise go for option #1 and try to oc the 3500+ you have. You will see a huge performance boost in games although personally I can't justify spending £300+ on a video card.
 
Erm, that's only 1 x1950pro and no 8800. Not sure where your coming from Olib.

Edit: Arg ninja edit by Olib

Basically the system I spec'ed gets you a new mobo/cpu/ram and graphics which will give pretty much twice your current performance.
 
Last edited:
ye i fixed my post, it was before i realised that every item had 2 prices listed, just glanced at it and assumed wrong.
 
say i was willing to spend 200 on a gfx card, would the speed increase be worth the increase, and any suggestions at that price?
 
Olib said:
say i was willing to spend 200 on a gfx card, would the speed increase be worth the increase, and any suggestions at that price?
Click to expand...

For around £200 the x1900xt in the clearance section is the best bar none in that price range
 
there are just too many options! Decided to go look at x1900 xt's, there are like 20 of em :p

I see this one is:
Connect3D ATI Radeon X1900 XT 256MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-053-CO) for £170 inc vat

HIS ATI Radeon X1900 XT ICEQ 3 SILENT Heatpipe 512MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-053-HT) for £240


etc, basically willing to spend, say up to 250 (assuming im getting the new mobo+ram+proc)
 
In which case either of those two you just listed would be great. Personally I don't think the RAM performance gains justify the price difference.

Edit: Connect3D ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (3056) (GX-047-CO) £223 inc seems the best bet.
 
CP-126-IN Intel Core 2 DUO E6300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.86GHz (1066FSB) - Retail (CP-126-IN)
£114.99 £114.99
MB-061-GI Gigabyte GA_965P_DS3 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (MB-061-GI)
£89.99 £89.99
GX-047-CO Connect3D ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (3056) (GX-047-CO)
£189.99 £189.99
MY-034-GL GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC5300 667MHz Value DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB5300DC) (MY-034-GL)
£139.99 £139.99
Subtotal £534.96
VAT £93.62
Total £628.58

Though ive moved motherboards from case to case, swapped around gfx cards, and other parts, ive never done the setup from the start before, I am assuming that if i just follow manual I will find it np, one question is, what themal "product" do i need to put between cpu and heatsink, and is it just a small dab of the stuff or what? I saw some thermal pastes on the site, but didnt know which should be used or in what way.
 
The retail heat sink will come with its own thermal compound which should be more than up to the job. If its a pad you wont have to do anything (it will already be on the heat sink), if its a paste it will come with instructions.
 
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