Big Upgrade (for me anyway)

[Blackhawk47]

So some of you may of seen my tread about the old gen 8800gts in the graphics card section (which is still a option for me depending on funds. it sucks looking for first real job.)

well i decided, if i can afford to, get something a little like this:

the case isnt a definate yet as i may stick with my old one but as its getting a fair bit of wear and tear i thought id try for it. though if i keep my current case, ill have to replace the side panel window and muddle around with some other things. so nothing is definate about getting a new case. if i dont get the case ill definatly be getting another dvd drive or a fan controller, and a new hard drive (current dvd/hdd are ide)

ive got a 520w corsair running at the moment so id be keeping that. and my e4400. will try and get a good overclock out of it with new mobo.

also im not sure whether i can use my copy of xp again. so i might have to get vista or something. does anyone know how many times i can use the cd key which i got with my sony pc in 2004 . used it since for this build.

also i would like to know your best method of getting old yucky intel stock thermal paste off my e4400. and what cloth is best to use.

EDIT:

the other possible things i might get (8800gts and the like if funds are down - will probably pick one up on the bay as they have suddenly gone up in price by about £30 on ocuk)

 

[David91]

i think you can use your serial key for XP an unlimited number of times - not entirely sure though

and Toilet roll works well on getting thermal grease off a CPU, put no water on it and just wipe it from one side to the other - job done!

 

[Garyj881]

As above there should be no problems reusing the serial.

For the money though i would get something like this

The motherboard will be a lot better for overclocking than that old chipset, the board will come with some sata cables so you don't need that. If you decide to keep your case you could get a new HDD and use your current one as back up.

 

[Blackhawk47]

that looks pretty nice. pretty sure my current case is better than that akasa any way so if i was to go for your spec id cancel that out. only got 120gig hdd ide drive atm so thats pretty pants nowadays. then again ive had it for a good four years . and has never let me down.

 

[Ben M]

Blackhawk, you do realise that the GTS you have in your second spec picture is an old tech one?

GTS 320/640= old tech
GTS 512= new tech

a GT 512mb is better than a GTS 640.

Don't buy a GTS 320 whatever you do. Don't buy a 640 either, unless it's considerably less than a GT, because, at £105, those GT cards are very good value.

 

[Blackhawk47]

i think you can use your serial key for XP an unlimited number of times - not entirely sure though

and Toilet roll works well on getting thermal grease off a CPU, put no water on it and just wipe it from one side to the other - job done!

so for getting off the thermal stuff i dont need to buy any cleaner thing ? just need toliet roll now ?

new possible spec (the motherboard is suited for gamers on a budget with good oc abilities according to CustomPC):

without graphics card comes to : £231.35

without case: £259.55

so if it comes to the time of buying and i dont have the funds. anywho. ill be buying in about a month. are there any price drops expected on hardware ? eg 8800gt or gts as i hear new cards are coming....

 

[lunarwolf]

8800 GT not the GTS

RAM go for C4 - only a few more quid @ 29.99 excl VAT
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-066-GL&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=813

could also consider a 500Gb hard drive @ 39.99 excl VAT - 16mb cache and twice the capacity
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-058-SA

for thermal paste and thermal cleaner use Artic. All you will need is a lint free cloth, I use clean T-shirt and credit card. Job done.

Would not buy the SATA cable, you get those with mobo. With that saving get the C4 RAM

 

[aproctor]

if you are going for a new hdd nowadays you want a 32mb cache, costs a tenner more but it is worth it.