Considering upgrade (While keeping AGP card)

dúncky · 23 Oct 2007 at 20:00

I'm considering upgrading my "rig" and don't really want to spend much money. I currently have an AMD 2400, 1gb mem, Nvidia 6800gt in my system. I don't really want to buy another graphics card so I was considering buying the ASRock 4CoreDual which has an AGP slot. I would then buy an Intel Quad Q6600 (energy efficient) CPU and some 667mhz 2gb Crucial Ballistix memory.

The only bugbear is my PSU, it is a 400w Akasa jobby. Will it be man enough to power the Quad Core cpu? Would I also experience any form of bottle neck with running my old AGP card with the new Motherboard, CPU and RAM?

Any help will be appreciated.

dr. sarf · 23 Oct 2007 at 20:03

Sorry to ask, but why would you want to get a Q6600 and then run an old AGP GPU with it?
I mean, you'd be better spending less on an entry C2D and overclocking it then spending more on a decent GPU. Unless you're planning on getting a decent card in the future.
Just me or does anyone else agree?

paradigm · 23 Oct 2007 at 20:11

dr. sarf said:
Sorry to ask, but why would you want to get a Q6600 and then run an old AGP GPU with it?
I mean, you'd be better spending less on an entry C2D and overclocking it then spending more on a decent GPU. Unless you're planning on getting a decent card in the future.
Just me or does anyone else agree?

Agreed 100%.

For example, the E2140 in my rig only costs what, a shade over £40, and clocks to 3.3GHz, ok, not quite going to keep pace with a Q6600, but is faster than any stock C2D, and an infinate amount quicker than his current "rig".

With the money saved on the CPU alone, you could get a video card that beats the 6800GT, and is PCIe to boot. With that sorted, you can also get a decent brand board and not the utter turd that is the ASS-ROCK.

EDIT: The bottleneck of a 6800GT on a q6600 would be huge.

Garyj881 · 23 Oct 2007 at 20:13

I aggree with dr. sarf, with the amount you would spend on the Q6600 you could get a E2180 and a 1950 pro and a new corsair 520w psu.....

How about this...

or you could wait a week and see what price tag the 8800gt's got.

EDIT: I forgot to add an aftermarket cooler in there but you get the idea.

split · 23 Oct 2007 at 20:15

I agree.
Do you really need the computing power of a quad core now?
If the answer is yes, then you must be one of the few that do.

If you need it in the future upgrade the lot.

dúncky · 23 Oct 2007 at 22:55

that CPU will really overclock to 3 ghz? i'm impressed! thats a real bargain system you've specced me up.. would i be better off going with an nvidia card though? thanks for your replies guys

wowfood · 23 Oct 2007 at 22:59

right now i think nVidia and ATI are kind've neck and neck, they each excel in different area's, so its all down to personal preference, i've read so many reviews on the two to find out which is currently winning the race, and every review is different, one says nvidia one says ati, one says they're about the same, one says they're both a collosal disappointment for the price tag.

I'd say ATI myself just because of the price to performance ratio, but i'm more of an nVidia follower.

dúncky · 23 Oct 2007 at 23:04

wicked, i remember a time when Nvidia trounced them for a long while!

that 1950XT card is bloody cheap and ive just noticed it's 512mb bigger brother! do any Intel mobos support crossfire? i'm guessing not due to the AMD ATI takeover

Garyj881 · 23 Oct 2007 at 23:26

TBH i wouldnt bother with crossfire, if youve got the money for two cards then obviousley you can afford say the 2900pro or 8800gts 640.

Wait a week and see what price tag the 8800gt has.

I quoted the 1950pro as i wasnt sure on your budget, and looking at the cheap board you picked i thought you didnt want to spend too much.

paradigm · 23 Oct 2007 at 23:31

dúncky said:
wicked, i remember a time when Nvidia trounced them for a long while!

that 1950XT card is bloody cheap and ive just noticed it's 512mb bigger brother! do any Intel mobos support crossfire? i'm guessing not due to the AMD ATI takeover

Yep, infact at the moment Intel support Crossfire but not SLi (due to nVidia not licensing intel to use the tech). Many great Core2Duo boards out there that support Crossfire (mine included).

dúncky said:
that CPU will really overclock to 3 ghz?

My processor is the "lowly" E2140, which is known as being not as good a stepping as the E2180 for overclocking. See my thread here for my results.

dúncky · 23 Oct 2007 at 23:33

wicked, i'll hang on till next week then.. thanks for your advice everybody, much appreciated