Help spec me a new upgrade/system

[Ole]

After a few post trying to decide what to do:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17822131

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17842017&highlight=username_Ole

I am now considering upgrading my mobo so I can get a new processor. I'll get a new graphics card as well. Here is a list of all my current kit, I want to salvage as much of this as possible:

AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 90nm (Socket 939) - OEM
Asus A8N-SLi SE nForce4 SLi (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard
x 1 - GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC3200 Value Dual Channel Kit CAS3
OcUK GeForce 7800GT 256MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail
Samsung SpinPoint P SP2004C 200GB SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM
NEC ND4551 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer LabelFlash ReWriter (Black) - OEM
Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940)
Zalman VF700-ALCU Quiet Copper/Aluminium VGA Cooler
ntec Sonata II Piano Black Quiet Case - 450W Smart Power PSU
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition inc. SP2 - OEM

I also have another couple of hard drives so space is no issue.

I am looking to spend 500-600 quid. I'd rather spend more on the processor than the grpahics card as I can see myself getting a new card in about 9 months time when some new next gen cards come out.

Can I keep using the RAM I have or do I need some new stuff?

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I am pretty out of touch since I bought this system 2 years ago.

Thanks guys!

 

[Ole]

Oh, I should have also mentioned I have had a little dabble with overclocking and I intend to take things a little further with this system.

 

[semi-pro waster]

Your budget is more than enough for what you need, I've included a PSU since I don't know how old your current one is but you might not need it. You could go for the newer 45nm quads - called Yorkfields but they are still pre-order at the moment.

Corsair HX 520W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU (CMPSU-520HXUK) £59.99
(£70.49) £59.99
(£70.49)
OcUK Value IP35 Pro Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £54.99
(£64.61) £54.99
(£64.61)
Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail £144.99
(£170.36) £144.99
(£170.36)
BFG GeForce 8800 GT OC 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £127.99
(£150.39) £127.99
(£150.39)
OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C4 800MHz Reaper HPC Enhanced Bandwidth Edition Dual Channel DDR2 (OCZ2RPR800C44GK) £59.99
(£70.49) £59.99
(£70.49)
Sub Total : £447.95
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £8.95
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £79.96
Total : £536.86

 

[Ole]

Your budget is more than enough for what you need, I've included a PSU since I don't know how old your current one is but you might not need it. You could go for the newer 45nm quads - called Yorkfields but they are still pre-order at the moment.

Corsair HX 520W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU (CMPSU-520HXUK) £59.99
(£70.49) £59.99
(£70.49)
OcUK Value IP35 Pro Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £54.99
(£64.61) £54.99
(£64.61)
Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail £144.99
(£170.36) £144.99
(£170.36)
BFG GeForce 8800 GT OC 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £127.99
(£150.39) £127.99
(£150.39)
OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C4 800MHz Reaper HPC Enhanced Bandwidth Edition Dual Channel DDR2 (OCZ2RPR800C44GK) £59.99
(£70.49) £59.99
(£70.49)
Sub Total : £447.95
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £8.95
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £79.96
Total : £536.86

Wow that looks great, thanks very much!

I have been looking at the e8400 wolfdale processor, how does that compare with the Q6600 you selected?

My PSU came with my case, do you think it is up to the job or not?

 

[semi-pro waster]

The Antec Smartpowers are pretty decent, if it has been solid so far then I'd just try it out and see, check the rails while you are running it initially just to see.

The E8400 is likely to overclock a bit further than the Q6600 but it is dual core rather than quad and since you seem to keep kit for quite a while you might see the benefit of going for quad core in the longer run. It is up to you though as either will provide a massive jump compared to your current system.

 

[Ole]

Your budget is more than enough for what you need, I've included a PSU since I don't know how old your current one is but you might not need it. You could go for the newer 45nm quads - called Yorkfields but they are still pre-order at the moment.

Corsair HX 520W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU (CMPSU-520HXUK) £59.99
(£70.49) £59.99
(£70.49)
OcUK Value IP35 Pro Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £54.99
(£64.61) £54.99
(£64.61)
Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail £144.99
(£170.36) £144.99
(£170.36)
BFG GeForce 8800 GT OC 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £127.99
(£150.39) £127.99
(£150.39)
OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C4 800MHz Reaper HPC Enhanced Bandwidth Edition Dual Channel DDR2 (OCZ2RPR800C44GK) £59.99
(£70.49) £59.99
(£70.49)
Sub Total : £447.95
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £8.95
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £79.96
Total : £536.86

Looking to order today (woohoo!) I have a few questions. Just wanted to see if anyone has any other recommended changes to this spec?

I've decided to keep my current PSU and see how it goes - will it cope?

I know nothing about RAM, should I go for the RAM suggested?

Also, i'm going to order Vista, should I get the Premium 64-bit edition?

I am thinking of order the Asus P5K SE Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard because I saw a great guide on overclocking based off these boards - link
Or should I just go for the cheaper one?

Any quick help would be great!

 

[semi-pro waster]

Your PSU will probably be fine but (and I can't remember off the top of my head) if it doesn't have a 24pin connector for the motherboard and additional 4/8 pin then you might need adapters.

That Ram is no longer on special offer so I'd now suggest G Skill DDR2 PC6400 instead.

If you are ordering Vista then the 64bit version makes sense so you can access all the Ram.

The Asus will do you fine, it isn't quite as fully featured but it might well be better supported in terms of drivers etc.