PC UPGRADE ADVICE

nevski

nevski

nevski

Associate
Joined
27 May 2006
Posts
70
Hi

I am wanting to upgrade my pc and am in need of some expert advice please. My current spec is:

amd athlon XP barton 2800+
abit nfs-7s v2 mobo
512mb twinmos
wd 120gb hard drive 8mb cache
sapphire radeon 9600 pro 128mb
enermax EG465AX-VE(G) 460 watt ver 1.2 atx 12v
coolermaster aero 7 heatsink


as you can see, it's a dinosaur!! I'm thinking of upgrading to this spec:

intel core2duo E6600
asus pb-e mobo
wd 160gb hard drive 16mb cache
oc 7300gt 256mb graphics card (not a gamer!!!)
2gb GeIl pc6400 (800mhz) memory

I need some advice on new upgrade though:

1. I understand that i now need a new psu for this upgrade (atx 2.0 spec).Which psu can you recommend? what wattage do I need to run this new upgrade very comfortably?

2. Can I use the heatsink that comes with the retail intel core2duo cpu or do I need something better? Can I still use the coolermaster aero 7?

3. Will the p5b-e mobo fit into my existing coolermaster wavemaster case?

4. will i still be able to connect my existing nec cdrw IDE drive to the p5b-e mobo?

5. will i need more fans, therefore will I need to buy a new case? the case has currently got 2 x 80mm fans at front behing hard drive & 1x 80mm fan at the rear.

6. Does the p5b-e mobo have the capabilities to enable me to set up a wireless home network between my pc & laptop? (obviously I'll be using a wireless router)

If you can answer all questions for me I'd really appreciate the help.

Thanks :)
 
1. I guess a lot of people will recommend that same, Corsair 520W . It should provide more than enough power for you, modular cabling, and very reliable i hear. It is a bit pricey but its worth it.

2. Don't know much about it, i quickly googled it and i don't think it'll fit. I recommend the Arctic Cooler 7 Pro . Its fairly cheap, quiet, and very good. Use the TIM it comes with, its pretty good.

3. I don't see why it shouldn't.

4. I can't actually find your motherboard, did you mean the P5B motherboard? Anyway i think you will, all the motherboards i've had so far have had IDE ports on them. Although my latest one (ASUS P5B) only has one compared to my S939 board which has two.

5. As the components don't look like they chuck out much heat, i think you'll be ok. However, the 80mm fans might be a bit noisy so you might want 120mm fans. If you want a new case with good airflow, i recommend an Lian Li PC-7 Plus . I've got one, its brilliant.

6. From what i can see ( i could be wrong ) i can't see it having a built in wireless NIC like the Asus Deluxe WIFI boards. So you will probably have to purchase a wireless network card. Im not too savvy with wireless networking but i guess i'd recommend this

Just make sure you connect the firewire and USB ports the right way round to your motherboard otherwise it really damages things :)

Hope what i've said helps!
 
Thanks for your help Jaffa Cake!

Is the heatsink that comes with the e6600 good enough or do I need to buy a better one? If so, which do you recommend?

Once I've got the pci wireless card & wireless router, I will be able to set up the network between my pc & laptop won't I?

I know the graphics card in my spec isn't spectacular, but it's good enough for what I need. I'm not a gamer, I only use the pc for surfing net, digital photography & video editing & watching dvds.

What else about the spec would you change?

Can you tell me what the difference is between the atx 2.0 spec & atx 2.2 spec of psu's please? Which would I need?

Thanks :)
 
nevski said:
Is the heatsink that comes with the e6600 good enough or do I need to buy a better one? If so, which do you recommend?
Click to expand...

Its sufficient, however if you are overclocking ( which the E6600 was born to do ) then I would suggest a new one. Its quite loud the stock one, its ok if that doesn't bother you.

nevski said:
Once I've got the pci wireless card & wireless router, I will be able to set up the network between my pc & laptop won't I?
Click to expand...

Yeaap :)

nevski said:
I know the graphics card in my spec isn't spectacular, but it's good enough for what I need. I'm not a gamer, I only use the pc for surfing net, digital photography & video editing & watching dvds.
Click to expand...

Yeah it will do just fine for that.

nevski said:
What else about the spec would you change?
Click to expand...

Would probobly change the motherboard to a DS3 or a DS3P if you can affort the DS3P. Thats it really :)



nevski said:
Can you tell me what the difference is between the atx 2.0 spec & atx 2.2 spec of psu's please? Which would I need?
Click to expand...

Not 100% certain :confused: :confused:

BlackDragon has given you some nice info there too :)
 
It should be fine if you aren't doing anything intensive with it or overclocking. But if you decide you want better cooling then the Arctic Cooler 7 Pro will be a good upgrade.

Once you've got the wireless NIC and router i don't see why they couldn't connect.

I don't really know the difference between ATX2.2 and 2.0, but the Corsair PSU will be backward compatible with ATX2.0 (i think). So no need to worry about that!

If you wanna pay a bit more maybe get the ASUS WiFi deluxe motherboard? This means you can have a spare PCI slot. But its up to you really.
 
Hi

Thanks blackdragon for your help!

Is the Corsair 520w more of a gamers psu? I'm not a gamer you see. I just need something that will cope comfortably with the new spec, is reliable & quiet, any ideas?

I think the only major difference between the p5b & the p5b-e motherboard is that the p5b-e has firewire & the p5b doesn't. also might be more Sata ports on the p5b-e.
I'd like to have had the asus p5b deluxe wifi but my budget for the mobo wouldn't stretch that far!

Thanks for the tip for Arctic cooler 7 pro, I'll have a peek at that one!

I don't really want to buy a new case if i can help it. I deally 120mm fans would be best but I can't fit them into my existing case, so if you think my 80mm will surfice then I think I'll stick with my coolermaster wavemaster, thanks though.

Thanks a lot :)
 
Not really sure how you would class the Corsair PSU. I guess a lot of people go for it on here because they have high end hardware and need a powerful and reliable PSU to power it all, which is where the Corsair PSU comes in. It uses very high quality parts which is why it is so reliable.

I haven't got one so i can't comment on the noise, but i'd assume they would put in a quiet fan considering all the other parts are of high quality.
 
Jaffa_Cake said:
Its sufficient, however if you are overclocking ( which the E6600 was born to do ) then I would suggest a new one. Its quite loud the stock one, its ok if that doesn't bother you



Would probobly change the motherboard to a DS3 or a DS3P if you can affort the DS3P. Thats it really :)





I'm not an overclocker so I could get away with retail heatsink? Although prob invest in something better, it is after all an important component!


why the DS3/DS3P?

Thanks :)
Click to expand...
 
Not sure about the DS3/DS3P, ill let someone else answer that.

You'll be fine with the stock cooler. Just check your temps when you have everything up and running and if it looks like its getting too hot then invest in a new CPU cooler.
 
nevski said:
Jaffa Cake: why the ds3/ds3p? Do I need this mobo if i'm not an overclocker?

Thanks :)
Click to expand...

They are very good motherboards in general. They have an super BIOS and I have never had an issue with one. The Asus ones have had several reported issues with RAM compatiblity. I't probobly won't make much difference but i do like the DS3 series :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom