Quick perfomance fix (spec reqd)

Ferro · 24 Apr 2008 at 22:21

Looking for a new mobo, CPU and RAM to replace old Pentium 4 and P4P800S combo.

Can I get something for around £100 that will blow the socks off the old system? Must have AGP slot for the 9800XT radeon card if possible (or is this way too old for use now?) , and IDE for drives.

Any recommendations for a cheapish upgrade of performance route?

Glaucus · 24 Apr 2008 at 22:22

I would get a cheap pci-e gfx card. No point sticking to agp. You'll just have to upgrade the motherboard yet again, when you change the gfx card.

Ferro · 24 Apr 2008 at 22:25

ok, Im open to suggestions for a good upgrade in technology and performance but must be cheap. Prepared to replace mobo,ram,cpu,gfx and sata instead of IDE if needed.
What do you suggest?

Glaucus · 24 Apr 2008 at 22:26

depends on your budget it would be more like £200

Ferro · 24 Apr 2008 at 22:27

yeah was just about to say, Ill have to up budget. £150 to £200 should be ok.

Glaucus · 24 Apr 2008 at 22:32

Ferro · 24 Apr 2008 at 22:50

great thanks.

How much of an improvement will this be over the old system? Minor, medium, major? Will it play current games ok, albeit at low settings?

Glaucus · 24 Apr 2008 at 22:53

Should see a majour. You'll have no problems playing modern games. That systems better than my currents set up.

Ferro · 24 Apr 2008 at 22:57

cool, cheers

bayo000 · 24 Apr 2008 at 23:12

or stick with your ide drive for now and get better gpu and ram

Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L Intel P31 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L Intel P31 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £39.99
(£46.99) £39.99
(£46.99)
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-6400C4 800MHz Dual Channel Kit (BL2KIT12864AA804) Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-6400C4 800MHz Dual Channel Kit (BL2KIT12864AA804) £25.99
(£30.54) £25.99
(£30.54)
Intel Core 2 Duo E2160 "LGA775 Conroe" 1.80GHz (800FSB) - Retail Intel Core 2 Duo E2160 "LGA775 Conroe" 1.80GHz (800FSB) - Retail £36.99
(£43.46) £36.99
(£43.46)
PowerColor ATI Radeon HD 3850 Pro Extreme 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail PowerColor ATI Radeon HD 3850 Pro Extreme 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail £74.99
(£88.11) £74.99
(£88.11)
Sub Total : £177.96
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 : £32.71
Total : £219.62

steve258 · 24 Apr 2008 at 23:16

How about a mATX board with integrated GFX so you can get a more powerful GFX in the future?

Glaucus · 25 Apr 2008 at 06:37

depends what IDE drive he has. If it was in a pre built system it will probably be slow and the biggest bottleneck.

Ferro · 25 Apr 2008 at 07:52

I do have an older sata drive already I could use.

Basically I just want to upgrade performance from the old system for not big bucks.

So I could save on Acids build without the drive, go for better gfx and RAM with the saving , or look at mATX option. Can you give a bit more info on that route? Would the gfx be good enough , how would it compare to the 8600GT? would this be a cheaper option now? Are there any expansion limitations?

triggerthat · 25 Apr 2008 at 07:52

Why not get everything second hand? You'll be able to get more for your money.

Ferro · 25 Apr 2008 at 08:11

Good point, but I think theres a lot that could be wrong with components that I wouldnt be able to diagnose/fix. Ill take a look though, any good sites you could recommend?

triggerthat · 25 Apr 2008 at 08:19

Ferro said:
Good point, but I think theres a lot that could be wrong with components that I wouldnt be able to diagnose/fix. Ill take a look though, any good sites you could recommend?

OCUK - Members Market

Providing the seller says it's fully working, then it shouldn't be a problem.

I've had more problems when buying new, than second hand.

bayo000 · 25 Apr 2008 at 09:39

he hasnt got access to MM and wont have for quite a while

8600gt was quite a disapointment as you'd find out from tests, go and check tom's hardware gpu section he always got table for best card for certain price range

MAKE sure your psu got enuff amps/watts to run new cards

triggerthat · 25 Apr 2008 at 10:16

Auction, then.

Glaucus · 25 Apr 2008 at 14:41

how long before you will upgrade again? if you waited a month or two would you have more to spend?

Would you mind sacrificing some speed if you could latter upgrade components one at a time?

Ferro · 25 Apr 2008 at 15:17

I dont plan to upgrade for a couple of years on this unit to be honest, id like something that can play current games now and maybe for the next couple of years , albeit at medium/low settings. If I could get that kind of combo of ram,cpu,mobo and gfx for £150-£200 max then I think Id be happy. If I could get something that will do the job cheaper then even better.
(I just splashed out £600 on a good system for myself, this one is to bring the lad bit more up to date.)
Id rather have speed than upgradability in that respect. I would probably replace everything in a couple of years, rather than try and upgrade it (if it will last a couple of years).
Acids spec looks ok without the sata (i have one i can use) but if i could get even cheaper for good speed, sacrificing upgradeability, then even better.