Recommendations for upgrade

djphatic · 12 Feb 2008 at 11:13

Hi

Ive finally had enough with my SATA problems and looking at the option of upgrading my system, mainly CPU/Mobo/RAM and using everything else from my current machine which includes:

Leadtek Nvidia 7900GS
Auzentech X-Mystique Sound Card
Atheros Wireless PCI Card
Hauppauge WinTV Nova-T PCI
3x Samsung HD501J 500GB (SATA)
3x Optical DVD/Writers (2x IDE, 1x SATA)
Seasonic S12 430W Silent ATX2.0
Akasa Eclipse 62 Case
Scythe Ninja-PLUS Rev B Heatpipe Cooler

Id really like to spend as little as possible at the most £200-£250.

I am not really interested in paying extra for SLi/Crossfire availability or dual LANs (seeing as im on wireless) and firewire as I dont use them, but not to say avoid if its all at a reasonable price. Id really like to avoid a motherboard with a nvidia chipset as i found out with my current nforce4 board, theyre driver support is very poor.

So I think really I am looking at core2duo CPU, an intel P35 mobo and 2-4GB RAM (I intend to reinstall vista). Though the mobo must be compatible with the scythe ninja hsf and not have any silly chipset fans as I like my system to be silent.

I mainly use the PC for multimedia and browsing but do the odd gaming now and then; which I know my gfx isnt the greatest but I can update that at a later time. I dont really plan to overclock as its something ive never done before though having read about how well core2duo's overclock its something I may do eventually but its not essential.

Im rather baffled by choosing the right memory speed to match the processor/mobo which is going to get the best performance for value.

Also would my PSU be adequate or would I need a bigger PSU for core2duo setup.

Any help is greatly appreciated, also open to suggestions to an AMD rig.

semi-pro waster · 12 Feb 2008 at 12:05

This is a bit under your max budget but would appear to meet the requirements, 4gb of decent Ram, a solid and overclockable CPU and a well tested motherboard. Your PSU will be fine.

Intel Core 2 Duo E2180 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.00GHz (800FSB) - Retail £45.99
(£54.04) £45.99
(£54.04)
GeIL 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C5 800MHz Black Dragon DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GB24GB6400C5DC) (Deal Product) £49.99
(£58.74) £49.99
(£58.74)
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £64.99
(£76.36) £64.99
(£76.36)
Sub Total : £160.97
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £8.25
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £29.61
Total : £198.83

mp260767 · 12 Feb 2008 at 12:16

being as spw is slightly under budget , might be worth looking at the 2200 instead of the 2180.

djphatic · 12 Feb 2008 at 13:41

Thanks for your recommendation, having had a look I have a few questions:

Would it not be better to get a Gigabyte P35C-DS3R for a couple of quid extra which would probably last longer in terms of upgrades as it supports DDR3 and new 45nm processors?

Any particular reason for suggesting the Geil ram over OCZ or G.Skill which are around the same price?

Taking my budget to the max I could consider a E6550, would it be worth it? Only 133mhz than the E2200 but has 4MB cache and a FSB of 1333mhz.
Would you RAM still be good enough with a E6550.

Thanks

mp260767 · 12 Feb 2008 at 14:02

no real point with going with the ddr3 possibility imho, price wise likely to be a new socket out before they become reasonable.

wouldnt bother with the 6550, 2180/2200 likely to be able to run faster than it on a slight overclock without a real need to adjust any voltages.

the geil memory suggested seems to be running well from posts i've seen, just a solid suggestion, ocz has had some issues with certain mobos, gskill has been doing okay same as geil.

semi-pro waster · 12 Feb 2008 at 14:07

djphatic said:
Would it not be better to get a Gigabyte P35C-DS3R for a couple of quid extra which would probably last longer in terms of upgrades as it supports DDR3 and new 45nm processors?

Both the DS3R boards support the newer 45nm CPUs, I don't think DDR3 will be particularly viable for a while (next year or two) for most people since it costs significantly more but doesn't offer all that great a performance benefit. However if you want to buy the combo motherboard there is no real reason not to.

djphatic said:
Any particular reason for suggesting the Geil ram over OCZ or G.Skill which are around the same price?

Not really, Geil Ram is usally very solid stuff but either of the others should work just as well with that motherboard.

djphatic said:
Taking my budget to the max I could consider a E6550, would it be worth it? Only 133mhz than the E2200 but has 4MB cache and a FSB of 1333mhz.
Would you RAM still be good enough with a E6550.

I don't personally think the 3mb extra cache justifies spending £50 more because for most uses it doesn't seem to make a huge difference but opinions do vary so if you are working with programs that will use the extra cache it might be worth it.

The Ram will be absolutely fine, for an 800mhz FSB CPU you only need DDR2 PC3200 (200mhz actual speed of the Ram), for a 1333mhz FSB CPU you need PC5300 (333mhz actual speed of the Ram) and the Ram selected is PC6400 so would easily be running inside specifications with either of the CPUs.

djphatic · 12 Feb 2008 at 15:08

thanks for your help. Ive gone with the following in the end

Intel Core 2 Duo E2200 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.20GHz (800FSB) - Retail £48.99 1 £48.99
Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 & DDR3 Motherboard £66.99 1 £66.99
OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C5 Dual Channel Vista Gold Series DDR2 (OCZ2G8004GK) (Deal Product) £49.99 1 £49.99

mp260767 · 12 Feb 2008 at 15:29

just double checked that memory and its operating voltage is 2.1-2.2, think the gigabyte mobos boot at 1.8 default voltage so you might have problems booting.

djphatic · 12 Feb 2008 at 18:59

mp260767 said:
just double checked that memory and its operating voltage is 2.1-2.2, think the gigabyte mobos boot at 1.8 default voltage so you might have problems booting.

Im sure that is gonna provide me with a eventful installation. The geil ram states 1.9V-2.0V Power Supply, so might not have been any better off anyways.

Will have to wait and see.

djphatic · 21 Mar 2008 at 09:49

Thought I would bring this post back to life rather than starting a new one.
Ive just upgraded my GFX card to a Leadtek 8800GT 512MB.

Not had much time to test it all out yet but will the power supply be suffice, even with an overclock on the CPU?

I can salvage some dvd drives if that is going to avoid getting a new PSU.

semi-pro waster · 21 Mar 2008 at 10:37

Your PSU should still be fine, it is decent supply from a good manufacturer. The only way to be sure is to try it though.

djphatic · 21 Mar 2008 at 11:09

i only tried world in conflict last night which ran but didnt find the performance any better than with my 7900GS, if not worse. Stuttering gameplay every so often when moving the camera and some tearing, but that is probably down to drivers + vista.