Upgrade Advice

Freaky Dug

Freaky Dug

Freaky Dug

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6 Apr 2007
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I built my computer about 9-10 months ago and, because I was under quite a tight budget, I used pretty much the cheapeest components I could find. My system struggles to play some games, and I'd really like it to run EVE Online better, so i'm thinking about upgrading.

My current Specs are:

- Intel Celeron D 326 2.53GHz (LGA775)
- Asus P5P800-SE Intel 865PE (Socket LGA775) Motherboard
- Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 80GB ST3802110A ATA-100 2MB Cache
- Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 160GB ST3160812A ATA-100 8MB Cache
- 400W PSU
- LG GSA-H10ABAL 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter
- HIS Excalibur ATI Radeon 9550 128MB DDR TV-Out/DVI (AGP)
- XP Home
- 1.5 GB RAM (Not sure what type, i'll look inside my case and check later)

Can anyone give me some suggestions as to the best way to upgrade my machine?

(If theres anything I've missed let me know)
 
Well, reckon you just need a new graphics card and CPU. Everything else looks ok. How much are you looking to spend?
I recommed an ATI x1950 pro (~£100) and a C2D e4300 or 6300 (~£100).
 
Unfortunately, my motherboard has an AGP slot and doesn't support Core 2 Duo, so to upgrade to nice stufflike that I'd have to get a new Motherboard aswell, which I'm willing to do, but it means I need to save up some more before I can afford it.
 
If I were you I would just get a pentium D and maybe a better graphics card and ride it out until the new socket comes out (i think i heard somewhere it was september).
 
I'm in the same situation, AGP, pc3200, IDE, etc.
The Asrock 4CoreDual-VSTA is your solution, the motherboard is about £40, get an e4300 and an x1950 pro all for about £220

what exactly is your budget anyhow?
 
How much I want to spend depends on how much needs to be replaced. If it's not much (100-150) I'll do it now, if I need to spend more I'll have to save up and do it in a few months.

EDIT: Is there a cheaper graphics card I could go for? I'm not bothered about having stunning graphics(my Wii does that), I just want games like EVE to be smoother at 1280 x 1024.
 
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I wasn't talking about the crossfire edition x1950, just the regular sapphire will do. I played the 2 week eve trail awhile back and it seems to be a cool game, but i know its demanding of a system as well...that other video card you mentioned, to be blatently honest is poo..perhaps youdon't need the x1950 pro, I only mention that, because i feel its the best price/performance ratio...perhaps you could get a lesser video card a save a few £, but don't get that 6200, you will be really dissapointed. I'm sure others will agree with me, but its really not going to help. Its not necessarily the amount of RAM on a graphics card that matters, but the speed at which the card operates..and the 6200 is SLOW.
 
Munky1080 said:
I wasn't talking about the crossfire edition x1950, just the regular sapphire will do. I played the 2 week eve trail awhile back and it seems to be a cool game, but i know its demanding of a system as well...that other video card you mentioned, to be blatently honest is poo..perhaps youdon't need the x1950 pro, I only mention that, because i feel its the best price/performance ratio...perhaps you could get a lesser video card a save a few £, but don't get that 6200, you will be really dissapointed. I'm sure others will agree with me, but its really not going to help. Its not necessarily the amount of RAM on a graphics card that matters, but the speed at which the card operates..and the 6200 is SLOW.
Click to expand...

I only picked that as an example, it was the first PCI-E I found after sorting by price. And I probably got the wrong link on the other one too. I think I'll save up and get that one. EVE isn't that demanding cos the graphics engine is about 10 years old, though it still looks awesome most of the time.

Thanks for your advice :)

EDIT: Because the Motherboard mentioned earlier has AGP and PCI-E, would it be possible for me to buy the Motherboard and CPU now, install them with my old graphics card and then get the new graphics card in a month or two when I can afford it? Or to get the Graphics card first and get the CPU later?
 
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Yeah, that's a great idea. Same thing i'm doing in fact. Eve is more processor dependant than GPU dependant i think, so sorta yourself out the motherboard and the CPU, keep your agp card, and upgrade a bit further down the road...
 
Munky1080 said:
Yeah, that's a great idea. Same thing i'm doing in fact. Eve is more processor dependant than GPU dependant i think, so sorta yourself out the motherboard and the CPU, keep your agp card, and upgrade a bit further down the road...
Click to expand...

I think your right about EVE, thanks very much for your advice.
 
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