Upgrade Info/Overclock

[cassiusuk]

Hi I currently have a Dell Dimension 9150 with Pentium 4 D (3.2ghz) 940 dual core.

I have 1.5 gig ddr2 ram. And a dell dxp051 motherboard(ive run numerous benchmarks but still dont know what socket it is. I have recently fitted a Nvidia geforce 7900gs pci express with 512 mb ddr3 graphics mem. Samsung SATA 260 gb h/drive. etc.

I want to upgrade what should I next get?, maybe I should try to overclock the 940?, but as its a Dell I think I need a new motherboard/powersupply?.

But maybe I should just get a new motherboard and a core2duo chip?. But would I need a new case as its a dell?, or would the motherboard I have support the core2duo?.

So many questions!!! I do hope you can answer them, I cant really give much more info about the system as its at home and Im at my parents. Help would be very appreciated, merry xmas.

p.s your thoughts on if my computer is ok or not as it is, would also be helpful so I know how good it is.

 

[joeyjojo]

It's a nice system. It should handle anything you throw at it to be honest - good gaming with the 7900, good encoding with the Pen D 940 (one of the fastest D's).

I wouldn't mess with the system much as it is, as it might be a pain to fiddle with. I would buy a freezer 7 and overclock the processor, or swap out the strange 1.5GB of mem for a matched 2GB set.

 

[Ste99]

If you really want to overclock now then i suggest you take a look at the intel duel core set ups most people here have and there is a lot of threads suggesting suitable components for most budgets.

Im sure most people here will advise you to wait a few more months until dx10 and whatnot, as im no expert on this but your pc looks like it will be sufficient for the next few months, especially after you have upgraded the gfx card.

I think that Dell BIOS's are locked so its impossible/difficult to overclock their systems, have a read at this I just found it after searching for 'dell dxp051 motherboard overclock'.

http://www.overclock.net/intel-general/91819-overclocking-my-dell-dimension-9150-a.html

You should decide whether you are prepared to wait for the new dx10 technologies and price drops in the c2d range that should occur in a few months or so, and also decide if its playing the latest games at max detail or browsing the internet and doing office work that are your primary uses for a pc, as these will have a great influence on your budget and required components.

Hope that helped a bit and I really recommend you browse all the Hardware forums here to get a good idea of whats hot or not at the moment pc wise, and then you can decide what you want to do with this system