Upgrading my system...

father-ted

father-ted

father-ted

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25 Aug 2008
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York, UK
Current main spec:

A64 4000+ skt 939 (single core) 2.4ghz o/c 2.9ghz (air)
2gb OCZ PC4000 Plat EB
DFI NF3 LanParty UT Mobo
Nvidia 7950GT AGP

Now my question is, with my upgrade do I go for a DDR2 system, or shell out a bit more and go for DDR3?

I do a lot of gaming, some video editing etc, and general use. Looking at a high end quad core (Q9550 or similar), and a top end graphics card (most prob the ATI 4870x2).

Obviously I want the system to be as future proof as possible, but not sure that a DDR3 system is worth the extra £££???
 
Depends on budget and aspirations I guess, but you'll get far better value from a DDR2 system and you won't see much difference in performance. Remember to budget for a 64bit OS (if you don't already have one) if you're going for 4gb or more.
 
Going for DDR3 at the minute wont make anything more future proof, as when the new Core i7 processors come out from intel they will be using tri-channel DDR3 and there is only dual channel out at the minute, so you may aswell stick to DDR2
 
Going with a DDR2 system this is as far as I have got:

C2Q 9550
Asus Rampage Formula X48 or DFI LPUTX48-T2R X48 ??
OCZ 4gig PC2-8500C5 1066 Reaper (x2 for 8gig) ?
ATI Radeon 4870x2 OR GTX280 ?? (is the ATI worth the extra ££'s)?
2 x Seagate Barracuda 500gb Sata II (32mb cache) HDD in RAID ?


Not built a new system for a few years, so a little out of touch. Your help/advice really appreciated.....and no doubt more questions to follow! :p
 
I'd go for samsung F1 drives

8 gig is pointless, 4 gig is more than enough (2x2gb sticks)

I'd go for the ati, but I fear that I might be turning into a bit of a fanboy, their current cards give me the horn.

I'd go with asus over dfi as a brand, but I don't know much about those two motherboards.
 
A couple of different people have said to me that 8 gig of ram in a high spec quad core system with Vista 64bit would be of benefit, is that incorrect?

I am told that the DFI board is equal to the ASUS board, possibly better....not sure myself hence why I ask.....which do people advise/prefer?

I mainly chose the Seagate drives due to the 5 year warranty as opposed to the 3 year with Samsung.....should I change to the Samsung as they are much better?

Thanks again
 
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DFI mobo's are true enthusiast motherboards - the BIOS is alive with options to enable the hardened overclocker the most options. For most users, I'd probably recommend something else like an Asus.

I'd def go for 640gb drives, and probably the Samsung F1's. The 640gb use higher density platters, which makes them faster.

I'd vote for the 4870x2 as well :)

I couldn't quantify the difference between 4gb and 8gb, but def think that 8gb is overkill unless your using some really memory intensive applications such as Photoshop with huge images. For gaming, 4gb is more than enough.
 
i like the look of the dfi mobos and hopefully will be using one in my next build.

Another vote for the 320gb plattered f1s

And its personal opinion on the ati or nvidia i thinks its so close thats is difficult to say which one!
 
My current mobo is a DFI Lanparty Ultra-D NF3, which I have had since they were released....and it is great for o/c.

Hence why I was considering another. Decisions, decisions.... :o
 
I had one of those too, now got a NF4 Ultra-D and it's great too. But they can be a pain for less experienced users. As you've got one at the mo I'm sure you'll be fine tho :)
 
Right, so now its changed slightly..

C2Q 9550
DFI LPUTX48-T2R X48 Mobo
OCZ 4gig PC2-8500C5 1066 Reaper
ATI Radeon 4870x2
2 x Samsung Spinpoint F1 750gb Sata II (32mb cache) HDD in RAID
Dell Ultrasharp 24" monitor
Logitech Z550 Surround Sound System
Vista64 Ultimate or Home Premium 64......what are the pros/cons?

I am now looking at a soundcard. Was swaying towards an X-Fi Gamer Pro, but read somewhere that they can cause problems with Vista64.....is this true, if so what is the best option?
 
So the X-Fi's really have problems then?

Is the Xonar as good, seems a very small card....but I am no expert in audio :o

With the Z550 system I want a good card to get the best sound possible.
 
I've heard about similar problems with the x-fi/Vista combination, but have no experience to comment I'm afraid. I know a friend of mine has had no luck in ever getting his x-fi/Vista combo to sound good for games, but I can't comment on what he's tried and what might be causing his problem.

The Xonar is highly regarded on here tho :) There are some more expensive versions as well, but I have to confess I don't know of the differences. There is a PCI version also, but I would assume that the PCI-e would be your best bet.
 
Spec again so far...

C2Q 9550
DFI LPUTX48-T2R X48 Mobo
OCZ 4gig PC2-8500C5 1066 Reaper
ATI Radeon 4870x2
2 x Samsung Spinpoint F1 750gb Sata II (32mb cache) HDD in RAID
Dell Ultrasharp 24" monitor
Logitech Z550 Surround Sound System
Vista64 Ultimate or Home Premium 64......what are the pros/cons?
Asus Xonar Soundcard....which one?

I am now also looking for a good cooler for my CPU. Which one is regarded as the best for the C2Q 9550?
 
Thanks mate. I thought somebody else may have more Xonar advice.

What about a good cooler for my CPU? Which one is regarded as the best?
 
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