What to do upgrade or change

stone

stone

stone

Associate
Joined
27 Nov 2005
Posts
44
Hi people been a while but as usual if there is a problem there is no better place..........!!

Have

a dual 3800+ 939
2 gb KVR400
1gb crucial ddr400
Artic cooling 64 freezer pro
A8N VM CSM
Antec SP400 in antec case
2 x raptors

Its used for all sorts pshop, macro etc no gaming.

Been meaning to upgrade it for a while but no time........this am had a power outge and its died (think the psupply has gone)

Making it a little future proof would be an idea. What would you do ???

Stone :)
 
Last edited:
Maybe if you use it for Photoshop + Any other media stuff, then you should get some more RAM, 4GB PC2-6400 or something.

Edit: nvm misread, thought you only had 1GB but you got 3GB mixed, maybe a quad then? :p Faster RAM wouldnt hurt though
 
That system will be socket 939 so your options are limited to dropping in a faster X2 (X2 4800 is usually the fastest easily available), upgrading the Ram (limited benefit probably and throwing good money after bad) or overclocking as much as you are able.

Depending on your budget you might well be better off replacing the guts of the system.
 
Thanks


So which guts do we replace and with what my friend ?? Would a P5W be an option

DVI would be good
 
Last edited:
Do you have a budget? I would say that a C2Quad, 4 or 8gb of RAM (budget dependent), and a simple P45 based mobo would be good. Do you haev a 64bit OS already? You'll need it to see all of the RAM if you go for 4 or 8gb.
 
As I say it will depend on your budget but I'd say your options start from about the below sort of level, the more money you have to spend the more you can have in the way of sundry components upgraded. You can get dual cores cheaper which will still be faster than your X2 but if you are into multitasking then quad core begins to make sense. You will also need a PCI-E graphics card if you don't have one, something like the Asus ATI 3450 should do fine for the uses specified. If you do need a new PSU then the Corsair VX 450w is a decent option at the price.

GeIL 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C5 800MHz Black Dragon DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GB24GB6400C5DC) £41.99
(£49.34) £41.99
(£49.34)
Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail £99.99
(£117.49) £99.99
(£117.49)
Asus P5Q Intel P45 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £74.99
(£88.11) £74.99
(£88.11)
Sub Total : £216.97
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 : £39.41
Total : £264.63
 
Budget isnt huge but there is a couple of hundred in the pot.

I know u dont have one but thats why I thought the pw5 (or a x38) and maybe the e7200 as I have 3 gig of ram then a psu however you guys know the best way.

I can get hold of xp64 and will stay with xp.

Because I have ram and hd's I cn fford to go a little with the cpu nd mobi I thought
 
Unfortunately the Ram you have there is DDR and all the new motherboards require DDR2 which is why I picked the Geil.

On the bright side if your existing Ram still works you should be able to get a reasonable price for it as DDR has held its value quite well due to lots of older systems still being in use.

The E7200 is a good chip and would also overclock quite well if you wanted to go down that route.
 
The Asus P5W is the one you were thinking of? If so it is based on the 975 chipset, not the newest but it was a good higher-end chipset at the time. I'd say go for it if you can find it cheaply (~£40-50 or less) and be aware that it might not be happy with the E7200 without a bios flash or possibly at all. If you can't find it cheaply then something based on the P35/P45 chipset is probably a better option, the X38/X48 based options are usually better if you want to Crossfire but since you aren't a gamer that is slightly irrelevant.

//edit P5W page here, it probably won't work with the E7200 as although it is a 1066mhz FSB CPU it is also a 45nm part and it appears to only support 65nm. That would mean that the Q6600 is fine with it though.
 
Last edited:
can find a pw5, not delux for 40 quid and put that with the q6600 and 4 gig ram how would that be m8.

can add other bits then as I go, if i upgrade later then the quad would be still good ye ?

a 650 psu would see me till the next upgrde
 
Last edited:
For £40 then the P5W is a decent motherboard, if memory serves it isn't brilliant for overclocking but not too bad either. That, 4gb Ram and a Q6600 should give you a nice upgrade over what you currently have. You can upgrade from this base but obviously not to any 45nm CPUs, which is the current standard from Intel for all new CPUs, if you intend to keep the CPU for a while then that shouldn't matter much.

Remember you'll need a graphics card to go with that and of course a PSU if your current one is broken.
 
the next upgrade is likely to be a mobi and cpu anyway if i am honest in a couple of years.

I will get a 650 psu and that should see me through the next.

Thank you for the help m8

stone
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom