Looking to upgrade, need help..

Menaceofri · Post by **Menaceofri** » Tue May 05, 2009 2:23 am

okay well this is my first post on here, played with some of you guys on Tribal Wars over a year ago, Morbidpete is my friend in real life....

Anyways my reason for posting this is that i am looking to upgrade my computer, not to a super computer or anything... but to a better one, ill do my best to put my hardware up here and hope to hear lots of good suggestions, im not very knowledgeable about computers and am cheap :x.....

Built in 06/07
300 Gig SATA HD, Amd Athlon 64 3200+, k8n Neo4 motherboard, 4x1 gig DDR Ram (yeah i know, old), ATI 256mb sapphire Radeon x800 video card.. thats about all i know offhand...

Was looking to upgrade my processor and ram, which means i have to upgrade my mobo because it only supports DDR, am looking to upgrade to DDR3, was thinking of going with an AMD mobo/Processor, but i have no real preference, dont know what to go with dual/quad or anything like that. would also like to upgrade my video card, but at a seperate time unless i can do all of this is under 600 dollars... like i said just looking for help.. if you need any more specs let me know what, and how to find out and ill be glad to do everything in my power.. also i live in hawaii now, so if i never respond when you are awake thats why :x thanks in advance, remember CHEAP is my goal, but i still want to be able to play new games... oh and im running XP SP2. ~Menace

BaLa · Post by **BaLa** » Wed May 06, 2009 10:32 am

No Case may need to get 64bit OS also.
forgot to mention this was the cheapest DDR3 mobo.

Menaceofri · Post by **Menaceofri** » Wed May 06, 2009 11:32 pm

hey thanks for your response, i have a 300W power supply currently, with a case that should be able to hold everything. would i need to upgrade my power supply? and im not sure i need to upgrade my HDD, how do i know if it will be a bottleneck for me or not? anyone have any opinions on this build? what are the advantages if any of going with a triple core?

Menaceofri · Post by **Menaceofri** » Fri May 08, 2009 3:46 pm

so my girlfriend bought me a psu and a video card as a suprise.. but im pretty sure they arent compatiable, xfx radeon hd 4650 1g gddr2 and a bfg gs 450 watt power supply..

BaLa · Post by **BaLa** » Fri May 08, 2009 4:44 pm

I wouldn't use that mobo myself.
The DDR3 Mobos are pretty pricey..

This would likely be a better mobo...a little more expensive though
ASUS M4A79T Deluxe AM3 DDR3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813131363 $199

Nice of your GF..The GFX Card looks ok...It's got GDDR2 as opposed to GDDR3. Slower Clock Speed...Don't know about the brand. though.
The RAM is practically going to be useless, unless you change your mind and go with a DDR2 Setup.
Can't find the PSU on Newegg..I found a GS-550.

btw; personally I hate those kinds of surprises

Not sure what you're asking..
http://hothardware.com/News/AMD_TripleC ... Announced/

http://i41.tinypic.com/2ikzj1x.jpg

If you drop the PSU and GFX card..you're down to $545.
Generally the idea is you get the VERY best you can afford.

Menaceofri · Post by **Menaceofri** » Fri May 08, 2009 6:18 pm

appreciate your assistance, didnt like the suprise either, as i intended to go with atleast some of your suggestions, my worry is that things wont be compatiable, did you look at all the connectors and stuff? know my current psu doesnt work with the gfx card i have, unless you can see the logic elsewhere, yeah i couldnt find it anywhere online either. just going to have her return these two things and start ordering things from new egg lol. how hard is all of this stuff to install? considering i will be redoing my entire computer.... any pieces that i wouldnt have to upgrade from my current system right now that could still be compatiable with my new stuff? aka have a working computer without having all of my parts in, cash is an object here :x would this computer setup be viable? the one you posted, like would it actually run really well or what? :x

BaLa · Post by **BaLa** » Fri May 08, 2009 6:50 pm

It's actually pretty easy to put together, but if you've never done it..I would def. get some help.
Your case will work. Your HDD will work also, (you will NEED to do a format of course).
I would def upgrade the HDD after a while.
If you went with a DDR2 Setup you could lower the price.
Without looking you might be able to get a cheaper proc as well.

When I used to get Birthday/Christmas presents from my parents..I'd ask them how much they wanted to spend, and told them EXACTLY what (computer) part to get and where to get it. That worked out pretty good.

Menaceofri · Post by **Menaceofri** » Fri May 08, 2009 7:06 pm

lol well i dont know exactly what i want or where its best to get it from :x would ddr2 still be suffiecient though? see im going into the military shortly and wont have my computer for atleast a few months, i would like for it to still be able to play good games, what level of computer would that be, the one that you put together with those parts. play current top level gaming decently well.. or??

BaLa · Post by **BaLa** » Fri May 08, 2009 7:27 pm

It should

lol.
I really would have hoped somebody else would give some input..

But if you're going to go into the military why bother getting a new computer now? OR Near future.

As quick and as much as things change...I wouldn't even bother with it, wait till you're done with Basic or whatever else you need to do...then go ahead and upgrade the comp then.

YARDofSTUF · Post by **YARDofSTUF** » Fri May 08, 2009 7:31 pm

For the long run I would consider an intel i7 CPU build. That would mean going with DDR3, as well as a more expensive motherboard.

Can you return your gifts from your girlfriend and use the cash towards the build, without suffering great bodily harm?

If not a DDR2 build isn't a bad idea. And fits into the 600 dollar price range much better, and DDR2 isnt bad. The i7 platform is just one that will have a little longer upgrade path.

Your video card is PCIe, so you could hold off on upgrading that till have your millitary stuff is done with.

But honestly I'd recommend tackling the girlfriend's gifts, its sweet of her to show favor towards your geekiness, but I wouldn't jump for either of those options as a first choice item.

Menaceofri · Post by **Menaceofri** » Fri May 08, 2009 8:32 pm

yeah i can return them, she just bought them yesterday, told her like as soon as she gave them to me that im pretty sure atleast one of them would have to go back lol. yeah i should wait... just kinda wanted to spend money now lol, i cant join until august because i had surgery recently.. my card is pcie yeah but its not very good, my current one, radeon x800 256 mb. and it doesnt look like any of it is supported by anything that i would be upgrading to.

YARDofSTUF · Post by **YARDofSTUF** » Fri May 08, 2009 9:17 pm

Menaceofri wrote:yeah i can return them, she just bought them yesterday, told her like as soon as she gave them to me that im pretty sure atleast one of them would have to go back lol. yeah i should wait... just kinda wanted to spend money now lol, i cant join until august because i had surgery recently.. my card is pcie yeah but its not very good, my current one, radeon x800 256 mb. and it doesnt look like any of it is supported by anything that i would be upgrading to.

All the motherboards you are looking at have a PCIe slot, so it would fit.

What type of games do you enjoy?

Menaceofri · Post by **Menaceofri** » Fri May 08, 2009 9:43 pm

right now i intend to play through the entire gothic series lol, havent really played much for games recently.. RTS mmorpgs, shooters.. so as long as the mobo is pci e (which most are these days) and the psu has the same type of connectors nothing else affects the compatibility?

YARDofSTUF · Post by **YARDofSTUF** » Fri May 08, 2009 10:00 pm

PSU needs to provide enough power as well. The BFG 450 is probably enough for the card listed that your girlfriend got you, if it has the right connectors, but for the same or similar price you can get a PSU able to handle much more, so you wouldnt need to upgrade the PSU again when you need a newer video card

Menaceofri · Post by **Menaceofri** » Fri May 08, 2009 10:10 pm

how many watts should i go for? i dont know any of this junk. need my computer specs tell me my biggest downfall? any chance you would also build a computer with parts from like newegg?

YARDofSTUF · Post by **YARDofSTUF** » Fri May 08, 2009 10:49 pm

Ya I'll piece some ideazs together for you in a bit, watts is not all to watch for, AMPs too.

Menaceofri · Post by **Menaceofri** » Fri May 08, 2009 11:09 pm

okay then i know nothing lol.. the psu my girl bought me says 1x 6 pin and 1x 8pin, vid car says it needs 2x6 or 2x8, so i think its not a good enough psu for the card, so i should return them both.

Menaceofri · Post by **Menaceofri** » Sat May 09, 2009 12:46 pm

returned both pieces, just waiting on some good recommendations for things to look at... i think i want to go with ddr3, because i dont really want to start with a super dated computer and then have to go away for a while, already doing that, my computer was originally built 04/05

YARDofSTUF · Post by **YARDofSTUF** » Sat May 09, 2009 1:01 pm

Intel DDR2:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115056

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131299

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231144

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817139005

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130475

Thats 640 bucks, assuming you are using your old keyb/mouse, case, monitor, hard drive CD roms/floppy, and your Windows XP.

And as long as you game at a 24" monitor or less it should hold up pretty well against the newest games for a little while. But other than upgrading the video card and RAM as time goes on, it leaves you at a dead end.

AMD DDR2:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103649

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128387

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231144

635 bucks here using the same video and power supply.

Intel DDR3:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131359

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115202

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231134

920 bucks. Again using the same PSU and Video card. If you take out the video card its 670 bucks.

And I won't bother making a DD3 AMD setup as I dont think its beneficial at this point(for the long run).

If you want to use SLI in the future you would have to go up to a higher level PSU, But that PSU should be able to power 1 top end video card for awhile, probably until they change connectors or require a 3rd. lol

Menaceofri · Post by **Menaceofri** » Sat May 09, 2009 3:39 pm

well i returned the video card and psu that i had because they werent compatable with each other.

YARDofSTUF · Post by **YARDofSTUF** » Sat May 09, 2009 3:43 pm

Menaceofri wrote:well i returned the video card and psu that i had because they werent compatable with each other.

When I say same video and PSU i mean from my first list.

Menaceofri · Post by **Menaceofri** » Thu May 14, 2009 12:01 am

i really like that intel ddr3 setup, thought im not sure how it would run, how well would it hold up with time? or should i just wait until i am settled in the army and can have my own stuff? wouldnt really be doing much with it in hawaii except an hour ortwo of gaming a day. then it would have to sit for atleast several months... any ideas?