Deuce Deuce Posted August 6, 2008 Share Posted August 6, 2008 I'll post my specs again... AMD Athlon 64 3700+ 2.28GHz ATi Radeon X1800XT (256MB) 2GB RAM Windows XP, SP2 I'm looking for a beneficial, but not too costly upgrade. Again, I realize it's fairly old and the dated motherboard is a real bottleneck to the PC as a whole, so I've come to you lot for advice. I'm not ready for a complete overhaul since I don't have that kind of money just yet (and it'll be a while until I do), I'm just in need of a nice upgrade without spending too much - preferably prior to GTA IV's PC release. The mobo is an ASUS A8N-E which is old to say the least and limits me to better CPU's, which I feel is what I need most in all. Not to mention, it only supports standard DDR RAM. Should I look for one that has support for the X1800XT/my current DDR RAM (how big a difference is it between different types?), or is that in need of a change too? I just dunno where to start! Edit: Crap, this isn't very gaming-related. Oh well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jelly Posted August 7, 2008 Share Posted August 7, 2008 Edit: Crap, this isn't very gaming-related. Oh well. No worries, forked your post. Anyways, where to start, good question. The first thing to note is that DDR2 is the main memory standard now, it's very cheap per GB and fast enough. DDR3 is currently much more expensive and provides no tangible benefits. DDR is in fact so old and unsupported that it costs more to buy DDR than DDR2, hence I would suggest to definitely not upgrade your memory without upgrading everything else as well unless you can find a good deal on good, used DDR memory. The CPU socket, 939, is no longer supported either. Why do you feel the CPU is what is most critical to upgrade? Again, I suggest that unless you find a good deal on a used socket 939 dual-core processor you shouldn't upgrade the CPU alone. What I suggest is that first of all, you upgrade your graphics card. Your board has a PCI-E x16 slot which will remain the standard for quite a few more years. Even if you buy a card now that is bottlenecked by your CPU and RAM, you will be able to use that card for a future build once you decide to do a complete overhaul, and it should still give you much better performance in games than your current card. That's my suggestion, buy the nicest card you can splurge out on, I suggest the Radeon 4850. (3870 or Nvidia 9600GT if that's too pricey) The unobvious benefit is that it'll get better like wine once you get an all-new system to pop it into later on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deuce Deuce Posted August 7, 2008 Author Share Posted August 7, 2008 Well, when I said it'll be a 'while' until I can get a completely new rig, I mean a while. It's bad enough that I've got millions of other things to prioritize first financially before I can go about spending a whole lot on a completely new PC altogether, which is why I'm more content on upgrading my current system right now (again, before GTA IV PC... hopefully) than anything else. So I gather it's definitely time for a better video card, I'll definitely look into the ones you suggested. As for the CPU, I think I'll opt for a dual-core like you said, if it gives a noticeable enough difference and if I can find a decently priced one. But with that comes the bottleneck of the RAM, being DDR and everything. Say that I do upgrade the CPU and video card - would it be beneficial enough to warrant the money I spend? Right now, I'm not looking into getting/building a fully blown gaming rig. I don't mind if I can't play most games on high; I simply wanna improve the experience to the extent I'm able to at this moment in time, mainly for GTA IV and so I can enjoy other games like CoD4 with nicer eye candy than I'm able to now. Going back to the vid cards suggestion, you say 'buy the nicest card I can splurge out on' but if I'm looking to compromise and go with a new CPU as well, what else would you suggest? Hate to seem like I'm just too poor to be able to spend money on personal luxuries (well, I am, in essence), but you can understand my situation with GTA IV coming and all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jelly Posted August 7, 2008 Share Posted August 7, 2008 Well if it's going to be a long while until you are able to upgrade the rest of the system you might as well get something more budget-y. These are nicely priced cards, I feel that if you go below this you get less performance/pound spent. http://www.ebuyer.com/product/143111 http://www.ebuyer.com/product/144336 http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148012 Unless you can find something used and cheap as I said I personally wouldn't bother with the CPU and RAM yet and hold that off for the complete overhaul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abel. Posted August 7, 2008 Share Posted August 7, 2008 Well if it's going to be a long while until you are able to upgrade the rest of the system you might as well get something more budget-y. These are nicely priced cards, I feel that if you go below this you get less performance/pound spent. http://www.ebuyer.com/product/143111 http://www.ebuyer.com/product/144336 http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148012 Unless you can find something used and cheap as I said I personally wouldn't bother with the CPU and RAM yet and hold that off for the complete overhaul. Listen to Jallar, he's far more knowledgeable than me. However, if I were you I'd get a new mother board that supports DDR2, or sell your current rig and buy a new system. Mail order is always cheaper than retail so go for that option; don't trust eBay though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Democrab Posted August 7, 2008 Share Posted August 7, 2008 If you don't get a new Graphics Card, you could probably pick up some cheap DDR2 RAM, a Core 2 Duo and a motherboard for it and use your current Graphics, but I'd go with the Graphics Card if I were you, a HD4850 if you can afford it, and keep an eye out for good deals on Socket 939 Dual Core CPUs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[CTD]LaBan Posted August 7, 2008 Share Posted August 7, 2008 If you're going to upgrade only for GTA IV, then i would recommend to wait until it's out or the system requirements are known. By then the gfx card that you're looking for would be cheaper than it is now.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deuce Deuce Posted August 7, 2008 Author Share Posted August 7, 2008 LaBan,Aug 7 2008, 22:35]If you're going to upgrade only for GTA IV, then i would recommend to wait until it's out or the system requirements are known. By then the gfx card that you're looking for would be cheaper than it is now.... Well, true, and while we don't have any fixed requirements to go by, I've come to realize my PC won't entirely cut it. I know it would probably run, but I don't wanna have to tone down everything in order to get a nice framerate. I've decided I might as well start saving up for a new motherboard (with AM2/AM2+ socket), new RAM, and a better video card... probably something similar to what you guys suggested. I'm not exactly a PC expert though, so I know along the way of picking out what I want I'll f*ck up and buy something the mobo doesn't support, or something. I want a PC that doesn't necessarily have the best hardware, but support for CPU/RAM/socket/whatever types that will last me for a couple of years yet. If you can suggest any complete bundles I should go with that WILL cut it on high in most games, feel free. I welcome any advice you have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazymodder Posted August 8, 2008 Share Posted August 8, 2008 get my suggestions. they are better. AMD Athlon 64 5000+ or Black Edition XFX Nvidia GeForce 9600GT Kingston 4GB DDR2800 RAM XFX 750A SLi Mainboard that should not be costy. its only RM1385 (US$462) for 5000+ Black Edition with other one that i mentioned. with an original 5000+, thats only cost RM1340 (US$447) with the other specs i mentioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fozzy Fozborne Posted August 8, 2008 Share Posted August 8, 2008 Well 2GB of RAM is plenty right now and will be for a while. I've got 3 gigs and I've never seen more than 2 being used even under heavy multitasking. Also recommended is, since you're going to be upgrading a lot at a time, look for combo deals on components. You can save mega money on combo deals. Also, what is your power supply? You're going to need at least a quality 400 watt power supply to run a decent card with a nice CPU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deuce Deuce Posted August 8, 2008 Author Share Posted August 8, 2008 get my suggestions. they are better. AMD Athlon 64 5000+ or Black Edition XFX Nvidia GeForce 9600GT Kingston 4GB DDR2800 RAM XFX 750A SLi Mainboard that should not be costy. its only RM1385 (US$462) for 5000+ Black Edition with other one that i mentioned. with an original 5000+, thats only cost RM1340 (US$447) with the other specs i mentioned. I did some research behind the stuff you suggested and they seem pretty reliable. 4GB would be pointless though as I've only got 32-bit XP. Also, if I decided to go ahead and get all that stuff, I'd probably go with something a little cheaper on the video card side. All in all, it would become to just over £200, which in my eyes is pretty decent so long as I'll be getting what I payed for. Won't I need a new PSU though? And it says the mobo supports SATA/PATA drives... I don't know what mine is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Democrab Posted August 9, 2008 Share Posted August 9, 2008 get my suggestions. they are better. AMD Athlon 64 5000+ or Black Edition XFX Nvidia GeForce 9600GT Kingston 4GB DDR2800 RAM XFX 750A SLi Mainboard that should not be costy. its only RM1385 (US$462) for 5000+ Black Edition with other one that i mentioned. with an original 5000+, thats only cost RM1340 (US$447) with the other specs i mentioned. Don't get that motherboard, get a AM2+ one with a AMD chipset, try and get the GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-DS4H, it has the newer Southbridge that has been known to let AMD Phenoms clock up to 3.5Ghz, and you can get a Quad Core or Triple Core later on if you wish. And nVidia's chipsets have a rep... and not a good one either, most people only recommend them if you want SLI. Get the 5000+ or Black Edition 5000+, Any DDR2 RAM you can find, 2Gb minimum, but get 4Gb if you can afford it (Its always better to have more, and RAM is cheap right now), GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-DS4H. Also, the motherboard isn't out yet, but it will be by the time IV is out. And I am willing to bet a x1800XT will run IV, since the 360's GPU is only a little faster. Fozzy Fozborne: 2Gb is minimum nowadays, 4Gb is recommended by most enthusiasts now, as well as 64Bit Vista SP1, not to mention, once you can buy Dell's that come with 2Gb minimum, you KNOW its the minimum now. (I'm running 2Gb right now as well.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deuce Deuce Posted August 9, 2008 Author Share Posted August 9, 2008 And I am willing to bet a x1800XT will run IV, since the 360's GPU is only a little faster. Yeah, I was told that before. How do my other specs compare to the 360, though? Anyway, given that I'm only on 32-bit XP, wouldn't it be pointless to stick in more than 3GB RAM? So it boils down to... a fairly newish motherboard (the one you mentioned isn't out yet as you said, and I may well be able to upgrade before IV releases) which I will look into, 2GB RAM, the 5000+ and the 9600GT or possibly something a bit lower. Is it crucial to get a new PSU too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*gta star* Posted August 9, 2008 Share Posted August 9, 2008 Yeah, you need at least 450/500 watts for that, otherwise you'll have problems. Good brands are; ThermalTake, OCZ, Coolermaster, Antec. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Democrab Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 Yeah, you need at least 450/500 watts for that, otherwise you'll have problems. Good brands are; ThermalTake, OCZ, Coolermaster, Antec. As well as Enermax, Zalman and PC Power and Cooling, a few others, but these are the best brands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abel. Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 get my suggestions. they are better. AMD Athlon 64 5000+ or Black Edition XFX Nvidia GeForce 9600GT Kingston 4GB DDR2800 RAM XFX 750A SLi Mainboard that should not be costy. its only RM1385 (US$462) for 5000+ Black Edition with other one that i mentioned. with an original 5000+, thats only cost RM1340 (US$447) with the other specs i mentioned. Don't get that motherboard, get a AM2+ one with a AMD chipset, try and get the GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-DS4H, it has the newer Southbridge that has been known to let AMD Phenoms clock up to 3.5Ghz, and you can get a Quad Core or Triple Core later on if you wish. And nVidia's chipsets have a rep... and not a good one either, most people only recommend them if you want SLI. Get the 5000+ or Black Edition 5000+, Any DDR2 RAM you can find, 2Gb minimum, but get 4Gb if you can afford it (Its always better to have more, and RAM is cheap right now), GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-DS4H. Also, the motherboard isn't out yet, but it will be by the time IV is out. And I am willing to bet a x1800XT will run IV, since the 360's GPU is only a little faster. Fozzy Fozborne: 2Gb is minimum nowadays, 4Gb is recommended by most enthusiasts now, as well as 64Bit Vista SP1, not to mention, once you can buy Dell's that come with 2Gb minimum, you KNOW its the minimum now. (I'm running 2Gb right now as well.) You have to take into account how little RAM the 360's sh*tty OS uses, not like Vista or even XP. A new PSU may be essential for nVidia's power hungry 9600GT. I have 3gigs of RAM, by the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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