Upgrade or Start from practically scratch...that is the question

[dex]

Hey all,

This is my first time actually posting on these forums but the guidance I have received from previous posts were invaluable. I am now at a cross roads. I, feel that my home built (by a friend) computer is falling behind the times, but is still adequate. I am now asking for any advice on if it is worth starting from
scratch (with the few reusable parts) or will a simple upgrade solve the issues without throwing dollars out the window. I am not really having "issues" perse. It is just the games that I am going to play like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. or more high end need to have good equipment to be any good type of games.

I primarily use my computer for gaming. First person shooters, RPG's and the like. I am not looking to make my system the best on out there, I just want to optimize what I have and/or upgrade what I have for the biggest bang for the smallest buck.


Here is my current system:

MB - Board: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. P4P800 Rev 1.xx, Bus Clock: 200 megahertz, BIOS: American Megatrends Inc. 080009 02/23/2004. Dual DDR400. Intel 865PE chipset

Graphics Card - PNY GeForce 6800 GT AGP 8x. 256MB DDR3 - 1GHz

CPU - 2.80 gigahertz Intel Pentium 4, 8 kilobyte primary memory cache, 512 kilobyte secondary memory cache

Power Supply - Antec TruePower 430 Watt

Monitor - Samsung SyncMaster [Monitor] (17.7"vis, s/n HMCWC03408, December 2003)

RAM - 2 x 512 MB Patriot PC4000

Hard Drive - WDC WD400BB-00FRA0 [Hard drive] (40.02 GB) - yes, I know it is TINY! :)

Sound - SoundMAX Integrated Digital Audio

DVD-ROM - TOSHIBA DVD-ROM SD-M1912

DVD-Burner - _NEC DVD_RW ND-3520A

No Cooling Device
Keyboard and Mouse are good to go.


-What are your initial opinions?
-Do I have the right hardware to compliment the other hardware?
-If you are suggesting an upgrade or to leave it alone, when would I need to go with a whole new PCI motherboard and graphics card?

-If I tested my current systems with a benchmark, would it be easier for you all to help me decide what (if anything) needs to be done? If so, what benchmarks would you suggest?

All opinions are GREATLY appreciated!!!

Dex

[SufferWell1396]

welcome to the http://pcguide.com/ubb/pcgubb.gif!


alright, well first off, i would get more ram, max out your board with all the RAM it can take. Probably you would want to upgrade that PSU, i mean my system has a 430 or 450 watt inside.
Hard Drive - WDC WD400BB-00FRA0 [Hard drive] (40.02 GB) - yes, I know it is TINY! you think that is tiny? i had to run this thing off of dual 4 gigs before :p

But if your going to do High End gameing i would get a bigger drive.

I think the GPU is alright, and heck, if i was going to do highend gameing i would def get a bigger monitor, mines a 19' from 02 and it only cost me 40 bucks!

[saphalline]

Your system is AGP-based. Enough said. It's time to move on. Not only that, but you don't have a dual-core capable platform. However, your future intentions for the system, as well as your budget, will be the prime factors here.

You've got a P4C 2.8, which is plenty powerful for Socket 478 and a worthwhile upgrade doesn't exist. This is enough power to run today's high end games at medium settings. But by the end of this year, you will find yourself unable to play games that require a dual-core CPU. That's right, I said games that will require (not recommend) a dual-core CPU!

Your hard drive is not only small, but the performance sucks! A modern 200GB+ SATA hard drive will run circles around that old WD400BB! Since your mobo has SATA, I would suggest a hard drive upgrade. Large SATA 300 hard drives with 16MB of cache cost less than $100 right now, and it would be a good investment for a future system, as well. Remember that you can always partition a large hard drive into smaller ones. This is what I do, and it works wonderfully for keeping Windows and game files in check. All the performance benefits of larger hard drives without the penalty of 2-hour long defrags!

1GB of RAM is a bit light for modern high end gaming, but I wouldn't necessarily suggest investing in more DDR RAM right now. DDR2 is already the preferred choice and it's cheaper than DDR, especially when you factor in the increased performance. Whether you decide to upgrade or replace, don't buy any more DDR RAM. Not unless you find a good instant rebate deal at Best Buy or something.

Your PSU is fine for your current system, but if you replace your system, you'll need a new ATX 3.0+ PSU. We'll give you more details on that depending on your choice.

Your vid card is the area where you are currently hurting as far as gaming performance. While a 6800 GT is certainly more powerful than what most people are using, it's not enough for today's games. At a full 2 generations behind, this is not surprising. Here is where the real decision will take place. Since AGP has no upgrade paths, PCIe is where you want to be. You can actually upgrade to a better AGP vid card even now. But... it is not cost-effective and you'd still need to move to PCIe at your next upgrade. For instance, the Radeon X1950 Pro is actually available on AGP for $200-230, but the PCIe versions are sitting at $165-185. And on AGP, the X1950 Pro is about as good as it gets, whereas it is just the beginning on PCIe.

In essence, you can do one more round of upgrades for gaming using your current system. It would be cheaper overall and give you a nice boost. But any money you spend now on a new AGP vid card will be wasted when you have to move to PCIe. How long that ends up being depends on what games come out! :p And of course there's an effective limit to how far you can upgrade. It makes no sense, other than the vid card, to upgrade some components - like the DDR RAM. In other cases, like a new SATA 300 hard drive, you can move the new parts over to your next new system. So you can spend as little as possible now and start saving for (basically) a new gaming system, or you can take the plunge now and just replace everything.

[dex]

Thanks very much for your input. I was thinking on the same lines that you had mentioned. AGP and PCI at the time that I built the system were neck and neck. Since then, PCI has far broadened and is the MUCH better choice.

I am looking for ideas. If I were to save my money and rebuild a new system (mid-range with the capability of upgrading in the future) what would you recommend for the components?

I would probably go through a manufacturer like ABS or iBuyPower or the like. Any one of these that you would recommend?

Here is what I came up with...

ABS Stealth Black ATX Mid-tower Case (Black Color) (Item#ABS11215003)
1

Standard
Black Polo Shirt with "Intel" Logo-L (Item#ABS00995022)
1

Standard
Microsoft Windows Vista 32-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD (Item#ABS32116202)
1

$31.99
Antec True Power Trio TP3-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply with Three 12V Rails (Item#ABS17371002)
1

Standard
Asus P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe, NVIDIA nForce™4 SLI™ X16 Intel Core2 Extreme/Core2 Duo (Item#ABS13131031)
1

Standard
Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 1066MHz FSB 2M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 (Item#ABS19115005)
1

Standard
Thermaltake Silent 775 CPU Cooler With Heatpipe Cooling Technology for Intel LGA775 Processors (Item#ABS35106048)
1

$0
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) (Item#ABS20145034)
1

$182
VGA EVGA 256-P2-N636-AR 7950GT 256M (Item#ABS14130074)
2 pieces

$255.98
Seagate Barracuda 320GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s (Item#ABS22148140)
1

$0
none Hard Drives
1

$-90
none Hard Drives
1

$-2
SAMSUNG 18 X SuperMulti Dual Layer DVD Burner with LightScribe (Black Color) (Item#ABS27151136)
1

$0
none CD/DVD ROM_RW & Media
1

$-35
Blue 8" x 9" x 6" ABS Mouse Pad (Item#ABS17114110)
1

Standard
ABS Computer System Binder for Organizing Drivers and Manuals (Item#ABS57101101)
1

Standard
Price with Option(s): $1842.17

[dex]

https://secure.abs.com/app/Checkquote.asp?cartno=14354534&systemid=1940

Here is the link for a better listing.

[mjc]

Thanks very much for your input. I was thinking on the same lines that you had mentioned. AGP and PCI at the time that I built the system were neck and neck. Since then, PCI has far broadened and is the MUCH better choice.

PCIe is NOT PCI...they are a couple of generations apart...

PCIe is a relatively new architecture that is better/faster than AGP (which replaced PCI for video in the late 1990s).

Yes, AGP is better than PCI, but PCIe beats the snot out of AGP...

[saphalline]

I configured a better one on iBuyPower for $1799. Core 2 Duo E6400, NForce 680i SLI chipset, 1GB DDR2-800, GeForce 8800 GTS, 320GB SATA 300 hard drive, etc. Overall, a much better gaming system for less. ABS has limited options on their website for those on a budget.

[dex]

What would you suggest otherwise saph? Anything different if I were to go through a company that would use standard parts?

Also, could you set something up on iBuyPower and copy/paste the information to me? I could then have a better idea of what you are saying. Thanks.

Is it better to go with one 8800 or two 7950 gt's?