thoughts of possible upgrade

[acstache]

Hey everyone,

Just started looking around for possibly upgrading my mobo & CPU, but right now it's just seeing how well i can make my machine perform. I'm happy with my current build and would like some advice.

*IF* I were to upgrade, I was looking at the following 2 items (I'm a fan of AMD by the way, >.> lol)
What do you guys think?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128352 <--- Mobo

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103285 <--- CPU

Also, I was wondering if there were any sites like Newegg that are just as awesome.

Thanks in advance for any input.
Brian

edit: I think I put this in the wrong area >.> (sorry, new to PC Guide)

[mjc]

No problem...moved to proper area.

Now, before starting to look at possible upgrades...what are your current specs, budget and intended uses for the machine?

[acstache]

Windows Vista Ultimate 32-Bit.

Patriot Viper 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 125W

GIGABYTE GA-MA770-DS3 AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128081 (link since mobo's have lots of specs)

EVGA 512-P3-N807-AR GeForce 8800GT AKIMBO 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16

COOLER MASTER Real Power Pro 550 RS-550-ACAA-A1 550W ATX12V / EPS12V

Intended use for the machine is Primarily Gaming and small bits of Programming homework/Office '07 use for school work. I'm also contemplating going with Vista Ultimate 64-Bit if I get a quad-core processor.

[Ajmukon]

wait a little while. Intel is releasing Nehalem next month (by Nov 4th i think).

this will drive CPU prices down.

besides.... why not go with intel?
Intel right now is "beating" AMD in terms of performance...
i would suggest a Nehalem Processor with an X48 (i think)

[acstache]

oh, forgot to mention my budget: roughly 400 dollars, wouldn't mind going up to 500 if you manage to sell me on the nice stuff :)

as to ajmukon:
besides.... why not go with intel?
I've been with AMD thus far and haven't had any issues, I'm not OCin anything. Just want nice stock performance. If AMD fails me 3x, then I'll try Intel. 3 Strikes and they're out, like baseball (Which I don't like that much, but meh. To each their own)

[acstache]

I was also considering an upgrade to my video card if I do this new mobo/cpu. At that point my 400-500 dollar budget would be a bit tight, so I'd wait a few more paychecks before I consider a new video card at that point :P

[hockey man]

Ya, wait a bit, with a little more you could get one nice upgrade.

[Ajmukon]

Vista Ultimate 32-BIT?
i would think about upping that to 64 bit (i think it is free to up it to 64-BIT)

As for AMD/INTEL, you like AMD, stay with it.
though, i would think about waiting until Fusion comes out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMD_Fusion
for a core upgrade.

I would upgrade the GPU to a AMD (ATI) 4850 or 4870 (if you can afford it, get a 4870X2. )

[jlreich]

There's nothing wrong with what you have. No reason at all to change the motherboard. It already supports the CPU you are thinking of getting... The only advantage I see with the new board would be Crossfire, but it only runs 8x/8x when in Crossfire mode, so no big advantage there anyway.

If you want better gaming performance upgrade you video card. If you still have the upgrade itch then pick up the 9950. ;)

I'm also contemplating going with Vista Ultimate 64-Bit if I get a quad-core processor.
I am all for 64bit, but why Ultimate? Home Premium will do just fine for less cash.

[Ajmukon]

There's nothing wrong with what you have. No reason at all to change the motherboard. It already supports the CPU you are thinking of getting... The only advantage I see with the new board would be Crossfire, but it only runs 8x/8x when in Crossfire mode, so no big advantage there anyway.

If you want better gaming performance upgrade you video card. If you still have the upgrade itch then pick up the 9950. ;)


I am all for 64bit, but why Ultimate? Home Premium will do just fine for less cash.

well, i believe you can get 64-bit if you already have 32-bit for free, if i am not mistaken?

besides, he has a friend who subscribes to MS to get downlaodable copies of any MS OS he wants, as much as he wants, i think...

all i know is that it is completely legal.

perhaps Astache could explain it better...

he is one of my roommates... that makes.. awaj, me and astache all roomates- it is a quad dorm.

[jlreich]

If its free and legal why not get Ultimate. :)

I do believe the retail versions come with both 32 and 64bit. With OEM you have to choose.

[Ajmukon]

?? i can't edit my post?<br>
it will not "save" the edits.

edit: really odd, but the "qoute" code appears to me in HTML...

hmm...
all well, edit is stil not working unless i go into advanced mode by double clicking on the "edit" option

[acstache]

My friend has a technet subscription, which gives up to 10 product keys for any microsoft product, that I'm aware of. He actually has 2 separate accounts for it. It's 250 USD for 1 subscribtion, only reason he has 2 is initially you only got 1 product key per account, and he got his 2nd account for 100 USD. Anyways, long story short, he's a generous friend and would let me have any product he's allowed to get from it :D

[acstache]

Oh, another question. I've heard that although Vista 32-bit can see more than 4GB of RAM that it doesn't actually use it. Is this true?

[jlreich]

No 32bit OS can see more than 4GB ram. This is by the very nature of being 32bit.

But you may be referring to 32bit OS's seeing varying amounts of 4GB installed. This is due to several different factors and will depend on your particular setup.

Or if you meant that 64bit OS's can see but don't use more than 4GB, well that all depends on what programs you are running. I have 8GB in my machine. It goes to waste most of the time. Though with having that much it is very nice when running virtual machines. I can allocate 3-4GB to the VM and still have 4GB or more left for the host system. Or I can have several VM's running at the same time with adequate ram for each. (note to self... VM's, another legitimate reason why I could use a quad... :p )

But most people will not use more than 4GB right now. In another year this will change.

Oh, tell your friend I want to be his friend too. :D

[acstache]

hmm... Didn't know that about 32-bit vs 64-bit :P

And since I don't need to run any VMs I don't think I'll be getting anymore RAM anytime soon :D

As for the mobo/CPU advice, what's 8x/8x crossfire? are there better mobo's with higher crossfire rates and what does it do? seeing as how I currently have just 1 massive video card and no reason to get another anytime soon, I'll stick with my current mobo :).
As for the CPU, what's the benefit of a quad core vs a dual core if, hypothetically speaking, they were trying to run the same stuff in Vista 64-bit?

[jlreich]

There are 16 lanes with PCIe x16. With some boards when using two or more cards it cuts this into 8 lanes each effectively cutting the bandwidth in half. So even though you can have two cads working for you the total bandwidth available is still only 16 lanes wide total.

Yes there are boards that can use all 16 lanes on both slots giving you the full 32 lanes and full bandwidth. With boards that have 3 or 4 PCIe graphics slots it gets a little more complicated.

Quads? More is better, usually. How well a quad will out perform a dual core highly depends on how well the program you are running is able to use all four cores.

[acstache]

Ah, that makes sense, although in a 'not as good as it seemed' way. Also, to Ajmukon's wiki link on the AMD Fusion stuff, there's not much of a read, but what I gathered from it was pretty intriguing. CPUs from AMD/ATI will eventually, by the 2nd 1/2 of 2009 they claim, come with GPUs built into them, in a sense, (my own, hopeful, theory here -->)to help the actual stand-alone GPUs on the vid cards perform that much better. That's pretty cool sounding.

[Ajmukon]

Vista Ultimate 32-BIT?
i would think about upping that to 64 bit (i think it is free to up it to 64-BIT)

As for AMD/INTEL, you like AMD, stay with it.
though, i would think about waiting until Fusion comes out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMD_Fusion
for a core upgrade.

I would upgrade the GPU to a AMD (ATI) 4850 or 4870 (if you can afford it, get a 4870X2. )

Ah, that makes sense, although in a 'not as good as it seemed' way. Also, to Ajmukon's wiki link on the AMD Fusion stuff, there's not much of a read, but what I gathered from it was pretty intriguing. CPUs from AMD/ATI will eventually, by the 2nd 1/2 of 2009 they claim, come with GPUs built into them, in a sense, (my own, hopeful, theory here -->)to help the actual stand-alone GPUs on the vid cards perform that much better. That's pretty cool sounding.
An update on fusion:
it has been pushed back to 2010 or 11.
And yes, it is pretty cool. but they "need" more room apparently..

so, i would suggest going wit ha "core" upgrade, along with a 64-bit upgrade, of the two CPU/motherboard combo above.

And then i would consider an ATI/AMD 4850 GPU.... to round out the quality.

this would be the best build for the upgrade price. And you could "donate" your Old stuff to me... I'd pay a fair price for them... :p ;)

[acstache]

Well based on what I've heard from here and other sources I won't be upgrading for a while. No point to make it just a few notches better for lots of money when I could wait a while and make it a bunch of notches better for the same lots of money, or a bit more than that.

As for donating, family comes first :P sorry. My mom got my previous one, and if I decide to get a whole new mobo/cpu I'll most likely build a whole new machine and sell the current one to either my aunt or my sister, who have brand-name 10yr old machines that haven't been upgraded (except the RAM and OS)

[Ajmukon]

As for donating, family comes first :P sorry. My mom got my previous one, and if I decide to get a whole new mobo/cpu I'll most likely build a whole new machine and sell the current one to either my aunt or my sister, who have brand-name 10yr old machines that haven't been upgraded (except the RAM and OS)

True, but one could hope.... :D :p

[acstache]

kind of off topic to my original inquiry, but is a good case truly important with a computer? or is it just as long as there is sufficient cooling/ventalation then you're all set?

True, but one could hope.... :D :p
true, you could. Although I won't smash yours just yet :)

[jlreich]

Well, good cooling and room for your components is the most important thing. But don't go too cheap. Just about slice your finger off on a sharp piece of metal inside a cheap case once and you will never go cheap again. ;)

Trust me, I will never work inside a cheap case again. ;) And I have a rather nice scar to remind me. :p

Sharp metal aside, if you ever work inside a well thought out quality case you will really appreciate the differences. :)

And a good quality case is an investment you can use over and over again.

[acstache]

Haha, nice to know. Also, your reasoning is why I'll never go Mac.

I was taking the HDD out of the thing (the colorful tower ones, G4 or G3 I think/don't care) and the power cable was at such a bad angle when I pulled it out it came all at once, not little by little, and my thumb caught something, couldn't tell what, and sliced me from the nail to the first knuckle.