Mot73

I'm looking down the upgrade path. I have a fork in the road...and which path I take is going to be determined by selling or not my current rig which is currently for sale.

Currently running a P4 3.0 and have 4 Gig of Corsair Xtreme XMS memory in two dual channel kits. Its PC3200 Memory. I have the AGP version of the ATI X850XT video card.

Path 1 - (don't get system sold) available cash $350.
Can I get up to the Intel Duo 2 and still use my memory and Vid card with PCI Express X16/DX 10 and DDR2 system memory capabilities down the road? My hunch is NO to that.

Path 2 - (sell system) - available cash (hopefully) $1250.
Whole new build. Intel Duo 2, 2Gig DDR2 800, 160GB Serial HD, DVD Burner.
Questions here are of course related to Brand and Models. Mobo - thinking Asus not sure which one, Vid Card thinking ATI, Memory thinking Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800 2x1GB.

So, got any MOBO/Processor/Memory/Vid Card combos you can recommend?

Thanks

BHack

I upgraded recently to aan E6600 duo with a Gigabyte DS3 mobo. Works great and I'm very happy with it.

I don't think you can get $900 for that system though...

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Mot73

Probably not, but we'll see what Ebay has to say in a couple days. The 4GB of Corsair is pushing up the price. Corsair XMS PC3200 2 kits

It has a good Asus MOBO and an Audigy 2 card. Its a good system for its era.

Mot73

But you can't use PC3200 nor an agp card with the MOBO right?

sordavie

A Pentium was good for it's era, circa 1993, but it won't fetch much today. :-p While the RAM is good, I'm not sure it will fetch much either. You already realize that it's hard to upgrade with RAM that isn't compatible with most new motherboards. I built my whole Core 2 Duo rig for less than $900. Hehe. I feel bad for the person who will pay $900 for a computer that was good 2 years ago.

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Mot73

Perhaps it won't sell, but thats not the purpose of this post. If you have suggestions on the real questions here, please post away.

Thank you.

Mot73

Could you post your specs Please. I see no way of building a decent system of that about of cash.

thanks

sordavie

Sure Mot (rough estimate on the prices I paid late Sept./early Oct. RAM has certainly gone up in price),

Core 2 Duo E6400 $230
ASUS P5NSLI 775 +1MOBO $100
Geforce 7900GS $140
2GB GSkill 533mhz RAM $160
320GB HD $95
550watt MSI PS $50
Total: $775

Things I had prior:
SoundBlaster Audigy 4 $50
2 DVD-RW drives $30
Case $60
Total $140

I did have some stuff salvaged from another computer and I got a great deal on the 7900gs, but it's been a great inexpensive system. I get 80-95fps running bf2 with settings on high.

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Mot73

Newegg says about $870 today for those. Add a DVD+RW and Case and you're plus another $80ish for about $950 or a round $1 grand with shipping.

I've been an ATI fan for a long time. you really like the 7900GS? what manufacturer did you go with and what is the clock speed?

sordavie

I'm surprised that RAM has become so much more expensive. I wonder what happened. I do like the 7900GS, although I can only compare it with a 6600GT on the old P4 2.4Ghz computer, which allowed me to play bf2 at 20-30fps on low/medium settings. It's made by MSI and clocked at 450mhz I think--slightly slower than stock retail but this is an OEM card I got on woot.com over the summer.

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Mot73

Thoughts?

What am I missing.....what just sucks in this?

CD / DVD Burners (RW Drives)
1 LG 18X DVD±R Super-Multi DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black IDE $30.99

ATX Computer Case
1 Eagle Tech ET-SW2-K Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450W power supply W/ SATA, PCI express Power Supply - Retail
$30.00 Mail-in Rebate $59.99

Hard Drive
1 Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600JSRTL 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Retail $59.99

Video Card
1 Open Box: POWERCOLOR X1950 PRO Extreme 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Extreme Edition Video Card With AC Cooling - OEM $201.99

Desktop Memory
1 G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual $229.99 -$20.00 Instant $209.99

Intel-compatible Motherboards
1 ASUS P5B Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail - $128.99

Processor
1 Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6400 - Retail - $224.00

Total with shipping - $939

Apophis

My recommendations:

• Ditch the Western Digital drive and go with a Seagate Barracuda.
• Consider purchasing the case and power supply separately. The power supply is a CRITICAL piece in your system and one that people overlook far too often.

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Diplomacy is the art of saying "good doggie" while looking for a bigger stick.

Mot73

cc

Oh..and Hi Apo..ltns.

sordavie

Do you have OS software?

I'd go with one of the 7900GS cards that have a mail in rebate on Newegg, to save up for a directx10 card in the new year. The x1950 pro extreme is better than the 7900gs, but I'm not sure by how much. And, you could save $50.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130056
$156 after rebate.

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Apophis

hehe.. Hey Mot!

__________________
Diplomacy is the art of saying "good doggie" while looking for a bigger stick.