What to upgrade to?

[kutster]

Okay, I'm finally going to upgrade my computer from this slow Pentium 3 to something dual core. But here's the age old question what processor and motherboard should I buy. I was originally going to buy a Athlon X2 4400 (Socket 939) but then they now have the Socket AM2. So which on is better. Also there is the Core 2 Duo E6400. I'm going to use my computer for light gaming, watching and editing movies/picture, quite a bit of multi tasking. Basically I want something that is powerful but not over the top if that makes any sense.

A few possible combinations:

Processor: Athlon X2 4400 (Socket 939 or AM2)

Motherboard: Don't want any thing over $150 but I'm flexible.

Asus A8N SLI Premium (939) Like the thought of passive cooling for the chipset. ($150)

Asus A8N SLI Deluxe (939) ($120)

Asus M2N-SLI-Deluxe (AM2) Passive Cooling ($155)

MSI K9N SLI Platinum (AM2) ($145)

Gigabyte M55SLI-S4 (AM2) It's Vista Capable ($110)

Memory: Basically something cheap I don't want to spend more than $150 for 512mb of memory.

Video Card: This is where I'm having a lot of problems. I want something that will easily handle Vista Aero, but also be good when playing basic games. Nothing quite as intensive and Doom or Quake. More in the Lines of The age of Empires and games like that. And playing DVDs and what not. Rather not spend more than $50 to $70.

Power Supply: Same Deal I don't want to spend $60 or more on a 500 watt power supply unless there a very good reason to.

Processor: Core 2 Duo E6400

Motherboard: Don't want any thing over $150 but I'm flexible.

ECS NFORCE 570 SLIT-Vista Capable ($100(

Asus P5B It supports Core 2 Duo Extreme possible upgrade in future. ($155)

Gigabyte 965P-DS3 ($160)

Memory: Same as above. I do realize though that DDR2 is more expensive.

Video Card: Same as Above

Power Supply: Same as Above.

I hope my guide lines aren't to narrow to do much with. I have about $600 to do this but can go to $700 if need be.

Thanks for the Help

[nitroshift]

Go for the Intel CPU and Gigabyte mobo. As for RAM, definitely get DDR2. For graphics card you can get a cheap ATI x300 PCI-E.

Edited November 6, 2006 by nitroshift

[kutster]

Thanks for the reply nitroshift. I'm hoping to get a few more opinions but if not no big deal.

[puntoMX]

For multitasking I would go with an AMD AM2 CPU, I know others would say iNTEL but that’s only for 32 bit non multitasking apps, but those are my 2 cents.

512MB and multitasking? No way you will have enough with that, go directly to 1GB, 2 times 512Mb I’m talking about to use them in dual channel 128bit mode. Also buy 667 and not 800, that’s still to expensive. For the iNTEL CPU 533 will do fine with iNTEL chipsets, 677 for nVidia chipsets (my pick personaly).

For games, and not above 70 bucks, then I would look at a 7600GS, there are fansless versions when you like silence. AOE III is asking more power then you think on higher resolutions and higher settings.

Power supply, go with Antec, always safe.

Don’t be fooled by "Vista ready" and "core 2 duo Extreme" terms, that’s just marketing .

[Zxian]

Honestly - getting a 500W power supply for what you've spec'ed out is WAY overkill. A SeaSonic S12-380 will do you just fine.

I'd say go with the E6400 and ASUS mobo. 1GB of DDR-667 (2x512) in dual channel. You'll easily be able to find 1GB of DDR2-667 for about $100. I did on Saturday.

@puntoMX - I don't know where you can find a 7600GS for $70... the cheapest I've been able to find is about $120, which is out of his price range. A 7300GT is closer to what he can afford.

[jcarle]

People make the wrong assumption to try to save money on the motherboard. The motherboard is the most crucial part of any computer since it is the sole determining factor as to how long your computer will last you. It is the key factor that determines how future proof your computer is.

No matter what you do with you computer, it's been proven time and time again, the new Intel Core 2 processors consume less power, generate less heat and perform better then any and all AMDs. That won't change until AMD completely revises their core and comes out with something completely new.

To build a computer that will last you for as long as possible, put as much money as needed into your motherboard and cut back a bit on the other components which can all be upgraded easily later. The best choices IMHO are Asus and Foxconn motherboards, both for their performance and for their quality. If you want to really future proof your computer, pick a motherboard that supports the new Kentsfield quad-core processors, even if you won't use a quad-core CPU now, at least you'll be able to upgrade to one later when they become dirt cheap without having to rebuild your entire computer.

Other things that you should look for to future proof your computer are Gigabit LAN on-board, at least 6 SATA 2 ports, at least one PCI-Express x16 slot, at least one PCI-Express x1 slot and support for DDR2-800 or DDR2-1066 (even if unofficially).

And last but not least, I can't stress enough the quality of your power supply. Get yourself a solid Antec power supply, you can't beat quality.

[CoffeeFiend]

People make the wrong assumption to try to save money on the motherboard. The motherboard is the most crucial part of any computer since it is the sole determining factor as to how long your computer will last you. It is the key factor that determines how future proof your computer is.

I disagree. One should spend enough on a motherboard to get something of good quality, with a decent set of features, and hopefully as future proof as possible - but only as long as the cost stays reasonable.

I've bought lots of motherboards that wouldn't ever had a chance to be updated, no matter how much I spent on a nicer model. Like Socket A boards. Even if I spent twice as much on 'em, there never were significantly faster CPUs made for it than the one I bought at the same time. And if you bought early, you'd be due for a newer board down the road anyways, as it wouldn't support the new FSBs. Or Like if someone bought a s754 board (that didn't last long). Even the 939's were pretty short lived IMO (AM2 replacing it). My old socket 775 board? It couldn't have supported the Core 2 Duo chip no matter which one I bought back then (limited FSB support too). Anyways, my point is, 95% of the time I've upgraded CPU, I had to change motherboard too, and nothing could have avoided that (usually had to change RAM too). It just doesn't last long enough nowadays to warrant spending ridiculous amounts on them.

The Gigabyte DS3 is good quality, OCs very well, is well featured, cost is reasonable, and it's about as future proof as it gets (supports Kentsfield using latest bios, the new rev 2.0 supports it out of the box too).

A 300$ motherboard will hardly be more future-proof, won't necessarily last (or be used for) much longer. If anything, by picking the 150$ one, I have 150$ left to buy the motherboard for my next upgrade.

Personally, I'd rather spend the extra money you'd consider spending on a board for more RAM or more storage (there is no such thing as "enough storage"), or even a nice case that can fit a gazillion HDs (gotta put 'em somewhere). It's a matter of priorities I guess.

Personally, I'd go for the DS3 / E6400 combo (just like Zxian & nitroshift)

[kutster]

So the E6400 and the DS3 combo is pretty popular. So is the 7300GT a pretty good card for moderate gaming and video? I have looked at the cheap video cards $30 to $50 and they are basically junk based on reviews and that. I'll finish my post later.

[Zxian]

Personally, I'd go for the DS3 / E6400 combo (just like Zxian & nitroshift)

I said ASUS!

No, but honestly, Asus mobos are amongst the best quality out there. They use quality components and will last you the life of the computer.

[jcarle]

Motherboards that feature most of what I said don't have to cost a huge amount of money, it's just a matter of doing research. My recommendation would be the Asus P5B Deluxe for $184.99 USD at NewEgg .

[kutster]

Okay, I have decided on the Core2 Duo and now its between the DS3 and the Asus P5B Deluxe. I want to thank you all for your help and comments. Is there much of any reason to buy the DS3 just becasue it supports Quad-Cores? It has some other good features that I like but the P5B Looks to have more feature that sound more like what I want. Such as the Heat Pipe, Q-Connector, AI Nos, and If i want to experiment with some overclocking the Precision Tweaker. They sound like good features but will I use them?

For the Video Card looks like I'm going to go with the ASUS GeForce 7300LE ASUS Geforce 7300LE The one review said that it could handle HL2 at 1280x1024 resolution with no problem, so I'm going to say that it should be able handle my type of gameing just fine.

As for memory. A couple of reviews I read said that the P5B Deluxe doesn't handle "value" memory well. Is this something I need to be worry about when I order my memory?

Sorry guys for all the questions and all. This will be my first build. So I want this to be right. you know.

[jcarle]

... the Heat Pipe, Q-Connector, AI Nos, and If i want to experiment with some overclocking the Precision Tweaker. They sound like good features but will I use them?

That the best part of buying a quality, high performance motherboard. Will you use all those things? Maybe, maybe not but at least, you have the CHOICE to. You can chose not to use certain features or capabilities of a motherboard but you can't add them if you didn't buy them in the first place.

As for memory. A couple of reviews I read said that the P5B Deluxe doesn't handle "value" memory well. Is this something I need to be worry about when I order my memory?

There's so little price difference between so called "value" memory, regular memory and gaming memory, that I recommend that people spend the extra $10 and get gaming memory. OCZ makes some high quality, high performance memory at a good price depending on what you choose.

1GB Corsair DDR2 667MHz Value DIMM @ $99.99

1GB Kingston DDR2 667MHz Regular DIMM @ $109.99

1GB OCZ DDR2 667MHz Gaming DIMM @ $119.99

With so little difference in price but with such a benefit in quality and reduced timings, why not buy gaming memory?

[puntoMX]

I'd say go with the E6400 and ASUS mobo. 1GB of DDR-667 (2x512) in dual channel. You'll easily be able to find 1GB of DDR2-667 for about $100. I did on Saturday.

Yeah, it’s possible for 100-120 bucks indeed and no luxury.

@puntoMX - I don't know where you can find a 7600GS for $70... the cheapest I've been able to find is about $120, which is out of his price range. A 7300GT is closer to what he can afford.

oops , yeah, I was talking about the 7300GS from Gigabyte for example, although it’s a 4 pipelined card it still runs great with the higher clocked RAM (@ 1024*768, no AA). Bad thing is that it’s just 64 bit. The 7300GT starts at $70 so that would give 8 pipelines but the RAM is slower and therefore not much better then the 7300GS from Gigabyte.

[puntoMX]

For the Video Card looks like I'm going to go with the ASUS GeForce 7300LE ASUS Geforce 7300LE The one review said that it could handle HL2 at 1280x1024 resolution with no problem, so I'm going to say that it should be able handle my type of gameing just fine.

Don’t get any thing with LE on the end, they are crippled ones, better get the Gigabyte 7300GS, best card for it’s price that I have come along with.

As for memory. A couple of reviews I read said that the P5B Deluxe doesn't handle "value" memory well. Is this something I need to be worry about when I order my memory?

Value memory, hmmm, I think the problem is more the chip count, not the chips or the PCB it self.

Sorry guys for all the questions and all. This will be my first build. So I want this to be right. you know.

You welcome, this is where we are here for .

[kutster]

Well thank you everyone again. I have made my decision and trust me it was hard.

Processor: Core 2 Duo E6400 ($230)

Motherboard: ASUS P5B Deluxe ($185)

Memory: Corsair 1 Gb (512 X 2) ($110)

Video Card: Gigabyte 7300GS (256mb) ($65)

Power Supply: CoolMax 400 watt ($50)

So about a $650 system. I deflected from my "budget" a liitle on somethings, but I trust your guys knowledge.