Upgading - Motherboard/CPU/RAM suggestions please

JLamyJLamy UK
edited November 2005 in Hardware
I'm looking into upgrading my current system. My current mobo, CPU, RAM, GFX are;
Abit NF7-S v2.0
AMD Athlon XP 2800+
Corsair 1GB DDR XMS3200C2PT TwinX (2x512MB)
ATi Radeon 9800PRO All-In-Wonder AGP

Can anyone suggest a good combo of these components as a decent upgrade from the tried and trusted NF7-S v2.0, which I bought on advice from people in this forum. :thumbsup:

If possible, I would like "best bang for buck" config, and the best speed (money no object) config for both AMD or Intel CPU's. Thanks.

Comments

  • zach_spzach_sp
    edited November 2005
    Hm. I'm a fan of Socket 754, so here's what I suggest:

    <a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103424">Athlon 64 3000+</a> - $139

    <a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130493">MSI K8N Neo3</a> - $69

    <a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145440">1 GB Corsair ValuRAM</a> - $72

    280 bucks plus shipping, and you've got yourself a jam-up combo. The proc is rather middle-range though, as Newegg is out of higher ones. Shop around. But I use that motherboard, and have had nothing but good things to say about it.:thumbsup:

    EDIT: I made a suggestion based on your the title of your thread, I wasn't sure if you were going to save your parts and reuse them, or what. Keep in mind that the mobo I suggested uses PCI-E, not AGP. But there is a very good, cheap ASUS board that utilizes AGP, the <a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131512">ASUS K8N</a> - $63
  • JLamyJLamy UK
    edited November 2005
    zach wrote:
    Hm. I'm a fan of Socket 754, so here's what I suggest:

    <a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103424">Athlon 64 3000+</a> - $139

    <a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130493">MSI K8N Neo3</a> - $69

    <a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145440">1 GB Corsair ValuRAM</a> - $72

    280 bucks plus shipping, and you've got yourself a jam-up combo. The proc is rather middle-range though, as Newegg is out of higher ones. Shop around. But I use that motherboard, and have had nothing but good things to say about it.:thumbsup:

    EDIT: I made a suggestion based on your the title of your thread, I wasn't sure if you were going to save your parts and reuse them, or what. Keep in mind that the mobo I suggested uses PCI-E, not AGP. But there is a very good, cheap ASUS board that utilizes AGP, the <a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131512">ASUS K8N</a> - $63

    Thanks Zach, anyone else? :)
  • rapturerapture
    edited November 2005
    If I had to build a new machine now I would go socket 939 and one of the new opteron chips with at least 2gb of ram and a 7800GT.

    Personally I'm holding off any major upgrades till M2...
  • citrixmetacitrixmeta Montreal, Quebec Icrontian
    edited November 2005
    same here, cheapest 939 cpu and mobo i can find. The mobo has to support PCI-E since performance AGP cards are harder to find these days.

    the motherboard doesnt have to have SLI support, a single PCI-e should do it.
    ATI and NVIDIA are out with "budget" performance cards too. how much you wanna spend is really up to u.

    Now, 2 things i would definitly INVEST in are...

    - Quality ram
    - QuailtY psu

    these days , when someone says "best bang for the buck" Memory, OCZ VX series is always the answer, VXPC3200 or even PC4000 should do it.

    as for PSU? OCZ also have greats PSU, i would also recommend Fortron.
  • zach_spzach_sp
    edited November 2005
    citrixmeta wrote:
    ATI and NVIDIA are out with "budget" performance cards too. how much you wanna spend is really up to u.

    Actually, because of the release of the GeForce 6800GS, the war is pretty much over. Since nVidia is wiping out their 6 series cards, the 6800GS is gonna be the only one manufactured. It hangs with and even beats the 6800GT on 95% of benchmarks, and can be had on the egg for 210 clams.

    ATI's answer? Well, the Radeon X800 XL is an equal contender. Too bad it costs 50 bucks more.

    My opinion, anyway.
  • JLamyJLamy UK
    edited November 2005
    Thanks. So general impression is that the Socket 939 Athlon 64's are the way to go for performance? Price range for motherboards quite wide - so much choice! Which motherboard chipset is best - nForce4 better than any VIA chipset?

    For RAM - is DDR2 for Pentium 4 mobos only? Is the performance memory worth the extra premium over the value range of brands such as Corsair or Crucial? Would like to have 2GB in next build.

    Got a decent PSU already - Enermax 535w.

    Rapture:
    What is M2?
  • zach_spzach_sp
    edited November 2005
    JLamy wrote:
    Thanks. So general impression is that the Socket 939 Athlon 64's are the way to go for performance? Price range for motherboards quite wide - so much choice! Which motherboard chipset is best - nForce4 better than any VIA chipset?

    For RAM - is DDR2 for Pentium 4 mobos only? Is the performance memory worth the extra premium over the value range of brands such as Corsair or Crucial? Would like to have 2GB in next build.

    Got a decent PSU already - Enermax 535w.

    Rapture:
    What is M2?

    Yeah, 939 is arguably the best for price/performance. But I like 754, so blah. :p

    DDR2 isn't officially supported by AMD yet, as far as I know. Motherboard manufacturers may release some halfass board with DDR2 support, but avoid it. I've seen ECS release a dual AMD-Intel processor support board (not both, just one or the other. But it had both sockets), so just because it exists doesn't mean it's that good.

    M2 is going to be the successor of 939, a performance desktop socket consisting of 940 pins(No, current 940 processors are not interchangeable with M2. S1 is the second new AMD socket, a budget desktop socket designed to take the place of 754 in it's current dual-socket market. it has 631 pins. Finally, socket F is going to be it's Server platform replacement, boasting an astonishing 1207 pins which are placed on the motherboard. The processor will have contact pads, like Intel's LGA platform. It is also speculated that S1 will be used in mobile platforms.

    Socket F, S1, and M2, respectively:
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