Upgradin' my comp in Bosnia - help appreciated
helicon1984
Sovici, Bosna i Hercegovina
So, I was thinking of upgrading my computer in the next few weeks for the first time ever and some help would be very appreciated. I didn't build my current comp, it was pre-built by a friend. With that said, I wanna upgrade my motherboard, processor, RAM, hard drive, graphics card and also buy a new monitor. My config is:
processor - Intel Celeron 3.06GHz
mobo - ASUS P5GDC Pro
1GB of RAM
WD 160GB hard drive
ATI Radeon x1600/1650 Series
monitor - Samsung SyncMaster 710n 17'' (1280*1024 display).
I use my comp primarily for downloading music, movies, occasionally gaming, and my options are quite limited when buying new hardware where I live. The limit concerning money would be somewhere around 800$ without the monitor. So I was thinking the following:
processor - INTEL Core2Duo E8400 3.0GHz 6MB L2, 1333FSB LGA775
mobo - ASUS P5Q SE, S775 Int-P45 FSB-1600 DDR2-1200 PCIeX+SB+GLAN or maybe
ASUS P5QL PRO, S775 Int-P43 FSB-1600 DDR2-1066 PCIeX+SB+GLAN or Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3L
RAM - G.SKILL 4GB DDR2-1066 Dual channel kit 8500CL5D-4GBPI
hard drive - HDD 500 GB,WD5000AAKS, SATA-2, 16 MB/7200rpm
graphics - BFG GeForce 9800 GTX PLUS OC 512MB DDR3 760/2250Mhz or Sapphire ATI HD4850 1GB DDR3 2xDVI/TVO LITE 11132-17-20R
I'm not sure about the monitor, 22'' is my limit and 22" LCD SAMSUNG SM2233BW 20000:1 5ms 300cd VGA+DVI would be in my price range. I've read that the stand is wobbly etc., so I don't really know. That's it. I know its nothing special but it would obviously be an improvement on what I currently have.
Also, the Windows XP SP3 that I have is pirated (got it without the CD) and I was thinking of maybe installing Windows 7 RC 64bit version until it officially comes out. Should I do that or stick with WinXP? Will the 64bit version be compatible with the new hardware? So many questions.
processor - Intel Celeron 3.06GHz
mobo - ASUS P5GDC Pro
1GB of RAM
WD 160GB hard drive
ATI Radeon x1600/1650 Series
monitor - Samsung SyncMaster 710n 17'' (1280*1024 display).
I use my comp primarily for downloading music, movies, occasionally gaming, and my options are quite limited when buying new hardware where I live. The limit concerning money would be somewhere around 800$ without the monitor. So I was thinking the following:
processor - INTEL Core2Duo E8400 3.0GHz 6MB L2, 1333FSB LGA775
mobo - ASUS P5Q SE, S775 Int-P45 FSB-1600 DDR2-1200 PCIeX+SB+GLAN or maybe
ASUS P5QL PRO, S775 Int-P43 FSB-1600 DDR2-1066 PCIeX+SB+GLAN or Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3L
RAM - G.SKILL 4GB DDR2-1066 Dual channel kit 8500CL5D-4GBPI
hard drive - HDD 500 GB,WD5000AAKS, SATA-2, 16 MB/7200rpm
graphics - BFG GeForce 9800 GTX PLUS OC 512MB DDR3 760/2250Mhz or Sapphire ATI HD4850 1GB DDR3 2xDVI/TVO LITE 11132-17-20R
I'm not sure about the monitor, 22'' is my limit and 22" LCD SAMSUNG SM2233BW 20000:1 5ms 300cd VGA+DVI would be in my price range. I've read that the stand is wobbly etc., so I don't really know. That's it. I know its nothing special but it would obviously be an improvement on what I currently have.
Also, the Windows XP SP3 that I have is pirated (got it without the CD) and I was thinking of maybe installing Windows 7 RC 64bit version until it officially comes out. Should I do that or stick with WinXP? Will the 64bit version be compatible with the new hardware? So many questions.
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Comments
Also, I have this problem with my 17'' LCD Samsung monitor. Its about 3 years old and whenever I turn on Cleartype the text is kind of 'redish' and blurry around the edges. Will that problem be fixed with the new monitor or is it a case by case thing?
You can fix the cleartype problems here. You can also get the stand alone version here. Windows 7 should not have any problems with the hardware in your list.
Regarding the graphics card, I would get the HD4850 1GB.
Also about the RAM, should I go with what I chose earlier or this:
G.SKILL 4GB DDR3-1600 Dual channel kit F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ
since the price is the same? I've read somewhere that RAM voltage could be a problem for some mobo's. Any thoughts on that?
- Download Eizo monitor test
- You don't need to install, just unzip the executable somewhere and run the test.
- Go to Moire test patterns, there are three of them
- While the patterns are on the screen, pop up the monitor control interface using the control buttons on the screen and go to image adjustments - fine tuning options, this can be different for different monitors.
- Playing with those adjustments try to make all three Moire patterns as uniforms as possible
- Do not use auto detect feature again on the screen, otherwise you will need to readjust.
This should improve your image considerably and also help with the colored fringes around letters.
Thanks for the advice. I'm getting rid of this one anyway so it doesn't really matter. The text is a little bit better but still kind of blurry. I'll stick with standard font rendering for now.
Could be. I'll try the new hardware on my old monitor and see what happens.
Any advice on the graphics and RAM front? Should I go with GeForce 9800GTX+ 512MB or ATI Radeon HD 4850 1GB, and this - G.SKILL 4GB DDR2-1066 Dual channel kit 8500CL5D-4GBPI or this - G.SKILL 4GB DDR3-1600 Dual channel kit F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ?
Thanks for the tips. I've found a couple of mobo's in my price range. Buddy J recommended the Gigabyte board mentioned above and I was thinking going with that but what about these:
DFI LanParty Dark DKP45-T2RS Turbo 775 P45 DDR2 1066 2xPCIeX
MSI P45-PLATINUM P45 775 FSB-1600 4xDDR2-1200 2PCIeX GLAN+SB?
Thanks. So many optons. Anyone else?
Funny I didn't see that in his list of hard to get hardware????:rolleyes2
I'm going with the C2D E8400 processor, G.Skill 4GB RAM, and because the difference in price is minimal WD 640GB hard drive which became available at my shop yesterday. I'll install Win 7 RC 64bit version and hope it works out. I'm dual-booting it (32bit ver.) with XP right now and its great except for the sound (drivers not available).
So, which mobo to choose: DFI LanParty DK P45 T2RS Turbo or the Gigabyte EP45 DS3L? Price is the same. Same goes for Sapphire ATI HD4850 1GB (a little cheaper) or BFG GeForce 9800 GTX PLUS OC 512MB?
Regarding the motherboard, I recommend DFI, due to better VRM cooling, second PCIEx16, and simply being a DFI LP
As for the graphics card, I recommend ATI HD4850 because of 1GB memory and the very good experience with my HD4850.
Thanks mirage. (wink) Anyone else?
This should help with your GPU decision!
I want to add another endorsement for DFI boards. Past few years I have been using Gigabyte boards pretty exclusively on builds, and while they have been very serviceable, and have not failed me I did not know what I was missing in terms of overclocking flexibility with DFI. (I will credit Robert (thrax) for turning me onto DFI)
The new DFI AMD 790fx board I have been using is without a doubt the most fully featured board I have ever used. Overclocking everything, My CPU, my RAM, and my Video has all been easier on the DFI board. The bios is fuller featured, and despite what some say, I don't think its that intimidating, you just have to do a little research to start tweaking. DFI gets my vote on any system that plans on a good overclock. If your not as serious about overclocking, the Gigabyte durable series boards that sport the dual bios are also a very viable option.
The GPU or GPU's are so fast on these new video card they use the full potential of the VRAM and sub-systems I would go with the 1GB HD4850 they are great cards and can out perform the 512 Nvidia.
mobo - DFI LanParty Dark DKP45-T2RS Turbo 775 P45 DDR2 1066 2xPCIeX
processor - CPU INTEL Core2Duo E8400 3.0GHz 6MB L2, 1333FSB LGA775
RAM - G.SKILL 4GB DDR2-1066 Dual channel kit 8500CL5D-4GBPI
HDD - WD 640GB 6400AAKS 7200rpm 16MB
optical - DVD RW Pioneer DVR-216D-BK 20X SATA
graphics - Sapphire ATI HD4850 1GB DDR3 2xDVI/TVO LITE 11132-17-20R, Dual Slot Active Cooler
case/power - Antec III Sonata, EarthWatts 500W
Any comments are welcome.
A few questions. It says (on G.Skill's site) the test voltage of the RAM is 2.0 - 2.1 volts. I've read about comp crashes because of voltage problems etc. On the other hand, it says on DFI's site that the RAM I've chosen is supported. I'm not experienced (obviously) so can someone explain are there gonna be problems?
Also, I've decided to stick with my old Samsung SyncMaster 710N monitor for now so, hopefully, with new graphics, cleartype font rendering will improve.
Your DFI board will support that Dimm voltage just fine.
You know, you could Possibly consider going going with a DFI AM3 board on sale right now, get a less expensive triple core AMD unlocked CPU and DDR3, perform better and actualy save a little on the build.
You would have a new AMD AM3 based system, which is not a dead end platform like the LGA775.
You should consider it. Less money for the board and CPU, perhaps a tiny bit more for the extra RAM bandwidth to balance it, but still, this should outperform and come in about $30 less total if my math is good.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136067
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649&Tpk=AMD%20720
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148262
I would strongly consider it IF I had a credit card and could order online. I couldn't find that DFI board or a Gigabyte AM3 board anywhere in Bosnia. The best I could do was this below so maybe I should stick with what I chose first? Also, what I listed above will set me back about 1.150$.
- DFI LanParty Dark DK 790FXB-M2RSH AM2+ 790FX DDR2 3xPCIeX
- AMD PHENOM II X4 920 2.8GHz L2+L3=8MB FSB-1800M AM2+
mobo - GIGABYTE MA790FXT-UD5P, 790FX/SB750, DDR3
processor - AMD Phenom II X3 720 BOX Black Edition, s. AM3, 2.8GHz, 7.5MB c.
RAM - 2 of these - PC-10600, 2GB, CRUCIAL, DDR3, 1333 MHz
I could save around 50$ but the only problem is this is in Croatia, in this shop, about 3 hours drive from my house. Is it worth it? Anyone?
I don't know that I would drive 3 hrs. for it.
The origional AM2+ board you paired with the 920 is going to be a good platform because the AM2+ board will support future AM3 offerings with a bios flash.
I just think its a better platform than the LGA775 which Intel is going to move away from in favor of the i7 line over the next year or so.