Upgrade Advice for an Intel n00b

[Roman79]

Hi, I currently have a 1.8A on a MSI 661FM-L (http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_spec.asp?model=661FM-L&class=mb) running at 2.4GHz. I know this board isn't the best (by a long shot), but it was cheap and available when my Abit board died recently. I'd like to upgrade to something with hyperthreading and do some mild overclocking, so I was wondering if I should:

(a) buy a new cpu (socket 478) and keep the board
(b) buy a new cpu and board (socket 775?)

I'm on a student and therefore on a budget; I use my computer for gaming and surfing. This is probably something I will keep until dual core becomes available. Thanks for any suggestions.

[EWBatOVAclockin]

Well, if your on a budget then it would probably be better to get a new 3.2e or something of that sort and get an XP-120 and clock that beast till you think its enough :cool: (it's never enough). But if your waiting for dual cores then you should probably not spend alot of money right now and keep saving up.

Just my .02 cents

PEACE

[bazx]

the best budget cpu has to be celaron d 2.66ghz 478 socket it o/c to 3.8ghz
on air and all for £40 uk but no h/p

bazx

[EWBatOVAclockin]

Yes those are a good budget card but like he said he plays games with his system, so a intel pentium 4 would be a better choice.

PEACE

[Jimbob7]

if you want to upgrade, get a new graphics card (i dont know what you have) that will make the most difference to your gaming. 2.4ghz is enough to handle any game.

[shellshock]

ya Jimbob has a point, get you a better vid card, say a radeon saphire 9800pro :shrug:

[Roman79]

Those Celeron D's are tempting, but I really want Hyper Threading. In fact I think that's my main motivation for wanting to upgrade. I'd probably be happy if I could find a 2.4C with HT, but they seem to be pretty rare.

As for video I have a 9700np, so I don't know if it'd be worth upgrading at this point.

[VolcanoWarez]

Hey I had that board once.. I say get a new mobo if you are going to overclock that board suckz.. and from what i learned about it you're not going to be able to do any overclocking with it..

[Roman79]

Hey I had that board once.. I say get a new mobo if you are going to overclock that board suckz.. and from what i learned about it you're not going to be able to do any overclocking with it..

It's funny you should mention that. I installed the fuzzy logic software but it won't let me change anything, almost like it's read only. Did you have the same problem?

[EWBatOVAclockin]

Yes jim bob does make a goodpoint. Since you have agp go for a 6800GT.

PEACE

[Sentential]

Hi, I currently have a 1.8A on a MSI 661FM-L (http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_spec.asp?model=661FM-L&class=mb) running at 2.4GHz. I know this board isn't the best (by a long shot), but it was cheap and available when my Abit board died recently. I'd like to upgrade to something with hyperthreading and do some mild overclocking, so I was wondering if I should:

(a) buy a new cpu (socket 478) and keep the board
(b) buy a new cpu and board (socket 775?)

I'm on a student and therefore on a budget; I use my computer for gaming and surfing. This is probably something I will keep until dual core becomes available. Thanks for any suggestions.
Ive got a perfect solution. See sig.

Cheapest and one of the best LGA775 hybrid boards is Abit's AS8 which is based of the IS7 (i865PE) based. With such a board you get DDR1 *and* AGP which would allow you to keep all of your stuff. In addition this board is capable of running the newest and best Intel CPUs (which I have :D) all for a measly $88. I cant see where you could go wrong. Get this board and a "J" based Intel CPU (either a 5xx J or a 6xx)

[VolcanoWarez]

It's funny you should mention that. I installed the fuzzy logic software but it won't let me change anything, almost like it's read only. Did you have the same problem?

I tried to us fuzzy too, but no go, and there seemed to be nothing I could do from the bios either.

[JCLW]

IMHO don't bother upgrading from a 9700pro 'til you're ready to get a new motherboard and enter the PCIe era. I'm guessing you don't want to get a new board, new cpu, and new video at this point in time so I'd sit on that money until you can spring for all three. If you do feel the itch to do something then a Celeron D would provide some entertainment (and speed) for not much $$$.

[Roman79]

Thanks for the input guys, really appreciated. I think if I can get some control over the fsb (other than 100, 133 and 200) I may keep this board, otherwise it's getting the "boot". That Abit board looks kinda nice...
MSI lists Fuzzy Logic as a feature so it has to work right? :shrug: