My govt assisted total upgrade....

[Sofaism]

So they are sending out $600 to us (in May right?) and I think I can pull out about 600 of my own dollars by then. So that's $1,200 total.

I want to make this a gaming rig. (all I can play right now are older games, because all newer games have to be played on low settings and it's just terrible).

What I have right now (and need to replace) is:

-amd 2500+ mobile (had IT OC'd but not any longer, it's only at 1800mhz)
-abit nf7 s2 (I think?)
-1024mb of older memory
-ati radeon 9800
-a 5 or 6 year old SB LIve! card that was like $30 lol
-logitech mx510

What I have and plan on still using:
-WD raptor 74gb (should I get another one and run them in raid-0?)
-Dell 2007 WFP
-SENNHEISER PC 150 2 x 3.5mm Connector Circumaural Headset

What I have and don't know if I need to replace or not?:
-Antec tpII 550
-Case? Do the new M/B have same mounting holes as older ones right? or do I need to get a new one?
-a cheap keyboard
-WindowsXP (Do I need vista?)


Ok, so anything worth waiting for to come out? I've been reading some other posts and the Intel e8400 seems to be most popular processor, and the 8800GT(s) for video card...
I seen some "deals" on newegg right now for audio cards, perhaps I should get that now..
Not looking to do any major OC'ing, maybe some tweaking.
Also what is best fan for cpu? and do they still just use artic silver?

These are a lot of questions, but I appreciate any feedback.

Thanks!

 

[attack]

Keep the raptor...I'd pass on RAIDing since your budgeting...if you weren't on a budget then I'd go for it.
keep the case+psu
Either stick with XP or go vista 64 (no point wasting cash on XP64 IMO, no DX10 and 3gb RAM will kill you in a year)
hmm, an 8800GTS (G92 core) is around 250 now I believe, that's a good card.
then a gigabyte DS3L or abit IP35-E or even MSI Neo2-FR will run about 100
then I'd get an E4500..about another 100 (yeah it aint new, but'll probably run 3ghz and save you 100 bucks, E8400 is a great CPU, but if your a gamer the money is better spent on the video card)
2x2GB of DDR2 1000 is less than 100
that leaves 50 for fudge and small things...maybe drop to a 8800GT or 9600GT and you can swing vista 64.

Stick with onboard sound, it's pretty damn good nowadays and saves cash.
OC the CPU a little (maybe just run it at 1066 for a simple 33% OC)
Stick with the stock cooler and arctic silver 5 (www.svc.com and it'll cost you 5 shipped) especially since your not doing any hard OCing.

 

[JamesXP]

Do not keep the PSU.
No need for Vista.

 

[Sofaism]

Thanks for reply, but if I'm doing my math correctly you are saying only spend 550, but I'm willing to spend $1200 total.

//edit:: james what PSU would you suggest?

 

[LilBuddy]

Do you want to do raid and will you ever want to SLI?

 

[Sofaism]

yes to raid if I would notice a significant difference. not sure on SLI: is it worth it really? thanks, also another question, is onboard sound really good enough for gaming? I play FPS games mainly and use headphones for the added benefit.

thanks for replys

 

[attack]

heh saw 600...never saw the already 600!
in that case, definitely E8400, MSI Neo2-FR, another raptor for RAID 0, 3870X2, still think your PSU will work, 2x2 DDR2 1000 still...vista 64, that would be a little over 1000
you could go dual 8800GTS's with a 680 or 780i mobo but I'm not up on those, it would cost about 100-150 more than the previous setup but would be a little faster.

 

[LilBuddy]

Well if you are going to game at high resolutions or if you plan on playing some games later on then SLI might be the way to go.

 

[Sofaism]

hmm, was looking at my raptor and the one i have seems to be discontinued?
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?Item=N82E16822144160

guess they are 16mb cache now? the 16 and 8 won't run in raid 0 will they?

 

[Sofaism]

Well if you are going to game at high resolutions or if you plan on playing some games later on then SLI might be the way to go.

Is it possible to have an SLI board but only use one vid card until you want to use SLI (in future)

 

[attack]

yeah different raptors will run together no problem. and yes you can get SLI board and then add the card later, but usualy by the time you want to add the second card it's better to just sell your current card and buy a new one. So if your not gonna go dual SLi I'd get a P35 based board and a 3870X2 and be done...upgrade the GPU later on in a year or so and you'll be set for a while.

 

[SuperDave1685]

to OCF!

I'd recommend you grab a good PSU like a PC Power and Cooling 750W, a Corsair HX620, or any Silverstone Zeus series above 600W.

If you're willing to spend $1200, Heres what I'd go with:

ASUS P5K-E- $130 (Linky)
E8400 - $ 230 (Linky)
2 x 1GB G Skill - $70 (Linky)
PCP&C 750W PSU - $170 (Linky)
MSI NX8800GT - $217 (Linky)
Sound Blaster X-Fi Gamer - $123 (Linky)
Cooler Master Centurion 5 case - $50 (Linky)
ThermalRight Ultima 90 Heat Sink - $46 (Linky)
Scythe Fan for the HSF -$9 (Linky)

Grand total is $1045. Should be a nice little system. That Heatsink should allow you to hit 4.0 Ghz. You can also throw in another 2Gb of if you'd like, but you'd need to purchase Vista X64 here for $170 to take advantage of all 4 GB. That would put you at $1285 though, a little bit more than your budget. This is just my recommended setup. I hope this helps you!

-Dave

 

[LilBuddy]

What exactly does a $123 sound card do?

 

[Sofaism]

Here's what I thought up so far and I'm very open to change.

https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersio...tNumber=8289706&WishListTitle=Sofas+wish+list

I will also not buy everything from newegg and will try to get good deals. but from newegg it would be -$60.00 from MIR

I still need to get a gaming mouse for 50-80 or so... looking towards g5

Not sure on a few things:
1. do I need anything special for SLI? like a connector for them?
2. Is that a good m/b or would you guys recommend something else for SLI
3. what heatsink/fan would you go with? (for normal light OC and for higher OC)
3a. If i want to OC will I need a better PSU?
4. any other changes and suggestions?
5. am I wasting money buy going with SLI?

thanks

 

[ps2cho]

Welcome!

1) + 2) + 5):
Firstly, do not get SLI. There are plenty of very powerful graphics card out that will mop the floor of your current Radeon 9800. If you have a 9800 right now, SLI would be way way way WAY overkill for you. A single 8800GTS (g92) 512MB card would be such a huge jump for you that its perfectly fine.

You may want to invest into a better PSU for the long term while you have the funds.
I highly suggest the Corsair HX520. It will be fine for your rig and should last a good 5-10 years. (It has 5 year warranty too!). Highly efficient and highly awarded PSU.

2): The GA-P35-DS3L is a great budget board that will clock very well. You may want a better board though. It depends how much you want to overclock.

3):
As for HSF, I'd suggest getting the Thermalright Ultima-90. Its not as expensive as the Ultra 120 extreme, but still a GREAT cooling solution.

 

[Sofaism]

what would you suggest for a better board then ds3l? looks like two of you have recommended the GA-P35-DS3L and the price makes me happy on newegg it has 5 stars and like 700+ ratings... what are it's downsides?

(updated my wishlist)

 

[PhysX]

Sofaism, keep in mind that the $600 you will be getting is just an advance on your next tax refund...

 

[Sofaism]

Should I save $60 and get:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...OTC-pr1c3watch-_-Video+Cards-_-MSI-_-14127325

instead of

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16814130312

thanks


Sofas Wish List

$65 less from MIR to come out to 1046, and still need to spend about 45-50 on Ultima-90 (probably from frozencpu, and maybe a couple bucks on a big fan for cpu 120mm.

So its coming out to about 1100 + whatever s/h... so lets just guess high at 1150

 

[attack]

You sure about that PhysX? Definitely not the way I understood it.

For the OP, looks good, but the DS3L doens't have the matrix RAID, I'd get the DS3R or MSI Neo2-FR, or P5K-E

For a normal OC, stick with stock cooling, if you want to go big, then consider the aftermarket ones.

*EDIT* yeah I'd get the MSI, evga is great, but for the price difference I'd go with the MSI.

 

[Sofaism]

Yeah I thought the 600 from govt was an election-year-recession-special-one-time-gift...

anyways so if I weren't doing raid 0 you'd go with ds3l? I'm trying to figure if the cost-benefit of another raptor and a more expensive m/b is worth it or should I save $200 bucks for something else?

thanks for all your help