- Joined
- Jan 26, 2009
Hey all! I've been doing a lot of reading here, looking for advice on what to do about upgrading my system. I would like to go with an i7 system, but as this new rig is primarily for gaming I'm not totally convinced to go that route, especially with a new issue that has popped up (I'll explain below).
First, let me detail out what my current system is so you all will know what I'm trying to move up from:
Motherboard: Gigabyte K8NF-9
CPU: Athlon 64 3200
Memory: 2 x 512MB Corsair DDR PC3200
Video: GeForce 6600GT
Storage: 120gb maxtor drive primary, sata, 200gb wd drive, sata, 500gb wd mybook, usb
PSU/Case: Cheap no-name combo in which the PSU came with the case.
In anticipation of my new system, I have bought a few components when I thought the price was right. Namely, a new case and PSU:
Case: Coolermaster HAF 932
PSU: PC Power & Cooling 750 W
But the rest of the system still needs to be purcahsed. After much reading I've been teeter-tottering back and forth between a core i7 system and a more-dated but better bang-for-the-buck socket 775 system. I already have a monitor, 1680x1050, that I plan to keep for a while, so this build is really focused on getting decent graphics on that display. I was leaning more towards the i7 due to just my desire to go that route, however a friend of mine threw something into the mix yesterday: A free Core2Duo E6600. Now, I know that it's not the greatest of processors, but the price is right. My thinking now is whether I should take that, get a board like the Gigabyte p45 - ud3r, and 4 gig of ddr2 800 memory.
If I go this route, I have more money to spend on the video card, which overall I would think would help what I intend to primarily use this machine for. My question for you guys is if you think that it's worth taking the e6600 and building a machine around it, so that I can wait for the i7 prices to drop, or to just forgo that and pull the trigger on an i7 system now, and lastly what memory/gpu recommendations you guys would have for the system. As you can see, either upgrade path will be a big step up for me.
First, let me detail out what my current system is so you all will know what I'm trying to move up from:
Motherboard: Gigabyte K8NF-9
CPU: Athlon 64 3200
Memory: 2 x 512MB Corsair DDR PC3200
Video: GeForce 6600GT
Storage: 120gb maxtor drive primary, sata, 200gb wd drive, sata, 500gb wd mybook, usb
PSU/Case: Cheap no-name combo in which the PSU came with the case.
In anticipation of my new system, I have bought a few components when I thought the price was right. Namely, a new case and PSU:
Case: Coolermaster HAF 932
PSU: PC Power & Cooling 750 W
But the rest of the system still needs to be purcahsed. After much reading I've been teeter-tottering back and forth between a core i7 system and a more-dated but better bang-for-the-buck socket 775 system. I already have a monitor, 1680x1050, that I plan to keep for a while, so this build is really focused on getting decent graphics on that display. I was leaning more towards the i7 due to just my desire to go that route, however a friend of mine threw something into the mix yesterday: A free Core2Duo E6600. Now, I know that it's not the greatest of processors, but the price is right. My thinking now is whether I should take that, get a board like the Gigabyte p45 - ud3r, and 4 gig of ddr2 800 memory.
If I go this route, I have more money to spend on the video card, which overall I would think would help what I intend to primarily use this machine for. My question for you guys is if you think that it's worth taking the e6600 and building a machine around it, so that I can wait for the i7 prices to drop, or to just forgo that and pull the trigger on an i7 system now, and lastly what memory/gpu recommendations you guys would have for the system. As you can see, either upgrade path will be a big step up for me.