Upgrading my system, Expert help needed!

[TPiarulli]

Theres alot I need help with so ill get right to it:

Im interested in the gaming aspect of my pc. I bought my parts before I really knew anything about overclocking and since overclocking is a good way to save cash thats the route im looking towards. Here is the current setup:

Intel Pentium D 820 2.8 ghz dual core
MSI P4N Diamond Motherboard
2x Corsair Value Select 1 Gb DDR2 533 memory (2gb total)
XFX 7800 GTX 256Mb Nvidia Graphics Card
Antec TP2-550W Power supply
ZALMAN CNPS 120mm Copper LED CPU Cooler

Right away many of you who know will notice that the Pentium D 820 can only run in single core what seems like any board that supports SLI.

Hence the problem: My grand plan is to one day get another 7800 GTX and have an SLI system. These parts came from when I thought I knew about computers but actually didnt know jack.

Ive learned alot the past 8 months or so and the most important thing ive learned is that no matter how much I think I know, without asking experts Ill always screw something up.

Im leaning towards selling the Pentium and getting one that actually works with this motherboard and overclocking it. However the more I learn the bigger the hole im stuck in seems to become.

So heres the things I need addressed:

* Ive heard that all current intel compatible SLI MB's are junk. Is this true? I really like the P4N Diamond and havent had any problems with it.

* I also know that when it comes to gaming AMD performs better in most comparisions. Should I bite the bullet and switch to AMD before its too late?

* If I stick with intel, should I buy a good processor and try to get a small overclock on air, or buy a lesser processor and water cooling for a bigger overclock? (I have about $400 dollars to spend in this catagory, and I think I would be really content with hitting 3.8-4ghz while spending the smallest amount possible so the rest can go towards other computer issues)

* What air or water solutions would allow me to get a good overclock? With my current cooling my CPU runs at 40C idle and around 50C load which already seems high.

* What processor/processor speed would I need to take full advantage of dual 7800 gtx's?

* Should I go with a dual core cpu or a single cpu for overclocking/gaming? Ive heard dual cores will be important in the future but they also seem to run hotter which would make them more difficult to overclock. I know I have to get a new processor but Im still looking to save as much cash as possible so I can use the leftovers towards other parts.

I am open to ALL advice about anything related to my system. For example, if my RAM sucks for overclocking, please tell me why and what a better solution would be.

Basically I want to know what the ideal system for me would be and using my budget and my current parts get as close to it as possible. I wanna make any big changes now before I get any deeper into this hole so keep that in mind. I dont want to be kicking myself in 6 months saying "why didnt I switch to AMD when I had the chance." Please take some time to help me out. Thanks

 

[redrumy3]

intel releasing a new processor called conroe and well it kicks ***. owned a fx-60 amd best processor.

But Amd is also releasing a new Processor Called AM2 that supports DDR2 Ram.

And directx 10 video cards should be out around when vista is coming out.

___________________________

Okay now that you know that...

Right now AMD's are best for gaming. So if you want to game, i would lean towards AMD.

Ram - For DDR ram i would look at ocz,mushkin,Gskill. they have some really awesome 2gb sets.

i wouldnt sli the 7800gtx right now , 1 will do fine for games.

 

[AZNBoiOnFIYA]

it looks like you have a pretty good system already, but if you want an upgrade for gaming then i would recommend going amd. now probably isnt the best time to upgrade though since new cpus will be coming out later this year. if you want more performance, then i would spend half that budget on a watercooling setup.

 

[Soichiro]

For gaming, get an AMD processor and a 7900GT. An Athlon 64 is better than a Pentium 4 for gaming, and for video cards, the new 7900GT can kick the crap out of a 7800GTX for about $150 less, and the 7900GTX can compete with an X1900XTX for only a little more than the 7800GTX.

 

[jmt391]

you dont need to upgrade at all

if you absolutely have to, then switch to AMD

opty 165

 

[greenmaji]

SLI- I wouldnt advice is.. just upgrade the card if you want more performance..
Intel does crossfire-again one better card woops two lesser cards.
and if you really want to OC get a Intel chipset (aftermarket, dont get an intel board) motherboard.
but as others have said, right now is the time of a new archtecture in CPU's, its a good time to trade back for credit and wait.

 

[Flip-Mode]

As said you will not see any major improvement in your games by switching to AMD, what I would suggest is wait as long as you can until your games start getting sluggish and then see whats out there. Your system should hold its ground for at least a year IMO.

P.S
No one here is an expert, we ware just stupid enough to learn from our own mistakes and not others and now we spend all our free time reading about ppl screwing up and hardware news and reviews...

 

[larva]

I agree with the others that have suggested using the current rig and waiting for choices to mature. I would probably suggest selling off the 7800GTX if you intend SLI, though, as this is no time to be buying another 7800GTX. The 7900s are fairly substantially improved, so it's hard to recommend tying up essentially the same money in an 7800 of any sort.

The nvidia chipsets for Intel processors simply don't OC all that well. Intel chipsets are the best part of owning an Intel rig, they are just that good. Additionally, MSI motherboards are typically poor overclockers, even if they are based around Intel chipsets. When you start talking about a MSI board with an Nvidia chipset, you pretty much rule out a first-rate OC.

Current Intel alternatives to your current processor are not particularly enticing. It's just more of the same as what you already have, so I can't see changing horses right now. The 820D is the same processor as all the other 8xx's, and the 9xx's don't really fix what is wrong with them. That being massive power consumption and heat production.

And even if you could get a dual core P4 clocked highly on your board, and get a second 7800GTX for free, your power supply likely would not handle the load. The combination of the dual core P4s power consumption along with that of the twin 7800GTXs is just asking a whole lot of any power supply, and the TPII-550, while a good unit, isn't really up to the task.

Additionally, air cooling is great for anything shy of a highly OC'ed dual core P4 system. The Scythe Ninja and Tuniq Tower 120 are the best units out there at present, and cool highly OC'ed single core P4s and moderately clocked dual core ones very well with little noise. But when you start over-volting and implemement a 3.8+ GHz clock rate on a dual core P4, you really start entering water-cooling's domain.

The next generation of Intel processors, code named Conroe, do indeed look to offer fixes to all the above concerns. They will require a different motherboard, but trust me, you want to get off the MSI stuff, anyway. And they offer great gaming performance along with vastly reduced power consumption and heat production. They are not here yet, but you may want to use what you have until they are released. You could also go with an AMD rig, but I simply don't see why the current rig would not be suitable until the very promising Conroe systems debut.

 

[Pentium.X]

What you do is simple, you wait.

1. Conroe is comming and it puts anything AMD has to offer to shame, and just think, only the mainstream budget processor was debued at CeBIT just imagine an Extreme Edition. Wow!

2. I suggest switching to a Crossfire setup as from what I have read ATI and intel complement themselves better then nVidia and intel. Crossfire is hot on the heels of SLI and will soon pass it up completely.

3. Better stuff on the horizon! ASUS Boards, Intel Processors, and More POWER! Oh My!

 

[TPiarulli]

Thank you all very much for your advice. However you seem to be ignoring a very important point of my post:

The intel 820 is not fully compatible with my current motherboard, it is running at single core mode thus reducing my $220 processor to that of an $80 processor. With games like Oblivion just around the corner this is unacceptable.

After reading up on SLI I have decided it is not the way to go right now. Also the intel processor price drop in April is a big factor for me. After getting all the advice I can I believe the best solution for me at the moment is this:

1. Buying a new motherboard that is fully compatible with my processor

2. Buying some good cooling as it is a good investment since it can probably be used in the future

3. Overclocking the 820 as best I can

4. Saving the rest of my money for conroe or the intel price drop.

After thinking through it, this is both the most future proof and cost effective route possible. Waiting while the 820 runs in single core mode scoring pathetically on cpu benchmarks and probably puting a cap on my 7800GTX is not acceptable.

For the 820 everyone seems to be reccomending the Asus P5WD2 of different variations. Is this the right board for my needs and if so which variation would be best for me?

The P5WD2 is definently compatible with the 820 right?

I am now making a seperate thread in the intel cpu section looking for advice on overclocking the 820, Id appreciate any help I can get.

Thanks

 

[Flip-Mode]

Thank you all very much for your advice. However you seem to be ignoring a very important point of my post:

The intel 820 is not fully compatible with my current motherboard, it is running at single core mode thus reducing my $220 processor to that of an $80 processor. With games like Oblivion just around the corner this is unacceptable.

After reading up on SLI I have decided it is not the way to go right now. Also the intel processor price drop in April is a big factor for me. After getting all the advice I can I believe the best solution for me at the moment is this:

1. Buying a new motherboard that is fully compatible with my processor

2. Buying some good cooling as it is a good investment since it can probably be used in the future

3. Overclocking the 820 as best I can

4. Saving the rest of my money for conroe or the intel price drop.

After thinking through it, this is both the most future proof and cost effective route possible. Waiting while the 820 runs in single core mode scoring pathetically on cpu benchmarks and probably puting a cap on my 7800GTX is not acceptable.

For the 820 everyone seems to be reccomending the Asus P5WD2 of different variations. Is this the right board for my needs and if so which variation would be best for me?

The P5WD2 is definently compatible with the 820 right?

I am now making a seperate thread in the intel cpu section looking for advice on overclocking the 820, Id appreciate any help I can get.

Thanks

What the hell? First time I hear anything like this are you sure?
Did you try a BIOS update?

 

[TPiarulli]

Yep I just updated BIOS and it didnt fix it. The 820D is the only intel dual core that wont work with SLI chipsets. Just do a google with pentium 820 and SLI in it and you should find articles about it.

They did a pretty good job of keeping it quiet.

 

[Flip-Mode]

Yep I just updated BIOS and it didnt fix it. The 820D is the only intel dual core that wont work with SLI chipsets. Just do a google with pentium 820 and SLI in it and you should find articles about it.

They did a pretty good job of keeping it quiet.

Thats amazing IMO.
I would get a new mobo if I was you, a non SLI one to keep the cost down and just wait to see how things evolve.
I'm not an Intel person so I can't give you advice about mobos.

 

[greenmaji]

your right on about the motherboard.. Asus P5WD2, the premium has some extra features but check out the diffences I doubt its worth the money for you right now, It will more then work it will overclock the D820.
thats tough luck on that mobo