Upgrade

[jbruno]

My current system is:

CASE ANTEC|PLUSVIEW 1000AMG

POWER SUPPLY ANTEC TRUEBLUE 480

VGA ATI|RADEON 9800 PRO 256M 8X

FD 1.44MB|ALPS #DF354H168F SILVER %

SOUND BLASTER|AUDIGY 2 ZS PCI

HD 74GB|WD 10,000RPM 8MB WD740GD

WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive

2 - DVD+/-RW NEC ND-2510A SVR w SW

MB P4 INTEL 875P D875PBZLK FMB1.5 R

CPU P4/3.2CGHz 800M 478P/512K HT

DDRAM 1GB|PC3200 DUAL BL MUSHKIN

MNTR Mitsubish|19"CRT DP930SB-BK

LOGITECH THX Z-680 5.1 SPEAKER



I would like to change out the motherboard and was curious if the newer boards are still ATX.

Also, I plan on upgrading to a dual core processor and a high quality video card (crossfire?).

I appreciate all suggestions.

PS - I will probably re-use the MB, CPU, Memory and Video card in another build (perhaps to use in my business as backup).

Thank you,

[Alaron]

ATX form factor is still around.

For a new build, I would go with a Core 2 Duo E6300 or higher, the Asus P5W DH and some DDR2-800 ram. As for video cards, the Radeon X1950XTX is a great choice.

[jbruno]

Originally Posted by Alaron ATX form factor is still around. For a new build, I would go with a Core 2 Duo E6300 or higher, the Asus P5W DH and some DDR2-800 ram. As for video cards, the Radeon X1950XTX is a great choice.

Thanks!

I'm looking at the E6600 or 6700. The 6700 is $524 over at NewEgg, and the 6600 is $200 less Is the 6700 worth it?

The Asus looks like it has everyhting under the sun Wow!

Regarding RAM..... do people recommend more than 1 gb? I recall that you get diminishing returns at a certain point......

Video looks good. Will 2 linked cards definatley outperform one high powered card?

Thanks,

[chuck4456]

Dollar for dollar-performance per dollar, the E6600 is the best buy.

[Alaron]

Agreed, the 6600 is the best choice.

If you're building a gaming rig, 2GB certainly would be a good idea if you have the budget for it. Otherwise, get 1GB and add some more later.

Two cards do perform better than one, though I would stick with one for now. It will be plenty powerful for any game out there. Plus, with DirectX 10 coming out next year, investing heavily in two cards that won't be able to fully use it seems impractical.

[glc]

If thast power supply is not ATX 2.0 with a 24 pin connector, it will have to be replaced too. If you plan on using 2 linked ATI cards in Crossfire, it definitely has to be replaced with a certified unit.

[jbruno]

Originally Posted by glc If thast power supply is not ATX 2.0 with a 24 pin connector, it will have to be replaced too. If you plan on using 2 linked ATI cards in Crossfire, it definitely has to be replaced with a certified unit.

What power supply is recommended?

Thanks,

[jbruno]

Another question...... I noticed the MB has onboard audio. Will this be better/worse than my current SOUND BLASTER|AUDIGY 2 ZS PCI?

Thank you,

[jfk]

Originally Posted by jbruno Another question...... I noticed the MB has onboard audio. Will this be better/worse than my current SOUND BLASTER|AUDIGY 2 ZS PCI? Thank you,

The Audigy II ZS will give you better sound.

[glc]

http://www.ati.com/technology/crossf...dyourown2.html

[jbruno]

Originally Posted by glc http://www.ati.com/technology/crossf...dyourown2.html

Thank you for the link. I have been researching and it seems that people have been having problems with some of these brands.

What are the current recommended brands?

Also, I'd like to go modular if possible.

[glc]

Most of those brands look okay to me - the only one that sticks out like a sore thumb is Coolmax. You cannot go wrong with FSP/Sparkle or Seasonic.

[jbruno]

OK, here is what I'm looking at:

ASUS P5W DH DELUXE/WIFI-AP Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 975X ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131025

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115003

OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2A8002GK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227169

ATI 100-435843 Radeon X1950XTX 512MB GDDR4 PCI Express x16 CrossFire Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814195024

SeaSonic M12 SS-600HM ATX12V/ EPS12V 600W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151030

Thoughts?

I intend to use my 2 current SATA drives, case, DVD drives, floppy, sound card/speakers and monitor with this setup.

I was thinking of using the parts left over to create a file storage/server.

Finally, am I missing anything? Any recommendations for a heat sink, or other items?

Thank you,

[glc]

Be aware of the issues OCZ has been having lately, and the stock retail heatsink is plenty good.

[jbruno]

Originally Posted by glc Be aware of the issues OCZ has been having lately, and the stock retail heatsink is plenty good.

OCZ issues? Do tell.

They are very expensive and I would be quite annoyed if they stunk with this board.

I did a search on NewEgg and it seems the prices are very varied for 2g's of RAM. What is the real difference between the most expensive and something in the middle?

Regards,

[Mr.Ferrari]

The main problem crept up with OCZ's Platinum XTC DDR2 800 memory. They had major issues with stability when paired up with am2/conroe 965 and 975 boards. Apparently OCZ did release Revision 2 of their sticks. Named Platinum XTC Revision 2. Its supposed to have fixed those issues.

I have no clue on how that crossfire memory performs, but by looking at it I can gurantee its the same chips as OCZ Platinum Rev.2. Just a different red heatspreader.

My advice? Remove any chance of having issues and just go with some 2gb Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800. And save some money too .

[jbruno]

Originally Posted by Mr.Ferrari The main problem crept up with OCZ's Platinum XTC DDR2 800 memory. They had major issues with stability when paired up with am2/conroe 965 and 975 boards. Apparently OCZ did release Revision 2 of their sticks. Named Platinum XTC Revision 2. Its supposed to have fixed those issues. I have no clue on how that crossfire memory performs, but by looking at it I can gurantee its the same chips as OCZ Platinum Rev.2. Just a different red heatspreader. My advice? Remove any chance of having issues and just go with some 2gb Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800. And save some money too .

Danka

[jbruno]

See link below......

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ubCategory=147

I was looking at the Corsairs and was wondering what all the difference is.....

CAS Latency
Timing
EPP
Does Voltage matter?

Etc.......

Is the $355 memory better in the real world than the $280?

Peace Out,

[newbuilder14]

With the situation your in the voltages won't matter. Go for the lowest timings/latency you can afford. EPP? I don't even know what that is but that's not something I look for in purchasing RAM.

[Mr.Ferrari]

CAS Latency Timing

With conroe, No difference as far as performance goes. If your buying a lower latency for better perf. well its money spent WRONG with core 2 duo.

EPP

Enhance Performance profiles
See this link for some more info:
http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.p...&highlight=EPP

Basically more of a gimick then anything useful. Even then it has not yet adapted to intel chipsets.

Does Voltage matter?

In some cases YES. But in your case no. Some boards do have some compatibility issues with too high of a voltage..

The 5-5-5-12 versions are still the best bang/buck.

[jbruno]

Originally Posted by jbruno OK, here is what I'm looking at: ASUS P5W DH DELUXE/WIFI-AP Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 975X ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131025 Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600 - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115003 OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2A8002GK - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227169 ATI 100-435843 Radeon X1950XTX 512MB GDDR4 PCI Express x16 CrossFire Video Card - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814195024 SeaSonic M12 SS-600HM ATX12V/ EPS12V 600W Power Supply - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151030 Thoughts? I intend to use my 2 current SATA drives, case, DVD drives, floppy, sound card/speakers and monitor with this setup. I was thinking of using the parts left over to create a file storage/server. Finally, am I missing anything? Any recommendations for a heat sink, or other items? Thank you,

Ordered the above except I ordered this memory instead:

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145034

[newbuilder14]

Very wise choice.

[jbruno]

Well, my parts should arrive today and I'll start taking pieces out of my current computer and installing these new ones. Based on my first build in 2004, I'm sure I'll be posting questions here as I go along.

In other news, I am probably going to use the "old" parts to build a PVR system. I believe I'll have just about everything needed except a PVR card and a HD.

So, in essence, I'll be working on 2 builds the next week or so

Thanks,


PS - Does this site have a lot of folks who built pvr rigs?

[jbruno]

As promised, I have a few questions

I received all the items and was just looking through them.

The CPU cooler/fan comes with a heat "pad" for the cpu. Do I still need to add thermal grease too?

This is a general question. I am going to install my "old" SATA 74g 10K rpm drive into this. I am also going to put in the empty 150g drive. I would like to move all my games and such from C: to the 150g drive. Will this work, or do I need to reinstall the games on the new drive? Is their a trick to doing this so all files (even those not residing in the games' folders) will transfer to the other drive?

Thank you and more to come later......

[The_YongGrand]

Just follow the instructions directly from the processor manual book. You don't have to put in the thermal grease because there's already the thermal pad underneath the heatsink.

And most of the times you don't have to reinstall the games back - but be prepared for broken shortcuts and links to the games in Windows XP.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by jbruno The CPU cooler/fan comes with a heat "pad" for the cpu. Do I still need to add thermal grease too?

No, don't apply thermal compound to the thermal pad. Just install the heatsink as is.

Originally Posted by jbruno This is a general question. I am going to install my "old" SATA 74g 10K rpm drive into this. I am also going to put in the empty 150g drive. I would like to move all my games and such from C: to the 150g drive. Will this work,

No, not if you're just going to drag and drop the installed games from one hard drive to the other.

Originally Posted by jbruno or do I need to reinstall the games on the new drive?

Yes, you have to reinstall your games so that Windows knows about them.

Originally Posted by jbruno Is their a trick to doing this so all files (even those not residing in the games' folders) will transfer to the other drive?

None that I know of. Unless you make an exact copy of the entire contents of the old hard drive and "image" it to the new hard drive with an imaging program like Acronis True Image or Norton Ghost.

Cricket

[jbruno]

OK, everything is basically up and running...... However my 150g SATA drive is not found in Explorer. It is found in bios and in "devices"

Do I need to format it or something?

Thanks,

[glc]

Yes, use disk management.

[jbruno]

Originally Posted by glc Yes, use disk management.

How exactly.......... don't yell

[glc]

Start - run - diskmgmt.msc