Any advice to tweak my upgrade?

[roaming_builder]

I am currently wanting to upgrade my computer.

I currently have:
P4 3.0Gz Processor
ASUS P4C800-E Deluxe Mobo
GeForce 6800 Video card
2 GB Corsair value ram
sub-par Antec case =(
Antec TRUEPOWER2.0 TPII-480 BLUE 480W PSU
3 250G HDD 2 in RAID 0
Win xp home

I would like to upgrade this to be a little faster and tu run a bit newer games. Age of Conan is a big factor in my desire to upgrade so any advice would be great. So far I was thinking about upgrading just my motherboard, CPU, Graphics Card, and RAM. Will probably end up getting a new PSU too, but haven't looked into how high of a wattage I will need.

So here are my preliminary parts:

MOBO: ASUS P5N-D LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

Video Card: EVGA 01G-P3-N869-AR GeForce 9600GT 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

RAM: CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

So I would reuse everything else from my other computer. For the power supply I would probably end up getting a quality modular type, I think that would be a huge inprovement.

Do you see anything that should be changed or should/could be upgraded without adding much cost? I would also need a 64 bit OS, I was thinking about getting Vista Ultimate 64-bit

Also was looking a the difference between getting a lower clocked quad core or a higher clocked dual core. It seems like the higher clocked dual core is what would be the general consensus for gaming.
I have been reading alot of posts, I am looking for performance on a budget.

Thanks in Advance

[Devastator]

Dual core is great now and so is quad core. Quad core is more future proof. I doubt you'll notice much difference in speed whatever you get really.

You could just add to your current RAM and I assume get another 2x1GB kit. Ultimate is quite a bit more and I have found Home Premium to be great. (I'm a gamer)

Graphics card is good but, the *600GT series isn't for a full on gamer. 8800GT is still great and will run everything i've played max out. Or alternatively you could go for a 9800GTX.

750i is getting old now and unless you really really want SLi down the line i'd just leave it. Take a look at the ASUS P5K range of boards.

[roaming_builder]

Thanks for the advice...

I will have to look into a better graphics card I suppose.
The old RAM I have actually just DDR400 so I think that will make a big difference to buy new.

I thought that Ultimate had more features like media center. I want to eventually put a TV Tuner card into this system and use it to watch TV and do some minimal DVR functionality so I can record my shows I miss all the time.

I'll post more parts when I have time,

Thanks,
-Roaming_Builder

[Katreat]

For mobo would recommend going with a P35 board. The Asus P5K-E is very nice.

Processor is a good choice for gaming. Go quad if you want to be more future proof or do a lot of multi tasking.

The 9600 GT is a good video card. But if you are mainly gaming for a few dollars more you can get into an 8800 GT which I think scores about 10% faster. From there up prices start climbing pretty fast.

For the PSU grab something with about 550 w from a good manufature. That will give you enough headroom for possible futre upgrades. If you stick with an SLI board then check this site to see what your SLI power requirements will be for the video card you have installed.

http://www.slizone.com/object/slizone_build_psu.html

Ram is good choice. It is also so cheap these days that there is no problem running 4 GB with a 32 bit OS. Yes it will only recognize about 3.2 GB but since most software is optimized for 2 GB or less you wont really notice that extra 0.8 GB missing. So you dont have to get a 64 bit OS unless you just realy want one.

Covered processors above but generally agree with your thoughts. Current games get no advantage from quad core. In the long run that will probably change but if you are looking to maximize gaming performance today the duel cores are faster. Truth is though that for gaming they are all pretty much fast enough so put any extra cash you have into a better video card.

Kat

[roaming_builder]

Ok I am looking at these so far

MOBO: ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Not sure if I would use the wireless, but for $10 more why not go ahead.

Video: BFG Tech BFGE88512GTOCE GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail



RAM is still looking good

I think I will go ahead and get the 64 bit OS might as well, doesn't seem like a con at all. Trying to decide on which version of Vista to get and whether or not ultimate has features I would use. I am having a hard time finding how the different versions compare. Only thing I have really found is that Ultimate can have video as a desktop. Do they both have the same media center capability? As stated above, I would like to get a TV tuner card, does any version of Vista have advantages for that? I have Vista business for my laptop that I bought thru my school, but it seems like a stripped version of vista.

Thanks in advance,

Roaming_builder

[roaming_builder]

I am also looking at this video card

PNY XLR8 VCG98GTXXPB GeForce 9800 GTX(G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

I would like to have the highest quality that I can without spending a few thousand =)

Would this card be worth another $100? If so, it is definitely within my price range. It seems like I should pump as much $$ as I can into the graphics card, and I am not too confident in SLI quite yet. Too many parts to break =)

Also is PCI-E 2.0 something that I should be looking at in a motherboard? Does it come with a speed increase? The new MoBo does not have it..

Also this power supply:

XCLIO GREATPOWER X14S4P3 500W ATX12V Power Supply

I have wanted a modular power supply and this looks to bw quality, but isn't much higher wattage than my old one. It is 480W but does not have the 6-pin PCI-E power connectors that I need, and It looks like I would need 2 with the 9800GTX, I just wonder id 500W is enough power or if I can just use an adapter with my old 480W antec and be fine...

Thanks again,

Roaming_builder

[Katreat]

I think the vista site has a side by side review, pretty sure I checked it out once. Most go with Vista Home Premium. Home basic is missing a few nice features but the extra features for Ultimate are mostly buisness related so dont do much for the home user.

How far up the list to move with video card is really a personal opinion as to what it is worth. You spend quite a few more $ for much less performance gain once you move beyound the 8800 GT. You might check out this review to help you choose.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...view,1800.html

At this time PCIe-2 does not really provide any advantage. It likely will in the future but currently the bandwidth of PCIe-1 is still not fully utilized so I would not worry about it myself. It is kind of a standard for the future.

For PSU I would go a bit bigger than 500w, especially if you are thinking about the GTX video card. I tend to overbuild and went with 620w in my current computer. I like headroom so that I dont have to upgrade PSU when I upgrade vid card which I usually plan to do once in the life of my gamer. Based on all that if I was going for a GTX I would probably be looking at 600 w or so. Take a look at the Corsair 620 and 650, very nice modular units and they are extreamly efficient and quiet. They seem to be on sale quite often.

Kat

[roaming_builder]

OK another question....

I think I am going to go with an 8800 as suggested.
I was looking at these 2 cards

XFX PVT88GYDD4 GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB

or

XFX PVT88PYHE4 GeForce 8800GT Extreme 512MB

It looks like the GTS has a bit more impressive stats, plus it comes with COD4, which I would Inevitably buy anyway, bringing the prices close.


Other than that my current components I am looking to buy are:

ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core

CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Noone has really commented on this so I assume it is still looking good...

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English 1pk DSP OEI DVD - OEM Any reason not to get 64-bit?

I have decided to go with Vista Home Premium, was playing around with it today and it seems to have what I want. Ultimate does not have many upsides to make it worth the extra $$.

This is starting to look final, any other suggestions for enhancing performance?

Thanks in Advance,

-Roaming_Builder

[roaming_builder]

I just realized that the motherboard that I chose uses different ram than the one I was initially looking at so here is my new RAM

CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)

This RAM is quite a bit more expensive than the DDR2 800 *sigh*

The cheapest 2X2GB kit was about $140 so I might as well spend another 30 or so to get good quality RAM


-Roaming_builder

[shadowpr]

You should be fine with the ddr2-800 ram.

[Katreat]

Agree with shadow. The board does not require 1066 ram, it is just letting you know that it can handle the faster ram. The ram will step down to the processor speed so 800 is plenty fast unless you are OC'ing.

Kat

[roaming_builder]

The speed wouldn't be noticeably faster? I thought that would be quite a performance enhancement? If it is, I don't mind spending the extra $$ I suppose... Just not wanting to waste $$ ya know? I do a lot of gaming, so naturally I want this rig to last as long as possible, is it worth going to the DDR2 1066?

Or are you saying that the RAm would have clocked down anyway?

I know the FSB has effects on the speed of the RAM or the Processor and stuff but I haven't yet found a good description of it all, so I dont know how the speeds all work together (Not that I have spent that much time looking for it =S)

-Roaming_builder

[shadowpr]

You wouldn't notice the increase unless you overclock. DDR2-800 is still one step above a 1:1 ratio with the processor fsb.

[roaming_builder]

OK Looks like this will be my final list then

XFX PVT88GYDD4 GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB

ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core

CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English 1pk DSP OEI DVD - OEM Any reason not to get 64-bit?

any other suggestions for enhancing performance?

As Always, Thanks in Advance,

-Roaming_builder

Also did anyone have any comments about the video cards I posted a few posts up? IT looks Like there is some negativity towards the GTS. From what I read there are 2 different versions out there, one on the G92 chipset and one on and older chipset. I think I got one that would be better than the GT and is based on the newer chipset. Comments would be appreciated

I am going to be looking for a good quality TV Tuner card very soon, so if anyone knows a good card that works well with Vista 64-bit Media Center functions, I would appreciate it...

PS: I really appreciate all of your help, when I did my first build, I kinda found stuff that would work together, but didn't really try to maximize performance. So I am trying to do that this time around.