Gaming Rig Upgrade Recommendation

[ddragon625]

I've built a decent gaming rig 3 years ago with the help of this forum and now I'm thinking of upgrading it.

My current System spec:

Case: Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450W SmartPower 2.0 Power Supply
OS: Windows XP
Motherboard: ASUS P5W-DH-Deluxe
CPU: Core 2 Duo e6600
GPU: EVGA Geforce 7900GT
Ram: 2 X 1GB CORSAIR XMS2 2240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
HD: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s

My initial thoughts is to just upgrade the GPU since the rest of the components are not as important to gaming and also are still quite adequte for most of the current games (it'll be quite costly to upgrade to a i7 Quad Core w/ Accompanying motherboard). I may upgrade the Power Supply though to support a more powerful GPU.

Let me know what your recommendations are. Thanks!

[not important]

Adding more RAM and upgrading the video card would help for gaming. You may have to replace the CPU for some of the higher end Video cards.

[glc]

Ram is dirt cheap, an upgrade to 4gb is a no brainer. Carefully choosing a video card will allow you to use the same power supply. That is one of the few 975X-based boards out there that semi-officially supports a 1333 FSB CPU, something like a E8500 would make a considerable difference.

[ddragon625]

Thanks for the recommendations so far.

I had been thinking of upgrading to 4 GB of ram but I had read that Windows XP can only use 3 GB or so at the most. Also, if I upgrade the ram, should I buy 2 more GB of ram with the same specs and manufacturer as my original Corsair ram or should I buy a whole new 4 GB pack to ensure consistency?

Any specific recommendation on which Graphics Card I should upgrade to to get the most bang for my buck with the current hardware configuration? I'd be willing to upgrade my CPU to a higher Core 2 Duo chip and also my Power supply if it helps enough. Currently I"m only getting a 5500 on the 3DMark06 test which, according to online comparison, really, really sucks (average online is around 11000).

[glc]

A new 4gb pair would be best.

Here is a good article - but note that if you try to go too strong, your PCI-E 1.0 slot may hold you back some:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...-gtx,2270.html

If you need a stronger PSU, Corsair is probably the highest recommended brand right now.

[ddragon625]

Excellent! Thanks for all your help!

Here's what I've settled on upgrading to:

1) CPU: Core 2 Duo e8400
2) GPU: EVGA 512-P3-N873-AR GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB
3) Ram: CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

Funny how all of these combined cost me less than the e6600 had cost me 3 years ago, .

With these upgrades, is there any need to upgrade my 450W Antec Power Supply? Also, is there a need for me to buy a 3rd party CPU fan and heatsink? I've been pretty happy with the stock fan and heatsink that came with my e6600 (that's assuming 45 C is a decent idle CPU temperature). So I'm assuming the stock fan and heatsink for the e8400 will be similar.

[tomtoon]

It would probably be best to get at least a 550-660w power supply while using that card, plus it would give you room for upgrades like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341010

or if you have got the money you could go with the highly recommended and stable(my mate has one) Corsair 650W:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...corsair%20650w

[glc]

The 9800GTX+ is a very hungry card. Your 450 won't be enough.

[ddragon625]

In light of the new suggestions, here is the final order list I submitted on Newegg:

1) Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail

2) CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail

3) EVGA 512-P3-N873-AR GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

4) CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5 - Retail


I also updated my P5W motherboard Bios to version 2801 in preparation for installing the E8400 CPU. Is there anything else I should be aware of or watch out for when installing these components? For example, since the E8400 is only semi-officially supported by ASUS for the P5W DH Deluxe Mobo, I read on their message board that you can't overclock it and you may need to tweak the BIOS setting so that the FSB runs at 1333 MHz:

"Yes, as the FSB1333 support was implmented based on overclocking north bridge chipset from FSB1066 mode,while chipset does not support asynchronous frequency adjustment between FSB and RAM,the supported memory specification will differ as compare with its natively supported FSB settings, in order to keep the same FSB/RAM frequency ratio.
For P965 chipsets, under FSB1333 mode, memory can only operate under the following frequencies:
Originally DDR2-533 will become 533MHz*1333/1066 = 667MHz
Originally DDR2-667 will become 667MHz*1333/1066 = 833MHz
Originally DDR2-800 will become 800MHz*1333/1066 = 1000MHz

As for 975X chipsets:
Originally DDR2-533 will become 533MHz*1333/1066 = 667MHz
Originally DDR2-667 will become 667MHz*1333/1066 = 833MHz

Hence only when operate under 1333/667 mode, will the system operate under a FSB 1333 configuration without CPU and memory overclock or underclock.
It is adviceable to adjust memory timing and its supply voltage manually if desired memory frequency cannot be achieved."

Does this mean I need to buy Ram to match these frequencies or something?

[glc]

I don't think so. You may have to fiddle with the ram/cpu ratio and/or the actual ram speed. The Corsair you are buying is stable at 889 at stock voltage, I have that exact ram and I've tried it. I think it's just saying that it does not autodetect speed properly.