Upgrade Advice/Approval

[ChaoticRambo]

Hello,

My parents bought me my computer 3 years ago, and since I am a gamer I am feeling that it is time to upgrade. I have got a good idea of the components I want to put in, but I would like someone who knows what they are doing to look over it and make sure things are compatible (to my knowledge they are).

Although I have never built a computer before, I worked as as student worker at my high school, so I have experience switching out components and installing hardware.

In terms of money I am not set in a specific money range, although I don't want to get crazy, I just want good quality hardware that will last me a while with good results. (around $750-$1250)

My current computer (3 years old, no modifications):

Operating System - Windows 7 64 Bit
Power Supply - SilverStone 750W
MotherBoard - Nvidia nforce 680i SLI
CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.13GHz
Memory - 2 x Patriot DDR2 (2 x 1GB)
Video Card- Nvidia Geforce 7950 GX2
Hard Drives - Western Digital 500GB,Samsung 250GB
Optical Drives - NEC DVD/CD Burner,Lite-On DVD/CD Burner
Monitor - Acer 19"
Speakers - Logitech 5.1 Speakers
Case - ATX Full Tower
Keyboard - Generic USB
Mouse - Generic USB laser

I was looking at this upgrade:

Motherboard - ASUS P55
CPU - i7-860 @ 2.8GHz
Memory - G.Skill DDR3 (2 x 2GB)
Video Card - Diamond Radeon HD 5850
Monitor - ASUS 23" widescreen
DVD Drive/Burner - 2 x Sony Optiarc , 2 x Serial ATA Cable for DVD Drives

Total - $1,091.91

I chose the 1156 socket i7 because it seems to be the best "bang for the buck" upgrade option.

Had to get the dvd drives because my current ones are both IDE and this motherboard has no IDE.

I threw a monitor in there because if you notice my current one would in no way do the 5850 justice, so I figure I will need to upgrade.

So how does this upgrade look?

Side note - I have never overclocked and do not plan on it (because I don't know how), so please base any suggestions on base speeds.

I also have a side question - is ebay the best place to sell old computer hardware/monitors? I am going to have these extra components I am replacing and they are still good (never overclocked or moved into another system). I have never had to sell components before (what is a good price to expect? 1/4 of current new cost?).

Thanks,

ChaoticRambo

[ryuk999]

Typically we refer people to ASUS boards because of the reliability (Khalil knows more about it than me ) and also Diamond is so far the best for graphics and XFX is considered not very good, atleast within technical support.
ASUS P7P55D
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-404-_-Product

Diamond 5850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...diamond%205850

I checked the ram on the QVL for Asus and I found a 2GB module but not the exact 4GB module, the only thing different was that the 2GB module was @ 1.6v as for this 4GB module it was at 1.5v.

[ChaoticRambo]

Originally Posted by ryuk999 Typically we refer people to ASUS boards because of the reliability (Khalil knows more about it than me ) and also Diamond is so far the best for graphics and XFX is considered not very good, atleast within technical support. ASUS P7P55D http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-404-_-Product Diamond 5850 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...diamond%205850 I checked the ram on the QVL for Asus and I found a 2GB module but not the exact 4GB module, the only thing different was that the 2GB module was @ 1.6v as for this 4GB module it was at 1.5v.

I made your suggested changes in my post above. Thank you for the advice, as for the RAM do you think the ram I chose will work, or should I change it?

[glc]

That ram will work, if you want to save a few bucks you could use DDR3-1333 with no loss in performance. If you want SATA 6.0 and USB 3.0 for the future, you could get a P7P55D-E. I'm not sure, but Asus boards may come with 4 SATA data cables - I know for sure they come with at least 2. You could always reuse the 2 you already have, no need to buy any.

[ChaoticRambo]

Well, I think I will stick with the ASUS motherboard I already listed, and as for the RAM the 1333GHz is no cheaper than the 1600, so might as well go with the faster.

I also did not notice the motherboard came with sata cables, I will take those off my list.

And I do have another question:

will my power supply work with all of this? I know it is powerful enough but I don't know if it has all the right connections because it is 3 years old. I believe it will, but I could be overlooking something.

and is there a reason I can not edit my original post?

[Khalil]

Your power supply will be just fine as long as everything shown in the specs on the Newegg.com page still stands then you are good to go. Silverstone are top shelf power supplies

[ChaoticRambo]

awesome, so it would seem that I have my upgrade options set, now I do have one question about selling old hardware - is ebay the best place, and how much should I expect?

[glc]

Posts can't be edited after 12 hours.

Try Ebay or Craigslist. Guesses:

Motherboard - $125
CPU - $100
Ram - $40/pair
Opticals - $15 each

[ChaoticRambo]

Originally Posted by glc Posts can't be edited after 12 hours. Try Ebay or Craigslist. Guesses: Motherboard - $125 CPU - $100 Ram - $40/pair Opticals - $15 each

ah thank you,

that is actually a lot more than I was thinking (although you never know until something sells).

I would imagine that the monitors would hold their values a little better? I will be selling an older 17" and the 19" I am using now.

[Khalil]

New monitor prices have crashed in the last year. A 22" used to go for $$229 now you can get them for $169 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-050-_-Product

[ChaoticRambo]

Originally Posted by Khalil New monitor prices have crashed in the last year. A 22" used to go for $$229 now you can get them for $169 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-050-_-Product

That is unfortunate, but I would never factor in the selling prices into my cost of upgrade. So now I just have to get the nerve up to buy this all. I want to sit on it for a couple of days and think.

actually, I did think of one last question

I recently reformatted and would like to not have to go through this again when I upgrade. Is it necessary to reformat or can I get all the old drivers off and install new ones without to much trouble?

[glc]

A reformat really would be best in the long run.

[ChaoticRambo]

Originally Posted by glc A reformat really would be best in the long run.

So would I want to install all the new hardware and then reformat?

I do have the second hard drive which I did not have last time I reformatted, so would I just copy everything onto that - unplug it when installing all the hardware, format the main drive and then plug this in and copy the stuff over.

And thanks for all your help/suggestions guys, I really do appreciate this.

[glc]

Copy anything you want to save to the second drive and remove it. Do the upgrade and install Windows on the main drive, then reconnect the second drive and copy your data back.

[ChaoticRambo]

Originally Posted by glc Copy anything you want to save to the second drive and remove it. Do the upgrade and install Windows on the main drive, then reconnect the second drive and copy your data back.

thanks again for the help,

going to sit on this for a couple of days before I decide to go ahead with it (although I really think this time I am going to upgrade)