Can anyone help me pick new parts?

  • Thread starter Thread starter josh.dawidowicz
  • Start date Start date
J

josh.dawidowicz

Hey guys,

My computer is about 2.5 years old, and I'm looking to do an upgrade.
When I bought the computer, I made sure I got a case that would allow
me to expand exactly what I need when I needed to. Currently I have an
MSI KT4-Ultra with 512MB PC2700 RAM and an Athlon XP 2000+. I have an
MSI GeForce4 Ti4200. All my other components are fine. My soundcard is
actually overkill, but I like it.

I'm looking for a new motherboard and processor, new RAM, and a new
graphics card.

I am looking for a mainboard with:
Socket 939, PCI-Express 16x, Dual Channel RAM (PC3200), lots of USB
ports and if possible, built in Firewire. My hard drives are Parallel
ATA, so if the board has SATA and PATA, that would be ideal.

I figured I would get an Athlon 64 3700+, but if that is unnecessary,
then please, I would love to save money.
Is there any advantage to Kingston Hyper-X RAM, or am I just as fine
with regular Kingston or Corsair memory? Is there any advantage over
generic?

For graphics, I'm looking for a card that I won't have to upgrade
for a few years, but not super top of the line. Not SLI. I'm
basically looking to play Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, HL2, Doom 3, and
Need For Speed Underground 2. Any distinct advantage between Radeon and
Geforce?

If anyone can help me out with any of these parts, that would be
ridiculously helpful, and I thank you in advance. I have a penchant for
MSI, but my brother has all ASUS components and they work great, so
really I'm willing to go for anything. I feel so out of it with
technology, since I haven't shopped for anything other than DVD
burners since 2002. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at
(e-mail address removed).

Thanks SO much guys.
-Josh
 
Graphics card wise i would go for a 6600GT,

Motherboard wise, i'm not too clued up on 939 boards, but the Asus's SLI
board is a good choice so i'm told. Either way if you can afford one, get a
SLI board so that if you ever decide to get a sli setup your half way
there.Most boards based on 939 sockets come with all the bells and whistles,
so its your choice on make and chipset pretty much

CPU wise, save some cash and get 3400+(i think thats the next one down), the
200 mhz difference won't kill you, after all you can always oc it back to
that if you really want to.

As i always say Ram is Ram, don't get any cheap stuff, but don't buy any
super duper stuff either. Some "cheap" OCZ or corsair memory should do you
fine, unless your gonna try some extreme overclocking. I personally like OCZ
premier line, good timings, and its not much more expensive than the value
stuff.

Lastly if you can afford it get an ATI x800 XL or a 6800GT, plus, you might
want to hold off for a couple of weeks till more information about ATI's
crossfire platform comes out.

Hope that was helpful
 
I figured I would get an Athlon 64 3700+, but if that is unnecessary,
then please, I would love to save money.
Click to expand...


The higher the processor you can afford, the better. This way, you'll be
able to put off future upgrades longer. Also, if you decide to change video
cards 12 to 18 months from now, your processor will be able to feed it
closer to it's potential.

Is there any advantage to Kingston Hyper-X RAM, or am I just as fine
with regular Kingston or Corsair memory? Is there any advantage over
generic?
Click to expand...


When I did my last big upgrade in September of 2003, I asked myself some of
the same questions about memory. I was going to buy Kingston HyperX RAM
until I found out how much it cost for 1GB. I also asked myself what I
would really accomplish by getting it and could not justify the added
expense. I ended up buying Kingston Value RAM and am very happy with it.
It is CAS3, but since I don't ever intend to overclock my system, it's not
an issue. I saved $180 buying the Value RAM as opposed to HyperX. When you
think of things in those terms, it makes you wonder how much real value
there is in overclocking.

Definitely try to avoid generic memory. Standards for manufacturing vary
and it's not worth it to shave off a few bucks and risk having stability
problems. Lots of people have had a great experience with generic RAM, but
I don't think it's worth it.

For graphics, I'm looking for a card that I won't have to upgrade
for a few years, but not super top of the line. Not SLI. I'm
basically looking to play Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, HL2, Doom 3, and
Need For Speed Underground 2. Any distinct advantage between Radeon and
Geforce?
Click to expand...


If you want to go the nVidia route, get a 6600GT.
If you want an ATI card, go for the X800XL.

Also try to get a card with 256MB depending on how much you want to spend.

If anyone can help me out with any of these parts, that would be
ridiculously helpful, and I thank you in advance. I have a penchant for
MSI, but my brother has all ASUS components and they work great, so
really I'm willing to go for anything. I feel so out of it with
technology, since I haven't shopped for anything other than DVD
burners since 2002. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at
(e-mail address removed).
Click to expand...


Right now, I have Gigabyte motherboards on both of my computers. On my main
computer, I have a GA-8IPE1000 Pro, and on my second computer here, I have a
GA-7N400-L. They're both great and were very reasonably priced. Of course,
these models do you no good, but I'm happy with Gigabyte. I have also
previously used Asus with great success. I have no difficulties in
recommending them. My last Asus board was a P4B533 which I bought in 2002.
The guy I sold it to says it's still going strong now.
 
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