Upgrading my PC.. please help

  • Thread starter Thread starter OVS
  • Start date Start date
O

OVS

I'm looking to upgrade my PC, reason being - I can't play any of the new
damn games anymore!

I need to upgrade the motherboard, processor, graphics card and memory.
I've tried googling, but the available options are so many, I'm completely
lost.

I'm looking to spend up to $400, hopefully that will be enough to play all
recent games and be o.k for the foreseeable future.

Does anyone have recommendations or maybe a website which explains clearly
the options I have?

Thank you
Oz
 
I'm looking to spend up to $400, hopefully that will be enough to play all
recent games and be o.k for the foreseeable future.
Click to expand...

Sorry, that should be £400, about $600, I'm guessing.
 
OVS said:
I'm looking to upgrade my PC, reason being - I can't play any of the
new damn games anymore!

I need to upgrade the motherboard, processor, graphics card and
memory. I've tried googling, but the available options are so many,
I'm completely lost.

I'm looking to spend up to $400, hopefully that will be enough to
play all recent games and be o.k for the foreseeable future.

Does anyone have recommendations or maybe a website which explains
clearly the options I have?

Thank you
Click to expand...

Soltek SL-75FRN2-L nForce 2 Ultra 400 mobo
AMD Athlon XP 2500+ Barton CPU
2x 256MB (or 2 x 512MB if you can afford it) PC3200 RAM

That's pretty much the best value for money system around and plenty
powerful.

Graphics card, up to you, there are so many and it depends on how much money
you have left after the above. I personally like nVidia products.

The above system will overclock fairly safely to XP3200+ speed, you may need
to buy a more efficient cooler for the CPU though, it depends on your case
ventilation and abmient air temp.

You may (probably will) need to upgrade your power supply, depending on what
you have now and if it has the square, 4-pin 12v mobo connector.
 
" Does anyone have recommendations or maybe a website which explains
clearly the options I have? "


If all you need is a motherboard, CPU, RAM and graphics card, then £400
could get you a lot. However, you'll need to completely list your current
system in order to get the best advice.
 
Soltek SL-75FRN2-L nForce 2 Ultra 400 mobo
AMD Athlon XP 2500+ Barton CPU
2x 256MB (or 2 x 512MB if you can afford it) PC3200 RAM

That's pretty much the best value for money system around and plenty
powerful.

Graphics card, up to you, there are so many and it depends on how much money
you have left after the above. I personally like nVidia products.

The above system will overclock fairly safely to XP3200+ speed, you may need
to buy a more efficient cooler for the CPU though, it depends on your case
ventilation and abmient air temp.

You may (probably will) need to upgrade your power supply, depending on what
you have now and if it has the square, 4-pin 12v mobo connector.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply.
The AMD chip you mention, is this the same?

http://www.dabs.com/uk/channels/components/processors/productView.htm?quicklinx=2CYG

Also, I have never overclocked before, is it a difficult procedure? It does
sound tempting to buy a 2500 and get a 3200 performance.

I'm going to check on the other components you mention and also have a look
at my PSU.. although I have a feeling I probably need a new one.

Thank you
 
If all you need is a motherboard, CPU, RAM and graphics card, then £400
could get you a lot. However, you'll need to completely list your current
system in order to get the best advice.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply Cuzman.

My system at the moment is:
AMD Duron 1.3GHz
256MB Ram
160GB WD HD
NVIDIA RIVA TNT2 M64
Memorex 1040 CD Writer
Samsung DVD-ROM

Network card
Linksys 80221g router/gateway
 
" My system at the moment is.... "


Assuming that you already have an ATX set-up, then you can keep the case,
your CD / DVD drives and your hard drive. I expect that you don't have a
very good PSU with that 1.3Ghz Duron, so you'll need at least a 350W branded
or 400W generic one to be on the safe side. The motherboard I've suggested
has onboard LAN and sound, so you wouldn't need your network card either.

I'm also assuming that you have a full version of Windows that you intend to
use, as the drivers on your current hard drive won't like change. You might
need a full re-installation, or a repair if.your operating system supports
that.

In terms of bang-for-buck, overclocking and lastability, you could do worse
than the following set-up:

- AMD Athlon XP 2500+ 333FSB OEM (£54.04) http://tinyurl.com/ys3zf

- Arctic Cooling Copper Silent 2 TC rated to 3200+ (£8.22)
http://tinyurl.com/254z4

- Asustek A7N8X-E Deluxe motherboard (£69.33) http://tinyurl.com/274rp

Supported CPU: Socket A AMD Athlon XP/Athlon/Duron Processors
Chipset: NVIDIA nForce2 Ultra 400 + MCP-T
FSB: 400/333/266/200MHz
RAM: 3x DIMM support Dual-Channel DDR400/333(Non-ECC) Max 3GB
IDE: 2x UltraDMA 133 up to 4 Devices
Slots: 1x AGP Pro/8X, 5x PCI
Ports: 2xPS2,1xLPT,1xCOM,2xLAN,6xUSB2.0(Rear 4),SPDIF Out,Audio Ports
Onboard Audio: Realtek ALC650 6-Channel Codec
Onboard LAN: Realtek 8201BL 10/100Mbps + Marvell 88E8001 GbE
Onboard SATA/RAID: Silicon Image Sil3112A RAID Controller 2x Serial ATA,
RAID 0/1
Form Factor: ATX

- Kingston 512MB PC3200 DDR400 CL2.5 Unbuffered Non-ECC KVR400X64C25/512
(£69.91) http://tinyurl.com/3c3b4

- Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB AGP8x (£145.00) http://tinyurl.com/2yepn

- Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer (£5.84) http://tinyurl.com/27lnv

- 450W generic ATX PSU (£18.74) http://tinyurl.com/33r5r

That all comes to £371.08, which will take it to £400 with p&p. Also, if
you haven't already got some case fans, you will definitely need them.
Round IDE and floppy cables are also a must if you are overclocking, as most
motherboards come with strips that decrease air-flow.

After your new system is happily running, you could sell the motherboard,
CPU, SDRAM, graphics card and network card from your old system at
www.eBay.co.uk . If you state exactly what you are auctioning with as much
information as possible, then you could easily get £50 to £75 for it.
 
Thanks for the reply Cuzman.

My system at the moment is:
AMD Duron 1.3GHz
256MB Ram
160GB WD HD
NVIDIA RIVA TNT2 M64
Memorex 1040 CD Writer
Samsung DVD-ROM

Network card
Linksys 80221g router/gateway
Click to expand...

Start out by buying a new video card (and power supply if needed). A
1.3GHz Duron w/256MB of memory certainly isn't all that fast compared to a
moden gaming system but the TNT2 M64 video card is by FAR the largest
bottleneck to gaming.
 
After your new system is happily running, you could sell the motherboard,
CPU, SDRAM, graphics card and network card from your old system at
www.eBay.co.uk . If you state exactly what you are auctioning with as much
information as possible, then you could easily get £50 to £75 for it.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for the great advice. I was almost tempted into buying
straight off without thinking any further.

My only concern is with the overclocking - I've never done it before. What
does it involve to overclock the processor? Is it a software process?
Also, you recommend a cooling for the graphics card, does this mean that
the card should be overclocked too? Is this an easy process?

Sorry for the questions- I feel a bit guilty after the time you took for
the excellent advice.

Thank you
Oz
 
" My only concern is with the overclocking - I've never done it before.
What does it involve to overclock the processor? Is it a software process?
Also, you recommend a cooling for the graphics card, does this mean that the
card should be overclocked too? Is this an easy process? "


The AMD Athlon XP 2500+ Barton runs at 1833.33r Mhz, which is the multiplier
of 11x the FSB of 166.66r (333.33r / 2). These numbers are always
rounded-off, so you'll usually see them as 1.83Ghz, 166FSB and 333FSB.

All you need to do is raise the FSB in the BIOS from 166 (333 / 2) to 200
(400 / 2), which gives you a clock speed of 2200 Mhz (11x 200). This is
exactly how the Athlon XP 3200+ runs, and no-one seems to have any problems
overclocking 2500+ Bartons this way. http://tinyurl.com/3d5rh

I've recommended getting an Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer because the Radeon
9800 Pro runs very hot with standard cooling. Not only does it keep the
card much cooler without extra noise, but it exhausts hot air from the case.
When overclocking any system, you'll need the inside of the case as cool as
possible, and this does that job. These coolers are also a massive help if
you ever did want to overclock the 9800 Pro to 9800 XT speeds.
http://tinyurl.com/2aj45
 
Thanks for the reply.
The AMD chip you mention, is this the same?

http://www.dabs.com/uk/channels/components/processors/productView.htm?quicklinx=2CYG

Also, I have never overclocked before, is it a difficult procedure? It does
sound tempting to buy a 2500 and get a 3200 performance.

I'm going to check on the other components you mention and also have a look
at my PSU.. although I have a feeling I probably need a new one.

Thank you
Click to expand...

Don't overclock your system, the performance gains are minimal and you'll
pay for it in reliablity.

Your current system isn't that bad. If I were you I'd replace the graphics
card and add some RAM, I'd add 512M to that system. I saw an ATI 9200
card and an Nvidia 5200 card on sale at CompUSA for 79$ yesterday, both of
those will be a lot faster than your current card. You could also buy a
card from newegg for about the same price. For a little more you could get
an Nvidia 5700 card.

You might not need a new motherboard, check the manual or the
manufacturers site so see what the maximum speed processor that card will
support. You can probably drop an Athlon into the Duron socket. An Athlon
XP 2800 is $100.
 
Cuzman,

This is the motherboard I have at the moment :
http://www.acorp.com.tw/Products_information/pro-default/7KT266A.htm

If I've understood you coreectly this motherboard with FSB 200MHz could
overclock the AMD Athlon XP 2500+ Barton?

Will Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB AGP8x and 512MB PC3200 DDR400 fit and work
with the motherboard.

Sorry, If I've asked silly questions... I have a feeling I'm way out of
my depth here.

Thank you
Click to expand...

Read the specs. It takes DDR 200 or 266, it can't support 400MHz DDR.
The fastest Athlon XP that that board supports is an Athlon XP 1600. If
you want to use a faster CPU then you'll have to get a new motherboard.

And stop talking about overclocking, it's a dumb idea. For a few bucks
more you can buy a CPU that meets the specs, don't create a nightmare for
yourself by running the system at the wrong clock rate.
 
Read the specs. It takes DDR 200 or 266, it can't support 400MHz DDR.
The fastest Athlon XP that that board supports is an Athlon XP 1600. If
you want to use a faster CPU then you'll have to get a new motherboard.

And stop talking about overclocking, it's a dumb idea. For a few bucks
more you can buy a CPU that meets the specs, don't create a nightmare for
yourself by running the system at the wrong clock rate.
Click to expand...

Calm down General.
You may be right I don't know, but do you have to get so worked up about
it?
I'll probably take your advice though and not bother with overclocking, its
obvious my techical knowledge is verging on a big zero.

Thanks
 
" The fastest Athlon XP that that board supports is an Athlon XP 1600. If
you want to use a faster CPU then you'll have to get a new motherboard. "


Maybe that was the case when the 1600+ was the fastest CPU available. AMD's
site states 1800+, which it also does for the ECS K7S5A
http://tinyurl.com/ywqrb . However, I've been running a 266FSB 2600+ on one
of those for nearly a year now.
 
Read the specs. It takes DDR 200 or 266, it can't support 400MHz DDR.
The fastest Athlon XP that that board supports is an Athlon XP 1600.
Click to expand...

False. For example, if it supports an XP1600 it'll at least support up to
XP2000 Palomino. He needs to research his specific board model,
revision, and bios updates. Then a search of fellow users on a web forum
will reveal which core versions other users of same are successfully
running... if the board will accept a T'Bred or Barton core from a logical
perspective, not a FSB perspective, since AMD CPUs are not clock-locked
like Intel's except for a few of the newer Bartons and Thortons.

If he's willing to do the research, he could just buy the faster chip and
change the multiplier. For example, an XP2800 is spec'd as 2250MHz with
13.5X @ 166MHz FSB, but on his board it might run as 17X @ 133MHz FSB.
However, given the age of the board and slow PC133 memory bus, lack of
modern features, the better solution might still be to replace the
motherboard.

And stop talking about overclocking, it's a dumb idea. For a few bucks
more you can buy a CPU that meets the specs, don't create a nightmare for
yourself by running the system at the wrong clock rate.
Click to expand...

It's dumb for someone who doesn't know what they're doing to overclock,
but to label the entire concept as dumb or to assume that overclocking in
itself will cause a problem, is clearly wrong, proven so by millions of
people over and over and over again.

A thoroughly informed overclocker will test their system, enough so that
it's confirmed stable or thereafter made stable, which is more than can be
assumed about someone else's non-overclocked system if that nonoverclocked
system wasn't similarly tested.
 
" If I've understood you coreectly this motherboard with FSB 200MHz could
overclock the AMD Athlon XP 2500+ Barton? "


The 200Mhz FSB on your board is half that of the 400Mhz needed for those
purposes. The FSB you'll see in the BIOS will read as 100, 133, 166, 200
etc, so you'll see yours as 100 (200 / 2) and 133 (266 / 2). This article
explains a little better:
http://www.ocarena.com/articles/ddr_ratio/ratio1.htm

You could certainly opt for a few upgrades to your existing system, instead
of a completely new set-up. A BIOS update will support the AMD Athlon XP
266FSB 2400+ and 2600+, as the Acorp BIOS update site shows
http://tinyurl.com/2wsjg . However, production of the 266FSB 2600+ was
discontinued early in favour of the 333FSB Athlon range, so they are very
scarce. You would have a very difficult time finding one for a respectable
price, and I could only find one for sale at £89 http://tinyurl.com/2uspc ,
and one for auction on eBay http://tinyurl.com/2wnlj . Anyway, the
following should more than do the trick:

- AMD Athlon XP 2400+ 266FSB 2.0Ghz Thorton OEM (£46.94)
http://tinyurl.com/2oy33

- Arctic Cooling Copper Silent 2 TC rated to 3200+ (£8.22)
http://tinyurl.com/254z4

or if you have a window case.....
- Arctic Cooling Copper Silent 2L rated to 3400+ (£9.39)
http://tinyurl.com/3fc3w

- Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB AGP8x (£145.00) http://tinyurl.com/2yepn
(AGP8x cards are backwards-compatible)

- Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer (£5.84) http://tinyurl.com/27lnv

- 450W generic ATX PSU (£18.74) http://tinyurl.com/33r5r

Your Duron 1.3Ghz runs at 200FSB, which means you probably have PC1600
DDR200 RAM. You'll need PC2100 DDR266 RAM for the above combination, but
you may be able to run certain types of higher-speed RAM (PC2700 or even
PC3200). However, the memory manufacturer's websites don't say which is the
most compatible for your motherboard, so it could be worth emailing Acorp,
Kingston, Crucial etc stating your motherboard to find out if they have a
compatibility list.

Without the RAM, the above would set you back £224.74 (or £225.91 if you opt
for the flashier fan), so you might feel that you can afford 2x 512MB RAM if
you felt so inclined.
 
Back
Top