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Any Input on These Upgrades?

I

InTheDark

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Joined
Dec 12, 2005
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Hey, I'm new to the board but I've been reading reviews on here and the website seems really trustworthy so I decided to register and ask what people's thoughts on this upgrade I am thinking about doing:

I am upgrading 3 components in my computer: Processor, Motherboard and Graphics Card

I currently run:
Intel P4 2.8ghz Prescott
ASUS P4S800D
Sapphire ATI Radeon 9600 256MB AGP
1.5gigs of RAM


I am looking to upgrade to:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Toledo 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor (I work with 3 design programs and a video editing program so I really need the dual processor, the lag right now when they are all open simultaneously is near unbearable)

BIOSTAR NF4UL-A9 Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard (Any advice on this? I'm a little in the dark about the motherboard...so any help would be really appreciated).


connect3D 3038 Radeon X800GTO 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card (Thoughts on this graphics card? I don't want to go too insane on the price but I still want a rather well-performing graphics card. I also saw some benchmark tests on this card and it looked good.)


Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated! (Such as other recommendations, positive comments on how well I will notice performance enhancement, etc.)

Thanks!
 
Hey InTheDark,
Welcome to this board.
Just as an FYI, if you had this thread in the General Hardware section it might get seen by more people.
Anyways, I was looking over yours parts and they seem good to me.
I would only suggest that you might want to go for the AMD Athlon64 X2 4200+ since you could save about $100 bucks on that and there shouldn't be that much of a performance difference.
I can't comment on the motherboard since all I use is Gigabyte and MSI.
I have not had a problem with either of these brands and they are both well known.
The X800GTO is a good card for a middle range card. So overall its a nice upgrade.
Before you purchase these products though take a look on eBay and pricewatch.com.
You might be able to save some money.
:toast:
 
maybe look into the asrock 939dual-sata2 motherboard, which is very cheap and performs great

what memory are you getting for this setup?
 
Ah, sorry about the wrong location of the thread, my bad! But thank you both for replying, I appreciate the input before I spend this type of money.

To quote you bruins:
Anyways, I was looking over yours parts and they seem good to me.
I would only suggest that you might want to go for the AMD Athlon64 X2 4200+ since you could save about $100 bucks on that and there shouldn't be that much of a performance difference.


Someone else actually said the same thing and they said to match the X2 4200 with this new graphics card and mobo combo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130238

The price added up is basically the same exact price of the setup I was looking at previously. I just want to know for sure that downgrading from the X2 +4400 to an X2 +4200and losing that extra cache will it give me some noticeable performance difference?

I use programs these simulatneously very frequently:

Web design: Adobe Photoshop CS2, Macromedia Flash MX 2004, and Dreamweaver MX (those 3 together right now on this computer kill me with lag).

Video editing: Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5, Adobe Encore DVD 1.5, and Adobe Photoshop CS2 (those 3 together also give me lag when open all together).

Gaming (2nd Priority): Call of Duty 2, World of Warcraft, Counterstrike Source, and soon to be Battlefield 2

So if you're saying that the X2 +4200 will not show me any significant difference in performance compared to the X2 +4400 with the work/play I do, then you sir have saved me money and gained me a much better graphics card, haha.

Also, W1zzard thanks for giving some input as well, I highly appreciate it.

I only have this info for you on my RAM:
3xDDR-SDRAM 512mb modules
Timings: 2.5-5-5-9

Thanks again both of you!
 
I have not been able to experience dual core yet, but very soon. However, I have heard that the performance isnt that much of a difference. If you want to get a 100% correct answer you should post that question in this forum. Also, you can get a GeForce 7800gt for about $300 these days from newegg. Take a look at this page and there are about 2-3 of them (an XFX, EVGA and Albatron) http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/Category.asp?Category=38. With those games you are going to def. need a high end graphic card. Just as an FYI....Call of Duty 2 looks really good with the 7800gt. That could help out with saving some extra cash.
I have used Dreamweaver and TomCat with a video game and I know what you are talking about with lag (but that was on a laptop lol).
From when I use Adobe I can tell you that those programs def. take a hell of a lot outta your system. Since you are running all 3 of them at once you might want to take the 100 dollars you save from the gpu and put it towards more RAM. I would say go with 2GB just to be safe. In order to do that you would need 2x 1GB sticks since using 4x 512 mb sticks wont help you (their timings decrease and pretty much dont help you).

Anyways if you need anymore help just let me know.
Also please let me know the marks of your system when you are done. I am really interested in seeing them
 
Once I have all the parts, I'll let you know!

Thanks for all the info thus far. I did some more research today and realized that the +4400 isn't that much of a difference which is why I'm going to the +4200 and getting a better graphics card. That card being the 7800GT from EVGA because it also comes with a free Motherboard that accepts the new X2 processor!

I love when things work out haha.

I'm not in the market yet but do you know any relatively 'cheap' but quality RAM sticks you could recommend?
 
Sorry InTheDark,
I aint a pro on RAM....I usually just go with Kingston or Corsair (them being pretty good brands). But these days I do hear OCZ is a good brand, but expensive. What are you looking to spend. It will prob. be around $200 if you want 2x 1gb sticks
 
Yeah that's no problem. I'll probably look into it after my wallet stops crying from this upcoming purchase haha.

Thanks for all the help and I just have one other question. Is that motherboard reliable and stable for what I'm about to put on it?
 
Hey IntheDark,
I am sorry to be the bringer of bad news, but this board doesn't seem to support Athlon64 X2. It seesm to only support CPU Type Athlon 64 FX/Athlon 64 . Therefore, it doesnt look like it will. Here is a whole page of motherboards on NewEgg that does http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ice=&MaxPrice=&SubCategory=22&Submit=Property.
When you look at the specs for the motherboard all you need to look at is that it has a PCI-E x16 slot since the 7800gt needs this (no AGP slot is needed) and that it can support Athlon64 X2 which all those on that page does. Good luck and let me know which one you pick. Thanks
 
Yeah, haha. I noticed that a few hours later. I should of re-posted. Thank you for bringing it up though, I appreciate the concern

Here's the new setup:

I lowered the processor once again because I was told I could overclock it easily with stock air to a +4200, even a +4400. So because of this I can get a better motherboard that does support the X2 and PCI-Express x16

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819103562

eVGA 256-P2-N516 Geforce 7800GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130238

ABIT AN8 Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813127197


If there are any other problems you see or think I should know about, please post them! Thank you for everything so far
 
eVGA Geforce 7800GT 256-P2-N515-AX Desktop PC (The one you picked out)
Core clock 445MHz
Memory Clock 1070MHz

eVGA Geforce 7800GT 256-P2-N516 Video Card (This is the card I have picked out now)
Core clock 460MHz
Memory Clock 1100MHz

The one I picked out is $299 without a rebate an the one you picked out is $284 with a rebate...is $15 extra worth the card I have picked out now because of the differences?
 
You might see a slight advantage. If you are going to OC the card anyway though might as well get the one that costs less, but if you aren't then its only 15 bucks :)
 
I've got an athlon x2 4400, and i love the thing this morning i was running Lineage, nfs underground emule and a couple of other programs with no lag. The x2's are great for multitasking can wait for games that take advantage of it
 
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