System Upgrade - Keeping it AGP!

[poolman_126]

Hi,

I bought an ATi X1950Pro AGP(last November-ish) because my board only had the AGP slot and then about 4 months later the thing died :/ Anyhow, I want to upgrade my processor, RAM and mobo but keep the X1950 because it's practically brand new. I was thinking of the following:

Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2 Dominator PC2-8500C5 TwinX (2x1GB)

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...B DDR2 XMS2 Dominator PC2-8500C5 TwinX (2x1GB)

Asrock 4CoreDual-SATA2 Rev2 (Socket 775) PCI-Express/AGP DDR2 Motherboard

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-011-AK

Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 2.40GHz Guaranteed to run at 3.00GHZ (1333FSB) - Retail
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...aranteed to run at 3.00GHZ (1333FSB) - Retail


Thankfully my Zalman CPU cooler fits both LGA775 and Socket 478 and I have an OCZ 650W PSU. Do the above components compliment eachother well and is there much of a margin for overclocking?

Thanks.

 

[Rurouni Strife]

looks good. I don't know if I'd garuntee the Core 2 to run a 3 ghz, but it probably will. The Asrock might hinder your overclocking a little. The only reason I say that is because I had an Asrock and it sorta hindered my AMD's OC abilities. Then again, thats Intel and it works differently.
If your going to upgrade your entire system, I'd suggest dumping the 1950 pro as well and grabbing at least a 3850 512. It's a pretty good upgrade and they are roughly 130 bucks. You can probably find them cheaper too.

 

[oli_ramsay]

Nice CPU and RAM, but Asrock boards are horrible overclockers, particularly that one with a VIA chipset. I wouldn't expect anything much over 300FSB. I had a Asrock 775i65G cos I wanted to keep my AGP x850xt and DDR RAM and it crapped out at 300 FSB. I would suggest dumping AGP and getting a better board and card because x1950xt wont be able to play the newest games for much longer. Your next upgrade will cost you more in the long run.

But if you're happy with that then go for it and enjoy the speed core teh Q6600!

 

[flyin15sec]

Sell the AGP vid card and find a better PCIe motherboard and PCIe video card.

That AsRock board is a dead end. Because you are spending money, spend it on better products that will probably have better lifespan. Considering you were still on AGP system till now, you like to keep your conponents for the duration of their lifespan.

That motherboard is designed as a stop gap for users like yourself who has old parts. It can only support up to 2 gigs of DDR2 667. If you decide to move to Vista, it will run pretty slow.

Make the move now and get a full fledge PCIe board that can at least support up to minimum 4 gig of DDR2 800.

35.00 GBP = 68.9840 USD , I'll see if I can find a board that can fit that price range.

 

[oli_ramsay]

What's your budget poolman and is it mostly gaming u wanna use it for? Cos I'm sure we can come up with a better solution for you :taost:

 

[flyin15sec]

Based on the items you listed, it works out to be about: 213.00 GBP = 419.661 USD

Board: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-242-AS 49.99
Memory: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-072-OC 29.99
Processor: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-161-IN 114.99

Add a cooler: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...oling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775) 14.99

This is still under your budget: $209.96GBP

**EDIT** Quick explanation. That memory you listed is overkill for the ASRock board, It won't be able to run the memory natively at 1066Mhz.That Asus P5K SE is a budget board, but can handle up to 8gigs and will use that DDR2800Mhz memory perfectly. As for the processor, I don't recall seeing Pro version of Q6600 in the US, just go with a standard Q6600, since both CPU needs to be overclocked.

 

[DrPepper]

Based on the items you listed, it works out to be about: 213.00 GBP = 419.661 USD

Board: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-242-AS 49.99
Memory: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-072-OC 29.99
Processor: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-161-IN 114.99

Add a cooler: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...oling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775) 14.99

This is still under your budget: $209.96GBP

**EDIT** Quick explanation. That memory you listed is overkill for the ASRock board, It won't be able to run the memory natively at 1066Mhz.That Asus P5K SE is a budget board, but can handle up to 8gigs and will use that DDR2800Mhz memory perfectly. As for the processor, I don't recall seeing Pro version of Q6600 in the US, just go with a standard Q6600, since both CPU needs to be overclocked.

Use ebuyer its much cheaper than overclockers Uk based and never had a problem with them if you do call customer support, its free and they get things done.

 

[poolman_126]

Thanks for the replies guys, you make some interesting points. I want the system mainly for gaming so I'm looking for something that can handle Gears of War (and GoW 2) and Burnout Paradise when it finally reaches PCs.
On one hand, I want to keep the X1950 because it cost £120 and I doubt I could sell it for even 50% of its value. I rushed to get it because supposedly it was the last AGP card. ATi lied to me.
Then again, it's very true that I should jump over to PCI-e because it has a ton of benefits (including GPU prices) and it'll be that much more futureproof.
I haven't made my mind up but there's a lot to think about. My budget is roughly £250 - £350. More towards the higher end if I end up selling the X1950.

 

[flyin15sec]

Use ebuyer its much cheaper than overclockers Uk based and never had a problem with them if you do call customer support, its free and they get things done.

Thanks, I just happened to use what the OP used. I have no idea which etailer is the better to use in the UK.

 

[DrPepper]

Thanks, I just happened to use what the OP used. I have no idea which etailer is the better to use in the UK.

just sharing knowledge

Mobo http://www.ebuyer.com/product/142854
CPU http://www.ebuyer.com/product/131950 The EE version is cheaper but has no cooler boxed with it.
RAM http://www.ebuyer.com/product/128018
GPU http://www.ebuyer.com/product/146428
= 394

could go cheaper mobo or cheaper gpu if you want.

 

[poolman_126]

That looks pretty solid DrPepper. What kind of OC could I likely get from those components and would the original corsair RAM (Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2 Dominator PC2-8500C5 TwinX (2x1GB)) but a better although more expensive substitute?

I'm thinking it's probably best to just go PCI-e so I'll end up getting something similar to these suggestions if I can get enough money together or just wait until Christmas and see how prices have shifted.

Thanks for the help TPU is awesome

 

[DrPepper]

well I hear that some can get 3-3.8 on q6600's im getting a similar system soon so if I get the it before you do I will tell ya.

 

[evil bill]

I have to agree with the other guys about "sucking it up" and ditching the AGP. To be fair, I think what you have suggested buying is a fair shout and it would perform well enough in comparison to what you have now, but it would have zero scope for future improvements. The best part of your old PC becomes the "worst" part of your new PC (Asrock mobo debatable )

I made this mistake a few years back. I had really just got into PC gaming and quickly found my HP Pavillion 1.3Ghz Celeron with 256MB RAM and GeForce MX440 wasn't quite cutting the mustard for CSS. I upgraded to 512MB (after initially trying 1GB only to find the mobo only took 512MB) and then bought a Radeon 9600 PRO. After realising that my PC was still in fact utter pish, I decided on a new build. I made some mistakles with this too (notably basing it on a P4 Prescott 775 instead of an Athlon64) but the biggest one by far was deciding to keep it AGP because I had only recently bought the 9600.

Start afresh FTW!

 

[DrPepper]

but make sure you have a nice psu to keep it stable crapping out on a cheap psu would be bad and make the experience terrible.

 

[evil bill]

just a suggestion

 

[DrPepper]

just a suggestion

That's quite a good choice because I think I went overboard on the motherboard

 

[poolman_126]

but make sure you have a nice psu to keep it stable crapping out on a cheap psu would be bad and make the experience terrible.

I've already made that mistake once Went for an underpowered PSU with the X1950 and that took ages to sort out. I settled for - http://overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-018-OC - 600W PSU(not 650, my bad) and that was great while the rig was working. I'm guessing it should handle the proposed system but I've learned to be completely sure before I buy so I'll do the calcs once I have finalised my choices.

 

[evil bill]

Meant to say, 4GB is obviously overkill unless you are on 64 bit XP or Vista, but at that price why not?

 

[lemonadesoda]

Any AGP system is going to cap out at 300FSB, because the AGP systems run on intel 865, or VIA. I recommend the Conroe865PE or 775i65G over the Dual-vsta board.

I have a rock solid Q6600 on FSB 300 with HD 3850 AGP. It's a fantastic system.

But TBH I would recommend biting the bullet and going PCIe. There is NO POINT buying so many new bits for an old system. If you "only" needed to get a mainboard and CPU, then OK. But you want new DDR, and all that investment for a X1950 aint worth it. The 3850 is tons better.

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=59445&highlight=agp+benchmark
http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=57401&highlight=agp+benchmark

 

[evil bill]

The other thing to consider is whether you really need a Quad. If you use your machine more for games than video encoding etc, why not get a 45nm Wolfdale Core 2 Duo like the E8400. Its only £115 so is kind to your budget, and is clocked at 3.0Ghz, i.e. 20% faster than the Q6600.

It overclocks like buggery too - my E8200 runs at 3.2Ghz on a 1600Mhz FSB all day without breaking sweat. With the E8400 9x multi, I bet you could run that at 3.6Ghz easy.