Best upgrade for $175ish?

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2k2_zx2

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jul 13, 2003
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Looking to upgrade my current system but not sure what should be top priority.

Abit IP35-E w/e2180 @ 2.4ghz
4gb PC6400
EVGA 7800GT


I do some gaming, mostly Steam games and some minor dvd encoding.

Should I upgrade:

the vid card
swap the e2180 for a e8400
swap the board/cpu for a AMD x2 550 setup and hope for a quad unlock?

Thanks!!
 
OC the cpu and get a new/used gpu for upgrade.

gtx 260 or HD 4870 would be huge upgrades.
 
e2180 to e8400 would be a waste as x2 550 is fast as e8400 in some games.

your best option would be to get an aftermarket hsf to overclock that e2180 to 3 GHz and better video card.
 
What PSU do you have? Would be a bad idea to upgrade the system if you have a piss poor quality PSU

Oh and what's the max res of your monitor?
 
yeah but he would need a new board for the amd . processor. i say get an e8400 then work on saving some cash for a better video card.
 
Monitor is V7 Series D22W12 22" currently at 1680x1050
I believe the PSU is an Ultra 650w

I'm currently using the stock HSF but I do have a old Thermalright XP90 I could get a 775 mounting adapter for if that would help oc my current cpu.
 
Would my XP90 be enough to get the e2180 in the 3.0ghz range before I order the lga775 backplate?
 
maybe it kinda depends also on the cpu and mobo. Not every cpu will oc the same.
 
hmm looks like if he registered that psu when he bought it. It should have a lifetime warranty.
 
The xp-90 would definately cool better than the stock cooler. and would allow you more money for a video card upgrade.
 
thats fine about a warranty but it will not protect him if it fries and takes other components with it. In short its still a lesser quality psu and worth replacing.
 
I'll check what the PSU is when I get the XP90 installed, gotta wait for the adapter plate to arrive. I have a box for an Ultra PSU but that unit is in the box so now I'm a little confused as to what I have in the system.
 
I've got the backplate and have the XP-90 installed. Looks like I can get 280x10 100% stable. Anything higher and the pc just wont boot at all, needs a cmos reset.

PSU turned out to be at 600w unit.

I'm leaning at going for a 9800GT and save my pennies for a better cpu & psu down the road.

Tigerdirect has a BFG 9800GT for $100 after Bing & Rebate, think that should be decent for a 22" monitor for a couple years?
 
... and model # pls. $170 for an E8400? heck, same price for a Q9550 at MC! :p Go for that if you have a MC near u. ;) oh, if you want a vidcard, just OC ur current cpu. What are your load core temps? use RealTemp or CoreTemp.
 
By steam games, do you mean source engine games? If so I would do E7500 + 9600gso - exactly $175 on newegg. Or buy used here, you should be able to find an 8800gt or similar card for cheap.
 
PSU - Ultra 600w X-Finity

Manly HL2 and other source engine games. Would like to get some newer games but want to make sure my system can handle them.

Temps appear to max out at 50C under full load for a few hours.

Microcenter is 3+ hrs away so thats kinda out.
 
2k2_zx2 said:
PSU - Ultra 600w X-Finity
Click to expand...

Hmm, so basically you have a so-so 450W PSU then.

Just make sure that you remember that the PSU is a 450W PSU and you should be fine with it for now. Just try to replace it ASAP.

Oh and $100 for a 9800GT is not good considering that you can get the faster HD4850 for the exact same price without having to deal with Bing and rebate. If you want lifetime warranty and significantly better customer support, go with the XFX HD4580 that Hossdaddy recommended.
 
50°C under full load prime95? You definitely have more room to OC, just need to tweak some settings more. What settings did you change to achieve your current OC?
 
I've got it at 10x280, running the ram at 932. Everything is at default voltage, havent messed with that.

I guess I was thinkin the 9800GT was better than the HD4850, not sure why though. ATI or Nvidia, doesnt matter to me.

Hmm, for $114 after Bing I could get a XFX HD4870.
 
No need to run the RAM at 932 if your FSB is only at 280. The intel Core2 platform performs best with a 1:1 ratio, so lower your DRAM multiplier back to 2x or 2.5x. Bump your vCore slightly and you should be able to reach 10x300 or 10x333 with ease.

/*------------- <cut n paste> -------------*/
Formulas for Intel platform @ 1:1 settings: (base FSB speed is SDR, or single data rate)
c × [Base FSB speed] = CPU speed (c = CPU Multiplier)
2 × [Base FSB speed] = RAM speed (DDR: double data rate)
4 × [Base FSB speed] = FSB speed (QDR: quad data rate; Effective FSB speed)

On Intel platforms, running the RAM higher than a 1:1 ratio with the CPU is, for the most part, useless, so don't bother trying to do so. If the BIOS does it for you, just let it. All you need is a 1:1 config, though. Here are some possible clock speeds (as always with OC'ing, your results will vary):

E2180: 10 × 200 = 2.0Ghz, DDR2-400 << STOCK speeds
E2180: 10 × 266 = 2.6Ghz, DDR2-533 << Easy OC
E2180: 10 × 300 = 3.0Ghz, DDR2-600 << Good OC
E2180: 10 × 333 = 3.3Ghz, DDR2-667 << Great OC
/*------------- </cut n paste> -------------*/
 
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