Help with gaming computer rebuild?

E

ekuest

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Feb 23, 2009
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i built a semi-gaming computer with my brother about 3 years ago, and it has served me quite well, but its come to an end. something is fried on it and i have no idea what. i think instead of trying to figure out whats wrong i want to just rebuild it because its been a while anyway. i can keep my case, hard drives, psu, and some other stuff i suppose. im wondering what i need to/should upgrade and what i can keep. currently i have an asus p5ld2 motherboard, a 2.4GHz intel processor (pentium dual-core), and a 9800gt gfx card. i want to make a pretty big upgrade, so im thinking 8GB ram, with 4GB going for about 20 bucks on a good newegg deal here and there. ive heard this means i need 64-bit chipset or something, so im gonna want to get a new motherboard and cpu. any suggestions? id like to be able to keep my 9800gt since i just bought it a couple months ago. my price range is around 100 dollars for the motherboard, maybe as much as 130. and i have no idea how much cpus cost. idk what my power supply is. i think 600W. is that enough? any and all recommendations are welcome, i really am quite hardware-stupid. thanks!

~evan
 
The Pentium dual core, isn't a Pentium. Its an Allendale, the smallest member of the Core 2 family, with half its L2 cache disabled.

What is L2? It's ram on the processor, made of flip-flops (really really fast buggers). Equipping an Allendale with half its L2 disabled (for a total of 1MB) with 8GB of ram is... ironic is the word I guess I'm looking for.

This day in age for a desktop PC you don't need to worry about 64bit hardware in the least. Just make sure you get a 64bit OS.

Before I can make any suggestions you really need to answer the stickey.
 
ah im so sorry. thanks wizard. i actually copied those questions but forgot to paste them and fill them out. here goes:
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
I will be doing everything except moving it. i have an eee pc 1000ha that i take everywhere and this computer is for gaming (mostly tf2 but i also play most new shooters as they come out). also some solidworks (3d design) and some other stuff. def some hardcore gaming i hope.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
im pretty flexible here. mainly i want to get a good deal. i hate buying something and then seeing it for 20 bucks less a week later. i can wait, but i want to get a decent price on good hardware. im thinking i might need to spend 120 for motherboard, up to 60 for 8GB ram (or maybe just 30 for 4GB). and then a processor however much that is, im hoping around 250 total? not firm.
3) Where do you live?
seattle
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
as far as i know, i need a motherboard and ram. i can use my current cpu or upgrade if need be. i may need a new psu or gfx card too but hopefully i can use the ones i have.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
pny 9800gt, a couple hard drives (sata), case, idk about the power supply, but i can edit that when i get home. i think its 600ishW
6) Will you be overclocking?
a little if necessary
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
17" 1600x1200
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
sometime over the next few weeks/months
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
not a ton. idk if i need raid. i would like support for 8gb ram, but 4 is probably all i really NEED. i want to fit my 2.4GHz processor i have now, oc'd to 2.66 because it seems to work fine but i want to be able to upgrade it in the future without needing a new motherboard. and i would like it to support my current 9800gt video card.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
yes.
 
i have a rosewill r-604t case (dont know what that might affect) and a thermaltake tr-2 430W psu. i feel like ive seen an extra 500 or 600W psu around my or my brothers room but im not sure. is that 430W one enough? and thanks for the motherboard suggestion. i think ill probably get it once i find out what other stuff i need.
 
The PSU will not be enough. I recommend replacing that PSU ASAP. The TR2 PSU is inadequate for your current system let alone an upgraded system. I would not be surprised if the cause of your PC's death was somehow related to THAT PSU.

For your planned upgrades and system, I recommend this PSU as a bare minimum:
Antec Earthwatts 430W PSU - $50

It has 30A on the +12V rail whereas the POS TR2 only has 18A on the +12V rail. So despite being of the same wattage, you'll actually get more power for your system with that Earthwatts since a majority of PC parts today draw power from the +12V rail.
 
i think im getting this psu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817702008. i read a comparison test of a few 500-550W psus and this one won. then i looked it up on newegg and it was 59.99 after MIR which is 10 less than the one suggested above and it looks a ton better. i decided i want SLI. anyone suggest an even better deal? if not im getting this one within a day or 2. also, i want to check my motherboard. im looking at the evga 750i, 780i, and 780i FTW. does anyone have a recommendation? again, i want SLI and i dont want to spend too much. thanks.

~evan
 
ok im going with the 550W BFG psu and the eVGA 750i mobo. what should i do about ram? i see deals every few days on a couple sites of like 4GB for 25ish bucks. is that gonna be crappy ram? i assume yes but does it make enough difference to warrant spending twice as much per GB? id like 4GB. i dont think any more would make a difference. i have xp 32bit and a pentium d 805 processor.
 
Once it is from name brand like Kingston, Corsair, G.Skill, etc. its good. 805s still lives in these modern times :S lol
 
:p is that bad? i had mine oc'd to 3200MHz before my computer went kaput. maybe thats why? anyway are patriot and ocz ok? patriot seems to be cheapest. and how much do timing and speed matter?
 
Don't go with the eVGA 750i motherboard. You don't need the main feature that the 750i (FTW?) board offers, which is SLI, and the Gigabyte EP45-UD3R that Danny Bui recommended earlier (hell, virually all boards with an Intel-based chipset) is more stable than any Intel-based board with an NVIDIA chipset.

Get a reliable DDR2 800 kit with a CAS Latency (or CL) of 5 or better (but don't get CL4 RAM unless it cost as much as, if not less than, CL5 memory). Patriot and OCZ are good brands (along with the three that lt_shiro mentioned), but OCZ run on comparatively higher voltage levels that may not be good for overclocking. In this case, Patriot and G.Skill often have the better RAM deals. For now, stick with a 4GB dual channel (2x2GB) kit, as I doubt that you would need more.

The Core 2 processors, including the Allendale cores posing as "Pentiums," often don't require one overclocking the RAM as well as the processor. All that you need to do is pick up some RAM that can match the FSB speed that you're planning to overclock towards. (If you really want to know, search for either "math" or "numbers" in this forum... this topic has been discussed numerous times. Or, better yet, check out the FAQ sticky.) The long story short is that DDR2 800 would be enough for most of your overclocking needs. You'll only need DDR2 1000 or DDR2 1066 RAM (whichever is cheaper at the time) for when you plan on overclocking the newer processors based off the Wolfdale (E8xxx) or Yorkfield (Q8xxx/Q9xxx) core.
 
I agree with everyone so far.

/*------------- <cut n paste> -------------*/
Formulas for Intel platform @ 1:1 settings:
c × [Base FSB speed] = CPU Clock speed (c = CPU Multiplier)
2 × [Base FSB speed] = RAM speed
4 × [Base FSB speed] = 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's some possible clock speeds (as always with OC'ing, your results will vary):

E5200: 12.5 × 200 = 2.5Ghz, DDR2-533 << STOCK
E5200: 12.5 × 266 = 3.3Ghz, DDR2-667 << Good OC
E5200: 12.5 × 300 = 3.7Ghz, DDR2-733 << Great OC, near max on good air cooling
E5200: 9.5 × 400 = 3.8Ghz, DDR2-800 << Great OC, near max on good air cooling

E7200: 9.5 × 266 = 2.5Ghz, DDR2-533 << STOCK
E7200: 9.5 × 333 = 3.2Ghz, DDR2-667 << Nice OC
E7200: 9.5 × 366 = 3.5Ghz, DDR2-733 << Good OC
E7200: 9.5 × 400 = 3.8Ghz, DDR2-800 << Great OC, near max on good air cooling
/*------------- </cut n paste> -------------*/

You can count those as my CPU recommendations as well. The E5200 may be replaced by the E5400 soon. The E7200 should have already been replaced by the E7300 and E7400, either of which are also good choices. The E7X00 should be $100 - $120, and the E5X00 should be $70 - $85.
 
to reply to tiraides earlier post, i do want SLI. i plan on upping my 2.66GHz pentium d 805 to a wolfdale sometime in the next few months, and i plan on adding a second 9800gt around the same time. before or after? esp since i only got my 9800gt a few months ago. anyway is this a bad idea? im not a top-of-the-line type of guy. im more of a broke-college-student type of guy. anyway heres the ram im looking at:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231209. any objections to this coupled with the eVGA 750i and the 550W BFG and a 9800gt vid cards on a pentium d 805 processor?
 
ekuest said:
anyway is this a bad idea?
Click to expand...

Main reasons why SLI is a bad upgrade plan:
Markyip1 said:
Just some info on SLI / Crossfire: It's absolutely not worth considering if a) you're gaming at a resolution under 1920x1200 (as you'll see no performance benefit over a single card,) and b) if you plan to buy one card now and another later. SLI / Crossfire as an upgrade path is usually a very poor idea, as by the time you're ready to get that second card, a new single card solution will likely be available that will outperform two of your older cards in tandem. Furthermore, there really is no cost benefit to the SLI Upgrade Route, as any additional cost in getting the new card can be easily mitigated in most situations by selling the original. By avoiding an SLI / Crossfire solution when it will not be of benefit, you gain a cooler running, simpler to maintain system and more importantly, access to a much better (and broader) selection of motherboards.
Click to expand...

Since you don't have a 1920x1200 monitor, no point in going SLI. So therefore, ditch the 750i FTW mobo.
 
ah ok. thank you for explaining that to me danny bui. ok so that card looks good. and i like the bfg psu still. anything to say about the ram? it comes to $261 total which isnt too bad. i dont know if its completely necessary since i just fixed my computer today :) :) but its stil kinda a pos: asus p5ld2 mobo, thermaltake tr-2 430W psu, and 2GB OCZ gold 667 RAM. is it worth the money to upgrade any/all of these parts? and can i get anything for those old parts? they all seem to work fine to me except for a broken sata port on my mobo.
 
ekuest said:
ah ok. thank you for explaining that to me danny bui. ok so that card looks good. and i like the bfg psu still. anything to say about the ram? it comes to $261 total which isnt too bad. i dont know if its completely necessary since i just fixed my computer today :) :) but its stil kinda a pos: asus p5ld2 mobo, thermaltake tr-2 430W psu, and 2GB OCZ gold 667 RAM. is it worth the money to upgrade any/all of these parts? and can i get anything for those old parts? they all seem to work fine to me except for a broken sata port on my mobo.
Click to expand...

The RAM choice is decent.

As for your current system, Asus' website is down ATM so can't tell what CPU that mobo can support. But probably you'll have to look for an older and used Core 2 Duo CPU for cheap. The Thermaltake PSU is a POS and is barely enough for an office rig, let alone a halfway decent gaming rig. Hell I'd upgrade the PSU right away. That TR2 PSU will not last for long with your current 9800GT + PD CPU. RAM wise, that OCZ DDR2 667 RAM will be enough for a small OC if you go with the E5200 or E7200.

I'd be very surprised if you get more than $50 shipped for all three parts.
 
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