How should I upgrade for fall 08 ?

[Mushroom Prince]

This is my current rig. I built it in the summer of 2006 and it was a great gaming machine for me in college. But this year I took a break from playing a lot of PC games and i haven't upgraded since then. This fall has a line up of a lot of games I"m really excited about. Games such as Dead Space, Fallout 3 and well ..... mostly Fallout 3 Unfortunately, I know I have to upgrade and with a 939 based machine from 2006 it could be ugly.





my machine:


AMD 3800 dual core Manchester socket 939
nvidia 7800Gt
1.5 gigs of 400 mhz ram

80 gig ide HD , 7200 rpm


this is all packed nice and tight inside of a shuttle Sn21g5 that runs off of some integrated nvidia chipset that I don't quite remember the details for right now. No matter how I upgrade I plan to buy a new case and a new motherboard So i can get my stuff out of this tiny shuttle. I would like to live under the delusion that I can keep my 939 processor and not have to buy many new parts.

Money is REALLY tight for me. And i need to upgrade as cheaply as possible while still being able to play fallout 3 with great graphics.

Give me suggestions. Should I try to upgrade while keeping my 939 processor? Or should I just move to the latest Intel gaming socket and slowly upgrade my shit as I can afford to in stages ?

 

[tiraides]

At this point in time, it would be cheaper to replace the entire computer (though you could keep your video card, hard drive, and optical drive, better stuff is available now). However, Nehalem aka Core i7 (the newest Intel platform) is expected to arrive at some point next quarter.

Questions:

- How much (specifically) will you have to spend on your build? Are shipping/taxes included within that amount?
- Which features do you want on your motherboard?
- Are you reusing your monitor? If so, which size/resolution/model are you using?
- Which items do you want to reuse? (I've already hinted at the only stuff worth keeping.)
- Which games/programs are you planning to use?
- Do you plan on overclocking? Using water cooling?
- When, at the latest, do you want to start building this system?
- How long do you want the system to last? Are you planning to make incremental upgrades (e.g., video card) during this time?

 

[Scheibler1]

you can upgrade to lga 775 for dirt cheap. Pick up an intel e2180 for $80 which is pretty much gauranteed for a good 3ghz with the stock cooler and volts with cheap ddr2 800 memory. If your using windows xp all you need is 2gb of ram. I'de recommend the G.Skill 2x1gb pc2-6400 memory for $4 shipped. You can also pick up a P35 mobo for really cheap....search the forum for an Abit IP35 or Gigabyte P35-D3SL or P35-DS3R.

I've got that exact setup with an 8800gt and it runs great. What resolution do you game at? An ATI 4850 would be a great choice is you game below 1920x1200.

So all together,

$80 CPU(new), $50 or $60 mobo(used), $45 ram(new), and $150 ATI 4850(new).

When you upgrade your case, be sure to get a big one b/c all the new graphics cards are REALLY long. A lot mid-towers aren't big enough

 

[Mushroom Prince]

At this point in time, it would be cheaper to replace the entire computer (though you could keep your video card, hard drive, and optical drive, better stuff is available now). However, Nehalem aka Core i7 (the newest Intel platform) is expected to arrive at some point next quarter.

Questions:

1. How much (specifically) will you have to spend on your build? Are shipping/taxes included within that amount?
2 .Which features do you want on your motherboard?
-3. Are you reusing your monitor? If so, which size/resolution/model are you using?
-4 .Which items do you want to reuse? (I've already hinted at the only stuff worth keeping.)
-5 .Which games/programs are you planning to use?
-6 .Do you plan on overclocking? Using water cooling?
-7. When, at the latest, do you want to start building this system?
-8. How long do you want the system to last? Are you planning to make incremental upgrades (e.g., video card) during this time?

1. $250
2. Mobo just needs to just hold the top of the line stuff right now, and not go quickly non-upgradeable like the 939 sockets. sorry for poor choice of words my brain feels broken.
3. I'm planning on replacing my crt with a flat screen that would be good for gaming. But i don't know what model/resolution yet.
4. Looks like I wont be keeping much except maybe my video card and HD.
5. Fallout 3, and then Fable II if/when they develop it for windows.
6. Nope.
7. I want parts on order Oct 15th.
8. About a year.

 

[tiraides]

If your budget is somewhat flexible, you could get:

$90 - Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L
$120 - Intel Core 2 Duo E7200
$43 - G.Skill 2x1GB DDR2 800 dual channel kit
=====
$253 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

Depending on shipping and/or taxes, you may be paying a total of between $260-$275 for the above setup. You could downgrade the processor to the new E5200, but I don't know about its performance compared to the E7200.

You should also make incremental upgrades as you have the money to. I suggest getting a new power supply first, as your new upgrades may stress your current PSU more than your old stuff. The Corsair, Antec Earthwatts are two such brands/models to consider. You should also consider getting a larger hard drive, as you could find one upwards to 750GB (though you'll have to wait for a sale for one of those) for under $100. I suggest holding off on the video card purchase until around the time you get the new monitor. Your 7800GT would struggle with many of today's games on a 22-24 inch monitor. (It may do fine on a 19-20 inch monitor, but a mid-range card would easily outperform it.)

 

[Cottonwood00]

Hey man im in the same boat and to tell you the truth i think getting a new motherboard and CPU is a better way to go, but i'll assume you'll need some new ram with that new mobo. I only recommend it because the prices on the core 2 duo are really good right now for their performance and since you want to game you need more power in your rig. Now if you were just a programmer/It worker or something i would say just get some cheaper Amd stuff with more ram but that's not the case. Hope this helped man.

Personally i'll I'm looking for a 939 dual core for my old computer im turning into a media server so Message me if you are looking to get a couple bucks for your upgrade.