Hows this???

J

jbmx4life

2[H]4U
Joined
Oct 14, 2004
Messages
2,550
Looking to "upgrade" an existing build by replacing some parts. Here are the parts that will be retained:

Case: Gloss Silver Chieftech Dragon
PSU: FSP AX500-A w/pfc (20+4 pin and PCI-E connectors) Please LMK if this might not work!
IDE Western Digital 250GB
IDE DVD-RW
IDE CD-RW/DVD Combo
Floppy

So now I need the following (these are what you'll be critiquing):

Motherboard: ABIT IB9 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 Allendale 1.8GHz 2M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail
Video Card: XFX PVT73GUGD3 GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

RAM (these are the choices that I am considering):
GeIL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail (don't know anything about these since there are no reviews??)
OCZ Platinum Revision 2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
OCZ Platinum 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail(WTF is the difference between these and the ones above??(not just the price either!))
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail (not really a fan of corsair but if they are good I don't mind. The rep on-site here is a nice touch too)
Patriot eXtreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

Well that is what I got for now. Help me out here.

Thanks!
 
Budget of $600? Hard budget or soft budget? Gaming at 1680x1050 would require at least an X1950Pro (for best price/performance) or 7900GS... and since they're nearly the same price, might as well go for the better card. If you think a 7600GT can handle it, then by all means, go for it. The CPU is cheaper at microcenter. If you can afford that Patriot XP ram, then go for it. Though, since the price dropped so much, it makes me wonder if they still use the micron ic's. Here's the ramlist: http://ramlist.ath.cx/ddr2/. The IB9 is nice, especially with its IDE controllers. But AT was only able to push the board to 407Mhz FSB. Still not bad when paired with an E4300 (max oc of 9*400=3.6Ghz). If you want to push further, go for this biostar. If not, the IB9 should be good.

Heres what I came up with:
$163 - Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 Allendale 1.8GHz 2MB L2 Cache
$105 - Biostar TForce965PT, LGA775, Intel P965 Express
$150 - Corsair XMS2 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-675 TWIN2X2048-5400c4 ($185 - $30MIR)
$165 - Sapphire 100176L Radeon X1950PRO 256MB ($185 - $20MIR)
=========
$633 + tax and shipping - $50MIRs = ~$583

But if tax and shipping kill that deal, then you can get 1GB now, and another 1GB later:
$95 - G.Skill 1GB DDR2-800 F2-6400CL5S-1GBNQ

Both the G.Skills and Corsairs I listed can reach DDR2-900 speeds when OC'd. Here's a review on that board:
http://anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2871

To reach past 3Ghz, you'll need a good CPU HSF:
$30 - Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Fan For Intel CPU ($20 + ~$10 shipping)
$40 - Scythe SCNJ-1100P 120mm CPU HSF
 
Right now I am running a Chaintech 6600GT for a vid card so even just the 7600GT would be a great step-up and I could upgrade it further down the road.

For the memory I just figured I would get the PC6400 DDR800 so that I wouldn't have to worry about the memory holding me back any if I do happen to get a bunk set that doesn't overclock well. I read a little bit about the IB9 (since there isn't much out there) and even tho it does stop around 400FSB, your right about having the 9x on the E4300 for 400*9=3.6. That would be an awesome overclock but I doubt it on air alone.

For the CPU cooler, I am trying to get in contact with Asetek about retaining a socket 775 bracket for my Vapochill Micro. This is the absolute be air cooler that I have ever owned. It kept my 3500+ @ 2.85 1.6 vcore under 40c loaded. I doubt I am going to let this go anytime soon.
 
If it can keep a CPU that cool, you should be able to reach 3.6Ghz with it on the E4300. That would be a 100% OC btw, lol. Yah, if you drop to the 7600GT, get those patriot xp sticks (LLK).
$205 - Patriot eXtreme Performance 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-800 PDC22G6400LLK ($255 - $50MIR)

Theres a BFG card clocked at 580Mhz (XFX is 590Mhz) with a nicer rebate. This is the one I got when the rebate was $65. I have yet to receive the rebate, though I just sent it in a couple weeks ago:
$93 - BFG Tech BFGR76256GTOCE Geforce 7600GT 580Mhz 256MB ($143 - $50MIR)

If you go with eVGA, they have a step-up program you might want to look into:
$100 - eVGA 256-P2-N615-TX GeForce 7600GT 560Mhz 256MB ($120 - $20MIR)
$125 - eVGA 256-P2-N554-AX Geforce 7600GT 580Mhz 256MB ($140 - $15MIR)

The IB9 looks nice, and there should be more reviews out by the time you get your return and it comes time to buy.
 
For normal usage, you most likely won't notice the difference. In benchmarks, you'll see the slight advantage to lower latency. Is it worth the added cost? that all depends on you. Personally, I dont think its worth the extra cost for lower latency.
 
Well the only thing that I really saw in a difference between the 2 was overclock-ability. With the C4 sets they were able to overclock more/better than the C5 kits.

I doubt that I'll ever need to go much over the DDR2-800 that they are spec'd for without buying another set anyway. Guess it would be better off to go with the C5's then and hope they can go maybe 25-50 over.
 
Well I am supposed to have my federal tax refund in my savings account this comming Friday. I would really like to get this stuff finalized by say Friday or Saturday at the latest so that I can place my order sometime this weekend. I am really anxious to get this new/upgrade build done since I feel kind-of outdated and just lack-luster knowing I have had the same rig for so long now.

Should I wait til Sunday maybe to see if there are any other good deals going on?
Should I go with some lower rated memory to save some $$$ to get a better vid card?
 
1 UBI SOFT GHOST RECON GRAW PC % - OEM
Item #: N82E16800992001
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$49.99 $49.99
1 MB ABIT IB9 P965 775 - Retail
Item #: N82E16813127018
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$109.99 $109.99
1 VGA SAPPHIRE 100176L X1950PRO R - Retail
Item #: N82E16814102061
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$184.99 $184.99
1 CPU INTEL|C2D E4300 1.8G 775 2M R - Retail
Item #: N82E16819115013
Return Policy: Processors (CPUs) Return Policy
$174.99 $174.99
1 MEM 1Gx2|PATRIOT 240P PDC22G6400LLK - Retail
Item #: N82E16820220144
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$249.99 $249.99
1 WL ADPT ABIT|AIRPACE WI-FI 54M RTL - Retail
Item #: N82E16833347001
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy
$29.99 $29.99
1 DISCOUNT FOR COMBO #21642 GIFT
Item #: COM $-49.99
1 DISCOUNT FOR COMBO #22724
Item #: COM $-29.99

Subtotal: $719.96
Tax: $0.00
Shipping: $11.98
Rush Order Fee: $2.99
Grand Total: $734.93

Well there it is.... all ordered now that I finally got my tax money back. There is a $50MIR and a $20MIR and $15 cash back from Paypal to bring the price down to $650. I am going to sell off the wireless PCI-E 1x card also. It was FREE with the motherboard and only added $2 extra to shipping so I took it. Then I can sell off the stuff I got now and get more $$$ back. This is a very nice and cheap upgrade.
 
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