Incremental Upgrade Suggestions

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CyberKiL

n00b
Joined
Jul 15, 2007
Messages
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Hello, I have sort of an interesting situation. The front panel on my case broke, so I figure now is a good time to do a little upgrading.

I wish to use my hard drives, 550 watt psu, and 7800 GT on the new build.

Here are some parts I have decided on, they seem to have decent enough newegg reviews.

Lian Li PC 7B http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112099

DFI DK P35-T2RS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136043

E8500 Wolfdale http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036

G.SKILL 2GB DDR2 800 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231121

Pioneer 20X DVD±R Burner http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129018

Suggestions/substitutions appreciated - thanks

P.S. I'm also pretty sure I'm going to get a netbook in a month or so as I'm an incoming college student. That's why I'm not going more all out on this build. Any suggestions on any of the upcoming netbooks would be great as well. Something with about a 10" screen and a keyboard that isn't too cramped would be preferable.

EDIT: Sorry, here is the stuff I left out.
AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3800+ 2.4GHz (single core)
Antec Truepower 550 PSU
Asus A8N SLI socket 939 mobo
corsair valueselect 4 gigs pc 3200
NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GT -Reusing
X-Fi ExtremeMusic -Reusing
650 GB total of HD space (2 drives) -Reusing
Samsung 226bw monitor -Reusing
Running Vista

Looking to spend around $400-$450 on the upgrade. Will only be used for light gaming as of right now, which is why I'm not upgrading the graphics card yet. Will occasionally be using Photoshop and InDesign.
 
First, please give us the complete specs to your current build... particularly the parts that you wish to reuse.

Next, how much can you spend on this build?

It would also help us if you told us the monitor you're using, as well as the games/programs you plan to use on this system.
 
Get a new PSU. The Smartpower, Truepower I and II series have a pretty high failure rate. Have you hear any kind of squealing from your PSU? If so and if it's within the 3 year Antec warranty, you can RMA the PSU back to Antec and they'll send you a quality PSU in return.

Also, ditch the E8500 and go with either the E8400 or E7200. The E8500 is not worth the extra $20 over the E8400 since it's only 133Mhz faster.

And I recommend going with a SATA DVD burner for a cleaner setup:
Samsung SH-222F 22X DVD±R SATA DVD Burner - $27
 
Danny, I haven't had any problems with my Antec PSU, I think I'm going to stick with it. And if anyone can't find any other flaws, better deals, etc, I think i'm going to place the order on newegg.
 
I'm sorry...

But the motherboard is good right? Its better than what he chose, its PCI-Ex x16 2.0
 
enginurd said:
Danny's become so irritable lately, lol, ever since he became a junkie.
Click to expand...

LOL!

I blame the lack of sleep. :D

Anyway, OP, I don't recommend getting a P35 motherboard either. The newer P45 motherboard has PCI-E 2.0 which *might* be useful for future video cards. Best to err on the side of caution and go with a P45 motherboard. Some recommendations:

Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L Intel P43 Motherboard - $90
MSI P45 Neo3-FR Intel P45 Motherboard - $112
Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R Intel P45 Motherboard - $128
Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 Motherboard - $140
Biostar TPower I45 Intel P45 Motherboard - $150
DFI Lanparty DK X38-T2R Intel X38 Motherboard - $180
Asus P5E Deluxe Intel X48 Motherboard - $220
DFI Lanparty DK X48-T2R Intel X48 Motherboard - $220
Gigabyte GA-X48-DS4 Intel X48 Motherboard - $225

Just to help you out: All of these motherboards have PCI-E 2.0 which may be useful for future GPU upgrades. If you don't need RAID, more than 6 SATA ports and only need semi-decent overclocking, check out the DS3L. If you need 8 SATA ports, RAID, 4 PCI slots, and legacy ports, then get the Neo3-Fr. If you don't need more than 6 SATA ports but want RAID, firewire, a second PCI-E x16 port, a second gigabit port, support for 16GB of RAM, optional eSATA, x8/x8 Crossfire, and great overclocks, then get the DS3R. If you like the DS3R but need 8 SATA ports, want an onboard pre-installed fast booting Linux setup, just support for 8GB of RAM, and don't need a second gigabit port, get the Asus P5Q Pro. If you want a motherboard with excellent overclocking capabilities above all else (feature wise), go with the I45. If you want Crossfire with full x16/x16 bandwidth, get the Lanparty DK X38. If you have cash to burn, need x16/x16 Crossfire, and don't give a damn about getting the most value for your money, get the Asus, DFI, or Gigabyte X48 motherboards. Do note that the Asus website can be slow sometimes.

As for the PSU, your PC, not mine. Just keep it in mind.
 
I see the first mobo Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L is labeled as P43 - does that make any difference?
 
CyberKiL said:
I see the first mobo Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L is labeled as P43 - does that make any difference?
Click to expand...

If you're not planning on Crossfire, no. The only difference between the P43 and P45 chipsets is that the P45 has Crossfire support whereas the P43 doesn't
 
And the answer to your next question is: Unless you're gaming at a 1920x1200 or greater resolution, you have no need for CrossFire (or SLI).
 
As far as the PSU goes, those TP2.0's start to fail after 3yrs of normal usage if the environment is warm. They'll last much longer if its in a cool room, and much shorter if its in a hot room. They use fuhjyyu caps, which are highly prone to failure in high heat conditions. While it may have served you well for the past few years, I wouldn't trust it with a newer system, especially since the newer systems put more stress on the +12v rail(s). If you can, RMA that thing and get a much, MUCH better PSU from Antec (Smartpower, or NeoPower, if your current one is modular -- both of which are OEM'd by Seasonic). Remember, a failing PSU (while unlikely) can potentially take out all those new shiny parts.

My coworker went from the 7" eeePC, to the 9"... and now to the 10"... the 10" is by far the best, since it has the best CPU and a more spaced out keyboard. He's got Vista installed on there and it runs great (well, compared to the other eeePC's). I'd go for the MSI Wind, since its smaller than the eeePC.
 
How about the Asus Eee laptops?

-EDIT: nvm I just saw the post above mine... he already said it
 
btw, the screen on my coworkers 7 incher went bad after a few weeks, so he just returned it to costco. Gotta love costco.
 
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