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I recently bought a Dell 3007 WFP and an eVGA 7950gx2 for gaming. However, I noticed my framerates are low and 3dmark 06 scores are low (4.5k). I believe the reason for this is my CPU, which is an old single core prescott at 3 ghz. (please correct me if I am wrong) My CPU scores in 3dmark are only 900, and I believe this is causing many of my games (such as World of Warcraft which is running at 20 fps) to be processor bound.
I am planning on spending 7-800 on a new core 2 rig:
core 2 6600 -- $300
WD 250gb x 2 -- $150
Thermaltake Typhoon Fan -- $44
I currently have 3 gigs of ram in my PC, of which I plan to use 2 gigs in my new rig. The ram is DDR2-400(KVR400D2N3/1G). I read a review saying that going from DDR2-400 to DDR2-800 on a core 2 machine only gets about 3-5% performance boost on games, so I dont want to spend another $250 on new ram--this will save me a bundle.
There are so many motherboards out there! My main concern is that many of these new boards may not let you clock your memory at DDR2-400. I was hoping someone could recommend a low-midrange board (0-150USD) that overclocks well (maybe up to 3.5ghz) with the following:
SATA with Raid 0
Supports DDR2-400 in Dual Channel
PCI-e slot with good layout to support 7950gx2
Good ATA placement--I plan to use an optical drive
OC's easily with good stability
Some of the boards I looked at either have bad reviews, dont support DDR2-400 (like the Gigabyte GA P965-ds3--I like this one but I am not sure if it will work with my ram), or Don't have raid (like the 945 version). Its so hard to get through this tangle of motherboards!
Also, I dont konw how to go about picking a case/PSU. They all advertize as quiet, look nice, and I'm sure will fit the standard ATX mobo. Any experiences/advice would be appreciated!
I am planning on spending 7-800 on a new core 2 rig:
core 2 6600 -- $300
WD 250gb x 2 -- $150
Thermaltake Typhoon Fan -- $44
I currently have 3 gigs of ram in my PC, of which I plan to use 2 gigs in my new rig. The ram is DDR2-400(KVR400D2N3/1G). I read a review saying that going from DDR2-400 to DDR2-800 on a core 2 machine only gets about 3-5% performance boost on games, so I dont want to spend another $250 on new ram--this will save me a bundle.
There are so many motherboards out there! My main concern is that many of these new boards may not let you clock your memory at DDR2-400. I was hoping someone could recommend a low-midrange board (0-150USD) that overclocks well (maybe up to 3.5ghz) with the following:
SATA with Raid 0
Supports DDR2-400 in Dual Channel
PCI-e slot with good layout to support 7950gx2
Good ATA placement--I plan to use an optical drive
OC's easily with good stability
Some of the boards I looked at either have bad reviews, dont support DDR2-400 (like the Gigabyte GA P965-ds3--I like this one but I am not sure if it will work with my ram), or Don't have raid (like the 945 version). Its so hard to get through this tangle of motherboards!
Also, I dont konw how to go about picking a case/PSU. They all advertize as quiet, look nice, and I'm sure will fit the standard ATX mobo. Any experiences/advice would be appreciated!