Upgrade Advice

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mt_100

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 15, 2006
Messages
342
I am at an impass with my current system and wanted to bounce some upgrade ideas and get some advice off anyone willing to offer opinions.

First my current config.
Antec Aria Case (300w PSU) - Love this case
Foxconn 760GXK8MC-RS Motherboard (Socket 754, APG 8X, Sis chipset)
AMD Sempron X64 3300+ CPU
1GB PC 3200 RAM
Sapphire X1600 Pro 256MB video (AGP 8X)
Western Digital 7200 ATA133 HD

I was thinking about the new x1950 Pro graphics card and wanting to upgrade but I think the price premium is going to be too high for them since the first ones are selling at $299.99. I decided that unless I can get one of those cards for no more than $225 I should consider a new motherboard and PCI-E card.

To that end a couple of stipulations for any advice.
1. I want to stay with the Antec Aria case since I like it. I know the 300w PSU may be limiting but it is a solid PSU. IT IS NOT A STANDARD ATX PSU AND IS PROPRIATARY.
I did a calcualtion here: http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine and it seems to be ok.

2. ATI based cards are the only video option, personal preference.

Upgrade Thoughts
- ECS C51G-M754 Motherboard $48.99 found here http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813135224
- SAPPHIRE 100189L Radeon X1900GT 256MB $159.00 found here http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102022

That gives me a total of $207.99 for a new MB and video card. I figure the X1900GT is a very capable card and for the price makes a good money savings until it is time to step up on other items in the system.
This upgrade would let me use my current case, cpu, and ram so that is a huge plus. To offset the cost I can ebay current motherboard and video to save a little money.

So now to the fun part.

What are your thoughts on the upgrade ideas?

Do you think the X1950Pro will be available in AGP for $225? This is a better option for me as it saves a lot of work.

Fire away!
 
What's your budget because for around $700-$800 you'd be able to build yourself a budget C2D system.
 
IIRC the early revisions of the aria PSU had a 20pin power supply and the motherboard you have selected uses 24pins. a lot of the those 6150 boards will run fine fine using a 20pin powersupply but i would make sure that particular board can do it just to be on the safe side. if you have one of the newer arias with 24 pins what i just said would be moot..

you are correct in your train of thought though, i would do the same thing if i were in your position. i have doubts that the x1950 will debut for 225.. if it does happen i will be buying one myself :p
 
You should change boards definitely... get yourself a pci X mobo with a better CPU... I hear biostar makes good overclocking mobo on that 6150chipset...
 
I don't wish to replace my whole system or CPU.

I do have a 20 to 24 pin adapter on hand as my Aria does have the original 20 pin power supply connector.
The bonus with the ECS board is that it has Firewire headers and ports on it and that save me a PCI slot on the card. The Biostar boards don't have the firewire.

One other point is I don't over clock nor do I have an interest to.
 
mt_100 said:
I don't wish to replace my whole system or CPU.

I do have a 20 to 24 pin adapter on hand as my Aria does have the original 20 pin power supply connector.
The bonus with the ECS board is that it has Firewire headers and ports on it and that save me a PCI slot on the card. The Biostar boards don't have the firewire.

One other point is I don't over clock nor do I have an interest to.
Click to expand...

just be careful with the 20 to 24 pin adapter, its a hit or miss with it compared to a psu designed to work with the 24 pin specification. you could possibly get away with it but it would be a big hassle if it doesnt work and you have to ship it back.

what do you plan do to with the new video card? without overclocking your processor will be bottlenecking your gfx card and the x1950pro might be overkill.
 
I was planning on leaving the processor alone for at least a few months before upgrading it and the RAM in my system, most likely RAM first though. I figured the CPU will be ok for a few months even though it will be a slight bottleneck.

I already have an adapter for 20 to 24 pin laying around from another project so that shouldn't be an issue. The hard part is the Antec Aria's power supply is a special shape to fit into the case. For one it has a single 120mm fan at the rear that blows out, and there is a small step taken out of one of the corners to accommodate the CPU and heatsink fan. Other than that a standard ATX that is made to mount the tall way instead of the short way will work if it is thin enough. I think in the Newegg reviews for that MB someone mentioned an adapted so maybe I will be OK.

Thanks for validating that the X1950 would be possible overkill considering the rest of my configuration. I really think the X1900GT will be plenty for me.
 
So I am thinking for the money it would be a great idea to go with the items I listed above, the ECS board and the X1900GT graphics card.

I know there are a lot of choices out there and I guess I have to open up and ask if I am being a bit closed minded by sticking with ATI only on graphics. Are there great cards out there in the nVidia world that are in the same ~$150 price range that provide the performance of the X1900GT?
 
mt_100 said:
So I am thinking for the money it would be a great idea to go with the items I listed above, the ECS board and the X1900GT graphics card.

I know there are a lot of choices out there and I guess I have to open up and ask if I am being a bit closed minded by sticking with ATI only on graphics. Are there great cards out there in the nVidia world that are in the same ~$150 price range that provide the performance of the X1900GT?
Click to expand...

the x1900gt was about on par with the 7900gt so it looks like a good buy.
 
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