• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Upgrading help and advice!

J

joeylyth

n00b
Joined
Nov 12, 2008
Messages
10
sorry if this spreads out a bit from the subject matter, but I bought a Dell E520 a year and a half ago and it's still all standard apart from 2GB extra ram. Recently my work has relied more and more on high quality, memory etc CAD programs and the need to upgrade is here!!

Do you folks think it would be best to:

a) buy upgrades for my existing setup (i know Dells arent held in the highest esteem, but cash is tight and its never given me a problem!) I've been looking a new processor to start, maybe an Intel core 2 Quad Q9550. would this be compatible, or should i be looking at starting elsewhere?

or

b) bit by bit buy parts for a new build. I'd love to try this (bit of a noob) but it would take a while, and my comp aint up to the pressure!

Any advice would be great on what kind of components I should be looking for etc...

Existing set up is:

Intel Pentium D CPU 2.80 Ghz
2x1GB CORSAIR 240DIMM XMS2-6400 CL5
2x512GB stock RAM
on board graphics Intel(R) G965 Express Chipset Family
305 Watt DC Power Supply
Vista home basic...

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/dimen_e520?c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh

Thanks in advance!

J
 
I would build a new machine. I am not sure what your budget is or how long it would take you to build, but it would be worth it. You will be able to select each part and get exactly what you need. Your processor is also old, so getting a 775 socket mobo would allow you many many options of newer better processors which will suit what you need (would be dual core etc). Just my .02
 
thats what i thought to be honest.

Budget is dependent on time, what i can save up in how much time! im not thinking of spending more than £800 if i can help it. Any ideas what i should be looking for?!

I'd need a quad core CPU to get the best out of the program i use (ArchiCAD), at least 3GB ram pref 4, 256 min for the graphics card etc; nothing madly high spec, but enough for the high graphics and memory requirements of the CAD progs.

prefered products, setups that worked for you; a starts better than nowt!!

J
 
A) Hmm, it seems that your Dell has the G965 chipset which has official support for the 65nm C2Ds. No support for 45nm CPUs like the Q9550 though. So you might be able to upgrade the CPU to the Q6600 at the very least. Since the Q6600 and Pent D CPUs uses the same amount of power and output the same amount of heat, there shouldn't be any power or cooling problems. But hit up Dell's support for BIOs updates and contact them directly to see if you can upgrade the CPU.

You can also upgrade the RAM to 3 to 4Gb if you want. But you will have to upgrade the PSU if you do a GPU upgrade. Stick to name brand PSUs like Corsair, PC Power & Cooling, Silverstone, Antec (Earthwatts, Signature, Neopower series), BFG (ES and LS series), Thermaltake (Toughpower and Purepower RX series), Enermax (Modu and Pro series) and Seasonic.

B) I never recommend buying bit by bit because by the time you actually build your PC, the parts you already bought would be significantly cheaper or replaced by a faster product for the same price. Unless you get an awesome deal on that part (like 50% or more off normal pricing), don't buy bit by bit. Save up all your money and then go full force into a new build
 
good advice; my wishlist on Dabs changes daily...! I don't think ther going to be a point spending X on a new CPU if im pretty sure I'm going the way of a new build.

The ever changing list at the moment contains:

Gigabyte S775 Intel P35 ATX Audio Lan DDRII FSB1333
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 2.66GHz 12M Cache S775 1333MHZ
MSI GeForce 9400GT 512MB DDR2 CC 550MHz PCIE 2xDVI
Corsair Memory 4GBKIT (2X2GB) 800MHZ NON ECC C
Creative SoundBlaster Audigy SE 7.1 OEM
StarTech.com 1 Port Parallel PCI Card
Western Digital Caviar 500GB S300 16mb 7200rpm (x2?)
StarTech.com Value 6 Port USB 2.0 PCI Card
Trust 56K PCI Modem MD-1100
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1
BLACK WIZARD CASE 600W +25CM LED FAN SIDE PANEL

I need a DB25 Parallel for the cad dongle, think I'll be running out of spaces on the MOB though....

opinions?

J
 
joeylyth said:
comes to £804 inc vat and delivery; not too shabby...!
Click to expand...

Actually there are still some problems with that build:

- Stick with a name brand PSU like I said. Black Wizard is NOT a name brand PSU.
- Do you actually need a modem? Are you still on dial-up?
- Do you have 10 USB devices or something?
- Ditch the sound card unless you're an audioohile or have a high-end audio setup. Onboard audio has improved a lot in the past few years
- How much more is the Q9550? How much cheaper is the Q6600?
- Which Gigabyte P35 motherboard are you talking about?
- Those are pretty slow drives. Go with the Western Digital WD6400AAKS instead. Shouldn't be that much more in price but it offers a substantial increase in speed over those old 500GB drives.
 
one thing I would not do it buy parts bit by bit. It is much better to figure out what you need with the future of computers in mind (example: ddr3, usb 3.0, maybe upgrading to core i7 at some point, they go on and on). Save some money and get it all at once. If you buy it part by part over time, the moment you have your computer up and running, there will be something much better for the same price. Good luck.
 
CRLane: thanks, looks like i need it!! i do agree with preparing for the future, but as you say the changes go on and on. Id prefer to have a good rig for a good price that works well for a few years; and can be upgraded here and there, than spending extra on something that might be defunct a year or so later, be fried by the time its in use, etc. There's always something better round the corner!

Danny_bui: many thanks again for the advice.

The psu and case come together for a good price and with very positive reviews; i thought at £45 it was cheap enough to buy, and upgrade the psu if it turns out not so good.

I added the modem with the thinking that i needed it for a physical broadband connection; wireless networks never seem that reliable. am i being dense and dont need it? is the port on the MOB? or is it a network card i need? (my knowledge has gaps in it, which is why im here asking!!)

2x printers, current speakers, mouse, keyboard, scanner; 6 usbs in constant use at the moment, and the 6 port is only £1 more than the 4 port; i thought it was worth it?

I work from home, so my PC is for work and play and i love my music; but if the integrated audio has good enough sound quality at high levels obviously i wont need a card.

http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4Q0K is the MOB im looking at.

The Q9450 is about £80 more than the Q6600...
Intel Q6600 Core 2 Quad 2.40 GHz, 8MB L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB, S775
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 2.66GHz 12M Cache S775 1333MHZ
Similarish specs for a much different price... as i said, its the ever changing list!

I've looked into the drives and the WD6400AAKS is only £3 more so thats a definite change!

Thanks for taking the time to answer sir, really appreciated

J
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top