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Upgrading my gf's comp

S

Stormrider

n00b
Joined
Sep 4, 2004
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61
Gday!

I am looking at doing some upgrades to my gf's comp. I was nicely surprised to see she has a 2.53Ghz Northwood when I loaded up CPU-z on her pc. This means I am only looking at getting her a nice mobo and video card. I will also likely pick up a PSU sometime, nothing special, just a decent 350W or so unit from Fortron or Antec or whomever. Thats not really what I want to ask right now anyways.

I am looking at 2 mobos, one Gigabyte and one MSI. Any comments on either of these? They should suit her needs, she doesnt do too many hard things to her pc, but she does game a bit (generally RPGs and sometimes RTS).

Gigabyte s478

MSI s478

I am going to pair that up with a decent video card, looking at a 9800 Pro or the 6600GT when it comes out in AGP (if?). If anybody has any suggestions for a video card along these lines. I dont want to spend any more than what I would on one of those, so please dont suggest an X800 Pro or 6800GT.. even the 6800 vanilla is a bit much, and overkill IMO for her needs.

Suggestions are welcome, as long as they are reasonable. I will also probably be OCing her CPU some eventually, as apps and games become more intensive. So I'd just like to know if either of those mobos are good OCers or if there is a better one out there (for a similar price, please).

Note: I am in Canada, and I dont want to ship crossborder with customs and duties and all that crap.. so I would like to stick with NCIX (ordered from them before) or something in these borders.

Edit: Ah yes, the ram! She has a 512 of PC2100 right now, cant find a name on it but its got decent latency. 2.5,3,3,7.. Anyways, would moving up to a 512 of Corsair Value Select 3200 make a difference in this case? Any ideas as to what I should do with that?
 
Why waste money on a new motherboard? It's not worth another $90 so you can overclock that processor a bit. Get the video card and save the money until the next upgrade cycle. I'd get a 9800 pro on the ati side, and if you're going to upgrade the memory, add memory, don't replace.
 
The real problem is we are both university students living in a house.. right. So, there is no way I can afford to virtually rebuild her computer during ANY upgrade cycle. I kinda have to make do with small pieces and parts that delay the inevitable. I figure for her needs, what I laid out there will get 2+ years. I guess I could do without the mobo, but its not terribly expensive and if a new MSI (for example) lets me OC the CPU a fair deal it will be able to last longer.. or so I seem to think.

It'd basically be an Xmas gift from me to her, but otherwise I couldnt afford even those minor upgrades. I basically slit my throat every xmas when I buy gifts for people, lol.

So another 512 of PC2100 and a 9800 pro?
 
Ahh the mobo is just junky old Intel one. Its stable and solid, but seems to be pretty limited in alot of ways.
 
For me, mobo upgrades come with CPU upgrades. It had better be a new socket, my old one instable, or cook my breakfast if I'm going to upgrade it. Spending close to $100 on something that probably will get you minimal performance when you're on a tight budget isn't a good idea in my book. If you can, step up to pc3200 so that it might be compatible with something in the future. The price difference there is almost none.
 
Ok well her mobo is only capable of 4x AGP.. The 9800Pro is 8x (4x compatible too), so I am wondering if the 4x would bottleneck it? If so, I thinking I should upgrade the mobo, since I dont want to spend a couple hundred dollars on a 9600XT or something similar which is on the edge of obsolescence. If not, then hells, whatever. ;)
 
Schweet! Ok then, the mobo is alright. Still, I am curious, 9800Pro or 6600GT AGP when it comes out? Benchmarks indicate the 6600GT would clean up the Pro, and they'd cost me about the same. I figure the 6600GT is the way to go, since I am not upgrading quite yet. Just building my financial picture and whatnot.
 
What are her needs? Unless she's gaming, I'd even go with integrated video *gasp!*.
 
Yah she has done with integrated for a while, but she wants to be able to play some games, RPGs mostly, with a smattering of other stuff. When the 6600GT comes out in AGP I think I will go with it. I can get a new 6600GT for less than a new 9800Pro. Looks like a clear cut situation to me. Unless of course I want to get an X800 XTPE or 6800 Ultra, and then she can have my X800 Pro :D ...

Thanks for the help guys, I think I know what I am going to do.
 
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