Upgrading question

B

Bluntablo

Weaksauce
Joined
Aug 4, 2004
Messages
113
I currently have

ATX Case-17"Hx18"Dx7.5"W
Abit IC7 Max3 MOtherboard
p4 3.2 GH Processor
2x 512 Ram
AGP Geforce 6800
480W Thermaltake PS
500GB Sata HDD
DVDburner and a CD Rom drive both with old IDE connecotrs.

So far i have reached these upgrades

CPU - Core 2 Quad Q6600 for $250
Mobo - Abit IP 35 Pro (Intel P35 chipset mobo) - $170
RAM - G. Skills 2 x 2gig DDR2 800 - $80
Video - MSI NX8800GTS - $230 before rebates ( can also get either a 9600GT or 8800GT card. The 8800GTS is the fastest among these 3 cards)

These upgrade total about $750-$800...trying to keep it under a $1000

the last info I am unsure about is this.

#1 do I need to upgrade my PS , and if so to what?
#2 Is my current case large enough?
#3 do I need to upgrade my CD rom and burner?


I think that about covers it..thanks in advance

Peace
 
It's recommended that you upgrade your power supply so it can handle today's (as well as tomorrow's) parts. Here are some links for you:

JonnyGURU's Power Supply FAQ
JonnyGURU - PSU Recommendations for High-End Gaming PCs
JonnyGURU - Recommended Sub-$150, High Efficiency PSUs

Without any specific details on the case -- like, the make or model (or even pics of the inside) -- I have to say that everything should fit. There will always be a horror story where someone couldn't fit everything in, but you should be fine.

While you can reuse your CD/DVD drives, most motherboards made today have only one IDE ports that supports up to two devices.

Frys.com currently has a sale on the Q6600. If you take advantage of it now, you could save yourself some money. If you plan on doing any overclocking, or if you just want a better available CPU cooler (than the stock HSF), here are some options:

Scythe SCNJ-1100P Ninja HSF - $36
Xigmatek HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle HSF - $37
Tuniq Tower 120 HSF - $45
ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm HSF - $50
Thermalright Ultima-90 HSF - $46 & Panaflo FBA09A12M 92mm Fan - $3
Noctua NH-U12P HSF - $60
Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme HSF - $57 & Scythe S-Flex SFF21E 120MM Case Fan - $14

Which monitor/resolution are you using?
 
I agree with tiraides.

1) Yes, at least a Corsair 450W. Though, the 520W modular or 550W would be best. Get it from buy.com. Oh yah, there's a deal on the 750W Corsair right now at provantage.com (i think its $80AR).

2) big enough for what? all those parts or a specific CPU HSF? What kind of cooling does it have? (eg. 1 front 120mm intake, 1 rear 120mm exhaust, 1 side 80mm fan; etc)

3) Not really. You have two IDE drives and your board can support two IDE devices. Though, SATA optical drives are cheap right now (~$30).

Please answer tiraides' question(s).
 
Thanks guys...

To answer your questions..

I have no idea what the make and model of my case is...I have been trying to find it online for the better part of a week now with no luck...that why I posted it deminsions...Im not overclocking anything, and I am really only trying to make sure I dont need a new case for BTX form factor.

Cooling in this case is as follows...I have one 120mm rear fan, 3 80 MM fans on the side of the case, and one 80MM fan on the top of the case...Ive never had heat issues in the past other than leaving my PC on 24/7 during July of August with no AC on...which serves me right...

I have a 21" flat screen LCD that I run in 1280x1024...Viewsonic.

Like I said, IM just looking to upgrade my current setup...Im not OC anything or doing anything out of the ordinary for a casual user.

Let me know if there is any other info I could provide.

peace
 
BTX was rejected by the industry and is only used by OEM's now in only a few models (dell, hp, etc).

Since your case is ATX, it should fit everything. Can you take pictures of it?

21" LCD @ 1280x1024? is that native? LCDs don't normally look good at non-native resolutions, but its up to you. The 9600GT, 8800GT, or 8800GTS would all be good.

FYI, these chips OC like crazy; and they're so easy to OC, a caveman can do it. You can stick with the stock cooler if you don't want something more quiet or more OC friendly. Though, the stock cooler is hard to install. I recently built a system for a friend, and while he doesnt plan on OC'ing, he chose an aftermarket cooler anyways for the quietness and ease of installation.
 
Yes, the Native Resolution is 1280x1024...I do plan on upgrading to a 22" WS monitor in the future, and it would be nice to have a card that works with that when I do..
 
For a 22" WS, stick with the 8800GTS that you chose earlier. Make sure that it has 512MB of GDDR3 memory, because that model is based off the newer, more efficient G92 GPU.
 
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