Father - it's been 5 yrs since my last upgrade...

DonalN

Hi,

It's been 5 years since my last build so time for a new toy.

Don't know if I should upgrade what have or just do a fresh build.

Current gear - P4 2.4Ghz on a P4P800-x (yes folks, soc478!)
4Gb DDR RAM
AGP x1950Pro graphics card.
WD 750Gb HDD - (only about a year old)
750W PSU.
Large tower case.

So, I can get my hands on a Core2 Extreme Quad QX9650 or a QX9750 for nothing - which is the main incentive for a new build.

If I'm going to use some of the old gear, I could use the case, psu and hdd. Which means I'd have to purchase mobo, graphics and memory. I don't mind spending a bit on these as I won't be upgrading again for few years. I have a Dell 2409W full HD monitor (1920x1080) and i want to use it to it's full potential. I'm looking at the GTX285 2Gb at the moment, but am still getting up to speed on the latest cards. How does this compare to the HD4890 2GB? What i want is to be be able to play the latest games at full settings. I have Crysis there waiting to be played as current machine was all jerky - and I want to to ready for bf1943 too when it comes.
I've no idea what memory to get, so am researching that too now.
I also need to find out more about this 64bit OS stuff.
That's where I am at the min.
Any inputs welcome.
D.

cherryghost

DonalN wrote: »

Hi,

It's been 5 years since my last build so time for a new toy.

Don't know if I should upgrade what have or just do a fresh build.

Current gear - P4 2.4Ghz on a P4P800-x (yes folks, soc478!)
4Gb DDR RAM
AGP x1950Pro graphics card.
WD 750Gb HDD - (only about a year old)
750W PSU.
Large tower case.

So, I can get my hands on a Core2 Extreme Quad QX9650 or a QX9750 for nothing - which is the main incentive for a new build.

If I'm going to use some of the old gear, I could use the case, psu and hdd. Which means I'd have to purchase mobo, graphics and memory. I don't mind spending a bit on these as I won't be upgrading again for few years. I have a Dell 2409W full HD monitor (1920x1080) and i want to use it to it's full potential. I'm looking at the GTX285 2Gb at the moment, but am still getting up to speed on the latest cards. How does this compare to the HD4890 2GB? What i want is to be be able to play the latest games at full settings. I have Crysis there waiting to be played as current machine was all jerky - and I want to to ready for bf1943 too when it comes.
I've no idea what memory to get, so am researching that too now.
I also need to find out more about this 64bit OS stuff.
That's where I am at the min.
Any inputs welcome.
D.

Get a 4890 over the gtx 285, better value for money.

Keep your monitor, hard drive and your case if you wish, theres no point splashing a huge amount on some things. Motherboard, I'd be looking at a P43 or P45 S775 motherboard, good value for money with a decent overhead for overclocking if you want. 4GB DDR2 of some sort of DIMM ram is more than enough.

Also in terms of OS', try Windows 7 64bit and have a look for yourself. Although right now, there isnt a huge difference in performance in the 32 and 64bit versions as most applications still work on 32bit architecture

DonalN

Thanks for the reply - here's what I've picked so far...

Case - using my old one - Chieftec Dragon.
Mobo - MSI P45 NEO3-FR
HDD - Using my old one - Samsung SpinPoint F1 750GB SATA2
GPU - Sapphire Radeon HD 4890 1GB GDDR5
Memory - Crucial DDR2 PC8500 4GB KIT CL7
PSU - using old one - it's a 600W OCZ StealthXStream Powersupply ATX/EPS (will this do/have all necessary connections?)

Edit: Forgot I'll need to get a cooler too.

So will all the above let me play stuff like Crysis, COD4, ETQW on high settings? And the upcoming BF1943 too?

Appreciate your comments.

D.

Solitaire

Case: Err... I know you said Dragon... but which Dragon? There's been umpteen revisions since it was released back in 1999 The big problem is that only the newest one has proper cooling. I bet you have an older model with 80mm fans, and while those were darn attractive cases I'm not sure if modern components could cope being so starved of air Upgrade time methinks.
CPU: Win. Bear in mind they need a lot of juice and pump out a lot of heat.
Cooler: You'll need a heavy-duty cooler for this - lots of otherwise decent coolers can't cut 150W+ of peak heat output so well. You're looking at a Xigmatek S1283 at a bare minimum for OCing those CPUs. Yes, you could do it with a Freezer 7 or Vanquisher but it ain't funny and it sure ain't clever :P
Mobo: Most things P45 should be fine for stock clocks, just make sure you get something with suitable heatsink-age over the VRMs... IIRC the QX9*50 are 130W+ TDP units and run on FSB1333 so you might need something a bit "upmarket" if you want to OC (due to the wattages involved!)
HDD: Old one is fine
GPU: HD4890 is a good choice for this rig
Memory: The native-1066MHz chips may need little juice but they are pricey and have terrible latencies, which is a no-no for gaming. Get some more conventional PC8500 - yes, you'll have to overvolt but CL5 is much better for gaming than CL7!
PSU: Unlike most C2Qs the QX series are very thirsty when stressed. Add a solid graphics card and you're looking for a decent 550W PSU. The SXS may be 600W, but it sure ain't decent :P You'll get by on it but I wouldn't recommend OCing anything without a decent-brand 550W+ PSU at the very least, 700W+ if you go CrossFire.

DonalN

thanks for the advice..

Just picked up the chip there - QX9750

You're right about the case - she's old enough with little room for fans..upgrade it is. And if I'm doing that, I'm half tempted to keep the older pc going with a couple of spare hdds I have - I can use it to experiment with netwrking/spare storage/try setting up a linux system maybe..

So here's the updated basket (and I don't think I'll be doing much overclocking)

Case - Antec 900
PSU - Corsair Powersupply 650W Black, ATX/EPS (Overkill ?)
Mobo - MSI P45 NEO3-FR
Cooler - Xigmatek Red Scorpion S1283 CPU Cooler
GPU - Sapphire Radeon HD 4890 1GB GDDR5
Memory - OCZ Platinum DDR2 PC8500 4GB KIT CL5 (€53!)

Solitaire

DonalN wrote:

(and I don't think I'll be doing much overclocking)

EDIT: D'oh, didn't see that bit until I did the HWVS order. Recommendations below pic still count...

Assuming you're keeping the HDD and DVD burner...



~€515 delivered.

This is more of a futureproof/performance build, given the QX9750.

Mobo isn't as overkill as you think, as I wanted as many CPU power phases as I could throw at it and for some reason the cheaper Asus mid-range mobos only have heatsinks on half the VRMs... Plus you can always slap in a second HD4890.
CPU cooler has a shiny fan that goes with the case - not intentional, just the base S1283 is out of stock for a while
Memory is just a decent (i.e. not-OCZ) DDR2-8500 kit that doesn't cost the earth.
GPU... is just what the doctor ordered. See how high you can pump the OC in Catalyst!
Case is a solid new mid-range model with a neat trick... just remember not to rely on the silly clamps to hold the HD4890 in!
I threw in some extra fannage. Why cheapo fans? Because they're cheap, but don't cause a racket if you dial down the speed a notch. Funnily enough the Midgard includes a 3-fan speed control. Now that's serendipity
If you want to OC then a cheapie EA650 PSU is fine - costs about as much as a VX550 anyway, and you don't need it to be pretty, it just needs to do its job. But unless you want to hunt down a couple of PCIe power splitters you might want to upgrade to the Corsair TX750 or at the very least a Superflower Atlas 680W if you want a second HD4890 in there at some point.

If you did want to reduce the costs I would make sure you got a P35 or P43 mobo that still has a big-ass heatsink over the VRMs, as the QX9750 is a lot hotter and hungrier than any run-of-the-mill LGA775 CPU, even at stock speeds! You're stuck spending more for a decent P45 if you want to CrossFire cards as demanding as the HD4870/90 though, as budget CrossFire fails. Cooler can't be taken down too far unless you want to wait for the stock S1283 to come back in or risk a AC Freezer 7 at stock. Memory is fine, graphics could be dropped back to a HD4870 1GB if neccessary (preferably not) and the case could be dropped back to an Antec 300 (lose the extra fans then). PSU could be dropped to a decent-brand 550W, but I can't think of any that are significantly cheaper than the EA650 and the issues with CrossFire still apply anyway.