PC Upgrading Discussion

[Mike Hill]

Dave/Lee,

thanks for your comments, they are useful indeed. I think I have already resigned myself to the redownload/reinstall route rather than trying to copy things over. I think more than anything I was hoping for a "lazy" option that wouldnt mean that I have to ditch all those old licenses that I have paid for! - Though to be honest, there arent actually that many of those that I really want to keep I suppose.

Thanks everyone for the comments and assistance in this thread overall, it has been very helpful to me. Much appreciated!

 

[carver]

Thanks Lee,

I'll look into that stuff and come up with a smokin' rig.

Yeah, I could live in Bakersfield and be about 4 hours from the 8 tracks,
but nobody wants to live there....LOL.....sorry Bakersfieldians...

 

[Lee Downham]

heh heh ... can understand not wanting to live there mate ... I have actually been to Bakersfield and up to a couple of years ago had the T-shirt to prove it ... Barstow Truckstop, Bakersfield, California

How was I there? ... about 14 years ago (during a trip through Canada and US) I hitched lifts with truckers from Flagstaff Arizona across the Nevada to Bakersfield and then up to Yosemite, after which I hitched back down into San Francisco ... great journey, didn't get mugged, beaten or even become a trucker's beeeyach ... travelled about 2/3´s of it in a Kenworth, man that is the only way to travel, even comfier than 1st class on a aeroplane. :good:

Also spent a few weeks in Manhatten Beach and saw a lot of the gun-toting gangland areas of L.A. - damn that is one messed up place you live in too ... but think one of the truck stops in Merced scared me the most ... Mexican gangs cruising around, BIG guns visible and scanning which truck drivers were asleep so they could rob them :eek:

 

[Mel Dixon]

upgrade time me thinks

hi,well i think it might be time for a bit of an upgade to the comp.i'm thinkig i need a faster cpu to start with but dont really know.
thats where you come in :kiss2:
intel p4 524 3.06 ghz socket 775lga
2gb ddr2
nvidia gf 8800gs 384 gddr3
mobo sis-649 phoenix technologies
psu 550w
i have a fear that the mobo might be to change or can i get a better chip for it? looking too play gtrevo smoothly
any advice apreciated

 

[Dave Stephenson]

Do you have the actual make/model of the mobo, the name you gave is the chipset/bios type, not the mobo details.

To get it easily:

XP: "Start > Run" type "dxdiag" hit enter
VISTA: in the search box in the start menu type "dxdiag" and hit enter

The box that pops up should have all the info of your computer. The bit you want is on the front page, labeled "System Manufacturer" and "System Model"


On the processor front, an upgrade there is definately on the cards I'd say. Dual core is so cheap these days that should be a definate job on the list.

 

[Mel Dixon]

system man: award_
system model:awardcpi
on the dxdiag it says pentium4 3.06ghz (2 cpus) ? dual core ?

 

[Dave Stephenson]

no that will be HyperThreading.

dxdiag didnt throw up the right info either. Thought it best to try that since you have it already. Download this program here http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/HWiNFO32/950009060/1 it will tell you the mobo info. Remember to run as admin if your on Vista.

 

[Mel Dixon]

Motherboard
Motherboard Model: AOpen 649-M2 / ECS I9S
Motherboard Chipset: SiS 649FX + 965
Motherboard Slots: 4xPCI, 2xPCI Express x16


BIOS
BIOS Manufacturer: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
BIOS Date: 03/08/06
BIOS Version: 6.00 PG

cheers for this :beer:

 

[Dave Stephenson]

Looks like it won't support a current cpu. Its also DDR Memory not DDR2 according to ECS website.

If your main gaming use is Sim-Racing, I can't see too many major issues wiht your GFX card for the moment. Main Things your gonna need is Mobo, CPU, and RAM. You'll need them all at once.

The magic question now is the age old one. What's your budget?

 

[Mel Dixon]

around 150/200 sterling but could be a touch more.

 

[Dave Stephenson]

easy enough

just got a few things to do then I'll go hunting for bits and prices.

 

[Mel Dixon]

wonderfull would it be able to cover a sli type of mobo or is that a bridge to far

 

[Dave Stephenson]

possibly not

 

[Mel Dixon]

no problem

 

[Damian Henderson]

ASUS P5N-D nForce 750i SLI

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/142585


Intel Pentium Dual Core E5200 2.5GHz


http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148715

OCZ 2GB Kit DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 PLATINUM XTC with LIFETIME WARRANTY

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/116755


£175.

Other possibilty

Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 2.8GHz

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152177

Will be one massive upgrade overall with either cpu, coule easy add another 8800GS if needed in future

 

[Mel Dixon]

cheers, i like the sound of that "Will be one massive upgrade overall" and the price of my gcard is droppin fast so another is more than a option later.

 

[Damian Henderson]

Either of those CPU's will give you a massive boost over your current P4 in terms of performance. Your gaming will also be allot faster, and the new upgrade will let your 8800GS breath a little more with a much less bottleneck.

 

[Dave Stephenson]

sry Mel, got stuck into something, and didn't get back.

 

[Mel Dixon]

np what you think about the upgrade damian listed ? looks good too me

 

[Christopher Aponte]

hi,well i think it might be time for a bit of an upgade to the comp.i'm thinkig i need a faster cpu to start with but dont really know.
thats where you come in :kiss2:
intel p4 524 3.06 ghz socket 775lga
2gb ddr2
nvidia gf 8800gs 384 gddr3
mobo sis-649 phoenix technologies
psu 550w
i have a fear that the mobo might be to change or can i get a better chip for it? looking too play gtrevo smoothly
any advice apreciated

the motherboard chipset made me shiver :S......that one was really holding you down. (Sis was back then a good chipset, but in the current market it cannot compete in performance....well that is my opinion them )

as for new stuff, agree on what Dave said
btw it is good to inform us what kind of hard drive you are using now (model, size & IDE or SATA ?)

Looks like it won't support a current cpu. Its also DDR Memory not DDR2 according to ECS website.

If your main gaming use is Sim-Racing, I can't see too many major issues wiht your GFX card for the moment. Main Things your gonna need is Mobo, CPU, and RAM. You'll need them all at once.

The magic question now is the age old one. What's your budget?

as for what Damian posted, that one is a great replacement on a budget