Upgrading my computer, any help would be appreciated.

[IWantToBelieve]

Okay, one of my new years resolutions was to upgrade my computer to be a mega-machine. So far, I have:

1 GB of RAM
1 180GB harddrive 7200 RPM by Seagate
Radeon 9800 Pro video card
Soundblaster X-Fi XtremeMusic soundcard
Logitech X-530 5.1 surround sound speakers
??? K8 model motherboard
Aspire 520w power supply
Thermaltake CL-P0114 Fan and heatsink
1 DVD and 1 CD rom drive
AMD 3200+ Processor

I plan on getting:
Xion computer case
7800 GTX videocard
A8N-SLI Motherboard
AMD 4000+ Processor
An extra gig of RAM

If anyone has any computer suggestions, I'd really appreciate it.

 

[micro]

The only time more than 1 gig of ram might help is in the game "battlefield 2" and mabey "fear"
It is said that it is preferable to have a video card with 512 mb ram rather than the extra ram.

You may want to look at a sli set up (dual 6800 or x800xl in crossfire mode) rather than the single 7800, or get a mobo with sli and later you can upgrade to the dual 7800's.

Especialy since you are getting this good of a set up, you shouldnt get a chump psu like aspire, they may say they have the watts but there cheap. Go with something like the "antec true power" even thermal take is better than aspire.\

btw i think your socket a mobo that you currently have is an msi. It is said that in the socket 939 mobo's that the msi or dfi is realy preferable to the asus.I have the msi k8n neo4 mobo. It is a good board but the chipset fan was real loud, so i bought an aftermarket to quiet it down.

With your cpu i assume you want the sandiago core? I believe it has 1mb cache.
Its said that at this point the dual core cpu with 2mb cache is a waste because nothing can utalize its potential.

If you can get the sata 150mb transfer raptor hard drive 10,000 rpm. 37 gig is $100
They make sata 2 hd with sata2 300mb transfer rate.
Maxtor has an hd with 16mb cache. all other brands are 8mb.

Shop at newegg.com
Are these the replies you were looking for?

 

[IWantToBelieve]

I plan on playing F.E.A.R. alot, so yes the 2GB RAM would make a huge difference.

I looked around on Newegg.com and Pricegrabber.com, and found a few interesting finds:

Xion II Black Case
Hyundai 19" Monitor
Fatality A8N-SLI Motherboard
Radeon X1800XT 512MB videocard
AMD 4400+ Toledo processor

I'm fine with just one harddrive right now. I dont really want to experiment with SLI just yet, I'm new to computers and I'm still getting used to the basics of building them. I already bought the power supply, but on Newegg it had TONS of good reviews, so I have a feeling it was a good buy for the time being. It was a good price too, so if I DID have to buy another one I'd willingly shell out the cash for one of the kinds you suggested and it wouldnt be much of a problem. Thanks alot for the input

 

[SwampThing]

for some good information check out upgradingandrepairingpcs.com gives you lots of great information and tips and tricks to make your computer run at it's best.....

 

[micro]

The thing i forgot to mention is that "fear" is designed to run with dual video cards (for max video settings). So it should run on either the 7800 or x1800 just fine.

 

[Mikesoft]

The computer you have there is fast anyway but here are a few things you should improve.

Firstly you should get that Radeon 9800 gfx card changed. Once you get the nvidia 7800 GTX gfx card you will notice a huge performance increase. Then get a Athlon 64 processor. If I were you I would save some money on the processor. Don't bother getting the athlon 64 4000+ as you could save money getting the Athlon 64 3700 which can play games just as well. Once you have got a new processor you should get a raptor hard drive as they spin at 10,000 rpm. This should again increase your computers performace during games.

 

[IWantToBelieve]

I dont want to get a 7800 GTX right now because why would I want to spend $500 on a graphics card when I could buy another one that's a year old for much cheaper and it'd still own completely? Plus I havent even overclocked it yet, and it still runs F.E.A.R. pretty well, even on medium settings, which I'm fine with. Plus I'm not buying any of this stuff until I get the money, which will be next summer, so things will have changed by then and there'll be more 512MB videocards for me to choose from.

 

[Quantos]

What are you going to be using the computer for ?

If it's Video work or 3D Graphics, I'd add the memory, even at 2G I run out once in a while.

 

[IWantToBelieve]

Mainly videogames, but yeah it doesnt hurt to have 2GB.

 

[jamesrwright3]

You are not really upgrading your computer in the traditional sense. You are building a new computer with some parts from your old computer

 

[somedude]

Right now:
-7800GTX 512MB is the absolute best graphic card. Even in Half-Life 2, an ATI-dominated game. Not because of the extra memory, but also extra improvements added.
-The money spent on extra memory would probably be better spent on a better graphics card
-SLI makes no sense if you have no money to buy and extra Graphic Card.
-More memory on a graphic card seldom does any difference.
-NVIDIA loves you. So does AMD.
-Its good to wait and see how things go with Windows Vista. You will want your newly upgraded computer to last the test of time and not fall to the side in 1-2 years.
-Don't spend too much money. Having the best of the best is not really smart.
-New stuff is buggier than older stuff.

 

[IWantToBelieve]

Vista recommends a 512 MB videocard. I'm not getting Vista right away because I know that getting a new OS is always questionable. But I will eventually get it, so I want to prepare for it. I'm good with one graphics card for now, but I will eventually have an SLI setup, just not now.

 

[kopilo]

well I gather you are getting a 64 bit processor, so to me the cheapest way to upgrade your computer would be to get a linux distro that supports 64bit (the windows 64 os are having a few issues with non specific intel chips atm), unfortunatly most of the games you have proberly can't run on linux/run by linux.

save your pennies blu ray is on the way

 

[somedude]

well I gather you are getting a 64 bit processor, so to me the cheapest way to upgrade your computer would be to get a linux distro that supports 64bit (the windows 64 os are having a few issues with non specific intel chips atm), unfortunatly most of the games you have proberly can't run on linux/run by linux.

save your pennies blu ray is on the way

Actually, ANY 64-bit OS has shortcomings in comparison to their 32-bit counterparts. I use 64-bit Gentoo Linux, which is by far one of the best 64-bit distros you can get, trails behind the 32-bit branch by quite a lot. We often have to circumvent various mechanisms in order to do our stuff. Install two firefoxes anyone?

Also, Windows XP 64 bit is plainly disappointing. Driver support and application compatibility are lacking at best. I haven't noticed any perfomance gains at all from running 64 bit.

However, with Vista, it might all change...

 

[kopilo]

Actually, ANY 64-bit OS has shortcomings in comparison to their 32-bit counterparts. I use 64-bit Gentoo Linux, which is by far one of the best 64-bit distros you can get, trails behind the 32-bit branch by quite a lot. We often have to circumvent various mechanisms in order to do our stuff. Install two firefoxes anyone?

Also, Windows XP 64 bit is plainly disappointing. Driver support and application compatibility are lacking at best. I haven't noticed any perfomance gains at all from running 64 bit.

However, with Vista, it might all change...

Well atm, I would say mac's have the best 64 bit operating system, and we proberly won't see a massive advantage to 64 bit for a while until more common programs require a function which requires 64 bit (well not exactly but you know what I mean).

MMM thanks for reminding me about vista, I had my eye on Gentoo for a while, but I never really have had the chance to get my hands on it, so I might look towards vista.

(Also I hope this is a major turning point for linux vs windows )

 

[IWantToBelieve]

Linux is completely out of the question, it's off-topic.

This topic is about ME upgrading MY computer. I dont want to change operating systems. I want to change hardware.

 

[kopilo]

Linux is completely out of the question, it's off-topic.

This topic is about ME upgrading MY computer. I dont want to change operating systems. I want to change hardware.

you should consider what software you are going to be using when deciding which hardware to upgrade.

eg. there would be no point in you getting a dual cpu system if you do not have the software to run it to it's optimin, otherwise one of the cpu's would be going to waste.

You haven't stated really what you want the system for, or what in the future you may want the computer to do.

Nor have you stated which OS and version you use.

 

[kopilo]

*snip* acidental post

 

[somedude]

Linux is completely out of the question, it's off-topic.

This topic is about ME upgrading MY computer. I dont want to change operating systems. I want to change hardware.

As I said, when you upgrade a computer, you want the computer as a whole to last. What will happen to your shiny new hardware whe Vista comes out? You'll eventually(I'll give you 2 years at most) switch because of software support! Hardware and software can't be separated! If you have the best hardware in the entire world but no software to use that capacity, you have nothing! How will you play the latest game when it only comes out for Vista? Or that new Moitor you bought that won't play DRM content?

 

[IWantToBelieve]

Psh, I dont know why I said I dont want to change operating systems. Of course I want Vista. I guess I meant I dont want to switch brands, I'm a Microsoft kinda-guy. This computer is *mainly* for everything I do: music, videogames, audio editing, etc. I dont want to get Linux, because it's almost impossible to find games for.