Upgrade time

[Zappy540]

Well been thinking about an upgrade for sometime, the only thing is that when it comes to computers I don't know much. Current specs AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual core 3800+, 1.5 gb of ram, 7800 gt, and x fi platinum card. Now def. know that I need more ram at least another gb or so, but the only prob is that other than graphics card, sound card, ram I don't know what to look for. I believe that pretty much leaves me with a processor and motherboard to get other than also a case, and power supply. I guess to make a long story short I am looking for any ideas on what to purchase when it comes to the motherboard and processor spending limit isn't really set yet looking for something that will def dominate games coming out, but also something that isn't going to kill my pockets. Any help would be appreciated

[Hellstorm]

To get a good idea of what to purchase, take a look at sites such as I-Buy-Power, etc. that allow one to customize PC components. It is a good indicator of what you can purchase and what you need to play today's games. Most importantly, I would recommend 4GB of RAM and a Directx 10 Graphics card.

[Major Tom]

CPU
If you can afford it get a quad core.

Motherboard
Without looking at specs I can't suggest a specific model or brand right now. I love my old ASUS Striker. Get a mobo that is SLI capable, with as many free slots as you can get if you want to use an aftermarket sound card. The on-board chip sets are pretty good but I could not do without my External SB Xfi Pro. SATA support is the norm now and the more ports the better especially external ports for hooking up an nice external terabyte backup drive.

Memory
Ditto on at least 4 gig of the fastest speed memory you can get for the mobo you looking at as Vista/Windows 7 will support 4 gig. If your going to run XP (3 gig limit) no biggie as you will future proof your investment. Most gaming based motherboards only have 4 slots so you don't have many choices on memory size and number of modules.

Video
On video I highly suggest a SLI based setup with 2 of the best cards you can get for the money your trying to spend.
The newest Nvidia based cards running SLI will easily future proof your new rig for future games. My 2 EVGA 8800 GTXs with 768mb - total of 1536mb video ram still play any game at very nice frame rates and they are over a year old.

Hard Drives
The new Raptors are still your best bet running Raid0 for best performance. (why I suggested a big backup drive). The new raptors are now 3gbs and running raid0 with give you outstanding read/write performance.

Have fun spending money!

[Zappy540]

I-Buy-Power\

awesome site thanks got a pretty good look everything i need and also a price good stuff

[Zappy540]

Well just had a buddy of mine come over and he helped me out with picking things out and here is what I am looking at.

Motherboard: MSI P45 Platinum LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

Video Card: DIAMOND 4850PE3512V Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card

Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling S75QB 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI NVIDIA SLI Certified (Dual 8800 GTX and below) CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600

Memory: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK

DVD drive: ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black IDE Model DRW-2014L1 OEM



Looking at just under 1000 with case as soon as I pick the one I like but unfortunately also looks like I will have to be buying in pieces so may be sometime before everything is bought.

[Major Tom]

Have fun building!