What I plan to use in upgraded my comp (input appreciated)

[Hunter Makoy]

I've got an old HP Pavilion a1424n. everything has worked great except it only has PCI slots. I have to get something new to get a better graphics card then my GeForce 6200 using DDR2 533 RAM on my motherboard. my harddrive is an ATA 7200 rpm i think. the drives are about the only thing that will be staying in my computer, everything is going: Power Supply, GPU, CPU, MoBo, and RAM. This is a list of wat i have compiled, lemme know wat yall think of it, and anyway i can improve it while staying on a budget.

Power Supply: Rosewill RP500 500W ATX12V v1.3/ EPS12V $44.99
Motherboard: ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard $139.99
---Socket Type LGA 775
---RAM DDR2 1200 8GB max
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale 2.53GHz 3MB L2 Cache $119.99
GPU: EVGA GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 $109.99
RAM: WINTEC AMPX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 $43.99

TOTAL: ~$470

[Wheelchair]

That's a good upgrade, and for a good price.

You'll definitely notice a performance increase.

[Hunter Makoy]

thanx, i think so too. i just wanna keep it <= $500. i dont even plan on doing this till atleast Jan., so ill prolly be doing it for even less, or with some better parts.

For the most part my computer runs fine, its just little wierd things. Like Civ 4 wont run, even tho i meet the performance stats, Pirates! wont run, EU3 wont run, even tho i meet all of those requirements. the big mods for M2TW wont run, even tho i run M2TW on mid-high with no problem. all of these boot up, and then just freeze.

plus i know ill need to upgrade to run ETW when it comes out.

do you think that i really need to get the power supply? mine is a 250W i think. and is there a worthwhile difference between the E7 series and the E8 series CPUs to warrent the price difference?

[Wheelchair]

Yes, You need a new PSU with all of that, lol.

I have a 600W PSU for my Hd4850 and it uses around the same power as your 9800.

[Pent uP Rage]

Looks like a nice set up. Wintec RAM is sorely UNDERrated. The PC2 6400 Wintec has some of the best RAM timings for the size. I'm not sure about the quality of their chips, so I can't speak on that. But even if it lasts 6 mos-1 year, it's paid for itself.
If you plan on overclocking an Intel, get faster RAM. Otherwise, you're good to go.

Also, if you're planning on putting Vista on it, I'd throw a Readyboost capable Flash drive in the mix too. Shouldn't run ya more than $10-$15 extra.

Also, as is mentioned, I'd suggest a beefier power supply. At least 750W to future proof yourself a tad more.

[Hunter Makoy]

thanx alot for the imput. no i wont be doing any overclocking or things like that, or running Crysis on max settings on my movie screen.

do u think this CPU, Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache, would be substantially better then wat i listed? my current CPU is a Pentium 4 Presscot 3.06 dual core, i hate to part with it cuz of the huge GHz, but current MoBos dont really support it. and no i CERTINALY wont be running Vista, thats y i'm keeping my HD as it is, and not buying a new comp all together.

EDIT: that motherboard supports DDR2 1200 speed ram, so i can certianly upgrade once the prices on those come down, but their like 4x the price of wat i picked.

----------------------------------
New set up i came up with for $507 (after MIR) using combs.
*changed PSU and CPU

Power Supply: Antec NeoPower 550 550W
Motherboard: ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
---Socket Type LGA 775
---RAM DDR2 1200 8GB max
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache
GPU: EVGA GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0
RAM: WINTEC AMPX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800

[Wheelchair]

I'm using the E8400 and I have not been disapointed. If you wish I can guide you through an overclocking process which really is very simple and in 10 short minutes you can raise your speed from 3.0GHz to 3.6Ghz or even 3.850Ghz like myself.

I see you have listed in your signature an E8500? Is that an error? the E8400 is cheaper and you can Overclock it for free.

EDIT: and as Pentuprage said, I highly recommend getting atleast a 600W+ PSU

[Freddie]

As Wheelchair says get the E8400, its cheaper and you overclock slightly for more performance. You should also consider a new hard drive, your old hard drive is ATA/IDE which and new motherboards only have 1 full IDE socket which is typically used for the optical drive, new HD’s use SATA.

[Pent uP Rage]

IF you can afford the extra $20, I'd go quad-core...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115017

..and FYI...if you're replacing the motherboard, you most likely have to reinstall your OS...which means wiping your hard drive.

Overall though, if you're gonna buy from newegg, you're MUCH better off looking for their combo deals. I saved $200 by buying in combos for the system I just built in the last couple weeks.
You may have to "settle" on some things...like, I got a free AMD 5400+ Black with a certain case. The case is kinda plain, but it's a full tower and is actually very nice and has some really cool features. Or that I got 2Gb of OCZ PC2 6400 with the 9800 I bought. I was gonna buy the Corsair XMS, but free RAM is FREE! and it's OCZ!!! Just the free RAM and cpu saved me $160. That was $160 I was able to spend on a nice hard drive or power supply.

Just don't go through everything until you're absolutely ready to buy. I waited and thought about it too long and missed out on a good deal I was planning on.

[Roman Clone]

Dayyuumm, you guys ate this thread up before I could post. Oh, and glad to see you again Pent Up Rage.

If the E8** still doesn't fit in your budget, I recommend that you reverse back to the E7**. (As advised before) I was told a long time ago that L2 cache does not matter much for gaming so the 3 MB L2 cache should not be much of a downgrade.

[Hunter Makoy]

the E8400 would work fine, i just didn't want to have to change anything on my harddrive though. if i end up having to do that then ill have to rethink some things. i picked the e8500 because it had 0.16 more GHz, but i can switch back to the E8400. that last set up i showed also was using combo deals.

wats the best combo deals at newegg? as in, wat r the things i should bundle together for the best savings? GPU+PSU, or CPU+PSU, or motherboard +CPU, stuff like that.

thanx again.

ANOTHER POSSIBLE SETUP
Power Supply: Antec True Power Trio TP3-650 650W
Motherboard: BIOSTAR TForce TP43D2A7 LGA 775 Intel
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale 2.53GHz 3MB L2 Cache
GPU: EVGA GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0
RAM: WINTEC AMPX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
Hard Drive: WD2500AAJS 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s

Total: $470 (after MIR)

Or substituting GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel (DDR2 1333) motherboard for a total of $500.

this should give me enough power, but i dont know about the MoBo, will the DDR2 1066 (BIOSTAR) still be fast enough a few years down the line?

also, i plan on running all of this on 32-bit. feel free to come up with your own combos that r <= $500.

[Roman Clone]

the E8400 would work fine, i just didn't want to have to change anything on my harddrive though. if i end up having to do that then ill have to rethink some things. i picked the e8500 because it had 0.16 more GHz, but i can switch back to the E8400. that last set up i showed also was using combo deals.

wats the best combo deals at newegg? as in, wat r the things i should bundle together for the best savings? GPU+PSU, or CPU+PSU, or motherboard +CPU, stuff like that.

thanx again.

ANOTHER POSSIBLE SETUP
Power Supply: Antec True Power Trio TP3-650 650W
Motherboard: BIOSTAR TForce TP43D2A7 LGA 775 Intel
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale 2.53GHz 3MB L2 Cache
GPU: EVGA GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0
RAM: WINTEC AMPX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
Hard Drive: WD2500AAJS 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s

Total: $470 (after MIR)

Or substituting GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel (DDR2 1333) motherboard for a total of $500.

this should give me enough power, but i dont know about the MoBo, will the DDR2 1066 (BIOSTAR) still be fast enough a few years down the line?

also, i plan on running all of this on 32-bit. feel free to come up with your own combos that r <= $500.

Meh, I have done fine with just 800 MHz, and until the day games require 2 GB+, I would not worry too much about it.

32 Bit? I would not personally recommend it, but I will not force you to change your mind.

[Hunter Makoy]

Meh, I have done fine with just 800 MHz, and until the day games require 2 GB+, I would not worry too much about it.

32 Bit? I would not personally recommend it, but I will not force you to change your mind.

i know i know, its so old school now. but most software still runs on it i believe, and my OS is an XP 32-bit. wat i'd really like to know is wat pieces of hardware denote 64 or 32-bit. and would there be a way i could get say 64-bit hardware and run it off of my 32-bit OS for now. i'm trying to keep this as simple as i can, without having to spend a bunch of money on upgrading everything in my computer.

[Roman Clone]

i know i know, its so old school now. but most software still runs on it i believe, and my OS is an XP 32-bit. wat i'd really like to know is wat pieces of hardware denote 64 or 32-bit. and would there be a way i could get say 64-bit hardware and run it off of my 32-bit OS for now. i'm trying to keep this as simple as i can, without having to spend a bunch of money on upgrading everything in my computer.

Last time I checked there is no such thing as a 64-bit exclusive hardware. 64-bit has to do with your OS. If it is for cost purposes, then I suggest you really do stick with XP 32-bit. (Are you re-using your OS from the last computer?)

[Hunter Makoy]

yes this is the exact same computer, i wanted to keep as much the same as i could. i'm in a hardware class and i remember hearing that bits also refered to the number of connecters from the motherboard to the ram because it has to deal the the true RAM ceiling.

32-bit (2^32) 4.3 GB RAM
64-bit (2^64) 18,446,744 TERRABITES RAM or 18.45 Billion GB RAM(of course right now they have artificial ceilings, because who really needs that much ram?)

so wat ur saying is that in reality my hardware choices have nothing to do with whether i can still use my OS and my programs currently on my comp?

[Wheelchair]

This shouldn't turn into a Ram discussion.

In quick form, 32bit can only support 3.2GB of ram and another 200-300MB for other things that you won't even notice.

If you want 4GB+ go with 64Bit

The only thing effecting OS/Hardware compatibility is your ram, and you'll do fine with 2GB for a while.

[Hunter Makoy]

so in the future when i need more then 2 GB i can just update to a 64-bit OS and stick in more ram? and then everything will basically be 64-bit then.

[Pent uP Rage]

Yes. And there's only a SMALL handful of applications that actually support 64-bit. So, the only REAL reason to go 64-bit is to be able to utilize more than 3.5Gb of RAM and the added encryption it offers.
But a lot of programs and some hardware drivers don't play nicely with 64-bit yet. I'd stick to 32-bit for the time being.

As I JUST built my new system, I ordered Vista Ultimate Upgrade Edition. It comes with 32-bit and 64-bit Vista. So, when more mainstream apps take advantage of 64-bit, I can easily upgrade. Something to think about. Until then, though 32-bit really is the way to go for ease and compatibility.

[Hunter Makoy]

Yes. And there's only a SMALL handful of applications that actually support 64-bit. So, the only REAL reason to go 64-bit is to be able to utilize more than 3.5Gb of RAM and the added encryption it offers.
But a lot of programs and some hardware drivers don't play nicely with 64-bit yet. I'd stick to 32-bit for the time being.

As I JUST built my new system, I ordered Vista Ultimate Upgrade Edition. It comes with 32-bit and 64-bit Vista. So, when more mainstream apps take advantage of 64-bit, I can easily upgrade. Something to think about. Until then, though 32-bit really is the way to go for ease and compatibility.

thanx wat i was thinking.

BTW my HD is SATA not ATA, so i dont need a new one. i'm not sure how many Gbit/sec it runs at, but i dont think that will have anything to do with compatability, and i would assume its 3 Gbit/sec anyway, the computer is from 2006.

[Hunter Makoy]

CURRENT BUILD SETUP
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
GPU: EVGA 512-P3-N975-AR GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16
Motherboard: ASRock P43Twins1600 LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard
RAM: CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit
Power Supply: Antec True Power Trio TP3-650 650W ATX12V

Total: $460 (After MiRs)

i dont think it should be an issue, i just wonder how much i gotta worry about the quality of mobos, like it is really worth the extra money ot go with an ASUS or Intel, or will they all pretty much be the same quality wise?