2nd Mid Life Upgrade

[Zachstar]

As you know due to shipping issues I have had to abandon newegg and hopes for a new build for this year.

So instead I am going to spend 300-400 USD on upgrades for this computer so it serves the purpose of a temporary stepping stone to a Windows 7 monster next year.

I will be remaining with my current install of Windows XP. Yes a reformat is desired but useless because it will be months before I can tweak it back to the speed it has now.

I wish to attempt an overclock. 3.2 to 3.5 GHz. I know this is a bit risky but I think even my stock cooler can handle it as it only goes full speed when it powers on. And I will be putting in a new cooler!

I am limited to Tiger Direct and Amazon with Ebay in there for lucky buys maybe.

I want a 500gb Media drive for several reasons. #1 My current drive is nearly full with just programs and games. #2 I need room for DVR programs. #3 I need to reduce stress on the main HD.

I am sticking with Nvidia for this computer. It has worked well with it and I am taking enough risks as it is with the overclock.
My current PC specs

Base model: Gateway 500GR
CPU: Intel 3.2GHz with HT enabled
Ram: 1.5GB up from .5 base (huge improvement)
Video: Nvidia 7300Gt up from Ati X300 (HUGE improvement)

The 7300 is pretty powerful IF you do not have any of the massive hogs enabled like AA. but even the forest areas of World of Warcraft cause it to bog down.

My question is. IF I do not want to pay a ton of money yet remain atleast in the 8x series what do I need to look for? I hear some 8x series are actually weaker than their 7x counterparts..

One I am looking at

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...465&CatId=2306

[stabiz]

That is one of the weaker ones, get a 8600GT. Much better.

[FIREWALL]

Why aren't you useing TigerDirect out of Flordia.

No sales tax and way cheaper shipping than from California.

I live here and rarely use NewEgg. :p :rotfl:

TD has better prices and way more selection IMHO.

[Zachstar]

Originally Posted by FIREWALL

Why aren't you useing TigerDirect out of Flordia.

No sales tax and way cheaper shipping than from California.

I live here and rarely use NewEgg. :p :rotfl:

TD has better prices and way more selection IMHO.

When I tried to do a computer build out of it I consistently had an inferior PC compared to Newegg.

However I am limited to it now. And I may have to depend on it in order to get a Tuner card to use with DirectTV (Needs S-Video AND Stereo Input due to relying on sound card input almost insures sync issues)

[Zachstar]

Originally Posted by stabiz

That is one of the weaker ones, get a 8600GT. Much better.

I was looking at it mainly because of 1gb of ram on card. Tho I will admit that is kind of silly because there is no way to fill even half that on my computer.

How is this? http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...IN#detailspecs

I like how it is realistically cheap (No rebates that never seem to work)

[FIREWALL]

@ Zach I build my own and have never had a bad experience with them. Neither have my friends, so I don't know what to say.

Building one's own computer besides being a good learning experience, it's a great feeling of self accomplishment.

Also the money you save on labor means more loot to spend on upgrades or that new game.

TG even has a video step by step for building your own rig FREE.

I'm in the process of building a new rig myself. Just got the case the other day. YAHOO !!! It's a beauty.

Keep posting, I love to talk computer upgradeing to the disgust of my friends. :p I can turn any subject back to computers. :rotfl:

[Zachstar]

Maybe in the future. However for now I think I will do better spending the money on the upgrades and just waiting. If I had actually gone through with the order I would have had a super powerful computer that I could do little with because I have needs next year for the money I am earning.

Besides, Now I can get some of the games I have been missing out on.

Dangerous Waters
SH4
And others!

[CaptainHaplo]

Ok - dont go with a "media" drive. The idea that its necessary for primarily video data is something that has little basis in fact. There is no reason to get such a drive. Get a standard 500gb SATA drive if your board can do SATA. I bought one just within the last week and paid 70 bucks for it. That difference alone will save you some dough. Make sure you get a 32mb cache instead of 16 or 8 though. If you really "HAVE" to have a media drive - get it later when your ready to do your video stuff. Save the cash for now. Its only a year right?

As for video card, I posted a link in one of these threads to a card that will definitely get you thru a yr - and it was under a hundred. I do think it was newegg though - but Tigerdirect should have something comparable. Also - you can check pricewatch.com but some vendors there are not so great. Here is the link - 9600GT for $85 - definitely get you through one year of gaming! http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130360

If your adding memory and its within the budget - go ahead and move to 2 1gb sticks. 2gigs is a good standard now - so will also see you thru 12 months.

Since your cost conscious - avoid overclocking. Its too easy to burn things up with inadequate cooling. If your going to insist on overclocking - invest in at least 2 120mm fans - one pulling air in from the front - the other pushing the heated air out the back. Also make sure you dont stick the box in a confined space, make sure it has good external air flow. This will help with cooling. Also - if you have the money - look at replacing the fan/heatsink on the cpu - go copper and with a high quality fan - or a combo like a zalman. Don't forget the arctic silver!

I will say this - you get a good card in that box, a fast drive and up the memory - I don't think you will feel a need to overclock. At the speed your going - and what your wanting to get to - you won't see a performance gain that makes a difference. Mathematically your looking at about 8%, reality is its way less than that - maybe 3%- but the biggest gains will already be made in opening up existing bottlenecks - graphix and memory.

[Zachstar]

Thanks for the tips!

For overclocking I am mainly doing it to gain experience before doing it to a much more expensive CPU later. Getting an 3.2 P4 is easier than pie these days compared to an X4.

Also this CPU is VERY good at emergency measures. It underclocked automatically to 200mhz when the cooler paste failed to contact after dust removal one time. The fan cut to 100 percent automatically (Sounds like a vacuum cleaner with that many watts being used)

Top of the line paste and of course a new cooler are part of the budget of course but I am confident even my stock cooler could handle it because the fan is less than 10 percent most of the time. And less than 50 at full load.

[Zachstar]

A 9500 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...IN#detailspecs


What worries me about this one is that it requires no extra power. It is encouraging to see that people are playing COD4 at 35 FPS Meaning there may be hope of Farcry 2 at 20. But without the extra power it may mean the card is not very stable or the fan may be getting little current.

[CaptainHaplo]

A 9500 isnt really going to meet your needs for the year though. 20fps is considered just inside the "playable" range. Anythingless than a 9600 is going to be a problem for you. There is a big jump between the 9500 and 9600 - the 9500 is a tweaked 94xx class chip. Where the 9600 is the next higher class. Just think this way - I use a x1650 (dx9 card) still - and one of those is on TD for more than the cost of the 9500 your looking at. You may get dx10 out of it - but at what cost?

TD didnt have any decent 9600's under 100 by EVGA, so if you look at a different manufacturer then try this one. Its a 9800GT for under a benny. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...09965&CatId=28 Has a lifetime warranty - though I have heard good and bad about XFX cards. Mostly good though.

No question it would be enough to carry you through, and you can always SLI it in the next pc for cheap (the cost in a year will be really sweet!) while getting performance close to way more expensive cards. With the cost now, and the cost of a similiar card in a year - your looking then at probably 50 bucks or less, your going to get performance that will equal a $400 card now. Its really a choice of do you want to budget for an expensive vid card when you do your next full build. Just make sure if you do this you get a mb that supports SLI.

Thats one great thing about SLI/Crossfire - it allows you to get good midrange cards at cheap and use them together to get high end performance.

[stabiz]

Originally Posted by Zachstar

I was looking at it mainly because of 1gb of ram on card. Tho I will admit that is kind of silly because there is no way to fill even half that on my computer.

How is this? http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...IN#detailspecs

I like how it is realistically cheap (No rebates that never seem to work)

Dont worry too much about ram on the cards, as long as it has 512MB and that it is DDR2, you are ok. Many of the gpu manufacturers make these 1GB cards because they know it will sell, since alot of people think alot of ram = massive fps.

As CaptainHaplo says, the 9500 is not something you want. And you are right, if it requires no extra power it is not powerful.

The difference between a 7300 and a 8600 is actually staggering. I remember when I went from a 7900GS to a 8800GTS, its the most improvement I have seen since I started building myself. I now have a HD4870, and although its really good, its no quantum leap from the 8800GT.

Edit: 1GB ram is helphul when you want to play at über-resolutions, but its a waste in a 9500, since the card wont be able to run at those resolutions anyway.

[Zachstar]

I got the 8600.

I know the 9x series is better but I know that I will atleast get COD4 out of this one. And on top of that I will get very good FSX performance.

Also it is less important overall because I am finding that Amazon can get me a slew of fun older games. (I am about to get MS Train sim and Trainz collection) for very cheap. Meaning MUCH less need to shell out 50 dollars for a game that will last a week or 2.

Also on top of that I am about to ditch Comcast cable and go with Direct TV. And I have atleast 2 weeks of tinkering around to get this computer back to DVR ability (Have to get an IR blaster, Minimum ATI 650 or named ATI 550 with audio input)

The 8600 will play WoW just fine which is the most important aspect. I am happy to say I have pre-ordered the new Expansion!

[Task Force]

I currently have a 8800GTX 6XX Mb version, works good but is expensive as H***,(processor is slowing it down I think) Hope your new rig works good for you.

[Zachstar]

Got the stuff today.

The new speakers I got work great!

The new headset sounds good but the Mic is a little messed up. I think I set something wrong tho.

I got a large case fan that is just acting as a white noise gen at the moment. It is quiet enough to easily cool down the video card BUT...

The video card ROCKS!!!. It is cool and it is powerful!!! With the new Nvidia drivers it simply does everything I want FAST! I am sure it can handle COD4 and Farcry 2 now!. Maybe even COD W@W!