Vanchatron

I use my PC mainly for gaming, listening to music, surfing the Internet etc and I have the following specs:


OS - Windows XP Media Centre Edition (SP3)
CPU - Intel Pentium D 820 2.8Ghz
Video Card - Nvidia Geforce 8800GTS 640mb
Ram - 2gb DDR II
Motherboard - Gigabyte P35C-DS3R
PSU - Thermaltake Toughpower 750w


I built this PC around a year & a half ago, and I just feel that with all the new games coming out, it's time for a mini upgrade of some parts. I'm hoping that my Graphics card & PSU are fine "for the time being", because they cost the most money & they still seem to be "decent" (not the best, but OK) for running games etc. I believe the things I most need to upgrade are the CPU & RAM, but I'll see what others think first. I'll be sticking with XP for the time being, because I purchased VistaX64 6 months ago and just didn't like it at all, due to the fact a hell of a lot of programs/games didn't work because it was 64 bit. Therefore until more games/programs support 64 bit Vista, I'm fine sticking with XP.

Anyway, I'd appreciate knowing which components you feel need an upgrade and by how much. For example, if you feel my RAM needs an upgrade then how much extra should I get? Also, if you feel I should upgrade my CPU, then do you suggest getting Dual or Quad core, and which model (e.g. Core 2 Duo E6750 etc?).

Basically I'd just like to play most of the latest games close to or at high setttings with minimal lag & smooth gameplay. Also, if I DID upgrade I'd be sticking with Intel/Nvidia.

Thanks a lot in advance.

wrench97

Only 1 if you swap the cpu for a E8500 you'll think it's a whole different PC
Flash the Bios to the latest F12e and drop this in> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115036

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/M...ProductID=2551

Vanchatron

So you don't feel Quad core is really necessary at the moment? Also, what do you mean by "flash the bios to f12e"? Sorry, I'm not too familiar with BIOS things.

I just checked the prices on Ram and it's extremely cheap at the moment, so I think I might just go ahead & buy some extra Ram along with the CPU upgrade, although I have a couple questions.

Is it true that Windows XP (32 bit) can only use up to 3gb of Ram, so anything more than that is just going to waste? Currently I have 2gb Ram, therefore if I purchase more, I'm guessing I should only get another 1gb?

Also, having looked at a lot of Ram, there are different speeds such as 533Mhz, 667Mhz, 800Mhz etc. I'm not sure WHICH of the speeds to purchase, or which will be compatible with my system etc :S

Thanks :)

wrench97

In order to run the newer CPU the motherboard needs a Bios update.

To flash the bios follow the instructions in the manual(Page 64 of the .PDF file below) for the Qflash method do not do it from within windows. If you don't have a Floppy drive a usb pen drive will work as long as it is formatted in FAT32 format.
http://america.giga-byte.com/FileLis...35c-ds3r_e.pdf


Here are some CPU charts for gaming and most apps other then cad or 3d rendering/creation and high end video editing with Adobe Audition or a few other recent video editors the Faster Dual core is faster then a slower Quad the Q9550 or Q9650 are faster but twice the cost> http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/d...x1050,818.html

Vanchatron

Thank you very much.

linderman

if you want to get ram (youre right, ram is now cheap) get Corsair XMS2 DDR2-800 /PC6400 2 x 2 gig sticks CAS 5 with voltage rating of 2.1 volts

these are even better:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148212

or

these are smokers !!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145194


you dont want to run four sticks of ram ........... later on when you want another performance boost ........... you can overclock with this rig like mad ............. you wont be able to do as well with more than 2 sticks of ram

sell off your old ones on ebay