Upgrading PC, need an opinion

glynf

Lads,

After doing a bit of research and fluting around with the current PC, decided to go the whole hog & would like a few opinions please.

Currently have :

EVGA Nforce 680i
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
Coolermaster PSU 1 KW
2 Gb PC6400 RAM
2 x EVGA 8800 GTS 640MB
WD 160GB 10K HDD
Samsung 250GB 7.2K HDD
NEC 18x dvd±r/w
LG 20x dvd±r/w

Planned upgrade:

EVGA nForce-790i SLI FTW
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
Coolermaster PSU 1 KW
2 x 1 GB MUSHKIN XP3-12800
EVGA GTX 280 1GB
OCZ 64GB SATA II SSD
WD 160GB 10K HDD
LG 20x dvd±r/w

What I want most is performance & reliability, and 18+ months futureproof gaming. Apart from games, MS office & CAD is all I plan to use it for-plan to get a cheap case and use the 680i & few bits to build a file server for for music, pictures or whatever.

The m.board & memory will be upgraded first, the 2 x 8800 GTS' will keep me going until I get the GTX 280 & SSD in the states.
When the cost of a GTX 280 drops, it might be an option to get a second one.


The only thing I am nervous about is the SSD, a lot of conflicting reviews about.

AlmightyCushion

I wouldn't bother with the ram/motherboard upgrade. They are going to give you sweet fúck all of a performance increase.

PogMoThoin

+1 on that being a pointless upgrade

Just get new gpu and maby add an SSD

glynf

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

I wouldn't bother with the ram/motherboard upgrade. They are going to give you sweet fúck all of a performance increase.

Part of the reason I want rid of the motherboard is its locked to Alienware, and warranty is up, so no more BIOS updates etc.

The other reason is since installing the E8400 I'm getting BSOD's while playing games usually after a few hours. Tried everything but there are known issues with this revision of the board, so its got to go, and no point getting the same motherboard and risking the same crap again.

PogMoThoin

But You already have DDR2, why not use it?
And why if Your unhappy with a Nvidia mobo are You opting for a new one just as crap. Intel mobo's have way less issues. Intel mobo's also support Xfire, You are aware that Ati have the fastest gpu nowadays not Nvidia?

glynf

PogMoThoin wrote: »

But You already have DDR2, why not use it?
And why if Your unhappy with a Nvidia mobo are You opting for a new one just as crap. Intel mobo's have way less issues. Intel mobo's also support Xfire, You are aware that Ati have the fastest gpu nowadays not Nvidia?

I know FA about ATI, happy enough with Nvidia quadro (work) & EVGA cards up to now really.
I never realised the ATI cards were as good now, the last time I looked at them I recall people complaining about poor driver support and chose nvidia.

If I forget SLI, keep the E8400 & went for a Radeon HD 4870 X2, what intel motherboard would you suggest <270 euro?

Yarnhall

Check out the EVGA Step-Up program for the mobo, you should only pay the difference between those two boards.

specimen

glynf wrote: »

I know FA about ATI, happy enough with Nvidia quadro (work) & EVGA cards up to now really.
I never realised the ATI cards were as good now, the last time I looked at them I recall people complaining about poor driver support and chose nvidia.

If I forget SLI, keep the E8400 & went for a Radeon HD 4870 X2, what intel motherboard would you suggest <270 euro?

did you think of upgrading to ddr3 memory? check http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=343949
this mobo supports both ddr2 & ddr3, in a near future ddr3 will be cheaper and faster. you can also at any time go crossfire with second ati card. anyhow ati is a good choice now

glynf

specimen wrote: »

did you think of upgrading to ddr3 memory? check http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=343949
this mobo supports both ddr2 & ddr3, in a near future ddr3 will be cheaper and faster. you can also at any time go crossfire with second ati card. anyhow ati is a good choice now

Thanks for tip, but went with an Asus P5Q3 Deluxe, Gainward Radeon HD 4870X2 & 2 GB MUSHKIN XP3-12800.

[SNIP]www.adverts.ie is where you do that[/SNIP]

Blazer

I'd go for the the Gigaybyte X48-DS4.
It retails for about €170 and is an excellent overclocker.
If you look at my sig below the cpu will go to over 4.2ghz with a bit more tweaking but I'm too lazy
It supports x-fire and is rock solid..no bsod's/crashes whatsoever with it.
After my last crappy 680i board I swore off Nvidia for boards and to stick with Intel for stability.
The 4870X2 is a fantastic card and well worth the price of it.
Some people had issues with it on the X38 chipsets (bios update needed) but it's been perfect for me.
COD4 is a dream to play as are all other games.
The GTX280 is still a great card though so it's your choice.


forgot to mention that board is ddr2. For me DDR3 is way too expensive yet and the performance is not that much higher than DDR2 yet.
I'm holding off for another year before I upgrade the board+cpu+ram as it just isn't worth it yet.

Edit: Just saw your last post..congrats on the purchase..
There's a problem with the MLC on the OCZ/Micros SSD's with poor write performance. Good article on Anadtech about it.
However Intel's new MLC SSd drives are unaffected by this issue.

glynf

Mathew,

Thanks for the reply. Meant to say I had decided on the
Asus P5Q3 Deluxe, 4870X2 & 2 GB MUSHKIN XP3-12800, waiting to shift the 2 no. GTS' first.

The hamster was dead but the wheel was still spinning when I posted..

I'm sold on the The 4870X2, I am a bit nervous with about the driver issues-a lot of negative posts on the ATI forums-but I suppose you always hear the horror stories.
Glad to hear it works well with the Gigaybyte X48-DS4. Point taken re. the DDR2.

If I go with the same M.board, is the E8400 adequate or will it limit the performance of the GPU?

Will check out the Intel MLC SSd as well.

Manties, apologies about the link-was't thinking.:o

astrofool

2GB will not last you anywhere near 18 months

Get a ddr2 version of the board, and get a good 8GB ram kit to go with it.

Drop the 4870x2 to a 4870 1GB (less xfire driver issues, cheaper, top performance with all games, less heat).

If you're gonna upgrade the cpu, go for either a cheap Q6600, or else something like a Q9450/9550. Should last you a good 18 months.

Other option is to just get the graphics card for now, wait a month or two, and get a nehalem.