Upgrade or Replace (Budget Gaming Build)

[Harper]

I have some one that is currently interested in purchasing my MSI-620 Laptop for AU$1000
I my current situation, I have one 2 many computers and I am looking at upgrading my Desktop (Quad Box)

Specs are AMD Phenom 9500 QuadCore 2.2Ghz, 4Gb DDRII, Gigabyte GA-MA770-DS3, Geforce 8600GT 512Mb, WD 750Gb SATA / 2x WD 1Tb SATA, Adaptec 1220SA RAID, DVDRW, Xp MCE 2005

Video card definatly gets upgraded. Actually the video card does have some issues. Has ATI released there 5000 Series yet?

As for CPU. After I flash the BIOS, I can get up to Phenom II X4 940 3000Mhz CPU. And in the main time, I can still keep my DDR II Ram as DDR III still too expensive. However what I can do is see about subsitutiing Ram modules with what i have at work.
Otherwise, I could upgrade the motherboard so I can take an AM3 CPU.But then that does mean that i will need to change ram.

Currently I am desiding if I go
AMD Phenom II X4 940 3000Mhz AM2+ and keep ram and motherboard
or
AMD Phenom II X4 945 3000Mhz AM3 replacing ram and motherboard


I will be looking at getting a new case. I am thinkinging Gigabyte, Coolermaster or Antec. And I will need to do some thing about the power supply as I don't think my collermaster 430 Watt PSU will cut it for new video card.

Not really interested in Intel. Reason being is that if I was going to go intel, then I would be going i7, and I really don't want to spend that sort of cash right now.

Hard Drives. Good chance that I will be leaving those along at this stage. However I might upgrade 750Gb to a 1Tb for OS, Games and Torrents. I am not going SSD as I can not justify the cost of those drives yet.

Suggestion on motherboards, Cases, video cards please. Plus also what I am basically doing.
The other thing i need to do is re-check windows Vista and Windows 7 Support for my RAID card. Last time I check, the RAID card did have some problem with Vista. Main problem being that i would forget one of the drives when it was coming out of power saving mode, and then i will be spending hours having to re-sync my data.



[EDIT]I have descided that I will get one of these cases. I want a side panel
Cooler Master HAF 922 With Window.

I am also coming to the conclusion that i am might have to go AM3 with my CPU. So with that being said, I am going to look at AMD Phenom II X4 955.

Motherboard, I am planning on getting a Gigabyte GA-MA790XT-UD4P

Current this is just leaving ram. I am thinking of going 4Gb DDR III @ FSB 1600.

Now I just need to look at power supply. Some thing that is cross fire ready if I chose go go that way.[EDIT]

 

[Nubbleet]

I'd go with the 940 because it would leave more money for other stuff. And the new ATI series isn't out yet, but they should be releasing the 5000 series cards pretty soon here. And I'd recommend the Cooler Master HAF-932 for a case.

 

[Muffin Man]

have you checked which rev. your mobo is? on GA's site, it says that the rev. 2 mobos can take am3 cpus up to the 955, but the rev. 1 only supports am2+.

for the rest of the parts like your gpu, i guess its up to how much youre looking to spend. ive just recently read up on evga's stepup program, so i guess in some time, you could buy a not-quite so high end card, and later maybe "stepup" to one of the newer gt300 series cards, since they are supposed to be coming out soon. although i dont know which new cards will qualify as a "stepup", just throwing that out there as an idea.

 

[Harper]

have you checked which rev. your mobo is? on GA's site, it says that the rev. 2 mobos can take am3 cpus up to the 955, but the rev. 1 only supports am2+.

I will double check again when I get home, but i am sure it's the early one. Motherboard is about 18 months old.

I'd go with the 940 because it would leave more money for other stuff. And the new ATI series isn't out yet, but they should be releasing the 5000 series cards pretty soon here. And I'd recommend the Cooler Master HAF-932 for a case.

Trying ot find stock is a pain down in Australia as it's End Of Life. However I will double check if I got a version 1 or version 2 of the motherboard. If it's version 2, then I will be happy with that.

As for case, the other one that has has caught my eye is this one
Lancool Dragon Lord "Dark Ice" PC-K62 Black Chassis w/window

I am going to see about waiting for ATi to release the 5000 series. After that, I will either pick up a 5000 series card, or pick up a high end ATi 4000 series card at a rock bottom price. I do remember last year when the 4000 series came out, there was a hug price drop on ATi 3000 series.

 

[Apokalipse]

I have some one that is currently interested in purchasing my MSI-620 Laptop for AU$1000
I my current situation, I have one 2 many computers and I am looking at upgrading my Desktop (Quad Box)

Specs are AMD Phenom 9500 QuadCore 2.2Ghz, 4Gb DDRII, Gigabyte GA-MA770-DS3, Geforce 8600GT 512Mb, WD 750Gb SATA / 2x WD 1Tb SATA, Adaptec 1220SA RAID, DVDRW, Xp MCE 2005

If it were my system, I'd just get a new CPU and GPU.
As far as the motherboard goes, that depends if it has the features you want.
I don't think getting DDR3 is worth it since you already have 4GB DDR2. From what I've seen, DDR3 gives about a 4% performance increase on average.

If you wanted to replace the motherboard, I'd suggest somthing like the MA790X-UD4P.
It's cheap, is great for overclocking, and has all the features you're likely to need (including support for AM3 chips, 8 x SATA ports, Crossfire).
But the Phenom II 940 is still a great chip.

Video card definatly gets upgraded. Actually the video card does have some issues. Has ATI released there 5000 Series yet?

No, they come out this month though (probably 2-3 weeks).

Currently I am desiding if I go
AMD Phenom II X4 940 3000Mhz AM2+ and keep ram and motherboard
or
AMD Phenom II X4 945 3000Mhz AM3 replacing ram and motherboard

The 945 does not have an unlocked multiplier. The 940 does. Which means it's a lot easier to overclock the 940.

I will be looking at getting a new case. I am thinkinging Gigabyte, Coolermaster or Antec. And I will need to do some thing about the power supply as I don't think my collermaster 430 Watt PSU will cut it for new video card.

Corsair VX-450 or VX-550.
The watts doesn't mean everything, of course. Those two PSU's are far better than the Cooler Master, and will at least be able to power crossfired 4850's.

[EDIT]I have descided that I will get one of these cases. I want a side panel
Cooler Master HAF 922 With Window.

I am also coming to the conclusion that i am might have to go AM3 with my CPU. So with that being said, I am going to look at AMD Phenom II X4 955.

Depends how much it is against the 940 and if you will be getting a new board.

Motherboard, I am planning on getting a Gigabyte GA-MA790XT-UD4P

That's a great board. Though I don't think going DDR3 is worth it right now.
Also, that board is about $50 more expensive than the AM2+ MA790X-UD4P (which is basically the same, except it uses DDR2)

Current this is just leaving ram. I am thinking of going 4Gb DDR III @ FSB 1600.

I don't think it's worth doing right now.

Now I just need to look at power supply. Some thing that is cross fire ready if I chose go go that way.[EDIT]

For crossfire, the Corsair VX-550 will work well. Or if you really need more power, the TX-650 or TX-750.

 

[Harper]

Looks like some one is keen on purchasing my laptop this week end.

Apoc, thanks for giving me the head up on the DDR III Ram. I will look at what DDR II Motherboard that i can get my hands on. I guess that the only reason that I would now consider DDRIII would for the idea that 4Gb DDRII Modules should be easier to purchase in the future. As appose to 4Gb DDRII Modules. Like I have had the occasion person asking me for 2Gb stick of DDR Ram, and my reply is "Expensive". I am sure that the same this is going to happen with 4Gb sticks with DDR II Ram.
However the other question I need to ask is what is the likelihood that i will be wanting more than 4Gb in Windows 7?


As for the 940 chip, it really comes down to availability. All my suppliers for the chip have come back to me saying it's discontinued. And I am not really one for overclocking. ebay has been a joke on that too.
With the price difference between 945 and 955, I am going 955. However no stock on these chips until next week. Shipment due in to Australia on Friday.

As for the GPU, about the only game that I am really hanging out for right now is the Aion and that does not go live until the end of this month. So I am going to hold off on getting the GPU at this stage.

I will look into where i can get those power supplies from. Reason why I like the Coolermaster ones is that I get along with the my supplier. I do not have not fond memories with dealing with Altech Computers and I tend to avoid them where possible.

Anyways, I am narrowing down on what I am looking at getting

CASE
Lancool Dragon Lord "Dark Ice" PC-K62 Black Chassis w/window

CPU
AMD Phenom II 955 (unless some one has as 940 that they don't want any more)

MOBO
Gigabyte GA-MA790XT-UD4P with DDR3 Ram
or
Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4P with existing DDR2 Ram

Video Card
Waiting until end of month

PSU
Undecided

 

[Apokalipse]

Looks like some one is keen on purchasing my laptop this week end.

Apoc, thanks for giving me the head up on the DDR III Ram. I will look at what DDR II Motherboard that i can get my hands on. I guess that the only reason that I would now consider DDRIII would for the idea that 4Gb DDRII Modules should be easier to purchase in the future. As appose to 4Gb DDRII Modules. Like I have had the occasion person asking me for 2Gb stick of DDR Ram, and my reply is "Expensive". I am sure that the same this is going to happen with 4Gb sticks with DDR II Ram.
However the other question I need to ask is what is the likelihood that i will be wanting more than 4Gb in Windows 7?

It depends on your usage. For me I find it advantageous to have 8GB of memory in Windows 7. And DDR2 is cheap enough at this stage so that it's easy to have that much memory (I currently have 8GB DDR2-1066).

As for the 940 chip, it really comes down to availability. All my suppliers for the chip have come back to me saying it's discontinued. And I am not really one for overclocking. ebay has been a joke on that too.
With the price difference between 945 and 955, I am going 955. However no stock on these chips until next week. Shipment due in to Australia on Friday.

The 955 is a black edition chip (unlocked multiplier).
The Phenom II black edition's are great chips for overclocking. I mean, most chips will get 3.6GHZ easily at stock volts. Just increase the multiplier to 18x; and if necessary, give about +0.05V extra to the core (though you probably won't need to at 3.6)
For 24/7 usage, they can easily get to about 1.55V as long as you can manage the heat.

I'm currently running my Phenom II 940 at 3.8GHz 24/7 (and It's usually pretty stable at 3.9), and have gotten it up to 4.16GHz for a SuperPi 1M run.

As for the GPU, about the only game that I am really hanging out for right now is the Aion and that does not go live until the end of this month. So I am going to hold off on getting the GPU at this stage.

Well it's a good idea to wait for the 5870's and 5850's to come out anyway.
Even if you don't end up getting one, it'll probably make the prices of current GPU's cheaper.
Mind you, a 5770/5750 will probably be easily affordable, with the benifit of being DirectX 11 compatible (current ATI 4xxx series cards are DirectX 10.1 compatible, and Nvidia 8xxx to GTX 2xx cards are DirectX 10.0 compatible)

I will look into where i can get those power supplies from. Reason why I like the Coolermaster ones is that I get along with the my supplier. I do not have not fond memories with dealing with Altech Computers and I tend to avoid them where possible.

I find PC Case Gear are pretty good to deal with. And their prices are pretty good.
Though they ae based in Melbourne.

Anyways, I am narrowing down on what I am looking at getting

CASE
Lancool Dragon Lord "Dark Ice" PC-K62 Black Chassis w/window

CPU
AMD Phenom II 955 (unless some one has as 940 that they don't want any more)

MOBO
Gigabyte GA-MA790XT-UD4P with DDR3 Ram
or
Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4P with existing DDR2 Ram

Video Card
Waiting until end of month

PSU
Undecided

Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4P Motherboard - $149.00 : PC Case Gear, Delivering quality computer parts Australia wide
Corsair HX-520 520W Power Supply - $139.00 : PC Case Gear, Delivering quality computer parts Australia wide
Lian Li Lancool Dark Armor K62 - $169.00 : PC Case Gear, Delivering quality computer parts Australia wide
Maybe your suppliers can get them cheaper though?

 

[Nubbleet]

I say go with the GA-MA790X-UD4P listed ^^.

 

[Harper]

Well it's a good idea to wait for the 5870's and 5850's to come out anyway.
Even if you don't end up getting one, it'll probably make the prices of current GPU's cheaper.
Mind you, a 5770/5750 will probably be easily affordable, with the benifit of being DirectX 11 compatible (current ATI 4xxx series cards are DirectX 10.1 compatible, and Nvidia 8xxx to GTX 2xx cards are DirectX 10.0 compatible)

I remember when the ATI 4000 series. At the time, I a HD3870 and the price just nearly when down by 50%. Unlike nVidia where the prices slowly come down.

I find PC Case Gear are pretty good to deal with. And their prices are pretty good.
Though they ae based in Melbourne.

Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4P Motherboard - $149.00 : PC Case Gear, Delivering quality computer parts Australia wide
Corsair HX-520 520W Power Supply - $139.00 : PC Case Gear, Delivering quality computer parts Australia wide
Lian Li Lancool Dark Armor K62 - $169.00 : PC Case Gear, Delivering quality computer parts Australia wide
Maybe your suppliers can get them cheaper though?

I will have a look at what I can pick up through my people first and the compare with PC Case Gear. Main advantage will be shipping and warranty.

[EDIT]Looks like I might put this one hold for the next week or so. Got people telling me that they are interested in my laptop, but they are fart arsing around with commiting to it. I am going to hold off on this until the ATi 5000 Series cards hit the market, and then make a purchase. However I might actually do some thing about picking up that case. I have an read for moding. I am thinking about giving it that black, white and red goth look. It's been a while since i have done some modding.[/EDIT]

 

[Harper]

Hopefully my Tax Return should be showing up this week.

I have been doing a little bit of shopping around, and have settled on the following
Lian Li Lancool Dark Armor K62 - $169.00 : PC Case Gear
Need to get get some Red 14mm LED Fan for this case
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition - $355.00 : PC Case Gear
Gigabyte GA-MA790XT-UD4P Motherboard - $189.00 : PC Case Gear
2x 2Gb DDR III Ram (picking up via work with some creative accounting.)
Cooler Master Silent Pro M700 - $189.00 : PC Case Gear
Bitspower Dual 30cm Cold Cathode Kit Red - $19.00 : PC Case Gear,

Video cards I am going to wait for the ATi 5000 Series. After that, I will either pick up a 1x really good 5000 Series card or 2x really good reduce priced ATI 4000 series card. I really comes down to how much bang for buck.

Currently I am looking for an one that might have 1400mm Red Led Case Fans.