Upgrading my rig... i think.

[ShallowJam]

Hello all, new to the forums here and I would greatly appreciate some help!

I am looking to upgrade my rig becuase it isnt really performing as well as I would like, and with some new games coming out in the coming months, I thought it might be a good idea to spruce it up if I can.

Here are my current specs:
Board: ASUSTeK Computer INC. P5B Rev 1.xx
GPU: ATI Radeon x1650 (512mb)
CPU: 2.40 gigahertz Intel Core2 Quad
64 kilobyte primary memory cache
4096 kilobyte secondary memory cache
64-bit ready
RAM: 2x1gig @ 800
OS: Windows XP.

What im thinking of doing is getting new RAM and a new video card. The reason I am making this decision is because I think the processor is fine, while the RAM and video card are outdated. the only problem is that I wont be able to run DDR3 with this board, and it seems silly to get a new board that runs DDR3, but not a newer processor. I could be overestimating the strength of my processor, if i am, correct me please.
So, what I was thinking of doing was getting either 4 or 8 gigs of RAM (please advise how much) at 1066 because I read somewhere that this board can handle it. to go along with that i was also going to get a new vid card. A friend recomended a 9800GTX2, but I was wondering what would be best with my setup. I dont want to spend a ton of money, and i realize that eventually i will have to get a new rig altogether, but i was thinking i would upgrade if i could to save myself from throwing out a good processor (that is, if it is good as i am assuming). I am operating under the assumption that the processor is decent and the ram and card are crap. I am also going to get windows 7.

thanks in advance for your help.

 

[patonb]

Is this a prebuilt setup?

What is the power supply, and what size?

DDR2 ram is just fine, and you only need 4Gigs of it.

I'd not go with a gx2... its 2 generations old and very hot. Whats your budget?

If you don't have a prebuilt, a q6600 can easily go to 3.0Ghz overclock.

Your only "crap" is the gpu.

 

[ShallowJam]

It is not a prebuilt setup, a more knowledgeable buddy and i built it.

Power supply is a Game X Stream by OCZ technologies. it says 600 watts in one spot, and then 600/700 in another with 800 listed as peak.

would it be better to do 4 sticks of 1gig or 2 sticks of 2gigs? the board has dualchannel for the slots.

My budget... hmm. Ideally, about $400-500 for the RAM, OS, and GPU. I dont want to spend more than $300 on a card. $200ish would be about what im expecting, but if i get any great performance jumps for a slight cost increase i would be open to that. I want my money spent efficiently.

I dont have any experience with overclocking, but i would do it if I had some instruction.

thanks for the help

 

[patonb]

You'll ideally want to go 2x2Gig.

For $200 you'll want a gtx 460... It'll smoke anything you can toss at it.

As for OC'ng, best thing is to googoe your board and "how to overclock"

 

[ShallowJam]

ok thanks,

in terms of video cards i dont know the details and have a couple questions.

each GPU by nvidia or ati or whoever has a bunch of different versions by different companies. do i just pick whats in my budget? what do i look for? is it better to get a GPU that is below my price range and buy the best "version" of it so it meets my price? or buy one above my range and get the cheapest? particularly with the gtx 460. should i spring for the 1gig version? or get a cheaper card and get the top of the line version?

hope that makes sense...

and with ram, what brands should i look for?

is it better to buy the top of the line version of the GPU or the cheapest? should i go for a slightly cheaper card so i can get the highend version? what brands are good? same with ram, what brands?

 

[patonb]

Your best idea with gpu's is to buy on sale

look at warrentees and at the bigger brand names. Alot of companies produce 4 pre-overclocked versions... Unless its cheaper, never pay to get an overclocked version. It takes 30secs to do yourself... and is free. Spending just abit more on a reputible brand and good warrentee is well worth it. Also just due to a higher price, doesn't mean a "Better" card.

With a 460, deffinately get the 1Gig as it actually has a little bit more umph to it.

For RAM... no idea on that. way too much info for me to know.

 

[Trotter]

Your best idea with gpu's is to buy on sale

look at warrentees and at the bigger brand names. Alot of companies produce 4 pre-overclocked versions... Unless its cheaper, never pay to get an overclocked version. It takes 30secs to do yourself... and is free. Spending just abit more on a reputible brand and good warrentee is well worth it. Also just due to a higher price, doesn't mean a "Better" card.

With a 460, deffinately get the 1Gig as it actually has a little bit more umph to it.

For RAM... no idea on that. way too much info for me to know.

Completely agree with the overclocking the card yourself. It is super simple and completely painless, plus it saves you money.

As for which to buy, look at the warranties. XFX and EVGA offer lifetime warranties (usually... I have seen some EVGA cards with a 2-year). That warranty is definitely worth an extra few bucks on the front end... especially with how expensive a good card is nowadays. If the card runs for a couple of years and then goes toes-up odds are you will be given a newer card as a replacement. I had an X1950X (been a while) that died a few months short of the end of the warranty. I sent it in and was given the next generation (and more powerful) card as a replacement, but the card proved to be faulty. I was then given the newest gen card (still more powerful) as a replacement for that one.

Check out the http://www.techist.com/forums/f76/graphics-performance-list-212331/ thread for how the various cards stack up to one another. The GTX 460 is not on the list but it is slightly ahead of the GTX 285. Basically, get what you can afford. The ATI 5000 series is a great bang for the buck series, and the GTX 460 is looking to be right there with them now.

For RAM, look at G.Skill, Geil, Kingston, Crucial, OCZ... in that order. It is hard to beat G.Skill, period.

 

[ShallowJam]

ok, so a couple more questions...

I have been looking for more info about the P5B board that I have and some people are saying 1066 isnt getting recognized, some say that it does automatically, some say you need to up the power to 2.1v, others say use 1333 (does DDR2 1333 even exist?). hoping someone could offer me some instight as to if I can use 1033 easily.

also, what can I bump the CPU up to? do i need a CPU or memory cooler? I have an antec 900 case, so it does have quite a few fans stock.

 

[patonb]

I'd try 3.0Ghz on stock fan, and watch the temps.

I run mid to upper 60's at load with my tuniq cooler and the 900 case. But as I fold, I've got a high Vcore, which producs more heat.

You should beable to get 3.0 with close to stock voltage, so minimal temp increase.

 

[ShallowJam]

thanks for that about the cpu.

anyone know anything about this RAM situation?

also, whats the word on windows 7? will i be fine with home? 32 or 64 bit?