AMD upgrading question

[WetbackMountain]

Hi all,

Currently looking into upgrading my P4 to an AMD, unfortunatly, I dont have much familiarlity with AMD so I had a few questions that someone might be able to answer for me:

My current setup is a Dell build with:

P4 3.4Ghz processor
2GB DDR 533Mhz RAM
250/80 GB WD hard drives
Nvidia 7900GTX (recently put in)

First off, I wanted to know just some basic information of what is "good" in the AMD market for a gaming rig, for my own knowledge. I have a basic understanding of the hardware (chipsets, x86 archetecture, etc.) but my concern is centered around the motherboard and if it would recognize an AMD processor instead of an Intel one. I dont have any specifics on the motherboard (gg Dell) but I can try and provide as much info as possible.

Thanks in advance for whoever responds to this.

 

[Static_11]

sry to say but i dont think mobo's support both intel and amd.. sry if im wrong

 

[MrZucchiniHead]

well you'll need a few thing.

New case cause dell sucks
New PSu cause i dont even know how a dell's generic PSU is handeling a 7900GTX
New mobo

For the PSU go for the Antec Truepower 2.0 550w PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103931

for a case, go on newegg and pick out a few that fit to your style and post them and people will tell you the best one.

for mobo, you can Get an MSI K8N Neo4-F really good $80 mobo, or if you wanna go a little high end go for a DFI Lanparty UT nF4 Ultra-D for around $125.

Oh and unless that Ram is DDR2 then you dont need any new stuff unless your overclocking, but if you bought aftermarket RAM post it and we'll tell you if it's good for Oc'ing or not.

 

[Static_11]

2GB DDR 533Mhz RAM

not ddr2

 

[RicoDirenzo]

Then it's not DDR 533, It's probably 2 gigs of DDR 400? Right?

 

[WetbackMountain]

Yes its DDR 400. Im just curious regarding performance since its a gaming machine and if there is any truth to the whole "AMD is better for gaming then Intel, period" I've been seeing floating around. its what put the bug in my head.

 

[slick_tech15]

AMD totally kick *** in gaming right now. Switch out that dell psu for the antec that mrzucchinihead suggested for sure. Depending on your price range, low = MSI K8N Neo4, Med = DFI UT Ultra-D, High = Asus A8N SLI Premium. For a gaming CPU, i would get a dual core AMD 3800 X2 for 300 bucks. It should do you well for a while. Plus, that would be a kick *** gaming rig

 

[NathanM]

Before you order anything, make sure you can remove the motherboard. I do believe some Dells (older ones at least) actually had the motherboard glued into the case.

 

[old_geekster50]

Welcome to the forum, WetbackMountain.

As stated above, Intel and AMD use completely different slots for the their processors; one won't fit the other. So, the first thing that you will require is a new mobo w/slot 939. I would suggest DFI, even if you don't OC. They have a killer BIOS. Then, comes the processor.

Here it depends on your budget. If you go with an AMD 64, you will get better performance with less GHz's than what you have now. The reason is, AMD 64's have the memory controler on the die. Therefore, the memory controler runs at the speed of the processor.

You have two choices: a) single core or b) dual core. I recently purchased the X2 4800+. It is 2.4GHz. The dual core is great if you muli-task. However, they are more expensive. The dual core will future proof your computer, because the technology is just now getting in full-swing. Only a few games take advantage of both cores at present, but developers are beginning to crank them out.

Go to this link for some good info on processors:

http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~freemawa/featured/cpu/index.php

 

[WetbackMountain]

Thanks very much for the advice all. It has helped me out tons