Okay so I want to update/upgrade my PC, I just dont know what to get...I like to randomly buy new parts and install them for fun and I dont know what to get...So if all you have any suggestions that would be great! Heres my up to date specs...
*****My Gaming PC's specs*****
-Raidmax Smilodon case
-Windows Vista 64 bit
-22" Acer X223W LCD monitor
-5.1 Logitech x540 Surround Sound w/Realtek HD audio
-Saitek blue backlit keyboard/Logitech laser mouse
-Western Digital 500GB/250GB 7200RPM internal hard drives
-500W PSU (Power Supply Unit)
-XFX 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT video card
-4GB Kingston RAM
-Intel Core 2 Duo e6750 2.66 GHZ processor
-abit IP35 mother board
-LG DVD Drive/Burner
-three 80mm blue LED fan, two 120mm fans, two 12" red cold cathodes.
if I were in your shoes, I would start with the motherboard, Abit is out of the motherboard business and support for that board could start getting a little bit iffy, even though they said they would offer support for a while for owners of their motherboards you have to figure what the quality of that support will be since there no repercussions, what are people gonna do if their "support" is lacking or non existent, not buy their motherboards...?
personally, I like to go the open box route on Newegg, most of the time you will save $50 or so and sometimes you'll end up paying roughly half the price for a motherboard, you get great deals if you know what to buy (I/O shield) and download (chipset drivers and random motherboard based programs) to get ready for it's arrival, I've even heard of people getting all the accessories as well though it isn't guaranteed, there are others though that avoid open box items like the plague...
also, if you want to sli in the future, ditch the Intel chipsets unless you want to buy the more recent, flexible and expensive x58 chipset, it allows both sli and crossfire, with you running a P35 chipset there are literally hundreds of motherboards (thousands maybe?) that would be considered an upgrade for you...
some, like this
open box ASRock P45TURBOTWINS2000 for $56 + shipping allow you to start your upgrade path a little bit at a time by allowing DDR2 and DDR3 to run on the same board (not at the same time though), this would allow you to run DDR3 on your motherboard and when you decide to fully upgrade you don't have to worry about buying DDR3 memory (or at least not as much, maybe just add an extra stick of what you already have to complete a triple channel set) to go with that exclusive DDR3 board...
that's a pretty cheap option and there are so many motherboards to choose from and so many go on sale at times that you really need to make the decision at the time you are ready to buy it, research beforehand though so you know basically what you want and what your budget is...
