What should I upgrade? :cool:

mrbagrat · 03-20-2006, 01:47 AM

I am having so much trouble deciding what to upgrade for my dell. Right now I have:

nVidia 6800 GTO
Cheapy 320watt PSU
3.2 ghz P4 Prescott
1gig DDR2 533 RAM
Cheapy microATX mobo
80gig HDD
DVD/CD drive and burner

I have a 350-400$ budget including shipping and California taxes. I am going to get an Antec Truepower 550watt, a better mobo, and a better case for sure.

The motherboard should be fast, and preferrably have SLI suppo
rt. If it doesn't, its OK. But I would rather it have SLI support.

The case shouldn't be uber expensive, but I would like it to have good airflow (at least 1 120mm or greater fan) and it should be solidly built.

I am also getting MCE, so thats minus 115 $ from Tiger Direct.

RAM will be upgraded later this year to 3gb.

Plenty of HDD space

So, the priority of what I need to get goes:
Case
PSU (done)
CPU cooler (done)
Mobo
CD/DVD combo burner (current one is LOUD)

That leaves 150-200$ for case, mobo, and possibly CD/DVD burner

What do you guys think I should get?

iggy101 · 03-20-2006, 01:55 AM

i think that u may want to think about your psu because nothing is wosre than trying to game on a crappy psu

mrbagrat · 03-20-2006, 02:20 AM

Yeah...I'm already getting a truepower 550watt. Any other suggestions?

mrbagrat · 03-20-2006, 06:41 AM

...or no suggestions and I could stick with the crappy Dell I have. Cmon people, please!

m3incorp · 03-22-2006, 03:41 PM

Hmm your budget doesn't leave room for upgrading more than one of the things you mentioned above. You also didn't say what you use your computer for. As for an SLI motherboard, you will be pushing it to find a good one in your price range. I would suggest a modern DVDRW and a new PSU as your initial upgrade.

**dragon2309** · 03-22-2006, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by m3incorp

I would suggest a modern DVDRW and a new PSU as your initial upgrade.

Although practical a DVD-RW drive will not yeild any performance upgrade in either multitaksing or gaming/media. A more wise upgrade would be RAM, which would most definately yield a performance increase.

dragon

Jet · 03-22-2006, 04:51 PM

don't upgrade to 3GB of ram. Your processor is what socket? LGA775?

**dragon2309** · 03-22-2006, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jet

don't upgrade to 3GB of ram. Your processor is what socket? LGA775?

why?

Jet · 03-22-2006, 06:11 PM

It depends what you will be doing with your computer. For most things, 2GB is adequate. With 3GB, you are almost overloading the memory controller with 3-4 of the memory slots full. Unless you have 2 512MB sticks and 2 1GB sticks in dual channel, you will have 3 1GB sticks, which isn't dual channel. Quality is better than quantity.

Of course, correct me if I'm wrong

m3incorp · 03-22-2006, 11:43 PM

You are correct; but I didn't mention RAM because his last sentence states he will upgrade it later on. I too think 3GB would be overkill.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dragon2309

Although practical a DVD-RW drive will not yeild any performance upgrade in either multitaksing or gaming/media. A more wise upgrade would be RAM, which would most definately yield a performance increase.

dragon

03-20-2006, 01:47 AM	#1 (permalink)
mrbagrat banned Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: See above Posts: 1,237	What should I upgrade? :cool: I am having so much trouble deciding what to upgrade for my dell. Right now I have: nVidia 6800 GTO Cheapy 320watt PSU 3.2 ghz P4 Prescott 1gig DDR2 533 RAM Cheapy microATX mobo 80gig HDD DVD/CD drive and burner I have a 350-400$ budget including shipping and California taxes. I am going to get an Antec Truepower 550watt, a better mobo, and a better case for sure. The motherboard should be fast, and preferrably have SLI suppo rt. If it doesn't, its OK. But I would rather it have SLI support. The case shouldn't be uber expensive, but I would like it to have good airflow (at least 1 120mm or greater fan) and it should be solidly built. I am also getting MCE, so thats minus 115 $ from Tiger Direct. RAM will be upgraded later this year to 3gb. Plenty of HDD space So, the priority of what I need to get goes: Case PSU (done) CPU cooler (done) Mobo CD/DVD combo burner (current one is LOUD) That leaves 150-200$ for case, mobo, and possibly CD/DVD burner What do you guys think I should get? Last edited by mrbagrat; 03-20-2006 at 01:55 AM.

03-20-2006, 01:55 AM	#2 (permalink)
iggy101 Silver Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Tallahasse, Fl Age: 17 Posts: 150	i think that u may want to think about your psu because nothing is wosre than trying to game on a crappy psu __________________ Bring back I'm a big fan or irony and politics http://www.computerforum.com/70952-i...-politics.html WOW Read this if you want a laugh!!

03-22-2006, 04:51 PM	#7 (permalink)
Jet Diamond Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 5,285	don't upgrade to 3GB of ram. Your processor is what socket? LGA775? __________________ Macbook/Intel Core Duo 1.83Ghz/2GB DDR2 667/60GB HD/OSX 10.4.11/160GB 3.5" Firewire External/160GB Maxtor One Touch 4 Mini External/

03-22-2006, 06:11 PM	#9 (permalink)
Jet Diamond Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 5,285	It depends what you will be doing with your computer. For most things, 2GB is adequate. With 3GB, you are almost overloading the memory controller with 3-4 of the memory slots full. Unless you have 2 512MB sticks and 2 1GB sticks in dual channel, you will have 3 1GB sticks, which isn't dual channel. Quality is better than quantity. Of course, correct me if I'm wrong __________________ Macbook/Intel Core Duo 1.83Ghz/2GB DDR2 667/60GB HD/OSX 10.4.11/160GB 3.5" Firewire External/160GB Maxtor One Touch 4 Mini External/

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03-20-2006, 02:20 AM	#3 (permalink)
mrbagrat banned Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: See above Posts: 1,237	Yeah...I'm already getting a truepower 550watt. Any other suggestions?

03-20-2006, 06:41 AM	#4 (permalink)
mrbagrat banned Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: See above Posts: 1,237	...or no suggestions and I could stick with the crappy Dell I have. Cmon people, please!

03-22-2006, 03:41 PM	#5 (permalink)
m3incorp Gold Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 262	Hmm your budget doesn't leave room for upgrading more than one of the things you mentioned above. You also didn't say what you use your computer for. As for an SLI motherboard, you will be pushing it to find a good one in your price range. I would suggest a modern DVDRW and a new PSU as your initial upgrade.