[help]My cpu upgrade, need advice from Pro's.

[calculi]

Planning to upgrade my OLD cpu w/c is....

Processor: AMD Sempron 140 at 2.7Ghz
Ram: 2G ram pc800 ddr2 (x1)
Vidcard: on-board gf8100
Hdd: 55G IDE (very old)
Mobo: Biostar gf8100 m2+se (SLi support) (1x PCIexpress x16 gen2 slot) (x6 sata slot) (2x pci slots) (am2+ processor slot) (2x ddr2 ram sots)

My Motherboard will handle all the upgrades.
so I can afford these upgrades...

New Processor: Amd am3 Athlon II x3 440 at 3Ghz
Additional Ram: 1G pc800 ddr2 (hopefully 2g but in tight budget)
New HDD: Western 500G sata
New case: Boston Casing
New Vidcard: Inno3d 8400GS 512MB 64bit (or is it better if inno3d gf210 512mb 64bit? w/c is a little expensive to 8400gs)


Can i abuse my Mobo's Sli support to reconsider my Vidcard choices? will these upgrades can run games like GTA4, Transformer war for cybertron at Max. settings? And run [removed] flawlessly?

 

[Aastii]

Planning to upgrade my OLD cpu w/c is....

Processor: AMD Sempron 140 at 2.7Ghz
Ram: 2G ram pc800 ddr2 (x1)
Vidcard: on-board gf8100
Hdd: 55G IDE (very old)
Mobo: Biostar gf8100 m2+se (SLi support) (1x PCIexpress x16 gen2 slot) (x6 sata slot) (2x pci slots) (am2+ processor slot) (2x ddr2 ram sots)

My Motherboard will handle all the upgrades.
so I can afford these upgrades...

New Processor: Amd am3 Athlon II x3 440 at 3Ghz
Additional Ram: 1G pc800 ddr2 (hopefully 2g but in tight budget)
New HDD: Western 500G sata
New case: Boston Casing
New Vidcard: Inno3d 8400GS 512MB 64bit (or is it better if inno3d gf210 512mb 64bit? w/c is a little expensive to 8400gs)


Can i abuse my Mobo's Sli support to reconsider my Vidcard choices? will these upgrades can run games like GTA4, Transformer war for cybertron at Max. settings? And run Pcsx2 Emulator flawlessly?

no, it will not run those games on full.

Your CPU is alright for your budget build, however it isn't officially in the motherboard support list. It is a 95W CPU and other 95W are supported, so it should be alright, but just bare in mind you may run into problems because it isn't in the support list. That will be able to run what you want though, no problems.

If you buy 1GB extra memory, it may not work at 3GB as you want. I imagine, because you have 2 slots, you will have 1 lot of dual channel memory, rather than 2 single channel slots. You would be better off getting another 2GB stick from the same manufacturer/model if you can, or selling that 1 stick and getting a 2x2GB kit if you can afford it.

an 8400gt is no use for gaming. It is outdated (it is 3 series behind) and was never designed to be a gaming video card anyway, it is good for streaming HD video at best.

If you want to play GTA4 on a budget, you will be having a hard time. It is coded badly, so needs much more than is actually needed, much much higher than what you listed above.

You may want to change your post btw, can't discuss or ask for help with emulators . So long as your system can run the 2 games you asked, it will run the emulator, so no need to specify it

=EDIT=

oh, what power supply are you running too? You can't be throwing upgrades in there, especially video cards, if you have a weak power supply. And don't say "It is 300W" for instance, the brand and quality matters too, so try to give as full description as you can. If you aren't sure, take the side off your case and read the label on the PSU

 

[calculi]

sorry for the emulator, i was just confused because as far as i know that emu's run based from the processors power, anyway i removed it xD

i am really interested on your explanation about the 1G ram. but i don't kinda get it, sorry my bad DX kindly explain it step by step ahehe.

Thank you for your reply.

 

[Aastii]

sorry for the emulator, i was just confused because as far as i know that emu's run based from the processors power, anyway i removed it xD

i am really interested on your explanation about the 1G ram. but i don't kinda get it, sorry my bad DX kindly explain it step by step ahehe.

Thank you for your reply.

There are 3 possible ways your memory could be:

2 single channel DIMM slots
2 dual channel DIMM slots
2 dual channel DIMM slots with flex mode (or similar)

In single channel mode, the memory modules run independantly of each other. In that way, you could have a 4GB stick and a 512mb stick, and it would work with 4.5GB of memory.

Dual channel is where the memory has double the bandwidth, but there are more limitations. Because of the double bandwidth, it is obviously faster. But say you have a 2GB and a 1GB stick of memory, both sticks will only use 1GB, making a total of 2GB. This is because it can only use equal amounts from each DIMM slot for dual channel.

Flex mode is a tehcnology Intel have, but other boards have similar and it is usually under the same name. It is the same as dual channel, however, in the example above, there will still be the 2GB in dual channel, however the extra 1GB from the 2GB DIMM will be used in single channel. So you will have 2GB in dual channel (faster because of the greater memory bandwidth), and 1GB in single channel (similar speed, but only 1 DIMM, but allows the extra memory to be utilised), giving the full 3GB.

Regardless of which you have, all memory modules must be the same speed. They could be different, however, another example coming up , let's assume you have a 2GB stick of 800MHz memory, and a 2GB stick of 667MHz memory. The 800MHz will be underclocked (made slower) to 667MHz. This is because the memory modules, regardless of how they are working, must be the same speed. To acchieve this, there would be 2 options: to overclock the 667MHz stick, or underclock the 800MHz stick. Overclocking the slower stick could cause instability and greater heat produced, where as underclocking the faster memory module would keep the system stable, produce LESS heat, but the system would be stable

 

[calculi]

There are 3 possible ways your memory could be:

2 single channel DIMM slots
2 dual channel DIMM slots
2 dual channel DIMM slots with flex mode (or similar)

In single channel mode, the memory modules run independantly of each other. In that way, you could have a 4GB stick and a 512mb stick, and it would work with 4.5GB of memory.

Dual channel is where the memory has double the bandwidth, but there are more limitations. Because of the double bandwidth, it is obviously faster. But say you have a 2GB and a 1GB stick of memory, both sticks will only use 1GB, making a total of 2GB. This is because it can only use equal amounts from each DIMM slot for dual channel.

Flex mode is a tehcnology Intel have, but other boards have similar and it is usually under the same name. It is the same as dual channel, however, in the example above, there will still be the 2GB in dual channel, however the extra 1GB from the 2GB DIMM will be used in single channel. So you will have 2GB in dual channel (faster because of the greater memory bandwidth), and 1GB in single channel (similar speed, but only 1 DIMM, but allows the extra memory to be utilised), giving the full 3GB.

Regardless of which you have, all memory modules must be the same speed. They could be different, however, another example coming up , let's assume you have a 2GB stick of 800MHz memory, and a 2GB stick of 667MHz memory. The 800MHz will be underclocked (made slower) to 667MHz. This is because the memory modules, regardless of how they are working, must be the same speed. To acchieve this, there would be 2 options: to overclock the 667MHz stick, or underclock the 800MHz stick. Overclocking the slower stick could cause instability and greater heat produced, where as underclocking the faster memory module would keep the system stable, produce LESS heat, but the system would be stable

uh-oh..
I get it now. I am using ddr2 w/c is dual channel.
I am forced to buy 2g ram now xD
flex mode maybe a life saver but i am not buying ddr2 for it to work on single channel, lol.

that was quite a fact Sir, Thank you for the knowledge.

 

[Aastii]

uh-oh..
I get it now. I am using ddr2 w/c is dual channel.
I am forced to buy 2g ram now xD
flex mode maybe a life saver but i am not buying ddr2 for it to work on single channel, lol.

that was quite a fact Sir, Thank you for the knowledge.

See if you can find the motherboar manual, it will be on the biostar website, and see if it says the 2 DIMM slots are in dual or single channel

 

[calculi]

w/c one will you recommend me?

Palit 8400GS 512mb 64bit = $41
or
Inno3d 8400GS 512mb 64bit = $39
or
Palit GF210 512mb ddr2 64bit = $46
or
Inno3d GF210 512mb ddr2 64bit = $44
or
Sapphire HD4350 512mb ddr2 64bit = $43

w/c one would best fit for my mobo setup? and why? (please pick just 1 of the given Vc above, don't recommend me getting expensive this and that card, because i don't have money! XD)

will it run gta 4 or transformer war for cybertron at low settings?

 

[Aastii]

w/c one will you recommend me?

Palit 8400GS 512mb 64bit = $41
or
Inno3d 8400GS 512mb 64bit = $39
or
Palit GF210 512mb ddr2 64bit = $46
or
Inno3d GF210 512mb ddr2 64bit = $44
or
Sapphire HD4350 512mb ddr2 64bit = $43

w/c one would best fit for my mobo setup? and why? (please pick just 1 of the given Vc above, don't recommend me getting expensive this and that card, because i don't have money! XD)

will it run gta 4 or transformer war for cybertron at low settings?

none of them will run either game at all.

Like I said earlier, none of those are gaming cards, and if you get a video card, you will need to get a new power supply.

What power supply do you have?

Because that is all you can afford, you are out of luck because you won't be able to get a system capable of playing those games on your budget just yet. If you upgrade your CPU and memory, and then save up some to get a power supply and video card, you will be set

 

[calculi]

I'll be buying a Boston Casing w/ 500w power supply.

well at least recommend me w/c of the said Vc choices is the best amongst them? xD

 

[Aastii]

I'll be buying a Boston Casing w/ 500w power supply.

well at least recommend me w/c of the said Vc choices is the best amongst them? xD

I would reconsider your choice of power supply

Power supplies are where quality matters most. Low quality power supplies are made out of low quality parts and are usually massively over-volted.

This means the power output detereorates faster, they don't actually output the power they say they do, are less efficient and don't usually come with extras such as warranty.

To explain that, you say the case comes with a 500W PSU, however it is poor quality. It can output a peak power of ~500W, however if you ever get up to that level of usage, it will be overheating, giving unstable power and almost certainly going to blow, so really what you have is at the absolute most a 300W PSU, but then the other problems factor in.

All power supplies over time deteriorate, it is their nature too, what started out as a unit outputting 500W will eventually only output 450W and get less and less. For higher quality power supplies, it can take years for that to happen, but for lower quality ones, it takes much longer, so your 500W unit will be much lower in a year or two's time than if you got a higher quality unit.

This may not sound too bad, but when a power supply blows, it isn't just a matter of buying a new power supply and putting it in because usually there is a surge which damages other components. So rather than getting just a new power supply, you will need a new power supply, ned motherboard, new CPU, new memory....the costs mount up, as does the hassle of sorting it all. You won't be able to claim your memory lifetime warranty, CPU 3 year warranty etc either, because as soon as another component failure damages the part, the warranty of all of the components damaged by it is void.

Less efficient units will still consume the same amount of power, but not output as much, it is common sense really. Where that extra power goes is also common sense, it can't just dissapear, it can't break the laws of physics. Less efficient units will produce more heat, so then more sound too because the fan will be pinning faster to move more air and cool it down. This will heat up your case, and therefore other components, disrupt airflow from other components and create a louder system for you.

You are better off sticking with better known units: Corsair, PC Power & Cooling, XFX, Silverstone, Seasonic, Thermaltake Toughpower, Be Quiet!, Antec.

As to which is the better card, I wouldn't bother. If you want to play older games, then go with whichever is the cheapest option, but the card won't be playing any newer games, including either of the ones you posted, so would be a waste of time and money if that is what you bought it for

 

[calculi]

omg, it'll blow? DX
Ok, i am reconsidering my power supply, well maybe I'll get ATX casing with antec 300~400W of PSU.
last question sir, for an Amd mobo & processor w/c video card chipset is best fit? ATi or nvidia?

 

[fastdude]

Both. It's personal preference, however, ATi tend to give you DirectX11 support for less, whereas it is usually nVidia that just about has the edge on raw performance

 

[Aastii]

omg, it'll blow? DX
Ok, i am reconsidering my power supply, well maybe I'll get ATX casing with antec 300~400W of PSU.
last question sir, for an Amd mobo & processor w/c video card chipset is best fit? ATi or nvidia?

neither is best. Both have their pros and cons, and it doesn't matter what processor or motherboard you are running for which card to use. Even though AMD make ATi cards, it doesn't mean you will see an advantage over nVidia if you are running an AMD processor, same goes for you won't see a disadvantage if you are running ATi with Intel

Both. It's personal preference, however, ATi tend to give you DirectX11 support for less, whereas it is usually nVidia that just about has the edge on raw performance

He is on a budget, I can't see him getting a 5xxx or 4xx card really if he can only go so far as you get a 210, 8400gt or 4350. Besides, your statement about DX11 doesn't work at all now that nVidia have released the 460. They have the price base well and truely covered now with that card

 

[calculi]

*trying to push my budget* urgh! 9500GT 512mb 128bit! lol this is as far as i can go as of now. but weird, 9500gt 512 128bit same price with gf210 512 ddr2 128bit.
anyways, Thank you Guy's for replying. xD

 

[Aastii]

*trying to push my budget* urgh! 9500GT 512mb 128bit! lol this is as far as i can go as of now. but weird, 9500gt 512 128bit same price with gf210 512 ddr2 128bit.
anyways, Thank you Guy's for replying. xD

again, not a gaming card.

If you are wanting to game, you will want to be looking at (all varieties of the following):

nVidia GeForce:

8800
9600
9800
GTS250
GTX260
GTX275
GTX285
GTX295
any GTX4xx series (out at the moment)

ATi Radeon HD:

3850
3870
4750
4770
4850
4870
5670
5750
5770
5830
5850
5870

check out ebay and craigslist. There isn't anything wrong with second hand video cards, you should be able to pick up an 8800gt or 3850/3870 atleast for the same price a your 9500gt (that is according to prices on ebay and Scan in UK)

 

[calculi]

aha! I've observed from the list that a gaming Vc is at least 256bit+ in bus width.
*bookmarked*
Thank you. =)

 

[calculi]

Sorry for reviving this thread again.

This is what the results of your tips/advices guy's: =)

Processor: Amd am2 Athlon x2 5200 2.7ghz (or Amd am3 Athlon II 240 2.8ghz?)(is this a good idea? sacrificing the previous tri-core for the Vc price?)
Additional Ram: corsair 2G ddr2 pc800
Vc: 9600GT 512mb 256bit (<--is this ddr2? even the lowest model of 2xx series are gddr2/3)(& should i get this or hd4670 1gb ddr3/128bit? they have the same price)
HDD: Seagate Sata 500g
Casing: ATX X3-R titanium casing & 450W antec standard Psu.
Mobo: my previous redfox biostar gf8100 m2+se

oh dvdrom: LG dvdrw dual layer sata 22x oem

 

[Mez]

for the video card, 9600gt's aren't worth it for the price anymore, you can get a 9800gt for less. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500142&cm_re=9800gt-_-14-500-142-_-Product

As for the CPU, try going for an AM3 Athlon II Dual core, much better performance than that 5200