Core Duo upgrade to old Athlon XP System - Advice Please

indyjones

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Hi all

I have finally decided to upgrade my aged system, it’s been good to me but the constant slow downs in NWN2 and with some of the new titles on the horizon has convinced me to do this.
Right currently my system is an AMD 2500+ (running at 3200+ for over 3 years), one gig of DDR3200 ram, and a 6800 GS bios modded into a 6800 ultra.

I am planning on going Intel, for the first time since my Pentium 233mmx :) and go with the E6600 core duo processor, so my upgrade list is:-

Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 2.40GHz

OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC2-8500 1066MHz SLI-Ready Edition

NVIDIA 8800 GTS graphics card either the 300meg or the 600meg version (any thoughts here please?)

Finally last but by no means least, I have no idea what to go for mainboard wise not sure if I should go Intel 975 or P965, or NVIDIA 650 or 680, read a lot of reviews but there is no simple solution. I have no idea at this stage if or when I will go SLI ……..

Any advice/ opinions will be very much appreciated as this is going to cost me a lot of cash :(
 
I use that setup myself, I say you wont go SLI with the 8800GTS so the ASUS P5B-E SLI is a great board its the Nvidia 650i chipset its more than what you will need but then again the 680i is there for the taking .. the rest is gonna be great ...
 
300meg gts.

I'd suggest either th evga nforce 680i sli or the asus p5w dh deluxe.
 
hmmm good info coming in from you all thank you! LordOfLA what make you say the 300meg gts? I understood that the lower memorey crippled it on some games?
Shamus nice to know you have a simular setup which OS are you using by the way? (also just put my name on the waiting list for a Nintendo Wii, thought you would approve)
 
the price difference doesn't warrant the tiny bit of extra performance you get from th extra 300meg of ram.

do not use the E6600 or higher on 965 chipsets - it slows them down :)
 
Hmmm as I thought the mainboard is the most complicated bit.....
 
Just out of curiosity, what will this machine be used for on a daily basis?
 
Just out of curiosity, what will this machine be used for on a daily basis?

The PC saw me through university and has been sitting around in that state for a couple of years so now is only really used mainly for internet/email and gaming. Watch the odd film on it too.
 
it doesn't look like you need anything too powerful, so why not look at downgrading the processor to something like what I have the E4300. That way you still get your 64-bit technology and you should find it very easy to overclock similar to that of the AthlonXP to get that little more oomph.

Its what I am running, and I am using it for pretty much the same plus a little more. E-Mail, Internet, IRC, IM, Video Encoding and a little gaming. Its working a treat for me just sitting at 1.8GHz
 
The 320mb version is alot slower then the 640mb if you want eye candy and high res its a no brainer .
 
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And dont down grade anything if you have the means then get the best you can get because it will be outdated faster if you dont so whats the point when you can afford it, go for it.

Others might be a tad jealous thats life :lick:
 
Any advice/ opinions will be very much appreciated as this is going to cost me a lot of cash :(


You're building a new comp for the next 3 to 4 years so:
-Go for the 640MB GTS like Shamus said. The extra memory is crucial for the eye candy effects and it is not that big a percentage price change to double your RAM.

Back to reality. I would not expect the machine you have to be having issues with the latest games unless you are running them max'd. My system is wimpier and not causing me any problems. Have you tried a clean install and minimal load to clean up performance.

-If the cost is hurting that much cut back on the MB and CPU. I'd say just get a new vid card but you are trapped in AGP hell where there are no cost effective solutions. You could cut a lot of money on MB/CPU and use it to get the 640MB card. CPU prices go nowhere but down and cheap MBs run the same speed as expensive ones but without a lot of features you may never need or want. You will loose overclock friendliness with the cheaper MBs.
 
Shamus - thanks for the advice you system does indeed sound very close to what I am after
LeeJend - Interesting comments there, it think my monitor is my greatest downfall where is a widescreen, this means really you need a to get your screen res to 1280*800 or ideally 1600*1050 (native) and to be honest is only supreme commander and NWN2 which are giving me problems..... however I would like to switch to Vista at one point and (apart from not supporting my mainboard in later beta 2) it was a bit sluggish

All this aside I think my greatest constraint on my upgrade is how big the bonus at work will be this month.... Still I wish I did not have to upgrade everything at once damn PCI-Express :p
 
Right been doing my own research and quite liker the look of the following ASUS board P5N32-E SLi nForce 680 this in the non plus version which features the same board as the striker extreame just a smaller bundle, no eSATA, a smaller heat pipe, no leds or lcd on the back of the board but.... over £!00 cheaper. What do people think about this board read a review and they said the performance is the same as the striker extreme! the plus version has solid state capacitors BUT is the 650 northbridge not the 680.
 
There is the one with the 650i chipset also a P5N-E SLI has esata might want to look at that , would be same as mine.
 
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Still I wish I did not have to upgrade everything at once damn PCI-Express :p

Damn PCI-e, socket AM2 and DDR2!

At least I already have PCI-e video card.

AMD's constant socket type changes will drive me to Intel on th enext upgrade. AMD has another new socket in work already.
 
Damn PCI-e, socket AM2 and DDR2!

At least I already have PCI-e video card.

AMD's constant socket type changes will drive me to Intel on th enext upgrade. AMD has another new socket in work already.


heheh

I would be adding a new PSU to that list too but luckly upgraded that only about 6-8 months ago so its up to the task.
 
right, can afford this if I split it over two months.... therefore most likely next week upgrade time :D any last shouts on the mouther board? pretty much sold myself the nvidia 680i chipset (my old nforce 2 has been great) with the ASUS P5N32-E SLi, like the look of the striker but its £60 more!
 

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