My Conversion from Old to New.....

PharmrJohn

Baseband Member
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Well....I have ripped apart the computer and have gone through everything. I am upgrading the MB/CPU as well as the case. That much is decided. However, I may need more upgrades.....

My Old System:

CPU: Unknown (Manufactured 10/2005)
Motherboard: AMD Athlon 64 (I think it was an AMD 3000)
GPU: ATI Radeon X800GTO 512MB (Looks like a Fireblade from the design) Sapphire is also on the card....if that makes a difference.
Sound: None
PSU: Antec Truepower 2.0 550W
Case: Unknown (Too small to add additional RAM---the slots were blocked by the DVD Burner)
RAM: 1GB (2x512MB DDR 400)

Gaming on this system when it was created was pretty good. I was happy. I don't know what the clock speed was then (2.4 comes to mind....I only checked it once). Now I am paying more attention to what is in it and am aquiring an understanding of the components and their function.

My New System (build in progress---nothing purchased yet)

CPU: Intel Core2 Duo E7500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
Motherboard: ASRock P45X3 Deluxe LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
RAM: Patriot Viper 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
Also....I am going to use my other two DDR chips to up the ante to 5GB if that is possible.
GPU: POWERCOLOR AX4870 512MD5 Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card
ATI Radeon X800GTO 512MB---Difference between the two? Worth changing over or keep the old?
PSU: I want to keep my Power Supply
HDD: I want to keep my two HDD (Seagate and WD---240GB total)
Case: COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
I am looking at the Antec 1200 instead
Disk Drive: I have two older (2001 models) DVD player and DVD Burner that still work fine. I will keep those also

So this is my plan so far. Any and all comments, concerns and suggestions are welcome. Thanks. John.
 
the 775 is a good socket, but id suggest going for the I7 920


you should not use your old DDR chips, it will not work.
4GB DDR3 is plenty.

for the GPU, that is a good card, it really is, but if you want equal performance, maybe a bit more, and DX 11 *newest* get the HD5770

it it IS EXTREAMLY good to get the 4870 or the 5770, it will be like night and day compared to your old GPU
like VW bug vs. a rocket ship kinda difference.


You could keep your same power supply, but id suggest to get a new one for this biuld, it IS the most important part of a new build, and you dont want to destroy your nice new parts with an old used PSU

And agian, id suggest getting a new HDD, you can get a 640GB one for about 60 bucks. Due to HDDs failing after a few years of use, its always good to use a new one in new biulds.

though id say it is ok to reuse the disc drives.
they arnt used as much as HDD so they usually last longer.

both cases look good, though i an personally say the 1200 kicks some serious ass. I own one myself.

with the I7, that ram you picked, either video card i mentioned, and a new HDD, id say that you would have a pretty good gaming machine there, you could easily play Crysis.


I have my own youtube channel, and i post recorded videos about some PC games, and upload them to show others, kinda like a video demo of selected games. In my PC i use a HD 4850, and the two cards mentioned, are about 25-45% faster then what i use. And with that set up above, you could play games maxed for sure. If you would like, here is my
Link for examples of some games you could easily play.
 
OK....so the i7 and the 775 MoBo it is. Now....the GPU. The 4870 and 5770 are recommended.

The 5770 has 1gig and is 128bit.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=5770

The 4870 comes as both 512mb, 1gb and 2gb, all 256bit

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=4870&x=12&y=29

Now. I am a little lost here. If I am not mistaken the bits will have to do with color and resolution and the memory will dictate speed. Please forgive me if I am off....it is hard to speak intelligently about that which I do not fully understand. But I am learning!!!

Thanks dude. You have NO idea how appreciative I am of your help. John.
 
haha, actually, that dosnt have anything to do really with the bits and RAM.

the bits is the width of information going from mobo to GPU.

and what makes a GPU faster is a higher core clock speed, ram speed, and more processing units.

and the i7 920 requires the mobo to have a socket of LGA1366, not socket 775

ex
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...cm_re=1366_motherboard-_-13-131-614-_-Product

and the 5770 and 4870 perform about the same almost, though the 5770 is a bit faster, and has DX 11

and a card with 1GB Vram is plenty for normal gaming.
 
First off, what games do you play? This should determine whether you run a high-clocked Core 2 Duo (which is still very good) or an i7 Core. If you're not a hardcore gamer, who always needs the latest and the best, I would suggest a Core 2 Duo. It seems like you're on tight budget, and if you're not hardcore, the i7 would be overkill.

Assuming you follow the tip above, I would recommend that you downgrade your RAM and motherboard to a DDR2 model (if it's still cheaper than DDR3, I've been out of things for a while). Running a C2D means you don't have much room for your memory divider, especially since the FSB is kind of tight.

To make sure you get best bang for the buck, I'd recommend you get a solid, pocket-friendly HSF (Xigmatek is good with this) and try your hand at some OC'ing.
 
I like to play the best games the world has to offer....and have never really had a computer that would do it well. The closest I have gotten was the athlon 64 single core with a gig RAM and a decent GPU (ATI X800GTO 512MB)--good for the time (Considered a gaming computer then). But I have never had close to top of the line....I have not been able to afford it, as I have been unwilling to build it myself....

In terms of finance, I am doing this with the tax return (Part of it). So I am willing to do it right. I, basically, want a kick ass system that I don't have to worry about upgrading anytime soon......

Also....I intend on taking the leftover parts, getting another MoBo and CPU (cheap single or dbl core) and building a computer for my son. I figure I can do it for about $100 to $200......
 
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