Soon to be system comment / Fair Price...?

[JPeitzman]

Not my first post here....but hello and :toast: to all.

I am upgrading my oldish setup in about a month or so. I have been saving up bit by bit; since college, my lust for high-end audio equipment, and a never ending beer habit take quite a bit of cash...who knew, lol. Anyways I NEED something to hold me until late 07/08. This is what I have right now, feel free to poke a little fun, especially at my GFX card and RAM.

-DFI LanParty UT Ultra-D
-AMD Athlon 64 3500+ run at stock most it's life
-Corsair VS 1GB (2 x 512mb) DDR400
-Leadtek GeForce 6600GT also stock most it's life

And this is what I am looking at:

-EVGA nForce 680i LT (T1) Motherboard
-Intel C2D E6300
-G.Skill 2GB DDR2-800 (PK)

This comes to about $511.00, which I find amazing since when I bought last my A64 was about $280. Also:

1. I am planning on going to a Q6600 once they get price cut.
2. Would I benefit from going to a E6400 at all? On the other side would I get hurt by going with a Allendale?
3. Is there better RAM out there, or is my G.Skill fine? Would like to stay at or below $200. $15 or $20 over isn't really a big deal though, so no worries there.
4. I know I need to upgrade my GFX card too, badly! I am thinking about getting the EVGA GeForce 8800GTS KO 320mb. I am running a 19" Samsung for now with plans of a 20" or 22" in the future. Do you think this card will last me for half a year or a little more?
5. What would you say is a fair price for my old stuff, both with or without the GFX card? I would be selling it with my AC Freezer 64, even though I love that thing. I am about 50/50 on selling it.

JPeitzman

[perkam]

Post cleared up...had u left it like that, you wouldn't have received an answer for days...My first and foremost question, u state first that you'll upgrade the mobo cpu and ram, but later on u state u want to upgrade the gpu too...

Do u have the funds to add another $300 vid card to your $500 upgrade or not? ($800 Total)

And which psu are you using?

Perkam

[JPeitzman]

Ya...sorry...my posts tend to become a little winded

No as of RIGHT now I don't have the full $800. Actually I have about $100, hence waiting another 3 or 4 weeks until the end of school. All my school expenses have been covered , I just have to save a side a little money from summer work for next semester. I plan on doing most stuff this summer since I will be working full time. I split my money 50/50 between school and spending money (which actually means girlfriend money). That is why I thought I could supplement it a little with my old system being sold.

Funny thing about my PSU, it is dead! I haven't had my normal computer for about a month thanks to it. It was a spur of the moment off brand; when I first build I was a nub, I didn't know the importance of a good solid PSU. That is actually what I will be getting in the next week or so, but my parents said they would help me with that since I NEED my computer for school, especially with finals around the corner. I am thinking about getting a SilverStone OP650 or OP750. Those are my top two options right now, otherwise it would be: a Corsair 620HX, SS Zeus 560watt, or maybe a 750watt Silencer.

I have thought maybe I should just get the GFX card right now since it will make the most difference I assume. I just really want to upgrade before UT2k7 hits so I can be ready for it and some of the other next gen titles.

Thanks for the post cleanup and reply! Oh, and I love the sig, that was one of the sweetest movies I have ever seen!!

[perkam]

Ya...sorry...my posts tend to become a little winded

No as of RIGHT now I don't have the full $800. Actually I have about $100, hence waiting another 3 or 4 weeks until the end of school. All my school expenses have been covered , I just have to save a side a little money from summer work for next semester. I plan on doing most stuff this summer since I will be working full time. I split my money 50/50 between school and spending money (which actually means girlfriend money). That is why I thought I could supplement it a little with my old system being sold.

Funny thing about my PSU, it is dead! I haven't had my normal computer for about a month thanks to it. It was a spur of the moment off brand; when I first build I was a nub, I didn't know the importance of a good solid PSU. That is actually what I will be getting in the next week or so, but my parents said they would help me with that since I NEED my computer for school, especially with finals around the corner. I am thinking about getting a SilverStone OP650 or OP750. Those are my top two options right now, otherwise it would be: a Corsair 620HX, SS Zeus 560watt, or maybe a 750watt Silencer.

I have thought maybe I should just get the GFX card right now since it will make the most difference I assume. I just really want to upgrade before UT2k7 hits so I can be ready for it and some of the other next gen titles.

Thanks for the post cleanup and reply! Oh, and I love the sig, that was one of the sweetest movies I have ever seen!!If that is your current situation, then I would recommend staying 939, as its still a very competent platform, and I'll tell you why. All the ppl shouting out that 939 is dead don't know that AMD will continue to make 939 opterons indefinitely due to server market demand, not to mention, the performance difference between am2 and 939 at the same speeds is miniscule, if any.

So here's what you do...get the following, one by one, when you have the cash.

First:
Get the 8600GTS when it comes out, should be $200, faster than the 7600gt, and should run most of the games you need to run well without breaking the bank. Or go for the 8600GT, either way, you're looking at a sizeable performance increase over the 6600GT.

Secondly, get this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103588

And as for the psu, you don't need a psu that powerful, all you need is something that'll run your computer fully overclocked without breaking a sweat for many years, so get this: http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=PS-E5150GH ... a top class psu with amazing internals and dependability for your rig.

That brings the total to $419 if you go with the 8600GTS when it comes out in April/May or $369 if you go with the 8600GT.

Down the road you can upgrade to an SLI 939 mobo, and get an additional 8600GT or GTS, which should bring the no. of shaders to 128, the same amount as the 8800GTX ;)

Don't feel pressured into making a new upgrade...and for the idiot thats going to point out that $419 isn't too far from his original ~$500 c2d upgrade, $419 represents all he needs for a fully working pc, while ~$500 is without a gfx upgrade or a psu.

Perkam

[aolforbroadband]

Yeah, I agree with perkam - stick with an upgrade to your AMD setup until the next batch of AMD/Intel processors come out or their prices go down.

A lot of stuff still doesn't fully utilize dual-core, so quad-core at this point seems to overkill to me TBH.

I was actually in a similar financial situation but I sold my laptop and used one of my work paychecks to get a C2D system. :)

[JPeitzman]

Hmmm... something to chew on. That is what I was thinking but I didn't want to get painted in a corner down the road. I would want to get some better DDR I think too, especially to OC. The max I have hit on the VS is about 215, that was my first and only OC, from then on it has been stock.

I know though I will be waiting until the end of April. That is the end of school for the semester, and by then I think Intel will have done its price-cuts. My next couple paychecks go straight towards my computer so that's why I was thinking full upgrade. Plus maybe we will see more of K10 besides slide shows :rolleyes: .

I knew that Enhance would creep in at some point :woot: , that is a great PSU though. That is the one I was first considering, and still am. The only reason I wouldn't get it is because my parents said that they would pay for about 80% of the PSU since I need my comp for school:D . The PSU is a tough decision, especially now that I am and informed buyer.

Lastly and pertaining to C2D/C2Q...Will Bearlake + DDR3 show an improvement over current boards and DDR2? In other words is Bear + DDR3 something to actually wait for or not?

Thanks for the comments and suggestions! :toast:

[perkam]

Hmmm... something to chew on. That is what I was thinking but I didn't want to get painted in a corner down the road. I would want to get some better DDR I think too, especially to OC. The max I have hit on the VS is about 215, that was my first and only OC, from then on it has been stock.

I know though I will be waiting until the end of April. That is the end of school for the semester, and by then I think Intel will have done its price-cuts. My next couple paychecks go straight towards my computer so that's why I was thinking full upgrade. Plus maybe we will see more of K10 besides slide shows :rolleyes: .

I knew that Enhance would creep in at some point :woot: , that is a great PSU though. That is the one I was first considering, and still am. The only reason I wouldn't get it is because my parents said that they would pay for about 80% of the PSU since I need my comp for school:D . The PSU is a tough decision, especially now that I am and informed buyer.

Lastly and pertaining to C2D/C2Q...Will Bearlake + DDR3 show an improvement over current boards and DDR2? In other words is Bear + DDR3 something to actually wait for or not?

Thanks for the comments and suggestions! :toast:Don't get ahead of yourself m8, 939 to bearlake is far too big a jump. If you want to go c2d, go for it, but only when you have all $700-$800...otherwise stick with 939 and when bearlake DOES come out, ddr2 prices will be "teh cheap" and you can go c2d/am2+ then...

Perkam