Upgrading my PC

personally i dont think anyone says future proof in the pc/gaming industry meaning 2 years...

The whole point i was making was nothing to do with performance gains at cheap prices (my remark to penryn simply was to imply nothing was future proof especially at this point in time with penryn, phenom, etc on the way).

My point was simple, OP doesnt need a new processor, he just wants a new GFX card. No point telling him to buy a new processor as well (unless it was an upgraded x2, since its literally plug and play), cause that just means hes buying a new system

also about 90% of motherboards are pci-e only, its pretty hard to find modern chipset motherboards support agp (i can only think of one which has both pci-e and agp and supports core 2 duo)

 

yep dim8sum is rite. People who want always keep up to date are

1) rich
2) spendin no money for other stuff
3) FREAKS!

someone who knows the Computer Industry, know that it´s stupid to buy the latest hardware. It´s to expensive, faulty (maybe fixed by firmaware upgrade). If the guy wants to buy a new graphi ard the 8800GT is the best solution, because it has enough power for min. of 1 year, it cost not too much.
If someone who don´t know abt PC, like the guy who opend this thread, he definitly won´t notice the "more speed" of the Quad Core. Even for normal User it´s not noticeable!
I think (don´t mean it in the rude way) you(pepsi) are someone who trust in benchmarks and magazines. Try the stuff out, Dual Core, Quad Core or 8800gts vs. 8800gt. Everyone says the 8800 is faster than the gts, but if u are plain u will notice NOTHING. Only benchmarks will show you some slight differences.

 

im actually thinking about upgrading mine too..

but my mobo is oldschool.. i need new ram in there, but they only sell pc3200 (forgot the number exactly) and up.. but my mobo can only have pc1600... which will force the ram to revert down... not only that, i need to get new components like HD and shit, which would cost so much less if i were to by a new pc altogether..

 

I'm number 2 and 3. -boat

btw hongkongboy, how much are you willing to spend to upgrade your pc? It's easy to list parts when there's no budget, which is utterly useless if you're looking for advice on upgrading your pc.

 

lol yup buy a new computer, i know someone who wants to upgrade their ram but the model type is rambus or something (old computer) and the cost for 256mb of ram is like 100-200 dollars... new computers are pretty affordable nowadays i think.

 

it is, at the cost of buying a 1GB pc2100 at 100 (which is still too new for my mobo), i could get a new mobo + cpu and get a 1GB pc3200 for like... 50.... all in canadian of course lol

(not much diff as cad is owning usd by like... a penny lol)

 

usually the problem i find is, its always great fun to take apart stuff

then wen u put it back together (and it works)
u find left over pieces that u have no idea where they go...-what?

and then u end up with a collection of spare parts lol
i took apart my cars centre console to play around with it and see wats inside, i ended up replacing a cd headunit and some lights etc

then foudn a bunch of screws... lol

one of my old computers, like a p2, i took apart some gateway case (that case was damn heavy) and then had all these metal bars lying around... =/
as long as it works! =D

 

@dim8sum

Look at the e6600, it came out in the middle of 2006. It was the cpu to get and now look at it -- around one year later and its replaced by a 2x faster q6600 with the exact same price tag. That along with the stronger video cards that are coming out every year I'd say that in two years the e6600 will be completely forgotten by the gaming community if it hasn't been already. Am I saying it's not enough to run everyday tasks? No. A p4 is enough to run everyday tasks.

And like I said, unless the new quads that are comming out are going to retail at the same price range as the q6600 it's not a logical comparison. That's like me comparing a qx9650 to the weakest of the dual core chips. That's what the q6600 is, the weakest of the quad chips. If you're going to compare than compare the up coming quads to the best of the best quad chip which would be the qx9650. Now are the new quads going to be faster than the qx9650? I wouldn't expect anything less. How much faster will the new quads be compared to the existing quad series? We don't know yet. Will the gain in speed be enough for consumers to place the existing quads onto the back shelf and favor the new ones? Don't know. Will the speed difference justify the new price tag whatever it may be? Don't know.

And when I suggested that the OP buy a new processor I was assuming that he may have to update his mobo since he knows what other main hardware he has but has no clue what his mobo is so I assumed it was a really old one. That lead me to the possibility that he may have an agp card and lead me to my suggestions. Just like you assumed he had a pci-e capable mobo before he said he thinks that he has the right slots. My assumption was wrong.





@Crystal84

I know all about saving money cause my parents opened a savings account in my name since I was a little kid. My dad always told me to put atleast a quarter of all the money I earn into saving and I do. I do just fine and I don't run out and buy what I want the second I have the money. Whatever it is will still be there later. I have absolutely no problem waiting. Infact I kinda like the suspence. And just fyi, I get the same joy from building the best of the best PC I can as I did when I was into fixing up my car. It's a feeling of accomplishment and knowing that I created this. I like technology. I like getting my hands dirty. If that makes me a geek or a freak, fine. I'ma freak'n geek. I'll own it. There are worst things to be. Atleast I'm not a crackhead.

"I think (don´t mean it in the rude way) you(pepsi) are someone who trust in benchmarks and magazines. Try the stuff out, Dual Core, Quad Core or 8800gts vs. 8800gt. Everyone says the 8800 is faster than the gts, but if u are plain u will notice NOTHING. Only benchmarks will show you some slight differences."

If you researched the specs and compared the 8800 gts 320mb vs the 8800 gts 640 mb vs 8800gt 512 mb vs the 8800 gtx 768 mb vs the 8800 ultra 768 mb you'd know for a fact that there's a difference because there are ingame tests that amongst others are done by the consumers to make sure they arn't being ripped off by the price differences and the cards prove that there's a performance difference on benchmarks and most importantly ingame between them.

Here are all the specs of each card. http://www.nvidia.com/page/geforce_8800.html

To say you're right would be to say everyone else is too stupid to figure out this scam that you think is being pulled.

Now as far as dual cores vs quad cores. Lets make it simple, are dual cores faster than a single core cpu? Yes, because it can complete strenuous tasks twice as fast. Apply that to the dual vs quad comparison. Same thing and it has been proven.





@kontradictions

Actually, it's the opposite of useless. If you cap the amount you're willing spend then u'll probably wind up settling for parts that you may not be very satisfied with and end up regretting your decision later and asking what if. If you want to build a PC you need to first find the parts and then you'd know how much money you need and save. And that's the goal. There's no point in settling for a system when all you have to do is wait a little longer and get the one you'd really be satisfied with. But if you're fine with just settling than go for it. Not like the parts are going to disappear if you wait a while. Infact, their prices may just drop by the time you have enough cash.

 

^ You have a point there, but you have to realize some people don't have an endless supply of money behind them. What if he's in a financial situation and he can only spend x amount on his computer? Prices will drop, that's without a doubt but you have to keep in mind than when the price of an item drops, something better will replace it, and what are you going to recommend that person buy?

The best way to offer technical advice to someone is to find out what he/she is willing to spend then see if there's a better alternative at or maybe even a little outside of the ballpark. Suggesting components that's out of the buyers price range won't do the buyer any good.

The best way to buy a computer is not to buy something that you're satisfied with performance wise. It's to buy a computer that satisfies you by doing exactly what you need to do and doing it well. Trying to keep up with performance standards is like running up the wrong escalator, it's an endless struggle. You have to realize that the most important thing isn't buying a computer that lives up to standards a week, a month, or a year later, but to buy a computer that you know will be useful and will suit your needs.

 

lol for the last time, im not comparing anything!!!! Im not saying you were wrong about the q6600

my point was one and simple, the OP doesnt need a new CPU

i dont always find this true, if you put a clock for clock, architecturally same CPU against each other, i reckon they will perform a task at the same rate, however youll actually be able to do other things on the dual core at the same time, unless the program takes advantage of dual core and multi-tasking

 

And again, dim8sum is rite ^^

It is rite that its faster, whatever single to dual or dual to quad, BUT it doesn´t mean it has the double speed, just because of QUAD with he same clocking. It´s just a bit faster but never DOUBLE! Even if the program u are usin takes advantages of quadore it has never the double speed.

And for all the other guys, just read what hkboy wrote ^^

 

man, i wonder if i should buy another 21" lcd screen while im in the states... i could be running a pretty sweet dual monitor set up

 

^go for the dell 31" ultra sharp

 

hey lads just found this awsome uk customizing website

* Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
* Intel Core 2 Duo QUAD CORE Q6600 Processor
* 4096MB Corsair DDR II 667 Memory
* 1000GB SATA II Seagate Data Storage – RAID Stripe
* NEC 7170 Multi Format DVD/CD ReWriter
* nVidia 8800 GTX 768MB - Ultimate Graphics!
* Creative LABS XFI Xtreme Gamer Soundcard - Fastest Soundchip On Earth!
* Intel Core 2 Duo Deluxe Motherboard
* Sony Floppy Disk Drive
* DVD/CD ROM Drive
* 10/100/1000 Ethernet LAN
* 12 x USB2 Ports
* Firewire
* Microsoft Wireless Multimedia Keyboard
* Microsoft Wireless Optical Mouse
* Creative Inspire 6100 5.1 Speaker System
* 22” Widescreen TFT 5MS Flat Panel Screen
ALL THIS FOR £1249
what u think ?

here the link http://www.cube247.co.uk/?customise=32
but i havent heard of cube247 btw, is it reliable

 

I think its a bit too expensive for those components. But need to do some research first ^^

 

dont forget about the 22'widescreen!

 

^ i bet its gonna be a crappy monitor, maybe youll wana splash out on a dell ultra sharp, to fully show off the lovely graphics

havent heard of the company cube before, but it sounds pretty cheap, the reviews for the company dont seem to bad, if you google em


this is a spec off a company that i bought one of my pcs from, excellent service and cheap as well (not as cheap as your company, but i trust these guys)

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™2 Quad Q6600 (4 X 2.40GHz) 1066MHz FSB/8MB L2 Cache

Memory (RAM)
4GB CORSAIR XMS3 DDR3 1066MHz - LIFETIME WARRANTY

Motherboard
ASUS® P5K3 DELUXE/WiFi: DUAL DDR3, S-ATA II,2 x x16 VGA, 3 x PCI

Operating System
64 BIT WINDOWS® VISTA Home Premium (inc CD & License) (£69)

USB Options
8 x USB 2.0 PORTS (6 REAR + 2 FRONT) AS STANDARD

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1000GB SERIAL ATA II HARD DRIVE WITH 32MB CACHE (7200rpm)

CD/DVD Drive
20x Dual Layer LightScribe DVD Writer ±R/±RW/RAM


Graphics Card
768MB GEFORCE 8800GTX PCI Express + DVI + TV-OUT


Sound Card
Sound Blaster® X-Fi Platinum - Fatal1ty Champion Series: £135


Network Facilities
2 x ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORTS (Maximus Extreme)

Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (READS XD, MS, CF, SD, etc)

Case
CoolerMaster CM Stacker 831 Aluminium Case

Power Supply & Case Cooling
800W Quiet Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£99)

Processor Cooling
ASUS SILENT KNIGHT II PURE COPPER ULTRA COOLER (£36)

Firewire & Video Editing
2 x IEEE 1394a FIREWIRE ONBOARD (1 in back + 1 on board)


Monitor
WIDE 22 INCH TFT Silver/Black 1680 x1050 5MS D-Sub, DVI (£165)

£2012 inc VAT and Delivery.


www.pcspecialist.co.uk