View Full Version : new mobo/cpu
I'm thinking about upgrading from the P4 2.8 (northwood) I have now to an AMD setup..I've never used AMD always gone Intel but as I've heard AMD are better for gaming I thought I'd try them. I don't want to spend loads on upgrading as money is kinda tight at moment..Don't need memory as I already got 2gig of ddr400
for mobo I like this (I want to keep 6600GT agp for a whileso this gives me option to go pci-e and AM2 when I need to)
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=24316
but for cpu I don't know..is it worth going dual core yet?
X2 3800
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=19392
or this Athlon64 3800 Venice
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=18056
or Athlon64 3700 San Diego
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=18192
The Pentium IV series of CPU's may have lagged behind AMD's offerings for gaming purposes in their heyday, but that's history in todays market and the Intel Duo Core CPU's are well out in front.
Any worthwhile upgrade would have to go in that direction, otherwise the value of your new hardware is likely to fall faster than a stone :wink:
I know about the conroe stuff...but thats a little over the £120 budget I got lol :oops:
ok I listed some AMD stuff...what about these for Intel (which would be best out of both lists? )
Mobo
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=23695
cpu 1
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=23907
cpu 2
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=20586
cpu 3
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=22913
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=24316
Good choice on board offers, AGP & PCI-E 8)
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=19392
And i would recommend upgrading to a X2.
For both of them it would go over your budget. But you can sell you motherboard + Processor on Ebay and recoup some cash.
Just because Conroe is out there is no need to upgrade.
X2 3800+
Asus (Something)
2GB of DDR
6600 GT
Thats a very solid system & will last you long.
thx Belso..
yeah I like the board cos of the agp + pci-e (both the amd and intel mobos I picked have that) plus they both support the new cpu's
as for the X2 it wouldn't put it that much over the £120 budget, but seeing I've not really paid much attention to the AMD vs Intel scene for a while I still not sure if this is true..AMD runs cooler and are better for games, and Intel are better for multi task (obviously AMD dual core cpus would be good at that too) but what's the temps like on the newer Intels are they stupid temps like the prescotts??
Sorry if these are obvious questions but it's been a while since I upgraded :oops:
The system would be used mainly for gaming offline/online, normal browsing..some photoshop now and again as well as cd/dvd burning
current specs:
P4 2.8 (northwood)
Gigabyte GA-8SG800
2gig DDR 400 (Hynix)
6600GT
SB Audigy 2ZS
P4 2.8 (northwood)
Gigabyte GA-8SG800
2gig DDR 400 (Hynix)
6600GT
SB Audigy 2ZS
Thats a capable system for low end games, playing music and moderate muiltitasking.
But it isn't very future proof.
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The upgrade to
X2 3800+
ASUS (Something)
2GB RAM
6600GT
SB Audigy 2ZS
Can do everything better than the previous system.
Better in games
Runs Cooler
Around a £60 Upgrade. (Depends on price you get for old Combo)
Excellent at Muilti tasking
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The newer Intels dont run as hot as the Prescotts. :!:
ok this is last dumb question I hope lol (unless someone else throws in anything about Intels) :oops:
the question is...
Normally after I've upgraded mobo I've had to re-install XP is there anyway around having to do this cos it's a pain having to put everything back in..thats why I got an external hard drive and back everything up so i can just clone it across :wink:
and it would be nice if the mobo and X2 were in RH :wink: that would mean I wouldn't have to drive there today 8)
(Method 1) With the OLD motherboard in your system
Go to Device Manager (Right Click \"My Computer\" > Properties > Hardware > Device Manager Button)
Select the IDE / ATAPI controller (this will not work if you're using a raid or SATA setup that is NOT part of the chipset... ie SIL, Promise, High Point or Adaptec).
Update the drivers.
choose to select from list of compatible devices.
choose microsoft default.
shut down and replace motherboard
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Method 2 is to choose a motherboard with the chipset (which includes the IDE controller) that is the same make as the previous board (NFII to NF3/4 or i845 to i925)
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Method 3 is a little more involved. it requires a stand alone IDE controller card or SATA card for SATA drives
Install the controller card in the system.
Install the drivers for the card.
shut down system and replace motherboard.
move controller card to new system.
install chipset drivers for motherboard.
shut down and move drives from controller card to motherboard.
remove controller card
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This will not defiently work, but i've had alot of sucess with Method 1.
noooooooooo the mobo is out of stock :cry: a competitor round the corner has the older version (Asrock 939 DUAL-SATA2 (939) ULIM1695 Dual core)
I could get that but i want the newer version thats vista certified plus rather get all parts from Aria :wink:
How about,
Sell your processor/mobo/graphics card.
+ £120 (Your Budget)
Buy a ASRock Mobo and X2 3800+ with Ebay money
PCI-E Graphics card with budget.
= Very good system 8)
I could if I wasn't giving the old gear away to my sister lol..I suppose I could wait and save up :lol: no harm in waiting it's just that I got 4 days holiday and though I would upgrade so if anything went pear shaped I would have time to sort it..maybe if I did wait I'd have probably another £70 - £100 to play with (as long as I don't get impatient and spend the original £120 ish..I may need to fireproof my pockets) :lol: :lol:
[Removed at the request of the author]
I never use credit cards, I always prefer using cash that way if I can't afford it I don't get it till i can. It just stops me from going crazy and building a monster :lol:
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
just looked and the mobo is in stock now :lol:
looks like a drive in the morning
well I've gone and bought them..so now the fun begins (hope belso's method of getting round re-installing windows works)
Im here if you need help mate.
You can sometimes be lucky dropping in new hardware that way, without reloading Windows - but sometimes, by the same virtue, it simply doesn't provide satisfactory results... 8)
Personally I'd reload from scratch because if you do happen to encounter any errors then you'll be sat there wondering whether it's down to your new mainboard - or your Windows installation!
I've had Windows sometimes very seriously play up after installation of a substitute Processor or major Memory upgrade. Sometimes the tweaking and remedies actually cause more hassle than a reformat.
Preferred method for me is to leave Windows on C and point everything else to D, like bookmarks, My Docs etc. That way you limit the amount of things which get wiped off during a fresh installation :wink:
-
well it's all installed and working..windows didn't want to play so had to re-install that, now just got to update everything and put games back in
got bored today so done a full format reinstall and everything is working great...maybe after it's been a few month I may o/c it
Why wait do it now you know you want to :twisted:
does anyone know what the *newer* 1.20 bios update does ..all i can find out about it is that it fine tunes bios settings (whatever that means) lol I'm just curious as to what it does :?:
I know this board is running version 1.10
ok I have another little problem the system was fine for a while then it would do random restarts, freeze or just power off. I upgraded the psu to one that supported dual cores etc (old one was bought way before you even had to power a vid card lol) which seemed to solve the restarts but I still get random power offs and lock ups, all temps in case and cpu are fine (cpu idles at 31+28 degrees each core case temp is about 30 as well).
So I can only guess it's my memory thats being a pain (are AMD still fussy with what memory it likes?) I got 2gig of ddr400 in at the moment, it's the Hynix sticks that aria had a while back. I've swapped the sticks about in the slots, loosened timings, changed the voltage even ran them at ddr333 speeds but still get the random lockups of power offs..
So what 2gig kits would be best for this board (939 dual-Vsta). I have tried the crucial system scanner but it doesn't recognise the mobo and the closest thing in the list is the dual-sata (but the chipset slightly differs on the vsta I think)..someone told me the ocz platinum kit would work but I need to be 100% certain before I spend £160+ I know you guys and Lucy can help me
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