Upgrading with a budget

[Kapeji]

usual tale, old system dead, unexpected need to spend much loot but resources limited.
In this case, £500.

The list of items chosen below fit the financial bill, but do they fit the compatibility and suitability one?

In the main the system will be running Flight Sim 10 and Steelbeasts pro pe
as the most demanding programs.

Gigabyte EP35-DS3R iP35 Socket 775 Motherboard

Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 3.00GHz (Retail 775)

nVidia GeForce 9800GT 512MB PCI-E

Thermaltake W0144RB 600W Modular PSU

Patriot 4GB PC2-8500 C5 Viper Extreme Performance (2x2GB)

750 GB Maxtor DiamondMax22 32MB

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64 OEM

[Audigex]

Upgrade the E6850 to an E8xxx - the days of the E6 range are gone and it won't do the rest of that system justice. And what about a Q6600 for a tenner more (both on superspecial)

Unless you're intending to hit a bus speed of 533mHz, you may aswell downgrade the ram to some PC2-6400, which will give you a more likely 400mHz at a better price point.

Can't really fault the rest though. Maybe consider an extra HDD for system (get a £20 160GB drive for the windows install?)

[Aaron]

Agree on the CPU.. I'd swap the E6850 for the E8400 :)

[Kapeji]

Does the Q6600 offer a significant advantage over the E8400 in the 3D gaming environment? or would they be a similar performance.
(I notice the E8400 has a clock speed of 3.0GHz, whereas the Q6600 is at 2.4, I am uncertain though how this actually works when comparing dual with quad core processors)

Already got a couple of 160 SATA HD's which will do nicely for the good suggestion of OS instal :)

Thanks for your replies!

[marsey99]

not really no, atm a faster duo is better for gaming than a slower clocked quad.

an e8x00 will give you more overclocking room than a e6xx0, i would stick with the faster ram as it too gives you lots of overclocking head room.

a 4870 might be a better idea tho.

quad gives you loads of multi tasking power, so you can have a game running whilst surfing and encoding a film and running a virus scan, but a fats duo will be better for just gaming or ruuning 1(or 2) things at a time.

[Kapeji]

Nice one, Thanks for the advice, Order now complete! :)

[Aaron]

What did you go for in the end? :)

[Kapeji]

Case: Akasa Zen Silent-Cool - Black
Motherboard: Gigabyte EP35-DS3R iP35 Socket 775
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHz (Retail 775)
Video: nVidia GeForce 9800GT 512MB PCI-E
RAM: Patriot 4GB PC2-8500 C5 Viper Extreme Performance (2x2GB)
PSU: Thermaltake W0142RB 500W Modular
HD: 750 GB Maxtor DiamondMax22 32MB
OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64 OEM

Total cost was £550.45 with shipping which is a little over budget, but the case was a must really as the old one looks more like a skip, I went for a 500 watt PSU over a 600 as I think the 600 was a bit overkill for this setup.
Stayed with the fast RAM as that makes it a little more future proof should I upgrade the CPU, and has the option of OC as well.
I stayed with the E8400 as it was in stock and seems a good choice, the 4870 I could not find with Aria, and I wanted to have the entire order here (a) because in fairness the prices are very good and (b) because it saves on shipping costs. (total shipping £11.59 + vat)
I think this will be a nice system and should perform very well for the apps I use, if it runs FS10 (With mid to low range settings,) at a reasonable framerate (20fps+) I will be very pleased.

Thanks once again for all the help and advice, it really has made a big difference. Hardware has become ever more varied and complex so that unless you keep up with it on a monthly basis, you lose track completely, then trying to mix and match becomes a real minefield, but now I have ordered this set-up pretty confident that it will be a going concern and money well spent.

Of course, should you spot any glaring errors in this lineup, please post them!! I can change the order if needed tommorow.

[mac124]

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Graphics+Cards/PCI-E/ATI+Radeon+4000+Series/Gigabyte+HD+4870+512MB+PCI-E+?productId=32837

You mean you couldn't find this 4870 in stock at Aria? Most odd ;)

[marsey99]

how cheap are the 98gt's :eek:

[Kapeji]

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Graphics+Cards/PCI-E/ATI+Radeon+4000+Series/Gigabyte+HD+4870+512MB+PCI-E+?productId=32837

You mean you couldn't find this 4870 in stock at Aria? Most odd ;)

Now here is a classic example of what I was on about with keeping track of stuff, I had no idea that the 4870 was a graphics card!! I thought it was a CPU!! (Explains why I couldn't find it though!):redface:
No worries, although it looks an awesome piece of kit it would have pushed me way over budget. Might be a nice, and possibly cheaper upgrade in the future though.

[mac124]

Easily done if out of the scene for a while, what you have specced up looks to be a nice set up and should keep you going for a while without the need for too big an upgrade any time soon. :)

[Kapeji]

Thanks Mac, that's just what I wanted to hear. :)