Upgrading Help

[drew and not u]

I wouldn't worry, it should be fine. Whichever card you choose I think you'll be happy.

[Capper]

We'll be posting our review of the Palit HD 4870 next week......excellent video card

[edbtzy]

hello again everyone, sorry for the late response, i had some issues to attend =/

but now im back in the loop...this is what i came out with for a final build...suggestions would be great and as u can see i upped my budget a little....

ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail (changed my cpu because i wasn't sure if the e7200 would perform good when it comes to gaming, which i would be doing sometimes on this comp)

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

VisionTek 900244 Radeon HD 4870 512MB

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model DH-20A4P-04 - OEM


if there are any changes that could be made to lower the total price then feel free to talk...i dont want to be losing any performance so keep that in mind...and im trying to stay in the 800-900 range...less would be great!

[drew and not u]

The E8400 is a great chip. However if you are trying to save some money, and you're willing to overclock I'd still go with the 7200. At the same clock speeds there will be virtually no difference in gaming performance between the E8400 and E7200. Even at stock clocks the E7200 is still pretty fast, and would have no problem keeping up with the 8 series chips in gaming. Whichever you choose I know you'll be happy!

[edbtzy]

my concern is that i don't think i will be overclocking mainly because i don't want it to DIE on me and become too hot or all that hype...also, wouldn't i need an aftermarket heatsink???

but then again if i decide to overclock, would this chip be able to just reach speeds equivalent to the e8400 without worrying about it dying out on me??? and what about the cache differences??? would that play a roll

also, the PSU i chose...what is the difference between that one and the one you preffered earlier in the post (OCZ)??? (besides the watts)

[Parker]

Originally Posted by edbtzy

my concern is that i don't think i will be overclocking mainly because i don't want it to DIE on me and become too hot or all that hype...also, wouldn't i need an aftermarket heatsink???

but then again if i decide to overclock, would this chip be able to just reach speeds equivalent to the e8400 without worrying about it dying out on me??? and what about the cache differences??? would that play a roll

E7200 will reach 3.0Ghz (E8400's stock speed) no problem at all, thats a no brainer to the chip.
And I might look into an aftermarket cooler, but that depends. The overclock from 2.53Ghz (E7200 stock) to 3.0Ghz will hardly increase heat, and you shouldn't (I'd say, won't) need to even touch the voltage...
But it's up to you.

also, the PSU i chose...what is the difference between that one and the one you preffered earlier in the post (OCZ)??? (besides the watts)

Go with the Corsair, It's cheap, and it's CORSAIR. Corsair has EXCELLENT customer service.
I have the 650w myself, excellent PSU, and VERY quiet, but has all the connections I'll ever need.
Well built to, I might add.

Also, why only 2GB of RAM??

[edbtzy]

because when my friend installed his 4gb, the computer only read 3.25 and i figured that i could always buy another 2 gb down the road whenever i wanted to...

the hardest decision is choosing the CPU...im trying to save money but at the same time i don't want to lose a lot of performance (3 vs 6mb cache) im also trying to stay future proof

[Parker]

Originally Posted by edbtzy

because when my friend installed his 4gb, the computer only read 3.25 and i figured that i could always buy another 2 gb down the road whenever i wanted to...

Oh ok, gotcha.

the hardest decision is choosing the CPU...im trying to save money but at the same time i don't want to lose a lot of performance (3 vs 6mb cache) im also trying to stay future proof

Just go E8400. Best chip EVAR.

[drew and not u]

Haha, I know how you feel. If money wasn't an issue I'd say just go the E8400 route.

As far as the E7200 goes, you can easily overclock it past 3.0GHz with minimal (if any) voltage bump, and definitely without even nearing Intel's maximum recommended voltage, and using the stock cooler. With an aftermarket cooler, you could take it as far as 3.6 or 3.8 without doing anything more than bumping the cpu and NB voltage.

The reason the E7200 and E8400 will clock about the same is they both use the same core, the E7200 just has a lower FSB and slightly higher (.5) multiplier. So by overclocking it to 3GHz (for example), you're essentially just turning it back into an E8400, minus the extra cache.

I totally understand your dilemma, and as far as the cache is concerned, the difference between 3 and 6 will be very minimal, and you'll only notice it in slightly reduced benchmark scores. I know it it sounds bad, because it has half the cache, but the cache has only a small impact in performance. Just check my sign, I have machines running both these chips, and I honestly can't tell the difference.

To summarize, by going with the E7200 you'll be saving that extra money, achieving nearly the same performance, and learning a lot about your computer through overclocking.

[edbtzy]

thanks for the clarification...i think i just might go with the E7200 because i wont be gaming like CRAZYYYY but i would love to have the option (aka COD4/crysis and other games comming out)

as for overclocking, is there a LEGIT and USEFUL guide to overclocking this setup??? something you guys may recommend