36 replies to this topic

[Jac3624]

First off here's my current specs:

AMD Athlon 64 3500+(SC)
MSI rd480 neo2 fi mobo
2.5Gb kingston PC3200(DDR400) ram
28Gb seagate hdd(don't know the model, it older)
250Gb WD Caviar SE WD2500JB 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive
SAPPHIRE 100176L Radeon X1950PRO 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card(Stormy's suggested card)
500w PSU(came with my case)

I'm thinking about upgrading to 3.5Gb of ram, duel core cpu, second vid card and a better PSU.

Part of me is saying go for it, while the other part is saying wait and just build a new(though I would probibly keep my HDD and vid card) pc. I don't know what I should do, I've been building this thing for a year. The first thing I bought was the cpu and a 512Mb stick of ram(I did buy a Mobo but it died on me), right now that's the only stuff from the original build I have in this thing the rest is new(except for the SG HDD that is) and I don't really want to give up on this rig yet. I've worked so hard to get this thing where I want it and it's not even done yet, then I find out that socket 939 is dead(that's what it is) and I'm sitting here thinking that all my work was for not.

I am kind of thinking about just saving my money and up grading to an AM2 system, but I get the feeling that AM2 will be dead shortly after I go for it, just like with this system.

Right now I don't think I need to upgrade my graphics card as I can play all of the games that I want to, but when I look to the future(GTA4, ect.) I think that I should get a new one. As the card I have doesn't support DX10, now I know that DX 10 won't be use heavily for about a year but I can tell that some of the game I'm going to want to play are going to need it.

As far as the ram, I know that if I overhaul my system I will need to get all new ram. That's part of it, I could use more ram on this rig, but I don't want to spend more money on a system that I may end up scrapping in 6 months. Though I would be more willing to spend more money on a system that would last me possibly another year.

That's where you tech guys come in, is it worth spending more money of this rig or should I just save up for a new one?

Also please consider the fact that I will NEVER build a system that doesn't have an AMD cpu, MSI mobo and ATI vid card. I've very good results with them and I don't want to change that, though this is only the second pc I've built thus far. I'll never go with anything else.

[Monkey]

Save up and take out your 28Gig drive that will speed you up alone. Older drives that we like to hang on to do drag things down a bit. Try using your 250 alone and see how much better you run, you may find out that you dont need to upgrade as soon as you think.

Remember the system is only as fast as the slowest part(your old drive).

You might want to consider a Asus board. just peek at specs in the end it is still your choice. I use them in my personal builds but I also use MSI for customer builds. I find the Asus likes me for my gaming more than the MSI I used for my sons.

[O.S-Blade]

Hey Jac - I agree with Monkey. Upgrade your old harddrive now an wait with the rest of the system - the spec's is still good.

[Jac3624]

I should've added that my 250Gb HDD is used mostly for storage. I was think about getting a new one to replace that 28GB, the one I was/am looking at is a WD 10k rpm SATA, but I don't think $99 is a good price for a 36 GB, well anything. I was thinking about getting a new HDD just for my OS. Just checked newegg and they have this [quoet]Western Digital Caviar SE WD800JD 80GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive[/quote] for $42.99 + S/H.

I think that's a much better deal, though I won't need 80Gb just for OS and programs. So just off the top of my head I would likely partition it so there would be 20Bg for OS(I may get Vista in the future) and use that rest for games like BF2 and BF2142 that could benefit from the the higher transfer rate.

I was also thinking about lowering my page file to just lower the my ram. I'm currently at 2559Mb, I think that a little too much.

I'm not a real tech guy, I just know more the the average person.

What do you think about that idea?

[Monkey]

Im not going to get into the page file thing but I have mine turned off and run great. Some don't run as well.

I would install the OS on the 250 the way it sits right now and save for another drive. You can always install the OS to the new drive later and still retain your programs on the 250G drive.

I just know that you have a bottle neck in the old drive. Why use an 80 when for a few dollars more you can have double. I found this on a quick search. http://www.tigerdire...e...8&CatId=139

Shop around. Make sure that your drivers are up to date and you should be good to go gaming wise with what you have for a while longer. In that time you can save up for a new builder system and you can have 2 running systems and use one as a back up in case you have troubles. That makes it nice when you need it in a hurry. As much hardware that is out there the prices are falling about everyday so the 300 card today could be 100 tomorrow. I say plan your next one out a little longer get your components first then the main board and cpu last.


I will caution you with Vista and my main reason that I would keep this as a running system. Vista does have driver troubles and issues with a good deal of games. eg. no readable menus, no cross hairs, sound issues ..... thing like that. Not all have these problems but a good deal do enough that its caused Dell to roll back to XP on its sales with OS installed. You can always network the 2 computers together and use the storage space from one for the other also and access everything you would need. I myself use 2 of the other computers here at home to store things.

[Stormy{CAN}]

Pagefile Discussion

I'm thinking about upgrading to 3.5Gb of ram

Don't bother, you have enough now. Not only that if you upgrade/switch to AM2/C2D you will need all new ram. Also there is very little short of CAD and other like type programs that even need more than 2 gigs of ram.

28 gig hard drive, hope you don't have Windows installed on that dinosaur. Best thing to do with it as previously stated, bury it.

[AnonymousFlash]

I get the feeling that AM2 will be dead shortly after I go for it

Correct me if I am wrong, but I though AMD's next generation would be coming out on AM2, so it will still be supported for a while.

[Jac3624]

You guys are going to smack me. I have windows installed on that 28Gb HDD.

I would put the OS on my 250Gb, but that means that I would have to wipe one of the partitions and start fresh.

The reason I'd get the 80Gb HDD is for the high transfer rate, which would help speed up the OS and games.

As I have it now, I use the 28Gb for OS and apps, one partition on the 250Gb for games and the other partition for storage. The way I would set it if I got that 80Gb is partition in to 20Gb/40Gb and use the 40Gb for my games. Then use the 250Gb just for storage.

[DarkFall]

You guys are going to smack me. I have windows installed on that 28Gb HDD.

I would put the OS on my 250Gb, but that means that I would have to wipe one of the partitions and start fresh.

The reason I'd get the 80Gb HDD is for the high transfer rate, which would help speed up the OS and games.

As I have it now, I use the 28Gb for OS and apps, one partition on the 250Gb for games and the other partition for storage. The way I would set it if I got that 80Gb is partition in to 20Gb/40Gb and use the 40Gb for my games. Then use the 250Gb just for storage.

I just got a brand new Seagate 80 gig SATA for $29.01 and $6.99 shipping on Ebay. I also got a brand new Seagate 250 gig SATA drive for $45.00 and $12.00 shipping. Heck, I got a brand new Maxtor(Now owned by Seagate) 1 Touch USB external 150 gig drive for $36.50 and $10.00 shipping. Hop on Ebay and look up Seagate drives in the size you want and throw out a bid on one. Some of the sellers start auctions at 99 cents and you can get great deals occasinally. I got a 2 gig USB HDD for a friend and it had $15.99 shipping, so I bid $1.00 on the auction, which started at a penny. I got it for a penny and my friend loves his $16.00 2 gig drive...

Word of advice, check out the sellers ratings and stick with sellers who have decent shipping rates for a drive($8 to $13.00 is pretty normal), a high rating on their feedback and it's better to look for "No Reserve" auctions, so you can try to get lucky, like I often do.

Another word of advice, try to avoid Western Digital HDDs if possible. I have only had one Seagate drive die on me and it was a 10 year old 32 meg HDD, thats right, 32 meg. I have had no less than all three Western Digital 80 gig IDE drives I bought go bd at roughly 18 months per drive. Jack also had bad luck with Western Digital, if I am not mistaken. I do have a WD Passport 6 gig USB drive for transfering files and such, but I also have a Seagate USB on the way as well. I know that crucial items will be put on it, whereas simple file copies for transfer will go on the WD Passport. I have heard good and bad things about their 10,000 RPM HDDs, so take care...

[Jac3624]

I just ordered this HDD: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822136075

[DarkFall]

I just ordered this HDD: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822136075

Keep your box and documentation. I wasn't kidding about Western Digital drives crapping out. You could have gotten a nice Seagate for a little more. VERY little, actually. HERE

[Jac3624]

I only had $60 to spend. I've never had a WD go out on me yet. So I'm not too worried about it.

[DarkFall]

I only had $60 to spend. I've never had a WD go out on me yet. So I'm not too worried about it.

Well, at 45 I have had quite a few go out. In case you didn't notice, for $2 more you could have gotten the same size in Seagate and as I said, I got a new factory sealed 250 gig Seagate OEM SATA drive on Ebay for $57.00 total.

[Jac3624]

Yeah, I didn't notice that.

Well what is done is done. I hope this new one will work as well as all of the other WD HDDs that I've had.

[Monkey]

Some peope have bad times with all brands of drives. I would not fret about it. In my last 10 or so years of building systems I have had every brand of drive go out on me except for IBM but those are very costly. I do not think they even make drives any longer. But you should notice a speed increase with your new drive. Let us know how things go after you put it in your system. Like I said before your system is only as fast as it's slowest part.

[Stormy{CAN}]

I would have picked up the Seagate over the WD for one reason and one reason only, warranty. WD comes with a 3 year and the Seagate comes with a 5 year warranty.

[Monkey]

Removed due to re-reading of above regarding the drive

[Jac3624]

I do have one question. Do I have to keep my 250BG HDD jumpers on slave or change them to master?

[Monkey]

Leave it as slave so it will be your D and E drive still. If you change it to master then it will become C and D. You want your new drive to be C so you can install windows on it and have things like they were before.

Master = first drive to be shown to bios drive 0
Slave = second drive to be shown to bios drive 1

Drive 0 will always have your "C" drive on it. This is your boot drive where your boot sector is located. If you want to use the 250 gig drive for windows then change it, but you stated before you wanted it like it was so you would want your new drive to be Master or drive 0.

[Jac3624]

Thanks for clearing that up. Though I would ask before I just went and messed with them.