PC Upgrade.

[DarthDazDC]

Well it's been nearly a year since I got the PC, but i think now its time to upgrade some of it. I'm thinkin of doublin the memory or gettin a geforce 6600, or even changin the motherboard so I can buy an athlon 64 processor, here's the specs:
Windows XP Pro SP2
3.2GHZ HT Pentium 4
512mb 3200 DDR memory
Gigabyte Mainboard
Geforce FX 5600 Ultra
DVD-RW DL Drive
DVD reader
Floppy Disk Drive
120GB 7200RPM Hard Drive
What do you think is in need of upgradin, and to what??
Cheers.

 

[cooliscool]

I'd say get 2x512 PC3200-PC4000, and a new GPU (6600GT - 6800) ... your CPU is fine, and you haven't even OCed it yet?

 

[DarthDazDC]

lol, i dont know how to overclock it but yeah i think i'd get sum more memory, i think as i use ddr memory at 3200 its around £40 now than it was at £60 a year back, so i might get that and a 6600

 

[cooliscool]

http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Hardware/Guides/OCguide/

There's a basic how-to.. should be enough to at least get you started. Your P4 is just begging to be overclocked. :happy:

 

[Eagle]

http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Hardware/Guides/OCguide/

There's a basic how-to.. should be enough to at least get you started. Your P4 is just begging to be overclocked. :happy:

I love how that article says the 3200+ is $312 but I just bought it for $112. And that article is only a year old lol. Just shows how fast technology moves.

 

[DarthDazDC]

an update from this:
i've decided to get a geforce 6800gt, along wiv another stick of 512mb, the same one as ive got now so it'l lbe in dual channel, and a sound blaster audigy 2 card so i can use that instead of the motherboard sound
i'll be sellin me geforce 5600 ultra tommora on ebay for £50 and see whee it goes, when the auction's ended and they've paid, and along form the money i'll get from work on thurs, i'll get the card
but when i do, can i just simply ge tthe 5600 ultra card out and plug the 6800gt card in wiv no problems?

 

[Doomulation]

Make sure the ram stick you buy is the exactly same memory as you bought before to be sure it'll work in dual.

 

[cooliscool]

Not necessary. Same density and speed is all that really matters. Anything else is just precaution.

 

[DarthDazDC]

yeah, its the same as the one thats in the pc now, so i can jsut plug it in and select dual channel in the BIOS cant i??
also, can u help me about me question about the graphics card? could i just plug it out, and plug the 6800gt in and install drivers from the cd and im sorted?

 

[cooliscool]

Install the two DIMMs in the same color slots, and it's automatically in dual channel. The two DIMMs are physically wired to different memory channels.

You should uninstall your GPU drivers, use Driver Cleaner in safe mode to clean out any traces of old drivers (all of this before you remove the 5600U). After that, go to http://www.nvidia.com and download the latest driver set (as a rule, never use driver CDs unless you have no internet connection), install the card into your AGP slot, make sure it's secure, boot up, and install the drivers. Really easy.

 

[DarthDazDC]

ahh right, the one thats in now is in an orange one, then theres a few purple slots, follwed by an orange slot thats free, so i just slot the new one in there and thats it?

 

[cooliscool]

Yep.

 

[DarthDazDC]

ah right, cheers.
now ive got another question! lol
now imagine if u were in my position, which one would u get first?
graphics card, new keyboard and mouse, memory
cos im really not sure!
the graphics card is really slowin down the games im playin especially when i was playin FEAR demo, and i'd like to play most of the games on high
me keyboard and mouse is fallin apart, and when i click on a tab in my browser, it double clicks and closes it instead of viewin it.
memory, just would like it to be faster and to handle multiple programs faster

 

[GCFreak]

Ok, I would go for the video card, game speed and better color etc...
Then i'd go for memory, u should at least upgrade that to 1gb....
lastly, keyb and mouse...there much cheaper then ram and gfx card.....

OK It's in order from Money..lol

 

[ScottJC]

You need 512mb more ddr memory and a better video card, probably the same thing everyone else has said, don't upgrade the processor, its simply not worth the money considering the P4 3.2ghz is a very very fast processor in its own right.

An Athlon 64 might be slightly faster but not enough to warrent it being worth it unless you go for an FX class one.

 

[DarthDazDC]

nah im keepin the processor for another year, then i'll change it when dual core processors and etc have dropped, then i'll get a new one.
I ordered a keyboard and mouse first which is this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos...8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl/026-7341103-4256461
tommora when its pay day i'll order the memory, and next week the graphics card.

 

[GCFreak]

ok maybe u should overclock ur p4 if ur keeping it....
nice looking keyb and mouse

 

[DarthDazDC]

well the memory arrived earlier, got it installed and its workin great
im playin half lfie 2 and i can switch to other programs wiv just about no slowdown:d
keyobard and mluse have finally shipped so i'll be gettin them tommora, and im a couple weeks of savin and sellin stuff, i'll get the graphics card

 

[GCFreak]

ok what gfx card u gettin? 6600GT or 6800 Ultra?

 

[DarthDazDC]

6800gt.