X2 System in need of upgrade

[imported_millerduck]

Current system in need of upgrade:

S939 Athlon X2 4200+ OC to 2.5GHz
2GB of DDR running at 500MHz
DFI LP SLI-DR
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro
See below for remaining parts that I plan to re-use

I do not need any peripherals.

1. I mainly use this system to play games and do some video transcoding. Last games I played, Fallout 3 and Sins of a Solar Empire. Would like to play Far Cry 2 and Call of Duty WAW.

2. I would like to spend $550-$700

3. I will be buying my parts in the US

4. I have no brand loyalties and am willing to buy whatever is the best choice for my situation.

5. I intend to use the following current parts:

- Antec 900 Case
- Ultra Products X2 550 Watt PSU
- eVGA OCed 8800GT 512MB
- 2x 80GB 7800.2 SATA2 HDDs in RAID 0 for OS
- 1x 250GB Seagate 7800.2 SATA2 HDD for Storage
- Creative Labs X-Fi Xtreme Music PCI
- SONY Optiarc DVD Burner

6. I have done some searching but have been unable to find a definite answer regarding how badly my existing hardware would bottleneck current CPU/MEM/MB.

7. I currently overclock my X2 but would like to consider running stock speeds in order to improve my power usage.

8. I would like to place the order for these parts in the next 1 or 2 months tops. (tax refund)

The underlying question is if I should jump all the way to a Core i7 920 or look to PHII or even just C2Q. I figure that my video card will be a sticking point for gaming and that is something I cannot afford to upgrade right now.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Millerduck

 

[zerogear]

Depending on the size of your monitor, you may or may not need to upgrade your graphics card. As for CPU, right now the Q9400 would do nicely, if you do a encoding more, if you game more, then a E8400 overclocked might be better for you. Between i7 and X58 and triple channel DDR3 ram, those parts will probably put you over your budget.

 

[imported_millerduck]

Monitor is only 17" LCD 4:3 and not in the upgrade plans right now. 1280x1024 res.

I currently wonder how much my other components are holding back my video card.

MD

 

[AstroManLuca]

At 1280x1024 you certainly don't need any more video card than what you have, but a faster CPU may indeed help. E8400 would be good if you don't care about quad-core (dual-core is fine for games today but new ones are going to take more advantage of quads), or Q9400 or Phenom II for more than two cores.

 

[imported_millerduck]

OK, so I am thinking I might go with the AMD Phenom II X3 720BE, seems like a great price point for the performance and would allow me to OC some.

I haven't built a system for a while so I am a little behind the times. What would be considered the leading or "best" chipset for PhII?

AMD 790FX?
AMD 790GX?
nForce 780?

Thanks,
MD

 

[richierich1212]

790GX has integrated graphics. 790FX for full crossfire 16x bandwidth. nForce for SLI setup. If you want to try out AOD (AMD Over Drive) then don't get an nvidia chipset based mobo.

 

[zerogear]

If going with AMD, go with the 7xxGX/FX chipset. nVidia chipset usually cause more problems than its worth. If you are determined to use SLI though, you'll have to go for the nForce.

 

[Denithor]

With a measely 17" monitor there's no reason to consider an upgrade in GPU and certainly no reason to go multiGPU.

Just grab a 780G motherboard that supports the 720BE and you'll be happy.

Better yet, save some bucks & get the 710 instead. You're going to OC and they will perform pretty similarly.

 

[imported_millerduck]

So I am thinking a complete system that looks like this:

AMD Phenom II X3 720BE - Clock unlocked seems like it would be worth the extra $40
GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4 790X board
4x2GB G.SKILL DDR-2 1066 5-5-5-15 RAM
eVGA OCed 8800GT 512MB
Ultra Products X2 550 Watt PSU
Antec 900 Case
2x 80GB 7800.2 SATA2 HDDs in RAID 0 for OS
1x 250GB Seagate 7800.2 SATA2 HDD for Storage
Creative Labs X-Fi Xtreme Music PCI
SONY Optiarc DVD Burner

Total upgrade cost appears to be right at $400 with shipping. Which actually feels like a more comfortable price point.

I figure this system will support the fastest single card GPU solutions for 2+ years and Run Windows 7 x64 with ease. When I upgrade my monitor I will worry about my GPU.

Can anyone make a case for an Intel solution that would be better?

Thanks,
MD

 

[Denithor]

Depends on your mix of gaming & video work.

If mostly gaming, go for an E8400 or Q8300 on EP45-UD3P as even the C2D will be faster than the triple core in most games (and if you clock up the Q8300 - no comparison). The E8400 offers the advantage of lower heat & power consumption versus either of the other chips.

One further comment I'd make - buy a single WD6400AAKS or WD6401AALS to replace all three of your current harddrives. Less power & heat & better performance.

EDIT:
Gaming performance benchies
Video encoding benchies

Your call.

 

[AstroManLuca]

I'm not sure why you need new RAM. DDR2-800 is fine and 4 GB is plenty.

 

[imported_millerduck]

Originally posted by: AstroManLuca
I'm not sure why you need new RAM. DDR2-800 is fine and 4 GB is plenty.

My current RAM is Original DDR-500 so I can't use it in anything current.

Let me run $ numbers on the Q8300, I really want to increase core count and overall performance since I already have a Dual Core. I know, kinda silly but important to me...

Thanks for the feedback.

MD

 

[Denithor]

Look at my previous post, I edited after you guys posted.

 

[imported_millerduck]

Originally posted by: Denithor
One further comment I'd make - buy a single WD6400AAKS or WD6401AALS to replace all three of your current harddrives. Less power & heat & better performance.

My plan is to hold off on any storage purchase as the SSD market shakes out over the next 1-2 years and upgrade that portion then. Granted if a drive fails (knock on wood) I would be forced to jump a little earlier.

Thanks for the suggestions.

On the Q8300 vs. X3 720, I think I will fall back on what Gary Key mentioned in his update today

Speaking of the 720BE processor, I have to say this little jewel is currently my favorite bang for the buck processor. I have had an absolute blast testing this processor and when overclocked, it truly takes on a "devil with a blue dress" persona. I highly suggest you take a serious look at this processor if you are in the market for an upgrade right now.

MD

 

[AstroManLuca]

Originally posted by: millerduck

Originally posted by: AstroManLuca
I'm not sure why you need new RAM. DDR2-800 is fine and 4 GB is plenty.

My current RAM is Original DDR-500 so I can't use it in anything current.

Oh darn, I got you confused with someone else's thread who did have 4 GB of DDR2-800.

 

[betasub]

Originally posted by: millerduck
Monitor is only 17" LCD 4:3 and not in the upgrade plans right now. 1280x1024 res.
I currently wonder how much my other components are holding back my video card.

Surprised that no respondant yet is as AR as me: cannot resist urge to point out that 1280x1024 is 5:4 (not 4:3). :music:

Agree with previous posters that 8800GT should be fine if you have enough CPU power for your games of choice.

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: millerduck

Originally posted by: AstroManLuca
I'm not sure why you need new RAM. DDR2-800 is fine and 4 GB is plenty.

My current RAM is Original DDR-500 so I can't use it in anything current.

Let me run $ numbers on the Q8300, I really want to increase core count and overall performance since I already have a Dual Core. I know, kinda silly but important to me...

Thanks for the feedback.

MD

For your transcoding I'd drop the PhII720 in favor of the PhII 940. I was going to suggest the 920 but they jacked the price $30.

With the Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4 and 2x2Gb DDR2 1066 you are in for $390.

 

[Ichigo]

AM3 isn't a dead-end, upgrade-wise. LGA775 is.

Whether or not AM3 will end up with better performing upgrades that justify it is up in the air, but it's a point worth considering.

 

[imported_millerduck]

Originally posted by: heyheybooboo

For your transcoding I'd drop the PhII720 in favor of the PhII 940. I was going to suggest the 920 but they jacked the price $30.

With the Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4 and 2x2Gb DDR2 1066 you are in for $390.

The transcoding piece is actually a pretty minor use of the machine and I am really thinking that 8GB of RAM would be a better choice for overall performance than an extra CPU core. Especially if I am targeting 64-bit Windows 7 as the OS.

Any opinions on the ASRock AOD790GX/128M AM2+ motherboard?

Thanks,
MD