It is getting close to upgrade time

[SUBMAN1]

I need to catch my CPU up to my graphics card (4870 1GB), so I'm shopping. I don't want top of the line this time. In the past I'd drop $3K+ without thinking about it. This time around, I think I'll make a lower high end performing system. Its the economy and all that has me thinking to cut back a bit.

I think Gigabyte is making the best MB's right now, and the extra copper in my case is always a good thing (To those that know I use copper for everything!).:

http://www.gigabyte.us/Products/Moth...ProductID=3007



I'll hang out for a bit for the Phenom X4 950 though. I will need an AM3 CPU is why and the 940 is an AM2+ and not quite fast enough. The 950 is faster and AM3.

I'll probably buy Mushkin RAM again. There is no better RAM bar none. 4GB should be enough for now, and this is pretty quick 1600-DDR3 (I'm buying 1600 not for O/C, but for future usefulness down the road):

http://www.mushkin.com/doc/products/...ail.asp?id=651

The CPU:

http://www.guru3d.com/news/amd-pheno...info-surfaces/

I can't keep tripple optical drives if I go to the above MB, so its time to upgrade the DVD-Burner to SATA. I have all 3 optical drives running PATA right now, and the above board will be limited to 2:

http://www.plextor.com/english/products/PX-850SA.html

That should hold me over for now. I am really tempted to get 2 x WD Raptors for RAID 0 though. They are not only low on vibration and quiet, they are pretty fast:

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?DriveID=459

-S

PS. I forgot. I will probably use this for a CPU cooler with a low RPM fan:

[Zachstar]

I still need to upgrade myself!

I want to stay away from DDR3 for now. It seems extremely worth the money IF you are spending a thousand dollars on the build. Which I am 100 percent not.

I guess there is no microATX boards with DDR3?

[Onkel Neal]

Let us know when you get it running, I am stillon the verge of upgrading myself. Can't get this 6 year old rig to run SH5 at a decent level of performance.

[nikimcbee]

Originally Posted by Zachstar

I still need to upgrade myself!

I want to stay away from DDR3 for now. It seems extremely worth the money IF you are spending a thousand dollars on the build. Which I am 100 percent not.

I guess there is no microATX boards with DDR3?

Weren't there some quality issues with the ddr3? I don't remember.

[Arclight]

If I remember correctly it's still too early for DDR3; lowest latency 1600 MHZ DDR3 I see from Mushkin is CAS 7, even my 1066MHZ DDR2 CAS 3 is faster then that.

DDR3 offers higher bandwith but still has high latency.


Why AMD CPU? Intel is faster and uses less energy (less heat).


Is that cooler Ultima 90? Very pleased with that. Any Thermalright tower cooler is excellent IMHO.

*argh, forgot: Windows 7 coming -> DirectX 11! I'd hold of on upgrades for a while, but that's probably just me.

[Zachstar]

Direct X 10 will be used for another few years atleast before it is phased out.

Because of the Vista fiasco there really has been no real call to use DX10 graphics until now.

DX11 use will be rare at best for a year or two.

[Arclight]

I just did some reading and it seems MS pulled DX11 from windows 7. I guess you're right, I thought DX11 was a lot closer.

If DX11 came this year, a lot of users could have made the jump from older DX9 gear to that, but it doesn't seem like that's gonna be possible. Shame.

S*****d again, thank you MS!

[SUBMAN1]

Originally Posted by Arclight

If I remember correctly it's still too early for DDR3; lowest latency 1600 MHZ DDR3 I see from Mushkin is CAS 7, even my 1066MHZ DDR2 CAS 3 is faster then that.

DDR3 offers higher bandwith but still has high latency.


Why AMD CPU? Intel is faster and uses less energy (less heat).


Is that cooler Ultima 90? Very pleased with that. Any Thermalright tower cooler is excellent IMHO.

*argh, forgot: Windows 7 coming -> DirectX 11! I'd hold of on upgrades for a while, but that's probably just me.

They have DDR with latency 6 which is about the same latency as you DDR 2 at CAS 3.

-S

[AVGWarhawk]

To be honest, I do not see a marked improvement by using DDR3 over DDR2. Machines today with 64 bit can handle up to 8 gigs of RAM. That is a lot of RAM and I suspect none of us will every use the full 8 gigs.

Multi-cores: IMO, multi-cores are a must. Vista is a huge hog but runs well if you feed the hog. Most consider Windows 7 just a Vista service pack (although Vista is getting a SP2 in a month or so). As far as Vista, I run it and it is stable. The headaches that it started two years ago are completely gone. I really enjoy Vista. Looking at Windows 7 and the packages MS plans on offering, I do not see much difference between Vista and 7.

http://www.vistax64.com/vista-news/2...announced.html

After reading this and seeing what 7 Premium has over my Vista Premium, I stick with Vista Home Premium and save my dollars. Anyway, 7 is a hog also so feeding the hog with multi-cores and plenty of RAM. Might as well make the plunge because XP will not last forever which is unfortunate but to be honest, after Vista, I find XP old and drab. I would probably think differently about XP if Vista was really that horrid and unstable. Also, two years ago MS stated and pushed "Vista Ready Computers" knowing full well these so called Vista Ready Computers were no where near powerful enough to run Vista and be Vista Ready. Currently MS is being sued and successfully to the tune of billions because these computers were not Vista Ready, made the Vista OS look like crap and unstable which it was. Just a bad mix and bad claims that sunk Vista from the word go that in all reality is unfounded for Vista. Just need to give it the power to run. Imagine if you would attempting to jog with you hand over your mouth. You would become unstable and crash also as you have no oxygen energy to keep on trucking.

In short, computer parts are very inexpensive right now. Building a rig to run for you over the next 5 years should be relatively inexpensive. You certainly do not need Alienware at $3500.00 or more to run upcoming games. I certainly recommend you stay way from the usual HP, Gateways, etc because of bloatware and other garbage the load you your drive. Not to mention, last time I looked at one (Christmas) these computers just looked and felt cheap.

Most importantly, do not shy away from Vista. Really, it ain't bad at all!

Anyway Subman1 nice board! What vid card are you thinking about getting?

[Zachstar]

Wrong. Test after test proves that its performance is closer to WinXP NOT Vista.

And that is at first boot NOT after spending hours configuring it.

You cant slime vista past me.. Not after I spent hours upon hours turning off its "features" to still have a modern dual core run as slow as my old 95nm Pentium 4.

Windows 7 is a HUGE leap in speed and stable at boot. Windows Vista is a sinking ship that is only propped up by crappy DX10 support that is not being utilized to the full because of the vast amount still on XP.

When I upgrade to my new computer. I plan to use the Windows XP Home key from my old computer (After wiping the hard drive for legality as MS only lets you use one PC per key) And using it on my new build until I can purchase Windows 7.

[AVGWarhawk]

Sorry you had a poor experience from Vista. You know what though, stating ones experience with something other than "Wrong" might be a better way of winning and influencing friends.

My experience with Vista

Tweaks made: none, features turned off, none. In fact, I looked for more to add.
Crashes: none
BSOD: none
Failed to boot: Never. Boot and ready under one minute.
Problems encountered: internet would not connect at boot. Fixed. Turned off power saver on the internet card program.
Gaming: plays all my games that I like to play. Tweaking for games, none. Everything stays on and I play. No shutting down this or that.

Again, my experience with Vista has been nothing but excellent.

I run it on AMD X4 9850, 8 gig DDR2 RAM, 650 PSU, EVGA 9800GT vid card. As stated Vista needs power to run correctly.

[Zachstar]

And as stated Windows 7 can run just fine on an old POS Pentium 2

I'm sorry but if you have to go quad core and get lots of fast memory just to beat an old Pent 4 your OS has serious issues.

As for friends I am not exactly looking to be making friends with you eh?

[AVGWarhawk]

Originally Posted by Zachstar

And as stated Windows 7 can run just fine on an old POS Pentium 2

I'm sorry but if you have to go quad core and get lots of fast memory just to beat an old Pent 4 your OS has serious issues.

As for friends I am not exactly looking to be making friends with you eh?

Well, I tell you, my 75 year old dad with is 2.0 GHz and 2 gig of RAM runs Vista just fine. He has yet to crash the thing in over 1 year. For him who puts things back together with wire and tape is saying something. He has no problems having Vista run. His idea of tweaking and turning off features is the big blue button that says POWER on it. My mom swears by Vista and loves it. Her idea of tweaking is combing her hair. Enjoy the waning years of XP

[Zachstar]

You mean 6 months as Windows 7 will be out within 6 months from reports on the Internets.

XP is fine. For extra performance I use a Linux style shell and forgo the extra features that came with the computer and software. 7 is designed to have that same performance with ITS shell and software.

Will it be perfect? No! But it will be better than Vista and give me a shot at DX10 gaming which is what the standard will be if the trend holds.

[AVGWarhawk]

Originally Posted by Zachstar

You mean 6 months as Windows 7 will be out within 6 months from reports on the Internets.

XP is fine. For extra performance I use a Linux style shell and forgo the extra features that came with the computer and software. 7 is designed to have that same performance with ITS shell and software.

Will it be perfect? No! But it will be better than Vista and give me a shot at DX10 gaming which is what the standard will be if the trend holds.

http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/new...dows-7-fly.ars

You will see in this article that others have looked at other OS as a result of Vista. Just like you. I agree with the author, Vista issues are blown out of proportion. I understand that Vista is DX10 ready. I think it was the video card companies that had to catch up on DX10. Correct me if I'm wrong on that.