custom building desktop

[silv3r]

Ive been looking for some help. I just bought a new custom built desktop out of ebay. Right now, im upgrading in some few area for gaming. I have Pentium D  3.0GHz Dual Core  2GB DDR2, 3,000 MHz, 2,000 MB ram, 250 GB hhd hooked up with biostar mobo http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2055 (for detailed spec).

Im not sure what i have to do and what stuff i can upgrade with.

Im thinkin of upgrading

1) Geforce 8600 GT 512MB  DDR2 = will it work?
2) AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Processor = will it work? do i have to buy whole another mobo to hook up with that or just swap my chip on same mobo?   

[patio]

An AMD CPU will not work in a Pentium MBoard...
You only have 2 RAM slots so you are maxxed out there as well unless you were to get a pair of 2G RAM modules.
The vid card will be fine if it's a PCI-E

[silv3r]

ok...i will be gettin that video card and yes, i have PCI-e x16. About the amd cpu...what the best cpu i can get? Sorry if none of this make sense, im building a desktop for first time ever to learn before building a better one.

[patio]

If it is this MBoard you are going to use just look up Socket 775 CPU's and you will see your upgrade choices...
As always check the MBoard documentation before making a purchase.

[TonyRichens]

Out of all motherboards why did you choose that one .... its lacking pci ports , and its also lacking usb ports , theres also only 1 pci-express port ..... vital elements if you ever wish to add upgrades.

Tony

[silv3r]

Patio: You recommended socket 775 for this mobo...will this one http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3241565 works?



tony: I didnt choose this mobo...lol...this seller gave me this and of course i know this mobo isnt any good but better than nothing for now. (i have usb ports) I will purchase better mobo with 2 pci express for dual gfx cards in future.


Thanks, I always know this site is very useful. 

[Calum]

The Pentium Dual Core chip you linked to will work, and will actually give you comparable or better performance than your current chip at much lower speeds and heat.
What's your budget for upgrades?
Once we know this we can advise you on what's best to buy.

[silv3r]

my budgets for upgrade will be total around 1 thousand or 2. But, Im only going to upgrade some stuff such as mobo, chip, and video card. Avg about $100-150 per items because i have lots of things to pay such as rent, bills, car insurance and crap

[Calum]

My advice therefore is to go for this or this for your CPU.  The former is cheaper, the latter is more powerful, but both are powerful dual core CPUs.
Graphics card: this, this and this all fall within your price range, and offer good performance, from first to last in increasing order.

[silv3r]

wow thanks. I will be def. gettin that Intel core 2 duo E4500 cpu and that graphic card is in my list too. But...is 256mb slower than 512 mb? can i run 512? not sure....

[TonyRichens]

512 mb of memory , would be a lot better than 256mb , the speed all depends on the type of memory your motherboard supports .


512mb will enable to have a few more applications without the hang ...... 256mb in my opinion is pathetic ..... go with 512 or atleast 1gb of memory.

Tony

[silv3r]

i have 2k of memory...im talkin about  the graphic card such as 256 mb 512 or higher...is it slower or faster, better visual, faster sending packet or what?

[Calum]

Which graphics card are you talking about here?
My advice is to go for the second card, it provides more bang for your buck and at $109.99 ($89.99 with rebate), it's a good price.
More graphics RAM helps it handle more textures (surfaces) in games without loading more data.  It's not always the case, but within the same series (i.e. two 8600's) more RAM is better.
Does that help?

[silv3r]

yeah does help me understand alot...thanks

I will be gettin those 8600  cards...

Plus i founded out i lost my instll cd for windows xp pro...so i guess first thing i should buy is windows vista or xp...

will vista works? I just heard some ppl said vista wont work well on some computer?

[Calum]

Vista will run OK on that machine performance-wise, however you will notice better performance with XP.
Different people will tell you different things, I for one don't like Vista at all so am very biased in this topic.
Take a look around the web and see what people have to say about the merits and disadvantages of each before reaching a decision.
If you want, you could always dual boot both of them . . .