My Annual TH Upgrade Thread :) Need some advise

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cryptonx

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Dear TH forum users,

As usual you've been helping me each year with my new system build or graphics card upgrade .

Well I got really busy with Marriage and all and I've skipped a few generations of things :D

so I think I am about ready to Enter again ( I've been gaming as usual but not as hardcore as I was ) .


my Current MATURE System :

AMD Athlon X2 5600+@ 3.0GHZ
MSI K9AGm2 ( AMD 690V Chipset - AM2 socket )
2X1GB Chaintech Apogee DDRII 800
SAPPHIRE ATi Radeon HD4850 1 GB DDR3 ( 625/1200 )
2x 500 GB Seagates 7200 RPM drives ( can't remember the model sorry )

Samsung A450 32" LCD TV ( 720p ) connected thru DVI

--

Ok .. I am playing latest titles like Batman / SF4/ RE5 / Pes 2009 and soon 2010 and all the games I love

Maxxed out @ 1280x720 ( Max TV res. ) and I am very very happy :D

BUT I am an architect and I use my PC for Rendering ( 3Ds Max ) and I leave it hours and hours running to render and Dual Core is getting a bit too old for that ... Heck I tried to render the same scene on a Quad Core PC and it almost finished 60% faster than mine.

as for graphics I know that the new dx11 cards are in but I am not really sure I want to grab on the whole DX11 early now .. I tried that with 9 and 10 and didn't really find it pleasing enough @ the beginning .

And with newer game titles I am thinking that the CPU / MEMORY are starting to bottleneck my card .. since I've seen reviews where my card is considered the 4th or 5th Fastest Graphics cards on the market ( before the new 5xxx series )

and as I am stuck to 720p resolutions I don't really need the extra Fire power.

So basic and brief .. I am thinking of upgrading my CPU and Memory for now .

what would be best ?

A complete new IntelQuad Core Processor / Mobo and Rams ( The high budget upgrade )
A complete new Phenom X3 / Mobo and Rams ( The Medium budget upgrade )
Just a new Athlon 64 X4 with the same mobo and new rams ( The Low budget upgrade )

provided MSI releases a bios update or confirm my support email that the Athlon X4 would work on my mobo .. since Reviewers say that its compatible with old AM2 mobos .


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So WHY did I BOLD my Monitor Type and Specs ?

Another question really , How safe it is to make the HOME LCD TV as the MAIN GAMING DISPLAY ?
I've read so many things about still images / games etc etc damaging LCD TVs ...

Where do I stand from this ? As I don't want to go back to 22" or 19" gaming anymore :D I am pretty happy ! but I don't want to damage my newly bought TV too !!

---

Thanks in advance guys

as Usual please don't rush me with newegg prices and stuff , I live waaay waay far :D and prices here are almost 60% more expensive than anything you got :)

 
Solution
gkay09
Hmm...if you dont want the cheap yet powerful option, then here is a config...
AMD -

CPU -
Athlon II X4 620 or
AMD Phenom II X4 810

Mobo -
GIGABYTE GA-MA770-UD3 AM2+/AM2 AMD
RAM - Any DDR2

Intel -
Core2Quad Q8x00 series
Mobo -
GIGABYTE GA-EP43-UD3L
RAM -
Any DDR2 RAM

And I would suggest you sell that 2x1GB kit and get 2x2GB kit instead of populating all the 4 slot for getting 4GB RAM...As populating all the 4 slots would reduce the memory bandwidth
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cryptonx

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Thanks I am kinda getting attached to the new X4 but I am waiting for word from MSI .

I am not really sure I haven't been following INTEL since like .. the last intel i got was a Pentium 3 1.0Ghz :)

 
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gkay09

gkay09

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There have been newer CPUS from Intel - i5 750, which are in the same price range of the C2Q 9550...But it only supports DDR3 RAM...
And it would be easy to specify parts if you could give any links of websites or online stores in your country, so that we could know what is available...And your budget too...
 
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cryptonx

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Thanks for the reply , I've yet to find an online retailer with updated prices here

most of them sell complete branded desktops so I can't really give you any clue

but if you must know the less is better :D I am planning to buy a new car as well so I am feeling a bit cheap on upgrading :)

here's a website but it sells branded pcs .
www.compume.com

and these http://www.nefsak.com/PCs/

thanks alot in advance btw I think the Athlon X4 are out of the picture as they need AM2+ support , mine is only AM2 .

So i will require a new mobo so I might get the cheapest Intel Core 2 Quad unless the Athlon X4 still beats one of these I'd get it with a new mobo as well and still it would be the cheapest option yes not future proof but I really dont care for now .

btw 1 $USD = 5.5 EGP
1 GPB = 8.6 EGP

most products on newegg and stuff are like 60% more expensive here .. so if there's a $100 athlon x4 it would be $160 here and so on ..

Thanks again guys
 
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dndhatcher

dndhatcher

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Intel core 2 is gone. Intel is now making the core i5 and core i7. The core i5 is price competitive with the PhenomIIx4. The core i7 is a quad with hyper-threading that kind of makes it work like 8 cores for multiprocessing jobs. Nothing AMD has will come close to it for rendering.
 
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gkay09

gkay09

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Jul 28, 2008
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Hmm...if you dont want the cheap yet powerful option, then here is a config...
AMD -

CPU -
Athlon II X4 620 or
AMD Phenom II X4 810

Mobo -
GIGABYTE GA-MA770-UD3 AM2+/AM2 AMD
RAM - Any DDR2

Intel -
Core2Quad Q8x00 series
Mobo -
GIGABYTE GA-EP43-UD3L
RAM -
Any DDR2 RAM

And I would suggest you sell that 2x1GB kit and get 2x2GB kit instead of populating all the 4 slot for getting 4GB RAM...As populating all the 4 slots would reduce the memory bandwidth
 
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cryptonx

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Thanks alot Gkay,

I will start looking for both and see the prices :)

As for the 2x1 kit i will install it in my wifes old PC and will get 2x2 GB kit . DDR800 or 1066 or what ? do they really differ ?

And as for the whole LCD TV as a monitor thing is it ok ? I've read that Plasmas wont work and will burn but LCD TV wont , is that correct ?
 
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cryptonx

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I never really liked Intel .. its a personal favoring not fanyboyism :D

But I regret getting an ATi instead of Nvidia

I first got the X1950 PRO and now the HD4850 which are great and kick some nvidia butt on paper .. but with crappy drivers from AMD .. I am starting to think I'd should go back with Nvidia .

But since I started using AMD I never looked back :)

thanks for ur information tho .
 
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gkay09

gkay09

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For the AMD PC, get the DDR2 1066MHz...they would utilize the extra speed...But for Intel stick withe DDR2 800...They dont utilize speeds above 800MHz unless you want to overclock them...
Another AMD alternative - X4 940...

And the mobo that I linked is not AM3...So it wont support DDR3, which is more upgradeable...As you dont mind future-proofing the rig, then stick with DDR2...

I think what you said is partly right...
Here is an article that would explain that...
http://www.plasmatelevisions.org/article/plasma-television-tips/gaming-on-a-plasma-tv-issues-and-problems.html

And as for using an LCD TV for gaming, I dont see any issues with that except that if your LCD TV has a slower response time, it would lead to ghosting...
 
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cryptonx

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Thankte mate you're a life (money?) saver :)

Nah i didn't really get any ghosting or notice it at least .. it has a 5ms response time .

I will post info / price / pics when I upgrade :) thanks alot again .
 
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