It's been many moons since I have done anything more than changed out a video card. I am thinking about upgrading my current machine. Really all my machine is used for is web surfing, flash game playing (kids), bit torrenting, watching avi/mp4 files and World of Warcraft.
Here is my current setup with Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit:
Hardware
Base processor
Athlon 64 X2 (B) 5000+ 2.6 GHz (65W)
* 2000 MT/s (mega transfers/second)
* Socket AM2
Chipset
* GeForce 6150SE nForce 430
Motherboard
* Manufacturer: ECS
* Motherboard Name: MCP61PM-HM
* HP/Compaq motherboard name: Nettle2-GL8E
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01077676&tmp_track_link=ot_recdoc/c01050235/en_us/c01077676/loc:1&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&product=3436817#N33
PSU
300w
Video
NVidia Geoforce 6800 (512mb)
Memory
Component Attributes
Memory Installed 3 GB (2x1GB, 2x512MB)
Maximum allowed 4 GB (4 x 1 GB) (32-bit OS)
Speed supported PC2-5300 MB/sec
Type 240 pin, DDR2 SDRAM
Expansion slots
Slot type Quantity
PCI Two (One available)
PCI Express x16 One (used)
PCI Express x1 One (One available)
I think my biggest bang for the buck is to upgrade my video card. However, I don't think I can do that without upgrading the PSU. The PSU I have does not have the connectors needed for the newer cards, nor does it have the power.
Looking around NewEgg I picked a OCZ StealthXstream II OCZ600SXS2 600W ATX12V v2.2/ EPS12V for the power and a PNY VCGGTS4501XPB GeForce GTS 450 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 for video.
What I don't know is if the GTS 450 will work with my chipset or if there are issues with a PCIe 2.0 card working in a PCIe x16 slot.
I could spend 600-800 on a new computer (with some major wife begging), but, the only way that kind of money will be an upgrade, imo, is if I build my own. I have not done that since the pentium II days and am feeling a bit lost at the prospects. However, if I can upgrade and improve my graphics significantly, I'm good with that too.
Thanks for your help!
Here is my current setup with Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit:
Hardware
Base processor
Athlon 64 X2 (B) 5000+ 2.6 GHz (65W)
* 2000 MT/s (mega transfers/second)
* Socket AM2
Chipset
* GeForce 6150SE nForce 430
Motherboard
* Manufacturer: ECS
* Motherboard Name: MCP61PM-HM
* HP/Compaq motherboard name: Nettle2-GL8E
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01077676&tmp_track_link=ot_recdoc/c01050235/en_us/c01077676/loc:1&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&product=3436817#N33
PSU
300w
Video
NVidia Geoforce 6800 (512mb)
Memory
Component Attributes
Memory Installed 3 GB (2x1GB, 2x512MB)
Maximum allowed 4 GB (4 x 1 GB) (32-bit OS)
Speed supported PC2-5300 MB/sec
Type 240 pin, DDR2 SDRAM
Expansion slots
Slot type Quantity
PCI Two (One available)
PCI Express x16 One (used)
PCI Express x1 One (One available)
I think my biggest bang for the buck is to upgrade my video card. However, I don't think I can do that without upgrading the PSU. The PSU I have does not have the connectors needed for the newer cards, nor does it have the power.
Looking around NewEgg I picked a OCZ StealthXstream II OCZ600SXS2 600W ATX12V v2.2/ EPS12V for the power and a PNY VCGGTS4501XPB GeForce GTS 450 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 for video.
What I don't know is if the GTS 450 will work with my chipset or if there are issues with a PCIe 2.0 card working in a PCIe x16 slot.
I could spend 600-800 on a new computer (with some major wife begging), but, the only way that kind of money will be an upgrade, imo, is if I build my own. I have not done that since the pentium II days and am feeling a bit lost at the prospects. However, if I can upgrade and improve my graphics significantly, I'm good with that too.
Thanks for your help!