Upgrade - Opinion & Advice wanted

**Hangman** · 16th October 2003

I currently have

350watt PSU
ABit KT7 (non RAID) motherboard
AMB TBird 1.4Ghz CPU with standard heatsink & fan
382MB PC133 SDRam (1x256 & 1x128)
ATI Radeon 7500 64MB Graphic Card
1x 120GB WD 7200rpm Hard Drive
1x 40gb WD 5400rpm Hard Drive
1x 12Gb IBM 5400rpm Hard Drive
52x24x52 Samsung CDRW
Creative DVD Rom
Promise PCI IDE Card
Creative Soundblaster Live Value
Cambridge Soundworks 2.1 speakers

I am going to be upgrading my PC in the coming few weeks and would like any opinions about my choice of parts and any advice for alternatives.

Gigabyte 7N400 Pro NForce2 Ultra Motherboard - �89.30
AMD Athlon 2600+ OEM - �71.68
Zalman Flower Heatsink - �28.20
512MB PC3200 DDRam (1x512) I might get a 2nd 512mb depending on budget - �58.75

That will be my initial upgrade but a few week later I will also be looking to upgrade my videocard. I have been considering the ATI Radeon 9600Pro 128MB DDR AGP card - �106.93.

I chose the above motherboard because of favarable reviews and also I could connect all my 5x IDE devices with using my PCI IDE card which I would like to do if possible.

So what do you think?

**Mr.James** · 16th October 2003

Go for an A7N8X Deluxe - I've got one and it's a cracking board. Loads of overclocking possibilities... and no need to unlock your chip!!

XP3200, 8xAGP, Dual bandwidth DDR400, Serial ATA, 5.1 Surround Sound, 2xLAN, Firewire, 6xUSB2. (Everything you could ever want... (nearly))

�93 inc vat from tekheads.co.uk (They do a non-deluxe model which the same at the Gigabyte board for �74inc vat)

Couple of pointers though:-

You haven't got your RAM calculations quite correct there matey.

It's best to run your RAM in sync with your FSB (Front Side Bus) speed otherwise you just introduce a bottleneck to your system...

The PC3200 RAM will run at PC2700 speed if you get an XP2600+.
I'd only get the PC3200 RAM if you're planning on upgrading to an XP3200+ processor in the near future otherwise it's money wasted.

FSB 400 - PC3200
FSB 333 - PC2700
FSB 266 - PC2100

Something to take into account with Dual Bandwidth RAM... If I was to stick 1x512mb chip in it I would get a transfer speed of 3.2GB/sec... But if I was to fit 2x256mb it would be able to access both simultaneously giving a transfer speed of 6.4GB/sec... Blistering!!

I'm currently running a XP2700+ (@2800), 2x512MB RAM, 160GB HDD UDMA5 and I can encode an hour and half movie from AVI to MPEG2 in approx. 45mins...

Hope this helps.

**Hangman** · 16th October 2003

Yeah, thanks Mr James, I'm gona take a look at that board.

I was awate of the dual bandwidth benefits but thought I'd go for the 1x512 so I would get the benefit whenever I could afford to add the 2nd 512 chip.

Also thanks for the info on the fsb, by getting PC2700 instead I can save some money and maybe get the 2x512 straight away.

I was also thinking about buying at a computer fair. What do people think do you save against standard prices?

**Hangman** · 16th October 2003

I've just had a look at the board and do agree that it does look better than the gigabyte board.

1 question though can you get cables that will connect IDE ports to SATA connectors?

**Mr.James** · 16th October 2003

Yup, Serial to ATA converter

I've never really looked at full systems at fairs, I've always built my comps from parts. The prices do seem about 10-15% cheaper though but I prefer to have a 28-day returns policy just in case. When I got my DVD writer it was knackered and had to go straight back. One of my mates swears by them though and he's built up quite a nice spec PC from bits and bob's he's bought over a few months.

The only person I know that bought a full system ended getting up conned though. Bought a PC that ended up being a Celeron insted of a proper Pentium. It also had 128mb ram in 4 32mb chips so there was no room for expansion.

That was quite some time ago though and he didn't really know what he was buying in the first place.

**Hangman** · 16th October 2003

I would only be interested in buying the components. But my worry is the same as yours - what happens if it doesn't work when you get it home?

Food for thought.

**Mr.James** · 16th October 2003

It becomes a 'return to manufacturer' job which is always a pain in the arse!!

**dirtyrider** · 28th October 2003

I use comp fairs quite regulary, what i have noticed is that most of the traders are there every time and i have seen people returning things with no probs.
I use these a lot nearly comp fair prices next day delivery too www.planetmicro.co.uk
Regards.

**Hangman** · 28th October 2003

Cheers

I'll take at look at the prices

**pablo69** · 28th October 2003

i bought the asus mobo a7n8x deluxe and am very pleased with it.just a quick pointer for you.if you buy a sata hard drive with this mobo you have to load the sata sis controller drivers before installing windows.it detects only ide and says it cant find your hard drive just after you've started loading windows in.you also have to name sata hard drive as scuzzi drive to detect it.its very easy,but the mobo book won't tell you.you have to read the mobo installation cd and get your files of it.any trouble i'll be glad to help.

**Hangman** · 30th October 2003

Nice one pablo69. Although I probably won't get a SATA drive straight away.

It also look like it might be in the new year when I do my upgrade as prices are rising as we get towards xmas and I'm buying a new car next month too.