Need ?500 upgrades - but what!?? D:

[NeptuneUK]

Need 500 Pounds GBP worth of upgrades


I have this system :

E6300 core 2 duo
ASrock HD TV thingy mobo (crap) PCI-e, mATX, DDR2, etc etc
2x1gb DDR2 Corsair value 533mhz
*no graphics card - SOLD (previously x1950pro 512mb)
X-fi Music sound card.
430W thermaltake PSU, pre ATX 2.0
Shitty pooper case with horrid cooling. (Bioshock over heats it and makes it crash and me cry)

I have a budget of approx ?500 - can stretch a little if its really worth it, but would rather not. I would like to order all the items simultaneously from a reputable online store.
I need something portable to take to uni, and something that is much more powerful than I currently own... Also I want some gaming 5.1 headphones




This is what I have in mind, (overclockers.co.uk):

Thermaltake Lanbox!! (perfect case for me as far as I can tell)
?70
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-051-TT

Sapphire ATI HD 2900XT 512mb
?240
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-149-SP

520W corsair PSU (powerful enough?)
?70
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-005-CS

Fatality mobo thing, micro ATX
~?70
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-125-AB

Zalman 5.1 headphones
~?25
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SP-000-ZA


total ~ ?475ish



Can you do better than me? (yes, you can!! So help me out already )

 

[-Psy-]

Noooooooooooooo! 8800GTS! Not a damned ATi. D:

 

[NeptuneUK]

Note: I plan to run games at a resolution of 1280x1024, and even though the GTS is on par, sometimes faster then sometimes slower than the 2900, this only seems to be the case with DX9 games (very very erratic), this rig will have to last me into the DX10 era, which I (mistakenly?) believe the 2900 will handle better.
Show me some objective comparisons?

If my memory serves me well, when the 8800GTS benchmarks against the 2900XT in directX 9, the results often seem very shizophrenic and show little correlation. We can easily say that the 2900xt is sort of inbetween the GTX and GTS in terms of performance in directX 9 modes but with many exceptions.
However, in the directx 10 benchmarks Im pretty sure the 2900xt outperforms the GTS often.

These upgrades will likely be my last ones for many years too. Which is poop.

 

[Shamrock]

I would recommend +600 Watts. Anything less is asking for random restarts and other errors.

I bought a 700 Watt for my 2900XT. Only $100 US DOLL HAIRS.

 

[The Brick]

5.1 headsets are overrated crap. Speaking from experience and common sense.

If you want a performance boost I'd get new mainboard, ram and gpu and overclock it, but since you need microATX for that case there aren't too many proper mainboards for that.


As for the graphics card, I would go for the 8800gts 320mb. It's quite a bit cheaper, not so much slower, less heat output (heat is going to kill you in a barebone case :x) and I believe it's smaller too. You need to check if that case can fit the newer graphics cards, it's really not a given.

 

[NeptuneUK]

Ok I need advice now. Not just PC related...

If I chose to go for a 8800GTX... and a 2x2gb DDR2 OCZ ram kit.... Would this PC last me several years without upgrading... If I did this I would be well into my student overdraft (interest free though). It might save me money in the long run by not having to upgrade in the next 3 years.

Yay or nay?

The E6300 CPU should be fine, right? I mean people still use Pentium 4s and play bioshock right??

 

[Nabobalis]

Ok I need advice now. Not just PC related...

If I chose to go for a 8800GTX... and a 2x2gb DDR2 OCZ ram kit.... Would this PC last me several years without upgrading... If I did this I would be well into my student overdraft (interest free though). It might save me money in the long run by not having to upgrade in the next 3 years.

Well, that depends on two things. A, how fast DX10 becomes mainstream and B, how fast DDR 3 becomes mainstream.

Point A, current graphic cards are poor when it comes to DX 10.
Point B, the ram will most likely be fine for years to come. When DDR 3 becomes mainstream, DDR 2 will still be a contender for memory as right now DDR 3 does not offer that much of a boost in performance.
[/quote]

Yay or nay?

The E6300 CPU should be fine, right? I mean people still use Pentium 4s and play bioshock right??

Try to over clock it, it will last longer for you. But an upgrade to Quad core could be in order for Christmas, as when the new family of Intel chips are released and the prices of he current Quad cores will go down and that will be the time to buy.

Just my two cents.

 

[The Brick]

I would get an 8800gts 320mb with a proper mainboard and ram. Then overclock the cpu (3.2ghz should be reachable). You'll get more general performance with that upgrade. But if the case is really necessary, then you won't have much good choices for mATX boards for overclocking.

 

[Warbie]

I'm in a similar boat, Nab.

At the moment i'm tempted to pick up a cheap Duo E2160/80 and overclock it. I'll probably get a 8800 gts 320 to go with it. The plan is for this to last a good year or two and to then upgrade to the best quad core and gfx card the motherboard can support.

 

[NeptuneUK]

I am going to go with the BFG 640mb OC2 8800GTS, this is the fastest card available that will easily fit into my SFF Lanbox case, performance wise it is inbetween the GTS and GTX... but rather pricey at 270GBP, I can get a cheap 8800gtx for 300GBP but i might have issues putting it in, and with temps.

 

[Nabobalis]

I am going to go with the BFG 640mb OC2 8800GTS, this is the fastest card available that will easily fit into my SFF Lanbox case, performance wise it is inbetween the GTS and GTX... but rather pricey at 270GBP, I can get a cheap 8800gtx for 300GBP but i might have issues putting it in, and with temps.

Get the 320MB version unless your playing at a high resolution. But there might be a bug in the driver that affects the 320MB version when it comes to high resolutions.

I'm in a similar boat, Nab.

At the moment i'm tempted to pick up a cheap Duo E2160/80 and overclock it. I'll probably get a 8800 gts 320 to go with it. The plan is for this to last a good year or two and to then upgrade to the best quad core and gfx card the motherboard can support.

Sounds like a plan. But you might have to upgrade the motherboard also. Intel will release a new chipset. Nvidia are bound to follow and I believe AMD/ATI are releasing a new chipset soon. Need to re read my custom pc mag. DDR 3 is on the horizon also PCI-E V2 also.

Sometimes I wish computer tech would stop progressing in public. Just get up to a certain point for a few years before unleashing the next round of technology on the public.

 

[NeptuneUK]

Get the 320MB version unless your playing at a high resolution. But there might be a bug in the driver that affects the 320MB version when it comes to high resolutions.

Explaineth yeself!

 

[Nabobalis]

Explaineth yeself!

I saw a comment on a review on Hard|OCP, I can no remember the game though. In the conclusion they stated that the 320MB version very badly suffered at high resolution/AF/AA on. It then stated it contacted Nvidia on why this happens and they then replied saying that it might be a bug in the driver that is causing some of this. The finial comment was to start tuned for more.

 

[NeptuneUK]

may have been an outdated one, Nvidia seem to have excellent drivers now.
ATIs drivers are seen as unoptimised for DX10 and slow to release.

Which is shocking, I grew up with ATI being the cutting edge manufacturer with cards and unrivaled driver support. This has all turned around now, god damn you ATI! Nvidia are now kicking major arse.