New PC but I'm out of date techie wise.

[ECA]

so like I'm clueless about pc stuff at the mo.

I know the 9800 GTX is the new midrange nvidia card, I know I need 4gb of ram but no clue which processor/mobo combo to go for?

Whats a reasonable processor/motherboard combo these days? What sockets is which? yarrrrrr.

 

[DaGaffer]

Its fekkin confusing tbh. You really need to start with your budget and work backwards.

 

[inactionman]

You either want a dual (E8x00) or quad (Q6600) core Intel series, depending on your needs (gaming or workstation). The quad is more future-proof, but the dual currently performs better in most games, however games are becoming increasing dependant on the number of cores, e.g. Alan Wake will require quad core.

Best to get a P35 motherboard, I'd suggest a gigabyte DS4, or a DS3 if you are on a budget.

The 9800GTX is just an overclocked 8800GTS, depending on what resolution you game at, you currently either are better off getting a 8800GTS if you game below 1920x1200, or a 8800GTX (this one from overclockers is cheap), if you game at 1920x1200 or above, where the superior memory and memory bandwidth is key. Although a 8800GTX needs more space (they are long) and needs a bigger power supply.

 

[ECA]

Budget is under 1k, I already have enough monitors so its just the gubbins inside the case.

I have an intel core 2 6600 atm but not sure what the prefix is, ~1year old or so.

HDDs are cheap, ram is cheap,really its case+mobo+psu+cpu+gpu thats making me head dizzy at the moment.

 

[inactionman]

View attachment 4083

View attachment 4084

Should give you a good start. You may be able to find better prices elsewhere though.

 

[ECA]

Thanks a ton

 

[Jonty]

Hi ECA

I'd only echo what the others have said. An Intel quad-core CPU is good in the long term, if you don't already have one. The Q6600 is cheap (and will be cheaper after April 20th) and overclocks well, but it's slightly old tech now. The Q9300 and Q9450 are higher performing newer models, but they don't necessarily overclock as well (for technical reasons). As inactionman said, if you just want raw performance now, the dual-core E8400 is a great balance between price and performance, but maybe not so good in the long-term.

AMD have their Phenom chips which are good for the money, but in reality their performance isn't up to par, and most enthusiasts perfer Intel.

In terms of motherboards, the Intel P35 is a good solid chipset, or you have the Intel X38 if you need more enthusiast options (there's the X48 now too, but not a lot has changed).

With regards the graphics, I'd probably go for the 9800 GTX, but if you can get an 8800 GTS for cheaper (especially a factory-overclocked one) then go for that as the performance is very similar. If you need to save money, a 9600 GT or 8800 GT are good mid-range choices. I wouldn't recommend running two cards in SLI, at least not in the beginning, but it's an option for the future. New 9900-series cards will be out around July, so it depends when you plan on buying.

AMD/ATI also have good competing cards, such as the 3870, but they've not been great after the AMD merger. The 4000-series will be released in the summer, and it holds promise, but for now most people prefer nVidia.

As for RAM, just choose good quality DDR2 RAM. DDR3 RAM is improving, but the prices are still sky high. 4GB should be fine, but you can choose more if you opt for a 64-bit OS (32-bit OSs top-out around 3.2GB in terms of usable RAM).

Anyway, for a grand you should have plenty of change to spare, so happy shopping!

Kind regards

Jonty

P.S. Just a few clarifications:

• The 9800 GTX is an enthusiast-level card, not mid-range. That said, it's price is not too high and the performance gains over are so-so, therefore many people are rightly not considering it anything new (the GTX suffix is misleading).
• Alan Wake won't require a quad-core CPU, but it will make use of it (far more so than current games).
• The 8800 GTX and 9800 GTX are the same size (10.5" long), but the 8800 GTS is 9" long.

 

[Ch3tan]

Budget is under 1k, I already have enough monitors so its just the gubbins inside the case.

I have an intel core 2 6600 atm but not sure what the prefix is, ~1year old or so.

HDDs are cheap, ram is cheap,really its case+mobo+psu+cpu+gpu thats making me head dizzy at the moment.

You have a processor that is till not being pushed so why upgrade everything?

 

[ECA]

You have a processor that is till not being pushed so why upgrade everything?

Well, I was foolish and thought 2gb of ram would be fine :/ I need to upgrade but have a SFF pc with only 2 ram slots, and want 4-8gb of ram as well as a new graphics card and a new hard drive.

My graphics card is out of date for current gen games, and my ram/hdd are not exactly spectacular.

So basically I'd be replacing everything but the processor if I want to upgrade, so might as well replace that too.

Oh also, I'd like to run 3+ monitors, are there any graphics cards that do that innately or do I need to get some special hardware to do that?

 

[inactionman]

Most graphics cards do 2 monitors. Any cheap graphics card will give you another 2+ monitors (PCI or PCI-Express).

 

[Billargh]

I think the real question is, who provides Internet Explorer to Inactionman?!

 

[inactionman]

Lol, work. Rather not be identified.

 

[Jonty]

Well, I was foolish and thought 2gb of ram would be fine :/ I need to upgrade but have a SFF pc with only 2 ram slots, and want 4-8gb of ram as well as a new graphics card and a new hard drive.

My graphics card is out of date for current gen games, and my ram/hdd are not exactly spectacular.

So basically I'd be replacing everything but the processor if I want to upgrade, so might as well replace that too.

Oh also, I'd like to run 3+ monitors, are there any graphics cards that do that innately or do I need to get some special hardware to do that?

Hi ECA

Most Shuttles can handle 4GB RAM, but just check the specs to be sure. As for the Q6600, the latest ones overclock very well (maybe 3-3.2Ghz in a Shuttle, 3.6GHz using air cooling in a standard case). Regarding the graphics card, if your Shuttle has a PCI-Express slot then you could stick with it. If it's AGP, then it's probably time to upgrade.

As for three or more monitors, most graphics cards won't do it natively. You may be able to do if you have two cards in SLI/Crossfire, but only because you will have more output ports available (and SLI/Crossfire won't work across all monitors).

However, do you already have the monitors? If not, then I'd recommend Samsung's USB monitors or, if you new graphics card supports it, Dell's DisplayPort monitors (the 2408WFP and 3008WFP). Both solutions can be daisy-chained together. You won't be able to play games over USB (because of the low bandwidth, although DisplayPort may be okay), but you can use those monitors for your OS, and connect your primary monitor to graphics card.

Are you going Al Gore on us? (He has two or three 30" monitors in his home office).

Kind regards

Jonty

P.S. There's also DisplayLink for multiple monitors, but I don't think this is quite as 'elegant' as the other solutions.

 

[Cemeterygates]

seems like just double ya ram (2x 2GB) an maybe upgrade ya gfx card would be more than enough in terms of a massive performance boost...
get the impression a complete new rig isnt needed...

 

[ECA]

welllll you might have caught me red handed Jonty.

It's actually an asus terminator, not sure which model # exactly but not that old.

2gb ram, 250gb hdd, X1950 pro and a 6600 intel not sure which model number but its a duo core malarky.

Mainly the dual/triple monitor thing um, I tried my 30" dell + 24" samsung and couldnt run it off this card, I need something more beefy hence the upgrade need and I also have a 22" samsung so I thought what the hell.

I might get another 1-2 dell 30"s though

I guess 2x2gb ram in the 2 memory slots should work + a new graphics card but I'm fairly sure the PSU would be lacking and the HDD isnt exactly spangling either as I used my "old" one as I wasnt that arsed about performance at the time.

Its a 250gb western digital. Not shabby or anything but a little dated.

 

[Jonty]

Hi ECA

As gorgeous as Dell's 30" displays are, you won't be able to run three or more easily, because the full resolution requires dual-link DVI (i.e. both DVI ports on one card to run one monitor). Short of playing with tri-SLI, I don't think it's workable. Another solution may be to opt for Dell's 24" range which run at a lower resolution which one DVI port can support. (I mention Dell, but this situation applies irrespective of brands).

I guess you have an E6600, which is a 2.4Ghz 'Conroe' Core 2 Duo. Your whole system certainly isn't shabby. Perhaps upping the RAM to 4GB and the graphics to a GeForce 8 or 9 series (or AMD/ATI 3000-series) will hel the most. I don't know whether your PSU will handle it, but if it's a decent 450W or above unit, then you should be fine.

Regarding hard-drives, it depends if you need the space. There have been advanced in speeds and acoustics, but overall nothing stellar has really happened (discounting solid-state drives (SSD), which are still very expensive). If you need the extra capacity then go for it, otherwise I wouldn't worry about it (plus Western Digital is a good brand, so you should be alright in terms of reliability).

Kind regards

Jonty

P.S. If you change a lot of components then you may need to call Microsoft and reactivate Windows, but it's apparently a hassle-free process.

 

[inactionman]

ECA, Jonty makes some valid points, but one thing I'd like clarified, are you looking at running these monitors in 2D or 3D apps?

If you're looking at running them all in 3D, there's a problem, as no motherboard has enough slots to do that (not enough 3D rendering power to run 3x that resolution).

If you are looking at running one of them in 3D and the rest in 2D, then that can be done (although the 3D performance would be a little slow at native resolution), and the 30" monitors makes things relatively expensive with their requirement for dual-link DVI.

You'd need to get a motherboard with 3 (mechanical at least) PCI-E x16 slots, that basically means a Nvidia 780i motherboard (fairly expensive), with 3 graphics cards. I'd recommend an 8800GTX (they are still the best performing at high resolutions, and are cheap) for the 3D monitor and 2x any low end 8xxx series cards for the other monitors.

If you go for a 30" plus 24" monitors then that simplifies things a lot, as you only need 2 physical cards, which gives you more choice on motherboards.

It's still a bit annoying that using Nvidia's SLI means you lose multi-monitor support on the extra card, which they are supposed to have fixed by now, but seem to have quietly dropped all mention of it, it's something that isn't a problem with crossfire AFAIK.