Looking to upgrade...

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Looking to upgrade...

Postby dj_ultima_the_great » Wed Dec 06, 2006 9:06 pm

As I'm sure you all know, I'm an idiot when it comes to technical stuff. While I trust my computer-savvy friend to help me out, I thought it might benefit him to hear suggestions from you guys, since I want these upgrades to play towards editing and video capture as much as possible.

Here's what I'm lookin' for:
- motherboard/processor
- newer/better RAM
- video capture card (the kind that lets me capture by plugging my PS2 into the compy, for those difficult games that refuse to be ripped)

I know that that's extremely broad (and n00bish), but I don't really have my eye on anything specific, and neither does my friend. The total budget for those three items is $500 - preferably lower, but not a penny over.

Thanks for whatever you can suggest.


- Jen
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Postby Kariudo » Wed Dec 06, 2006 9:55 pm

Mobo
CPU
RAM
capture card
total: $398.97 (without shipping)
$407.21 (with shipping)

is that alright?
you might need to get a new video card (most mobos use PCI-e now)
your power supply should be able to handle this.

other things that would help me is the number of hard drives you have (and the interface, probably either IDE [ATA] or SATA)
your video card model and manufacturer
number of floppy/cd/dvd drives

this mobo doesn't have firewire built-in, so if you have a camcorder chances are that you'll have to get a firewire card (PCI interface) to connect it to your computer.

the capture card got a lukewarm review...but the next best is $50 more expensive (and not that much better)

dual-core processor with ddr2 800 (2x512MB in dual-channel mode) will boost performace in ripping, indexing vobs, and editing in general.
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Postby requiett » Wed Dec 06, 2006 10:48 pm

Case
MOBO
Capture Card
Video Card
1 GB RAM
CPU

All totaled with shipping included, I got: $430.94

The motherboard is hot shit. She's runnin on DDR2, and supports up to 16GB [with 4 2GB cards installed, though you'll probably never even get that far].

I included 1GB of DDR2 as per your specifications.

The CPU is decent, and is probably faster than what most editors have right now: Athlon 64 [2.2 ghz]

Your GeForce 2 is all but obsolete for most modern 3-D apps and won't work with PCI-16X, so I threw a standard card on there, since the MOBO doesn't have integrated video.

The capture card should be perfect quality for ripping PS2 games. I wouldn't use it for high-def applications, but it should easily slam all your standard stuff.

I threw in a new case as a novelty, since they always look 1337. The important part about the case is that it includes a 400w power supply, which you might need, especially if you plan on puttin' loads of RAM in.

All-in-all, I think I covered all your grounds here. You've got about $70 of lee-way with this config, which you can use for another 512MB RAM, or maybe a boss soundcard.

Have your friend check out this setup. Good luck!

8-)
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Postby Keeper of Hellfire » Thu Dec 07, 2006 4:04 am

For that money I'd suggest a socket 775 MoBo and an Intel Core2 Duo CPU, either the E6300 or the E6400. The E6400 showed in benchmarks comparable power as an AMD Athlon64 FX 55. MoBos for this CPU's are available in a broad price range, I think the ones around $100 will be fine.
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Postby Scintilla » Thu Dec 07, 2006 7:21 am

Kariudo wrote:CPU

What the hell, the X2s are that cheap?!

It may be time for me to upgrade.


(I did base my computer on Socket 939 with the conscious plan of upgrading to an Athlon X2 when I had the money, after all.)
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Postby Jnzk » Thu Dec 07, 2006 8:47 am

Newegg prices make me :cry:. So cheap!
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Postby Kariudo » Thu Dec 07, 2006 9:42 am

Scintilla wrote:
Kariudo wrote:CPU

What the hell, the X2s are that cheap?!

It may be time for me to upgrade.


(I did base my computer on Socket 939 with the conscious plan of upgrading to an Athlon X2 when I had the money, after all.)


yeah, AMD dropped the msrp on all desktop cpus by about half when core2 duo came out. (that means when I got my x2 3800 (s939) it was about the same as the 4800 is priced now)

It's hard to find the s939 cpus now though (that one is socket AM2)
this is the lowest priced s939 x2 on newegg (open box).
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Postby Keeper of Hellfire » Thu Dec 07, 2006 10:47 am

Keeper of Hellfire wrote:The E6400 showed in benchmarks comparable power as an AMD Athlon64 FX 55.
Sorry. I did remember it wrong, it has comparable results like an AMD Athlon64 FX 62. Would it only compare to the FX 55 it'd be a bad deal.:wink: That's the comparison
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Postby Joe88 » Thu Dec 07, 2006 3:16 pm

Keeper of Hellfire wrote:
Keeper of Hellfire wrote:The E6400 showed in benchmarks comparable power as an AMD Athlon64 FX 55.
Sorry. I did remember it wrong, it has comparable results like an AMD Athlon64 FX 62. Would it only compare to the FX 55 it'd be a bad deal.:wink: That's the comparison

indeed
It outran the FX-62
even the E6300 could beat it with a small OC

so yea core 2 duo is the way to go
I do suggest a 975X chipset over the P965 on the mobo part
but you might not be able to do it for that price , those chipsets start at $150 I belive

and its your choice for ATI or nVidia
though you can grab an all in wonder (gfx card , tv tuner, caputure , ext...)
or an x1600 pro would be a great value for $99
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Postby Jnzk » Thu Dec 07, 2006 3:27 pm

Joe88 wrote:I do suggest a 975X chipset over the P965 on the mobo part

Care to elaborate why? Shouldn't P965 be perfectly sufficient, especially for a buyer on a budget?
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Postby Joe88 » Thu Dec 07, 2006 3:54 pm

Janzki wrote:
Joe88 wrote:I do suggest a 975X chipset over the P965 on the mobo part

Care to elaborate why? Shouldn't P965 be perfectly sufficient, especially for a buyer on a budget?


the overall performance is better
but thats why I said this under it

Joe88 wrote:but you might not be able to do it for that price , those chipsets start at $150 I belive
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Postby Kariudo » Thu Dec 07, 2006 4:11 pm

P965 can only use ddr2 that runs at 1.8v at latencies of 5-5-5 or 6-6-6, and that ram isn't cheap. (I assume that the 975X doesn't have this problem)

on this budget, core2 duo is pretty much out of the question (which is why I recommended the athlon x2 socket AM2)

AMD seems to be phasing-out s939, so the small difference in price between the cpu and ddr/ddr2 makes AM2 more favorable.
The athlon 64 x2 4200+ it's still a good dual-core cpu.

I was careful to select a mobo that supported ddr2 800 (ddr2 is a waste of money, time and performance until you hit ddr2 667...ddr2 800 is supposed to offer much better performance than ddr)

I was also careful in selecting the ram. Corsair is known for quality ram and compatibility. Dual channel is supposed to double memory bandwidth (compared to single-channel). Basically, you can pump more info in and out in the same ammount of time
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Postby Keeper of Hellfire » Fri Dec 08, 2006 4:21 am

Kariudo wrote:on this budget, core2 duo is pretty much out of the question (which is why I recommended the athlon x2 socket AM2)
:? Why? An E6300 costs nearly the same as the X2 you did suggest. From your proposals to the maximum budget is a gap of nearly $100. So there is still room for additional expenses on MoBo and RAM, if necessary. For some bucks more (if at all), you get an kick ass system that rivals much more expensive AMD systems. Check the price for the FX 62. The CPU alone exceeds the budget with 40%.
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Postby requiett » Fri Dec 08, 2006 9:49 am

Kariudo wrote:capture card

Moar liek crapture card. It doesn't even have composite inputs. WTF mate?
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Postby Keeper of Hellfire » Fri Dec 08, 2006 10:00 am

Who can read is clearly in the advantage. The specs say:

Ports In:
TV input
S-VHS input
Composite input
Audio input
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