Looking to upgrade...

dj_ultima_the_great · Post by **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

Kariudo · Post by **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.

requiett · Post by **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!

Keeper of Hellfire · Post by **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.

Scintilla · Post by **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.)

Jnzk · Post by **Jnzk** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 8:47 am

Newegg prices make me

. So cheap!

Kariudo · Post by **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).

Keeper of Hellfire · Post by **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.

That's the comparison

Joe88 · Post by **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. 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

Jnzk · Post by **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?