Upgrading My PC

[Glacius]

I'm on the verge of massively upgrading my PC (pretty much replacing it) and am researching the goods. I'm looking at buying a new CPU and mobo and salvaging whatever parts I can from my decrepit HP. This time, I'm making the big switch from Intel to AMD, based on what I've read and to see the improvement for myself.

Here's what I have in mind so far:

CPUs
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103562
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103539

MOBOs
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131517
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131524

I can't decide whether to go with dual core or just single, because I have gaming in mind and they only run on a single thread. But, I hear dual cores are awesome for multi-tasking; apparently you can run a virus scanner while playing Doom 3 with them.

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated. I still have to find a smexy case and PSU, but those can wait. I am kind of pissed that I can't salvage my video card (6600 GT) for my new machine; I want to switch from AGP to PCI-E.

[Jim Tressel]

Hawkes would be the man to talk to in this situation.  He can probably get you very competitive pricing and he knows his shit.

[Hawkes]

Glacius,

Nice to hear you're upgrading.  What I would say about Intel vs. AMD is do some more research.  While AMD has always held the top spot in regards to gaming, Intel's new Conroe chips have been beating AMD without breaking a sweat.  And we're not talking head to head, we're talking top of the line AMD versus a couple steps down on the Intel line.  Now , that being said, will a dozen fps or so make a huge difference?  Probably not, but if you've always been an Intel person it might not necesitate the need to switch.  Both companies are in a pricing war right now whcih is good for you regardless of which way you go.  Also, I read an article not too long ago that shows the price of AMD procs getting lower by about 50% in the next few weeks.

In respect to single core vs. dual core, go dual.  Everything is going dual and you won't want to have to switch up later.  Oh, and why would you want to run virus scan while playing a game?  (jk)

I love the new Antec P-180 in black.  I have a video editing machine I am building right now with the p-180 silver, but aside from the color are identical. This case friggin rocks like no one business.

There are always wars when it comes to quality PSU's.  I am a huge PC Power & Cooling fan and if you do your research, I think you will find you will like them too.  I also happen to be a reseller for them and can get you  a better price than you will find anywhere else.

Video cards are also pretty rocking right now, but nVidia is still holding the limelight, but not by much.  I've read about more people with ATI having issues than nVidia.  I just upgraded mine to the 7900 gt co byu eVGA.  I like eVGA because they will let you upgrade your card within 90 days directly at their site regardless of who you bought it from.  Now you will pay a little bit more, but it's worth it if something better comes out right after you bought your card that you can't return.

In respect to the mobo, I would actually look at the A8N32-SLI.... if you ever want to run dual graphic cards, you have a top rate mobo.  This is on my hot list of what I would buy if I went AMD.  In case you are wondering about Intel, I would go with the P5WD2-E Premium.

Let me know what questions you have and we can run some numbers.

[Nightstalker]

the Comp i bought was a dell. $ 738, i just bought the tower. 3.2 CPU, with 2.0 dual core ram FTW. With this beast i am able to run wow in orgrimmar without lagging, all while having another game running as well as having explorer up in background as well as having a flick playing in an additional window. can alt tab between the 4 without the machine even thinking about it

[Hawkes]

and when night goes to upgrade his video card he can look forward to buying a new power supply and oh don't forget the adapter to put the pins back in their original order so you don't blow your motherboard "thanks dude I'm getting f'd... I mean a dell"

Dell is the root of all evil in the PC business from my side fo the fence.  Sure you can get one cheap, but you get what you pay for.  Service sucks, mobos and components suck.  There is a reason they are cheap... all things being equal, there is a point where the price doesn't get any cheaper.  When Dell gets to that point, they have the mobo mfr customize the board.  Take this out, change that, put this in and before you know it you have a Dell branded machine.  Dell's are fine if you want a PC for your mother or grandmother and all they do is email the family.  Now I know a few of you have Dells and are happy, and if you are I'm happy for you, but I would never recommend them to a gamer (just as I recommended that Apone not get his although he claims to love it).

[Glacius]

Thanks Hawkes, for the information. I really wanted to do some research before dishing out the money for a new PC (like I did with my HP) and this is giving me a great place to start. I've learned from my HP to not be lured into buying pre-built systems as I have experienced problems with my machine and I realized that they have extremely limited upgradability; I think even the case was custom built to fit the mobo they gave me perfectly. Unfortunately, I should have also guessed that these types of machines have locked BIOSes.

The main reason I wanted to switch to AMD is because I've read alot about their CPUs' overclockability, cool temps and favorability toward gaming.  I'm not a hardcore overlocker, but it seems to be an interesting hobby to look into.  I also know that Intel has generally tried to market high clock frequencies, even though AMD has still been able to outperform them with lower speeds. I'll look more into Intel's new product line.

I'm willing to spend a decent amount of money on the processor, motherboard and video card, but I'm definitely not going to shell out 1000 just for one of AMD's or Intel's new chips. I'll keep hunting on the egg and net and keep you guys posted on what I decide.

[Nightstalker]

video card seems to work fine

[Hawkes]

and the benchmarks I spoke of was that the Intel was aobut a $400 proc up against AMD's $1300 proc.

let me know if you have any other questions.