Mobo and Quad core!

[eugenetyson]

Want to upgrade my computer to quad core. Not sure what motherboard and quad core to get and if I need to get a new case.

Currently I have a Dell Dimension 8400

What I really want is a Motherboard and a Quad core processor and recommendations that fit with my current setup, if possible.

Sata hard drive (st3160023as) (

http://www.seagate.com/support/disc/specs/sata/st3160023as.html)

NVidea Gforce 6800


2 x Nec DVD +- RW (ND-3530a)


3gb Non-EEC ram

I can't remember what RAM I have in this machine and I'm too lazy to look so from the manual it says 400- and 533-MHz DDR2 unbuffered SDRAM



That's really everything I want from old computer to the new one.

I'm not bothered by sound card (although I have a 5.1 surround system built-in already, but i'm not too bothered about that at all).

http://www.doozler.blogspot.com/

 

[SimonDavies]

In all honesty have a look at a Q6600 cpu and perhaps a Striker Extreme, I had nothing but good things from the SE but there are people who experienced issues with it but I dare say that with the maturity of the board now you're ok.
Failing that have a look at one of the x38\p35 boards if you're more aiming for an intel chipset as the SE is an Nvidia 680 board.

SimonD.

The real world is not about exam scores, it's about ability.

 

[eugenetyson]

I am so cautious about buying the motherboard and the cpu. I want it all to work together and I'm not sure it will.

I want to use my old case, but not sure if I can.

What PSU should I have? Do I need to get a new one too?

http://www.doozler.blogspot.com/

 

[eugenetyson]

This is the processor I want

I need a motherboard to match and I need my old stuff to fit

http://www.dabs.ie/ProductView.aspx?Quicklinx=4YCV&CategorySelectedId=11022&PageMode=1&InMerch=1

http://www.doozler.blogspot.com/

 

[Sympology]

You may want to give people a budget....

Only the truly stupid believe they know everything.
Stu.. 2004

 

[eugenetyson]

A budget? I'm not asking people to buy it for me?

Also, I now what you mean. I don't want to spend more than say 500 euro.

http://www.doozler.blogspot.com/

 

[BadBigBen]

You're looking at:

CPU: 120 €
Mainboard: 80+ €
RAM: 4gb ca. 55€ DDR2 PC800
GFX-Card: 100 to 150 €
--------------------------

total max: €405

HDD and DVD drives you could reuse, but I would for the sake of sanity, get a new HDD drive or two...




Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

 

[eugenetyson]

Cool, thanks.

Can you give me links to the hardware you've listed?

Cheers

http://www.doozler.blogspot.com/

 

[Sympology]

Best to give a budget, otherwsie people may recommend the likes of this.

http://www.xcase.co.uk/p/530418/lian-li-pc-p80r-ati-special-edition-alu-case-no-psu.html

and this

http://www.xcase.co.uk/p/479063/x-p...-cpuvideo-gaming-combos-under-20db-noise.html

Only the truly stupid believe they know everything.
Stu.. 2004

 

[eugenetyson]

Cheers

http://www.doozler.blogspot.com/

 

[wahnula]

A budget? I'm not asking people to buy it for me?

eugenetyson,

Congrats on your decision to upgrade. Unless Dell has changed over the years (it very well could have) they were famous for proprietary M/Bs & PSUs. So, out goes the case. I wold start with a good Antec case that has a good PSU, they're quite reasonable, like this one.

As for the mainboard, make sure it supports the Penryn series of CPU, and I would recommend sticking with DDR2 RAM for now. You should make your budget.



Tony

Users helping Users...

 

[eugenetyson]

Thank you very much

http://www.doozler.blogspot.com/

 

[eugenetyson]

Hey, how does this motherboard look?

http://www.dabs.ie/productview.aspx...1&NavigationKey=11143,51000000,48760000,50520

http://www.doozler.blogspot.com/

 

[BadBigBen]

question: what will this PC be used for? if it is gaming/CAD/movie editing/or the like, you would need a separate GFX card...

if you plan on just doing WWW, Office, a little programming, or webpage design, then that board is good enough...

this is based solely on GRAPHICS power that that board has build in... and you will need EXTRA RAM to cover the shared mem that the build in GFX card needs...

PS: I know you are from Ireland, and the prices are similar to where I hail from, Germany...

e.g.:
GigaByte GA-EP35-DS3L ca. 75 €
Intel® Core 2 Quad Q6600 ca. 139 €
Maxtor STM3500630AS 500 GB ca. 54 €
GF9600GT_Golden_Sample 1024MB ca. 120 €
a Good case ca. 60 € +
Tagan TG500-U33 2-Force II
500 Watt ca. 75 €
A-DATA DIMM 2 GB DDR2-800 ca. 35 €
-------------------------------------------
Total: 558 €

source; alternate.de

you can probably save money on the GFX card, by getting an older version, e.g. 8600GT which is between 60 to 90 € for the 512mb version...

this is all just conjecture, and in the end you will have to pay the bill and be happy with it... what I am saying is this, take your time and shop, compare, and evaluate what the new PC is going to be used for, then plan on what you are going to buy, etc...


Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

 

[eugenetyson]

I have a geforce 6800 graphics card. I'm ok on everything else, just need new cpu and motherboard.

I do a lot of graphic design, so I need to have a couple of processor intensive programs open at once, like

InDesign, photoshop, illustrator, dreamweaver, flash and whatever else I need.

The quad core is a necessity for me, I think. That's why I'm asking you good folks.

http://www.doozler.blogspot.com/

 

[BadBigBen]

geforce 6800 graphics card

No go there, if I remember right, the 6800 was AGP only... newer boards do not have AGP anymore, it's an old standard, I am afraid you are going to need a new GFXcard then...

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."