Upgrading My PC

Just thought I would list my parts and see if anyone see's any potential show stoppers. Just one point I have to make: I don't play games on my PC thats what XBox 360's and PS3 are made for. With that said I am running SLI with two MSI PCIe GeForce 8500GTs. I'm running an Athlon X2 3800 now that I want to move and use as my Windows Home Server. WHS is currently running a 2400XP so it should be a little faster. I'm also wondering how performance will be over the X2. Of course I'm going to use my X64 Windows 7. I''m sure I will have to activate over the phone as I did not by Retail. I'm pretty sure I will be able to activate anyway. I think I have a 750 watt power supply its a good one so shouldn't be an issue. My budget was $300 bucks.

AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor - Retail

Newegg.com - AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

CORSAIR XMS2 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)

Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS2 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-8500C5C G - Desktop Memory


ASUS M4N72-E AM3/AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA nForce 750a SLI ATX AMD

Newegg.com - ASUS M4N72-E AM3/AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA nForce 750a SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards

zone23 said:

Just thought I would list my parts and see if anyone see's any potential show stoppers. Just one point I have to make: I don't play games on my PC thats what XBox 360's and PS3 are made for. With that said I am running SLI with two MSI PCIe GeForce 8500GTs. I'm running an Athlon X2 3800 now that I want to move and use as my Windows Home Server. WHS is currently running a 2400XP so it should be a little faster. I'm also wondering how performance will be over the X2. Of course I'm going to use my X64 Windows 7. I''m sure I will have to activate over the phone as I did not by Retail. I'm pretty sure I will be able to activate anyway. I think I have a 750 watt power supply its a good one so shouldn't be an issue. My budget was $300 bucks.

AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor - Retail

Newegg.com - AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

CORSAIR XMS2 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)

Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS2 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-8500C5C G - Desktop Memory


ASUS M4N72-E AM3/AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA nForce 750a SLI ATX AMD

Newegg.com - ASUS M4N72-E AM3/AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA nForce 750a SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards

Not so sure about the AMD Athlon II X4 620.

The AMD Phenom II X2 550 BE is a much better CPU for the money.

I'm not sure about that cause the one you posted is only a dual core. What I've read is that the one I picked (quad core) really didn't take that big of a hit, even though it doesn't have L3 cache. I read it wasn't a huge deal.

DO NOT get that board - Asus seems to have issues with booting off USB's and Nvidia chipset's are unnecessary and problematic - go for a Gigabyte MA 790 GPT UD3H - it has a built in graphics chip you can use for Home Server - this build is for home server right? Then the Quad is perfect.

The only thing that jumps right out at me it that the mobo does not have any built in video ports. This wouldn't be a problem unless you have a graphics card. If you plan on using multiple monitors as I do, this could be a big problem. Other than that it's real tight.....looks good.

Sorry for the confusion I'm moving my X2 3800 or the old computer to the WHS. The new Quad Core will replace the PC I'm on now. Yes I have two GeForce 8500GTs that I plain on using SLI. I have SLI now because I do put the computer on a 46" LCD sometimes. I apprecaite the input frostmourne but I have always used Asus and have had nothing but problems with anything other than NVidia. Its funny how everyone has their own brand. The stuff will be here tomorrow so I will let you know how it goes. Probably be DOA.

Either way, Gigabyte is a solid choice - the quad is great for the setup, I wouldn't go for DDR2, its old technology. A single GPU would also give you enough performance - not sure if the 8500's decode Blu-Ray but they probably do.

Frostmourne said:

Either way, Gigabyte is a solid choice - the quad is great for the setup, I wouldn't go for DDR2, its old technology. A single GPU would also give you enough performance - not sure if the 8500's decode Blu-Ray but they probably do.

I'm not too worried about Blue-Ray I have a PS3 that handles it just fine. Ya I agree DDR3 would be better but I can always upgrade the board in a year or so. DDR2 is still a step up from standard DDR. I'm just kinda looking to get into a newer system this one is 3 years old. It still performs great just want something newer.

You could build a HTPC the size of a VCR that would put the PS3 to shame.

Frostmourne said:

You could build a HTPC the size of a VCR that would the PS3 to shame.

I'm not too sure about that according to Sony the PS3 is the most power computer/game console in the galaxy. Also I have owned a gigabyte motherboard before and it was pretty solid. We had a few at work. BioStar was the absolute worst board I have ever owned. To this day it will not boot with anything plugged into a USB port.