Upgrading My PC

[zone23]

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

 

[SlackerITGuy]

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.

 

[zone23]

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.

 

[Frostmourne]

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.

 

[bassfisher6522]

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.

 

[zone23]

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. :sarc:

 

[Frostmourne]

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.

 

[zone23]

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.

 

[Frostmourne]

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

 

[zone23]

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.

 

[Frostmourne]

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.

Power in the galaxy? You can't even adjust settings in games! Just an idea though.

 

[zone23]

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.

Power in the galaxy? You can't even adjust settings in games! Just an idea though.

I know just kidding around the internet is always so serious. I meant powerful to but I guess you got that. Also if I was single still I probably would have went with an i5 or i7. The only thing I saw that I didn't really like was the with SLI it only has an 8x bus were for 50 bucks more I could have gotten dual 16x. Like I said though I really don't play games on the PC.

 

[SlackerITGuy]

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.

The Athlon II X4 is only good for very specific applications that execute entirely separate threads doing different things (example: Cinebench, Handbrake video encoding and 7-Zip).

For everything else, I'd take the AMD Phenom II X2 550.

Much better CPU imo.

Just my $0.02...