Greetings PC Help Forum Community!


My friend is seeking my advice for his new computer upgrade. I am seeking advice from PC Help Forum community so that I do not give bad information to my friend.

He is currently using:

Asus Socket 939 Motherboard
2.0 GHz Athlon 939 64 (single core, probably the 3000+ or 2800+)
1 GB DDR 400
X800 Pro (pci-e)


He basically just wants an more powerful computer. He has a new SATA hard drive, but can't use it yet. The most intense Apps he will run are probably games. His favorite games are Battlefield 2, Need for Speed Most Wanted, and he definitely wants to future-proof his machin...he has about $300 to spend....and the following requirements must be achieved:

1) SATA Recognition. He wants a Motherboard that has a nice SATA controller....he only needs a few ports, but he would prefer if WINXP32bit SP2 would automatically identify the sata controller instead of having to do F6 floppy sata controller drivers. I would really like to see only Motherboard recommendations that do not require F6 upload sata drivers via floppy.

2) Needs to be generally more powerful. He will probably go to socket 775, 2GB DDR2 800. Since he is going socket 775 (core 2 duo) overclocking is crucial. He will most likely be getting a low price-point Core2Duo and overclocking. [Everyone I know Overclocks. My 2.4 runs at 3.2....my friends 1.8 runs at 2.8....etc]


I guess that's it....I'll edit or repost if I think of anything else. He could always use a better graphics card, but I really think that he should upgrade Motherboard and processor more...

Do you have any advice for us? I greatly appreciate any effort given to this matter.

Oh, can you please leave Motherboard Model Names or URL links from newegg or a better source if you come across them...


Thanks,


Douglas

Hello dougyfresh! this is my area of expertise. sounds like he needs a pretty powerful computer. Im going to assume a budget of $1000. Back in a flash!

What are you talking about? He can upgrade his motherboard, processor, and ram for $300 easy.... He can probably get a new Power Supply Unit for like $50. I am selling him a SATA drive for really cheap. Why are your estimates so far off? I have the first 3 mentioned above for $300 found already....so what are you talking about $1,000 for?

So far I have pieced together the exact same build as I built for a different friend about a month ago. So far, it looks great. I am mainly interested in if I could save any money by changing any of the parts.

From Newegg.com as of today:

ASUS P5K Lga 775 P35 ATX - $126
2x1GB G.Skill DDR2 800 - $45 (free shipping)
Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Allendale 2.2 GHz - $126

This is an estimated subtotal of just under $300. Have any recommendations? I built a different friends PC out of these components.....Flawless.....Amazing.....WINXP32SP2 detecting sata controllers without the need for F6 uploading drivers.....

Any Advice?

Thanks,


Douglas

Because i recommend higher-end components, that are generally quite a bit better. I also pick components that i do research on, and have shown to be reliable. This computer i am using now cost near $1000.
The motherboard looks ok, but i recommend this one instead. Better reviews, slightly higher quality components. only $12 more ASUS P5K-E LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

As for memory, go with a very highly renowned brand, such as Corsair or Crucial. Personally, i go with crucial because they are owned by the company micron which makes the best memory chips out there, so i recommend this memory Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT12864AA804 - Retail

The processor is good. No arguments there for a budget build. As for the Power supply, i tell people this all the time. DONT SKIMP on it. It is the most crucial component, and having a high quality power supply is a must. get a high power by a good brand. From personal experience, from numerous builds, as well as my own, this one ENERMAX Liberty ELT500AWT ATX12V 500W Power Supply - Retail


If he is going to overclock, get these

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM (much better than the stock junk)
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail (The only cooler i use, in all my builds. It is cheap, and works excellently, and is very quiet. Essential if he is overclocking)

By the way, what case does he have? Good cooling is going to be essential for this build. At least 1, even better would be 2 120mm Case Fans. 80mm fans dont cut it anymore.

As for the graphics card, this is an excellent card. It demolishes the 8600GT in benchmarks, and i have used several, and they are incredible. (i upgraded from an 8600GT to it, and the difference is night and day) VisionTek 900203 Radeon HD 3850 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

Thanks for your detailed response AW_3_3!

However, I have some debating to do with you.

1) G.Skill Ram. I have this in my system (2.4 E660 running at 3.2 GHz). The memory is running at 860 MHz at 5-5-5-15. I think my system was stable at 850 or slightly under at 4-4-4-12.

45 dollars with free shipping for amazing memory is a great deal. IDK if we will choose the "higher quality" brand considering I have done Orthos Memory stress tests on these kits...at overclocked//under-timed G.Skill ddr2 800.

I'm not sure about the motherboard. I will take a closer look in a minute. If it proves to be worth it, I may upgrade to your motherboard choice.

As for Power Supply Unit, yeah no doubt....High quality PSUs are crucial. He may have to get a new one...I'm not sure.........I have this link where some people tell about good brands of PSUs and models of PSUs.

I don't think he can upgrade his graphics right now. The Motherboard, Proc, and Memory are gonna be just under $300 at the current setup. He is also going to buy my extra SATA drive....He is going to be really close to price limit if he must upgrade PSUs. So I really doubt he is going to upgrade his graphics card right now.


What do you think? I really appreciate your time and effort you have given to me...

Thanks,

Douglas


EDIT: Oh yeah, I have a friend who bought a 1.8 gig core 2 duo. He runs it at 2.8 with the stock Intel cooler at VERY NICE temperatures.....Man, that Stock heatsink for Core 2 duos is AMAZING....I personally use Thermaltake Tower112....but seriously....the Stock intel heatsink is amazing in comparison with old P4's and old Athlon heatsinks