New Motherboard and Processor

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Well, i think its time to update from my 1.6GHZ processor, it just cant seem to handel playing music, having MSN Messenger open and browsing, while also playing a game (aka CounterStrike) and im presuming it is the cause for CounterStrike crashing, seeing as it is the oldest part of my computer and i have recently formatted my hard drive to purge it of a virus.

Im surrently using an AMD Athalon XP 1900+ and my motherboard is a K7S6A from Mainboard. I have an ATI Radeon 9200 Atlantis and a new SoundBlaster 24-bit Live! sound card.

What would you recomend for me to purchase to improve my processor? Im also trying to work on a resonable budget.

 

Hmm... that processor should be able to handle a couple of programs in the background plus MSN and browser windows while playing a game, too. How much RAM do you have?

As for the processor, I suggest the fastest your motherboard can handle but without overpaying. The fastest one of a line of processors tends to be improportionately expensive, while it gets better with the second best frequency, even if the difference is just 200 MHz or something, so if it's a matter of 200 Mhz for $50, you don't really need the extra.

You might consider a new graphics card. It does matter. Everything lagged on my computer with my previous card when I switched to Windows. I replaced the card with a radically better model (from TNT2 to FX5900XT, actually) and the problems stopped. Well, almost all of them. Before the switch, even autofill in browsers didn't work because of the huge resource consumption. Maybe if you get a newer card, your PC's performance in games will increase and switching to desktop won't be killing your computer anymore.

Note: You don't want anything lower than Radeon 9600 pro or XT because it won't make much difference. Avoid SE's or LE's, too, unless it's a bargain. Note: ATI XT's are better versions, while nVidia XT's are worse versions of the same card. If you want nVidia, stay away from FX's unless you get a good bargain on a 5900-5950 card, but 6600 is a better purchase, especially 6600GT (which is better than plain (non-GT) 6800 but cheaper). 6200's tend to be crap.

 

For a motherboard, I ALWAYS recomend Abit motherboards. They are just awsome, and come with all the features anyone would ever need. I installed an Abit AS8 in my dad's new computer, an AG8 in my brother's newcomputer, and I have an IC7-G wating to but put in my faince's new computer...if I can ever afford the rest of the parts.

IMO Intel CPUs are better for multi-tasking (i.e. your music play, MSM Messenger, and Counter Strike) I often play BG2, listen to music using WinAMP, have MSN messenger open and IMing friends, and have the #sorcerers IRC window open all at the same time, and my 3.06 P4 does just fine.

But if you must have an AMD, make sure the CPU you do get has the latest socket type. No sense in getting a Pentium 4 Socket 478, while the LGA775 is now the standard. Just be REALLY carefull when installing these new CPUs...they no longer have pins or use the ZIF (zero insertion Force) sockets...so you have to "drop" the CPU exactly straight down into the socket. I've installed 3 so far, and it's not too hard, so long as you read the directions and be carfull!

Though you made the right choice by getting an ATI video card...your 9200 series card is getting a little old. A good upgrade without braking the bank would be an ATI 9600 or 9800 Pro.

 

I have 3 DDR RAM chips amountiing to 512MB, i know its not much but it used to be able to handel anything i put through it.

 

If you fill the 4th bank of ram ith the same amount as it's sister bank (i.e. slots 1 and 3 and slots 2 and 4) you;ll be able to take full advantage of DDR's dual channel ability.

I'm guessing you have two sticks of 128MB ram and one stick of 256MB right? Well, here's what I'd do if I were you. Stisk the two stick of 128MB in slots 1 and 3, then buy one more stick of 256MB and put them in slots 2 and 4. IIRC, the sticks need to be the same size and CAS latency, so try your best to buy the same make/model.

Or, for a better, but more expensive option, get rid of those three sticks and buy a 1GB "dual channel kit". All it is, is 2 identicle sticks of 512MB RAM that will add up to 1GB and enable the dual channel ability. That
s what I'm running now, and you can notice a difference in speed.

 

If you can hold off till April or May both intel and AMD will release their new CPUs. This will drop the current platform prices. You might be able to pick up a AMD 939 dual core CPU with a motherboard for around $350-400 come April.

 

After a quick check, I'd say Athlon 64 3800+, 1 gig of RAM, whatever mobo you want (MSI seems to have only good reviews), and GF7800 GT. Total: 340 + 120 + 80 + 350 = 990 €. New HDD/case/screen/whatnot is extra.

 

Wirhe it would be worth the wait for him than for the new CPUs to come out early 2nd quarter 2006. This way he could pick up everything you mentioned at a discounted price.

 

There are always better and better hardware, of course, but if you wait, you might end up waiting forever. If you want discount, try auction-sites like eBay.

(Even though I find it quite infuriating that some arses try to sell used stuff for full price.)

 

Your mainboard is manufactured by Elitegroup - and is Socket A. I ran an XP1500+ on one of these a while back.
The best CPU you can fit to the board is something like an Athlon XP 2200+ which is marginally quicker than the one you have now, not really worth it IMO, as you could probably get the same out of yours with some quick tweaks. Since this board came out AMD has migrated from Socket A to Socket 754 and now to 939 - which will be superceeded this year.

This board does not support a dual channel memory artictecture, but you can use some of the lower speed DDR ram on it, and nothing will stop you from putting 2 or more sticks in. One of the quirks of it was it could take DDR or SDRAM. So ignore whoever mentioned dual channel earlier in the thread.

Not sure about your budget - but the my suggestion would be to get a socket 939 board a cheap athlon 64 and 512mb of ddr400 - perhaps 1 gb if you can afford it. You might need a new power supply, and you'll need a PCI Express graphics card.

If you like Counter Strike - ATI is'nt a bad choice - maybe the X800 GTO or GTO2 for less than £100. Nvidia 6600gt is a great option for a bit more. For £160 go for the 6800gs - which will run anything today at a decent rate. If you can afford £220+ get a 7800gt - which I have - they are superb for games like BF2 CSS at high res.

Visit Overclockers.co.uk - they have great prices and next day delivery probably for Scotland as well. But their Customer Sevice is not the best tbh. Check the this week only and the bundled CPU/Mobo and Memory sections.