Comp processor problem

[idata]

i hav ma old comp running on a P4 1.5Ghz wid a 845 chipset frm intel .. i want to update it to a processor of a higher speed, i hav to connect two ATA serial hard drives to it and a AGP 8x graphics card with two RAM's of 512 Mb and 1Gb

Can anyone plz suggest me a package of a decent mainboard and a processor of a haiger clock speed >2.4 ghz

[JLodh]

Hi Surjeet!

Well though it would have been very easy for me to suggest one of the best motherboard and a compatible processor to you however that is not the right way to go about it so here is a little information that I would require of you before we can come up with the best option.

1) What is your need to be exact to use this computer? i.e. Software Development, Gaming, Media PC (Songs & Movies), Internet usage, Documentation, etc etc.

2) How much budget do you have for this new computer you'd like to purchase? (In your local currency)

3) You have 1 x 512MB and 1 x 1GB memory sticks of RAM I suppose. Would you like to use them on the new computer and if so, what are the model numbers & Bus Speed of those memory sticks?

4) Any specific software you feel worth mentioning that you use regularly e.g. AutoCAD, Photoshop

5) What RPM are your 2 ATA drives designed to operate on (42, 54, 72 or 10K RPM)?

6) What model of AGP card are you using?

7) Are you using a LCD monitor and if so, which model?

I have asked you all these questions so that I can figure out your need and come up with the most appropriate solution keeping within your budget. Moreover if you are trying to use the existing memory (RAM), HDD and AGP card on your new computer, I would require their info as well since I have to see if these components are in compliance with the solution I come up and since HDD and RAM speeds does matter, I can propose something better if need be. Reply to the questions above and I'll propose a solution that fulfills your needs.

--

Warm Regards,

Javed Lodhi

[idata]

The ansrs to ur questions are as follows

1)I need the computer basically for high end Gaming(games like GTA IV,NFS Prostreet),software dvelopment on VB,Java and SQL and also for some of media(basically good audio quality),internet

2)budget is approx rs 15000(including mainboard and processor)

3)ya i wish to use them, i have 1)512mb PC3200 DDR-DIMM(it is of a company TwinMOS and model number-M2G9J16A-MK) 2)1 gb PC 400 of company STRONTIUM Ram running currently.

4)ya i use corel draw photoshop and also sumtimes auto cad

5)ATA Drives are 1) seagate Barracuda 7200 (160 gb) 2)samsung SV4012H of 40 gb

6) i am using a Nvidia GeForce Fx 5200 of 256mb Ram (AGP 8x)

7)yup i have bought a new samsung syncMaster 943NWX LCD of 19 inches

these are the answers to ur questions...

[JLodh]

Good that we have the details now.

First, since you have RAMs that are DDR and a 5200FX graphics card that is AGP 8x, here are two motherboards that support AGP, http://stores.tomshardware.com/search_techspecs_full.php/masterid=2242461/st=product_tab D865GBF and http://www.intel.com/design/motherbd/bz/index.htm D875PB that I could come up with. These motherboards however do not support the core microarchitecture i.e. CoreDuo, Core2Duo or Core2Quad but they do support P4 Extreme Edition, Pentium D and Celeron D processors where P4 Extreme Edition will give you a cache of 2MB. For a list of compatible processors and their frequency, you can check out these pages for http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/d865gbf/sb/CS-026966.htm D865GBF Supported Processors and http://support.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/D875PBZ/sb/CS-021825.htm D875PBZ Supported Processors All these are compatible processors for either of the boards with varying frequencies and cache sizes for you to pick and most of these processors and either of these motherboards are within your budget but I must tell you that there is a glitch in it.

These motherboards are old now and all the latest Intel motherboards that are coming do not support AGP rather PCI-X so we have our options limited.

Second, your graphics card 5200FX is old though and will work with either of these boards but will give you problems due to one simple reason i.e. when you upgrade your processor in terms of frequency, your graphics card is too slow in terms of video processing and this will result in overall degraded performance of your entire system. This way processor and motherboard upgrade won't actually help, rather give you more problems resulting in slow processing and unnecessary hang ups.

Furthermore, the 5200FX was not one of the best releases of NVIDIA Corp and got pretty bad reviews when benchmarked. It's an old card and I suppose is working fine with your current configuration but will def. give you problems with upgraded PC. Also, due to this, we are bound to only Pentium D processor upgrade.

I'd like to add my suggestion as well just in case you change your mind i.e. integrating old components on newer boards is not a cost effective solution, rather if you'd upgrade your graphics card spending a little more and getting something like 8600GTS, you will be easily able to upgrade your system to a more powerful solution with Core Microarchitecture that means less electricity consumption, more power and a lot more stable computer.

Keep me posted and let me know as to what you think.

--

Javed

[idata]

ok,, if i forget my agp 8x card and buy a new one PCI Express ..( which model do u suggest )

so now which board and processor should i need to have and also the card needs a pci express slot.so is there any way out to have a board which uses my DDR RAM 'S and also has ATA support for my update to the existing configuration..

Waiting 4 ur reply

THANKS in advance....

[JLodh]

Hi!

Okay now before we start, I must inform you that the DDR RAM that you have will not be compatible with the new board that you get because the new motherboards come with DDR2/3 support. Anyway this will not be a problem for us as the solution that I devised will be well within your given budget in which you will be able to even buy DDR2 RAM and an impressive graphic card.

Here goes your options:

Computer System Configurations:

• Processor: http://processorfinder.intel.com/Details.aspx?sSpec=SLAPC E7200

• Frequency: 2.53GHz

• Cores: 2

• L2 Cache: 3MB

• FSB: 1033MHz

• Technology: Core2Duo

Motherboard: http://www.intel.com/products/desktop/motherboards/D945GCNL/D945GCNL-overview.htm D945GCNL

• Supported Processor: Core2Duo (1033MHz)

• USB: 4+4

• Audio 2.0: 6 Channel

• SATA: 4 HDD

• PATA: 1 (2)

• PCI: 2

• PCIe x1: 1

• PCIe* x16: 1

• Integrated Graphics: VGA

• Memory: DDR2 667

• Form Factor: µATX

Memory: http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/configurator_new/partsinfo.asp?root=&LinkBack=&ktcpartno=KVR667D2N5/2G KVR667D2N5/2G

• Speed: 633MHz

• Capacity: 2GB

GPU: http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_spec.asp?model=NX8600GTS-T2D512EZ-HD&class=vga NX8600GTS-T2D512EZ

• DDR3

• Memory: 512MB

• Cool: Passive Heat Sink

Now, the price of entire system with these components does not exceede your current budget i.e. INR 15, 000/- however if you want to go further up to Quad Core processor, the processor matching this board is http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SLACR Q6600 (Freq: 2.4GHz / Cores: 4/ L2 Cache: 8MB / FSB: 1066MHz) which is a pretty decent pick but then this processor would mean a significant price raise which might just exceede your existing budget. I also feel that according to your current requirements, the system that I have suggested is pretty decent and should last you 2 to 3 years without any necessary need for upgradation and will fulfill all your requirements.

One more thing is that the graphics card that I have proposed is a pretty decent one and comes with a passive heat sink so you won't have to hear those loud noises of GPU fan but I would strongly suggest that you get two things done in your system while assembling it.

1. Your PSU should be 600W because this GPU requires extra power as it is a very powerful GPU coming wiht a lot of options as HDTV, you will notice once when you have it.

2. Although the GPU comes with a passive heat sink, it would still be strongly suggested that you get an additional fan attached by your reseller in your chassis right below the PSU to give it extra cooling.

Let me know if this solution has worked out for you and get the pricing from your local resellers. Enjoy the experience of a fairly decent and powerful machine

--

Warm Regards,

Javed Lodhi

[idata]

Thanks i saw the configurations you gave they were pretty decent___---

But i have the following querries--

1)There is only one Parallel ATA interface in the board so i can connect 2 drives with an 80 conductor cable, but how will i connect my DVD and CD drives which also use the 80 conductor cable.....????? n the present board i m having two PATA interfaces ,, is there any way to convert PATA to ATA or connect my DVD drives to the system????????

2) what is the performance of the 2.53 GHz processor(Core 2) as compared to P4 Extreme Edition i.e including processor>3.0 GHz,,,,also the quad core processor you suggested is not in the support lict of the board D945GCNL....

3)i have found a more reliable Graphics card on the link

( http://cgi.ebay.in/XFX-NVIDIA-GeForce-8600GT-512MB-PCI-E-Graphics-Card_W0QQitemZ190237849685QQihZ009QQcategoryZ96874QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem )

tell me whts ur opinion abt it

also dnt u thnk tht a max of 2G of RAM is less for gaming......?????

Plz reply soon

THANKING you in advance for ur successive cooperation...in guiding me through

NJS

[JLodh]

• Initially you stated that you had 2

  SATA drives so I came up with the board that will support 2 PATA interfaces and the rest will be SATA however if you want more PATA drives, there are different options for motherboards and accordingly, the whole configuration may or may not change.

Moreover PATA to SATA conversion is

possible, all you have to do is take your connector cable to a computer vendor and tell him to cut its one end and connect it to a SATA interface cable which is not actually recommended but we call it a desi solution and works just fine contrary to literature. Otherwise you can always get a PATA cable that is a little hard to find in the market but I am sure it would be available in your market which comes with 4 interfaces just like conventional 2 interfaced IDE cable. I must add to it that all the new boards come with support for only 2 PATA devices since the number of SATA interfaced devices is increasing now.

• Quad on a GCNL won't work for it

  comes with support for Dual Core and Pentium D Extreme at max, you are right on this, I must have missed but I would recommend that you do not go for Quad Core anyway for your current budget is not sufficient for Quad and the existing recommended system will be enough for your needs. As for the processor's comparison, I have given a comparion at the end of this post where I have compared 5 different processors of which 3 are Pentium Extreme while one Core2Duo is the one I have recommended and I have also done a comparison with a Quad Core I mentioned. This analysis will clearly tell you that Core2Duo E7200 that I have recommended to you definitely outclass the 3.2GHz Pentium Extreme 840 the other 2 Extreme Edition are also unmatchable in most of the cases. I feel the need to bring this up once again as I have mentioned before that the Core Micro-architecture gives better performance, cut down on electricity and bigger cache with better FSB, L2, Architecture (45nm here), Enhanced Speed Step Tech, and DDR2 of 633MHz. Hence in my opinion, I still would recommend that you go for E7200 rather than either of the Pentium Extremes.

This comparison, you can find it directly on Intel website by clicking on the heading below or the table and for further ease, I have already emailed a copy of it to you.

• As for the card that you have come

  up with lacks a few features in comparison to what I suggested i.e.

• *

*XFX NVIDIA GeForce 8600GT 512MB

PCI-E*

NX8600GTS-T2D512EZ-HD

*+Features

Comparison+*

Cooling

Fan Cooled

Heat-Pipe Cooling Solution

Memory Clock

800MHz

2000MHz

Core Clock

540MHz

675MHz

Memory Bandwidth (GB/sec)

22.4

32

*Fill Rate (Billion

pixels/sec):*

8.64

10.8

Memory Amount (DDR/2/3)

512MB DDR2

512MB DDR3

Now, the card you have come up with

is pretty decent however the difference is there for you to see which I

guarantee you will experience once you have NX for it is operating on a much

higher frequency with DDR3, 2000MHz memory clocking and to top it all, it's a

heat-pipe cooling solution giving you no extra noise and a more solid solution.

But as I always say, it is at the end you who have to decide so it's your pick

pal.

• Last but not the least, 2GB memory in my opinion is more

  than enough for you. You must keep this in mind that the GPU that I have suggested is way powerful coming with 512 DDR3 meaning that it is a complete unit in its own and because of its capability of over-clocking; it will take care of a lot of latest games and more to come and then to top it all, you will have 633 dual channel 2GB RAM which will give your system extra boost that I am sure you will enjoy. I have the exact card in one of my home PCs and games and HD videos give excellent result on it, I wouldn't suggest anything less to you otherwise.

Hope this all helps otherwise let me know.

--

Warm Regards,

Javed Lodhi

-

http://compare.intel.com/pcc/showchart.aspx?mmID=885492,60130,880346,879537,870806&familyID=1&culture=en-US Processors Comparison Chart

-

Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q6600http://compare.intel.com/pcc/showchart.aspx?mmID=60130,880346,879537,870806&familyID=1 Remove\

Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E7200http://compare.intel.com/pcc/showchart.aspx?mmID=885492,880346,879537,870806&familyID=1 Remove\

http://intel.com/products/processor/pentiumXE/index.htm Pentium® Processor Extreme Edition 965\[Remove\

http://compare.intel.com/pcc/showchart.aspx?mmID=885492,60130,879537,870806&familyID=1]

http://intel.com/products/processor/pentiumXE/index.htm Pentium® Processor Extreme Edition 955\[Remove\

http://compare.intel.com/pcc/showchart.aspx?mmID=885492,60130,880346,870806&familyID=1]

<a href="http://www.intel.com/pro...

[idata]

THanks 4 ur post

1) You reffered a PATA Cable which Has 4 interfaces for the drives.If i connect it will it have any effect onthe speed of the transfer and will the mainboard support it.

2) AS you reffered that he clocking speed of the E7200 (2.53 GHz) is sufficient but i m having sum games showing a min of 2.8 GHz of clocking so how will it be if we consider the other processors like E8400,E8500 or any other of a >3.0 GHz...if u know sum plz suggest........

3)one more thing tht the board does not have a 5.1 audio out through 3.5 mm connectors like others havee it hacs only three out's(we have to use spllietters to connect a <![CDATA[<span class="jive-thread-reply-body-container">]]>5.1 system)... i m talking of this thing bec i m thinking that if i m upgrading my sys why shouldnt i hav the best

Pls reply if you have any solutions .......................

Thenks in advance

[idata]

In answer to your post:

1. If you think a PATA cable with 4 interfaces will slow down your system, don't go for one. The best option you have is keep your old PATA HDDs and not use them. Get new SATA II HDDs and then transfer your data and sell off the PATA HDDs. It might cost some more but it will not give you any performance drops. I'm faced with a similar problem and i know when i have to upgrade I will have to get rid of my old PATA HDDs. You can however reduce the brunt of the cost by buying drives not all at once but one by one maybe every month.

2. If you have a game that has a requirement of 2.8GHz then you have a bigger problem than just your processor size. A game that requires a 2.8 means that it will require one heck of a GPU. An 8600GT or 8600GTS (Over Clocked) will not cut it. You will need at least an 8800GT or 8800GTS (please keep in mind NOT to go for the older 640MB version; that has its processor technology based on the older 90nm architecture (The G80 nvidia processor) but instead to buy the newer 512MB version which is based on the new 65nm tech (the G92). There are other technical differnces but believe you me, for its size and price its one beast of a GPU. Over all It is only 10% slower in performance than an 8800GTX. Read the benchmarks at tomshardware if you wish). You should also know a very common fact and that is that the GPU has a larger effect on a game then a CPU. As you might know that nvidia has come up with their latest series of GPU, the GTX series (Geforce 10 in Laymen's terms BUT not so!) don't be tempted to go for that yet. Their current Series are not yet DirectX 10.1 compatable. Just like that Geforce 8 (your card) or 9 series they are still DirectX 10. Their DX 10.1 versions will come out next year. Right now they are just more powerfull. However they do server a purpose and that is that they will push that prices of the older series down so you might get a better card for less. Not much less as the higher series cards don't loose their value too much but still there will be a price drop.

3. About the soundcard issue you seem to be having. If you do research on the point you will find that most boards with 5.1 will have 3 ports. Also below you will find a link to a picture of the back plate of one of the most powerfull and best soundsystems on the market today, the Logitech Z5500 Digital. If you'd like, read some reviews about them. The common theme you will find in them is that if you want a system that can almost crack the windows in your room get these!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowImage.aspx?CurImage=36-121-120-14.jpg&Image=36-121-120-04.jpg%2c36-121-120-01.jpg%2c36-121-120-05.jpg%2c36-121-120-06.jpg%2c36-121-120-13.jpg%2c36-121-120-14.jpg%2c36-121-120-15.jpg%2c36-121-120-16.jpg%2c36-121-120-17.jpg%2c36-121-120-18.jpg%2c36-121-120-19.jpg%2c36-121-120-21.jpg%2c36-121-120-22.jpg%2c36-121-120-2... Logitech Z5500 Digital SoundTouch Control Center Back-Plate

As you can clearly see, it too has only three inputs. The reason being that out of the 3 Jacks;

• The center is for the Center Channel and Sub Woofer

• The Right is for the Right Channel Front and Back

• The Left is for the Left Channel front and back

However if you want a really good sound quality, you should realize the fact that a built-In 5.1 or 7.1 will never sound as good or will have as many features as a seperate sound card. I would recommend that you go for an Audigy Value (If you want it on a budget) or go for an audigy gamer (which will be perfict for games, Movies and music)

Lastly you are looking to buy a system that can do everything very well and you don't want to pay too much for it. Well friend here lies the problem, if you want such a system you have to increase you budget to at lease 30-35K and maybe you might get what you're looking for. The good news is that you do'nt have to get everything at once. Make a project of it. Get the basic system now and keep upgrading the parts as you get the cash for it every month if you like i.e get the system now, get the GPU next month, the sound card after that and HDDs whenever you feel it. Keep in mind that you will need a good PSU in your system. Atleast a 500W or 550W.

To get more, you need to spend more!

[JLodh]

Hi Surjeet,

I can't find anything missing in the answers posted by Mr. Khan which reminds me that if you go for E8400 or E8500, that means exceeding your budget. See, the solution that I have proposed is keeping your budget in mind but as I see you are expecting an all-in-all machine, your existing budget will not let you do much. As proposed by Mr. Khan, either you raise your budget and come up with a very good machine which you can do in bits and pieces or all in one time. Moreover, I would recommend that if you go on buying new SATA drives, you can keep using older PATAs with your existing machine as this machine is still pretty much useful and perhaps you could utilize it as a spare machine later or the better, give it to someone as I do, sibling, cousin or friend who has recently stepped into this industry and can hardly afford a decent machine. It's your prerogative now to see if you would want to get an A class machine with a raised budget or stick to the existing one and build a decent one.

--

Warm regards,

Javed Lodhi

[idata]

Hey man i would like to tell u ... tht i have got a new PC

The Dell Xps 730 Desktop for 1,20,000 Bucks

a core Quad Q9300 processor

2Gb DDR3 1066MHZ RAM

320 Gb SATA Drive

22.0" lcd

Dualb 512 Mb 8800 GT Graphics

ITs just a damn gud machine....

Now i have decided to give my old pc to my small Brother But before tht i would like to update the system Bec he wants a gaming Pc

so i wanted to ask thet should i go for tht package of D865PERC and P4 extreme edition of cock >3.0 Ghz ...

also i have seen some boards

Plz see to it and tel me abt it .....

[JLodh]

My friend,

As I replied earlier in my email, it's nice to know that you have a new PC which appears to have pretty good configurations and it's even better that you have decided to give away your older computer to your brother but you see, D865PERC is one of the archived boards and was discontinued in 2005. Processors that were supported on http://www.intel.com/design/motherbd/rc/index.htm D865PERC are as follows:

http://www.intel.com/design/motherbd/rc/rc_proc.htm D865PERC Supported Processors

As evident from the supported processors list, it does support P4EE processors of frequency 3.2 and 3.4GHz but ensure that you read the Board Revision Note at the end of the list. I am not sure if the new generation of P4EE processors will work with this motherboard as the newer processors come for boards with 965 and 975 chipset. You might want to check out the http://processormatch.intel.com/CompDB/ Intel Processor-Motherboard Compatibility Tool to see if the newer processors are supported though I was unable to find any latest P4EE processor compatible with your D965PERC board.

So before you go for any P4EE processor, do check availability of older P4EE processors and their compatibility with your local resellers. On a similar note, I would advise you not to go for further unnecassary upgrade on your older system for if your brother is new to computing, that system is a pretty decent machine for him to get started lest it is very important to get an upgrade, get a decent compatible processor of higher frequency and a greater cache which is in compliance with your board and in case he wants to play latest high-end games, he can always share your new computer.

Hope this helps.

--

Warm Regards,

Javed Lodhi