# AMD system upgrade..err??no u all bored of upgrade forums but pls do help me...!!



## karthik316_1999 (Jun 30, 2006)

k guys...here a jist of my pc config..
ATHLON XP 2400+
ASUS A7N266 VM/SE
256 DDR
40 GB HDD
300W power supply

i had upgraded my pc 2 yrs back but made a gr8 mistake by choosing this mobo with just an AGP4x slot..

now i got myself into big trouble not able to play san andreas,half life2,doom3,driver etc etc...so pls help me out...my idea is as follows..pls give corresponding products with rates,buy back rate for my old mobo,HDD&RAM...and also any modifications as such whereever u feel like...my budjet-25k

1.my vendor said mobo's with agp8x slot such as the ASUS A8N etc etc require a display card compulsarily to show the display..?????-is it true....or is my vendor an ignorant geek!!??

2.I need an ASUS or MSI mobo with pci express slot...pls suggest one..with 533 MHz bus

3.about 1GB 533Mhz RAM.is it really worth going in for DDR2(r they into the market??) or can i settle down with just DDR....guess i will have to go for higher mobos if i need DDR2???

4.a 80GB or 160GB HDD....7200rpm preferably

5.here comes the gr8 trouble..pls keep the games i said in mind and i want to be able to play all games that will be released for another 2-2.5 yrs atleast....what i have in mind is the common gforce fx 5600...or is anythin better?(budjet-9k)

6.pls suggest suitable mainboards in both ASUS and MSI for the gforce fx 5600 and ati radeon..xxxx...(within 9k)

7.is my power supply enough...i got a dvd writer,combo drive,cd-drive,Network Interface Card,TV tuner card and of course the yet to be installed graphics card.....

thanks...!!


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## gary4gar (Jun 30, 2006)

1) there are two types of boards onboard gfx & with gfx. the mobo with onboard gfx does not need a display card.i think u are buying a mobo without onboard gfx so u need a display card.

2)f you want onboard graphics nothing beats the Asus A8N-VM CSM GeForce 6150. If you don't want onboard graphics, get the Asus A8N-E.

3)ya u can go for plain ddr ram or for added performance get ddr2( but few mobo support it) whatever u buy  purchase it from a good company like kingston

4)depends on ur budget ad personal choice.if have more money go for 160 else 80gb is fine.purchase a sata hdd only

5)get a 6600gt or 7600gt which ever is in ur budget. 

6)already answered.see qno.2

7)no, get a new from antec of atleast 400w. for dealler list see *www.antecindia.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=37&Itemid=56



hope it help.

regards,
gary


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## JGuru (Jul 1, 2006)

I think @Gary has given you the sanest advice regarding your upgrade. But why you
have not specified your budget? Regarding DDR2, only few mobo support it!!
 For HD go for either Seagate or Western Digital 120 GB. It's cheaper if you buy a
 higher capacity HD. So all in all your mobo must be future-proof.


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## karthik316_1999 (Jul 1, 2006)

well thanks a lot guys for ur replies...my budget is around 20k...now wil that be able to guide me exactly well..pls..im very much worried abt the graphics card only...guess i can shell out some 9k for it...so which card falls into that category the 6600 or the  6600gt or the 7600 or the 7600 gt??
how does the GT make any diff....?

guys one more thing,.in case assume i go for the Asus A8N-VM CSM...will this onboard graphics come atleast somewhere near the performance i get inc ase i install the 6600 or the 7600??assuming i got 1 gb ram 160gb hdd etc

and can u also suggest a good athlon processor for this mobo..budget within 5-6k for the cpu..

or can i find any competitive board with same features in the MSI...


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## gary4gar (Jul 1, 2006)

karthik316_1999 said:
			
		

> well thanks a lot guys for ur replies...my budget is around 20k...now wil that be able to guide me exactly well..pls..im very much worried abt the graphics card only...guess i can shell out some 9k for it...so which card falls into that category the 6600 or the  6600gt or the 7600 or the 7600 gt??
> how does the GT make any diff....?


mobo- A8N-VM 3850/-        MSI RS-482 4800/-  	
ram - 1 GB-DDR-400 Transcend 4350/-
gfx card -GeForce 6600GT - Rs. 9000
AMD 64 - 3000+  	939 Socket  	4750/-
segate 160GB sata hdd 3400/-
a 400w hdd of antec or powersafe 

i told prices of config u wanted. now it is over ur budget
check prices *www.theitdepot.com/ and make a in your budget. also confirm prices from ur local dealer.try getting a lower end gfx card to keep price down

regards,
gary


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## karthik316_1999 (Jul 1, 2006)

good going dude...does the asus one compromise on anything as there is a diff of 1k in the price bt the asus and the msi mobos...

and what abt the performance of the -NVIDIA® GeForce 6150B + nForce 430 in the new asus board that i have specified...can u get me any benchmarks...i just want games like half life 2,driver,san andreas,doom3,etc etc and games to be released for 2 yrs to come...in that case,this onboard graphics will do...or not..

when i go in for a graphics card lets say the geforce 6800 it comes with GDDR3 SD RAM...

what does this mean.. and is it necessary that i got to get a mainboard that supports DDR2 RAM???i guess not...


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## gary4gar (Jul 2, 2006)

karthik316_1999 said:
			
		

> good going dude...does the asus one compromise on anything as there is a diff of 1k in the price bt the asus and the msi mobos...


nope


			
				karthik316_1999 said:
			
		

> and what abt the performance of the -NVIDIA® GeForce 6150B + nForce 430 in the new asus board that i have specified...can u get me any benchmarks...i just want games like half life 2,driver,san andreas,doom3,etc etc and games to be released for 2 yrs to come...in that case,this onboard graphics will do...or not..



as it is a onboard gfx so the performance will be nothin compered to 6600gt.i don't think it will be able to play the games comming in next 2 yrs but lets see what others say about.




			
				karthik316_1999 said:
			
		

> when i go in for a graphics card lets say the geforce 6800 it comes with GDDR3 SD RAM...
> 
> what does this mean.. and is it necessary that i got to get a mainboard that supports DDR2 RAM???i guess not...


no nessary at all but but the 6800gt is not in ur budget


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## karthik316_1999 (Jul 3, 2006)

k..now that i cant find any graphics card within my budget of 8k or neither can go for the 6800 which costs 12k+...think i will settle down with the 256 MB 6600 itself..but

1.what are the different models i heard such as GT XT etc etc..which one shall i opt for considering a.the performance and b.the price?

2.which brand shall i go for gainward,xfx,pine etc??

3.now that im opting for a high-end graphics card(hope it is one..,shall i relax my budget down on someother mobo which is cheaper since i dont need the onboard geforce6 in the ASUS A8N VM/CSM which will be overriden (i guesss?) by the pci-e 6600? or will the onboard grapchics also prove someworth when combined with the 6600..?


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## karthik316_1999 (Jul 5, 2006)

hey guys why no reply....no one got any idea for my questions is it????

k guys actually i had decided on the Geforce 6600GT 128MB for 6950rs/-...but then now it seems the 7600 is available for 7900 rs/-..shall i go fot it then... moreover my vendor says gainward,xfx r not available here in chennai..he recommends a brand named "BIGBYTE" i searched thro the site though i wud require some experts advice in this regard.....

also need to clarify whether the board v were talking abt ASUS A8N/VM-CSM *in.asus.com/products4.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=766&l1=3&l2=15&l3=210 supports how many devices to be connected..
now i got a combo drive,dvd-writer,160GB HDD.can i add 1 more 40GB HDD and a cd-rom drive.... im not able to guess it from the specs page of this board..

im upgrading my cpu with the athlon 64 3000+ as suggested by you...and going for that asus board along with a graphics card...
all i need is a decision bt the the 6600GT and the 7600(ordinary NON-GT)..as i said ...

1.is the 7600 still worth the few extra dollars inspite of the absence of the GT thing,,.by the way wats the GT actually...

2.wat wud be the price diff bt the 7600 and the 7600GT


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## karthik316_1999 (Jul 11, 2006)

k guys...im back for a few last minute advice on my upgrade...

1.there are 2 versions of the asus boards with onboard Geforce6 for the athlon 64 namely "A8N-VM CSM/NBP" and "A8N-VM CSM"...my vendor says only the latter is availbale here in market..as far i can see the only difference between the two is with the onboard graphics version...

*in.asus.com/products2.aspx?l1=3&l2=15

A8N-VM CSM/NBP - NVIDIA® GeForce 6150B + nForce 430
A8N-VM CSM - NVIDIA GeForce 6150 + nForce 430

will that B thing make that much of a difference..???one more thing me gonna go for the XFX Geforce 7600GS 256MB...so even if there is any diff in the quality of onboard graphics bt the 2 boards..does'nt really matter right...????

2.to wat extent does what onboard graphics u have really matter when ur gonna be installing a graphics card...like for eg,board A,board B(both with similar FSB,RAM etc etc but mobo B inferior to mobo A with onboard graphics..)

now lets assume v installin same graphics on both the board..how wud u compare their performance...will the higher onboard graphics on board A help boost its performance...??

3.is there anythin called SATA2 interface for seagate HDD's...?and i guess do these mobos support it...

4.from the specs of the board,im not exactly able to figure out how many IDE ports r there...i already got a 40B hdd,combo drive,cd-drive..plannin to go for a 160GB SATA drive and a DVD writer...so curious to know if i can connect all of them..

thanks..!


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## karthik316_1999 (Jul 14, 2006)

hellooo ppl..no one out there to answer me???or is my post not clear???

k now that i hav come 2 know wen a graphics card is installed....the onboard thing is disabled....so why shud i waste money on the ASUS A8N for the onboard Geforce6 when im gonna go for the Geforce7600GS....

so can u suggest me any other cheaper board for the athlon 64 3000+..guess gary4gar  can help me


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## karthik316_1999 (Jul 18, 2006)

guys neone there....pls.....im waiting to get my upgrade done...


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