Help with upgrading

[canibizz]

Hi all im new to here and not sure if i have posted in the right place.

Im looking to upgrade my pc, and need abit of help as im really not sure what im doing.

current stats
asus P5N-E SLI motherbord (says its qwad core ready)
intel core(TM)2 CPU 6600 @ 2.40 GHz
2.00 GB DDR2 800
Windows vista 32 bit

IS it possible just to buy another 2gb of same ram and the same chip as i have and just plug stright in?

I have herd off friends who i play online games with that windows i have will onlly let me run at 3gb ram.

With the chip is it hard to upgrade? Can i just plug it stright in?

I have about £300 i can spend and really not sure what to buy as i dont want to waste my cash.

Any help or upgrade advise would be grate

thx kev (canibizz is in game name)

 

[Ritwik7]

Ok, firstly what do you use your PC for? Any high end gaming?

IS it possible just to buy another 2gb of same ram and the same chip as i have and just plug stright in?

Yes, it is. Also, any 32 Bit edition of Windows will show only about 3 GB RAM. That's not a problem. But if you would like all 4 GB to be utilised then get 64 Bit Windows.

With the chip is it hard to upgrade? Can i just plug it stright in?

What chip?

 

[Archean]

Probability is he is talking about putting another RAM module straight into the motherboard, if the modules are running at identical timings/voltage I see no issue; however, it is always ideal to have similar sort of modules IMHO.

The rest depends on his reply to your question Rit. Cheers mate

 

[canibizz]

idealy i wanted about 6 gig of ram and a qwad core chip. but i had a quick look at ebay and dident have a clue what i needed. Would i be better off just buying a complete new motherbord, chip, ram and windows 7 maybe? I upgraded my grapics card not long ago witch is a 1 gig nvidia.

Games im playing now are world of warcraft witch runs fine. Supreme commander 2 with is glitchy when playing alot of players. Am also looking at getting battle front 2 aswell witch i will be wanted to play on line.

 

[Archean]

I think you can save money and just upgrade the CPU (if you feel you have to), please keep in mind you may need to upgrade your motherboard's bios for this purpose. According to Asus's site this motherboard supports the newer 45nm Core 2 processors. I think you'll get pretty decent bang for your bucks by simply upgrading the CPU+RAM anyway.

Which nVidia grahpics card you bought by the way?

 

[Ritwik7]

I upgraded my grapics card not long ago witch is a 1 gig nvidia.

Which card?

I would basically suggest you not to get 6GB RAM. 4GB should be enough. The Q9400 would be a good choice of CPU. But, as Archean pointed out, you may need a BIOS update.

 

[canibizz]

Sorry got my graphics card spec wrong its a geforce 9800 gt. 512 gddr3

Is the bios update easy to do?

I just had a look at ram on ebay there seems to be alot off diffrant types of ddr2 800. Does it have to be the same make as what i have?

With the operating system can i just upgrade the vista 32 bit to 64 bit online or just go but windows 7

I have a big job coming up in the next few weeks so it should give me some extra cash to spend

Just seen a Intel Core 2 Quad 2.83Ghz LGA775 1333FSB 45nm Processor for $300 would that be a good choise?

 

[gunabut]

Go for a new pc,

but Graphics ok at 512mb but I would recoomend spending big on graphics $100 minimum. A good 256mb card will knock socks off 512mb standard

You need min of 4 gig ram. Buy 2 identical sticks and sell/give away your old ram. If you have more than 2 slots for ram then buy the same sticks for those as welll. Get the biggest your mb can take in each slot so you won't have to increase in future.
Oh, and don't get cheapest ram, it is rubbish, get branded ram & make sure it is new.

Get win7 64 bit,

cpu is good but don't skrimp on the graphics

doubt you will need a bios upgrade, but if you do, it is easy, just do it exactly as instructed

 

[Ritwik7]

Is the bios update easy to do?

Should not be much of a problem.

I just had a look at ram on ebay there seems to be alot off diffrant types of ddr2 800. Does it have to be the same make as what i have?

Preferably, yes (if you are planning on keeping the older module).

With the operating system can i just upgrade the vista 32 bit to 64 bit online or just go but windows 7

Win 7 64Bit.

I have a big job coming up in the next few weeks so it should give me some extra cash to spend

Just seen a Intel Core 2 Quad 2.83Ghz LGA775 1333FSB 45nm Processor for $300 would that be a good choise?

I think the Q 9400 will be a better bang for the buck as its much cheaper. A $300 quad does not make sense right now. The 9800GT is a fairly good card. But if you're looking for high res gaming and have extra cash in hand, I would suggest that you look at the Radeon HD 5830 at least.

 

[Archean]

I totally agree with Rit's suggestion Q9400 is very good CPU for the money right now; delivering good performance in almost all areas.

5830 is a good graphics card choice (especially keeping in mind that it supports DX11), a bit overpriced IMHO but still worth it; also ensure that your PSU be able to handle all this (it requires a minimum of 500W PSU by the way).

 

[canibizz]

hi all sorry ive onlly just replyed back. but i have been away working. Thx for allk the info. I have been having a good look around i think its gonna be better for me to get a new machine oh well ill start saving

Thx again for all the help kev

 

[Archean]

Probably a wiser move Goodluck with it