Hi. I just joined here today, hope you guys can help me figure out what to buy to upgrade!
Right now I have an AMD Athlon 3800+ Socket 939 in an MSI K8n-Neo4 Platinum SLI mobo (never used SLI... heh) with 1 gb of DDR-400 value ram and an 8800gts.
I figure I need to get a new mobo, processor, and ram. I want to spend less than $300 before rebates. I'm not afraid to overclock and plan to. I have some parts in mind already but I would like some feedback.
For a motherboard I'm looking at the Abit IP35-E. Is this a good board that will allow me to overclock well? Will I be able to run both my PATA hardrive and cdrom drive on the single PATA port? Also, will I be able to upgrade to the new Intel processors that come out next year, or will that require another new motherboard?
As for a processor, I've heard good things about the E2160 and E2180. Is it worth the $10 to get the 2180 instead of the 2160? Are there better CPUs out there at a similar price range? Also, how much can I expect these chips to overclock? Will I want to spend money on a separate heatsink and fan for them?
I need 2 gb of ram. I'm looking at this, this, or this maybe. Any other kits in this price range would work out too.
And finally, I need to know if all this will run with my 8800gts on my 500 watt Antec Basiq power supply. That should be powerful enough, right?
Thanks!
Right now I have an AMD Athlon 3800+ Socket 939 in an MSI K8n-Neo4 Platinum SLI mobo (never used SLI... heh) with 1 gb of DDR-400 value ram and an 8800gts.
I figure I need to get a new mobo, processor, and ram. I want to spend less than $300 before rebates. I'm not afraid to overclock and plan to. I have some parts in mind already but I would like some feedback.
For a motherboard I'm looking at the Abit IP35-E. Is this a good board that will allow me to overclock well? Will I be able to run both my PATA hardrive and cdrom drive on the single PATA port? Also, will I be able to upgrade to the new Intel processors that come out next year, or will that require another new motherboard?
As for a processor, I've heard good things about the E2160 and E2180. Is it worth the $10 to get the 2180 instead of the 2160? Are there better CPUs out there at a similar price range? Also, how much can I expect these chips to overclock? Will I want to spend money on a separate heatsink and fan for them?
I need 2 gb of ram. I'm looking at this, this, or this maybe. Any other kits in this price range would work out too.
And finally, I need to know if all this will run with my 8800gts on my 500 watt Antec Basiq power supply. That should be powerful enough, right?
Thanks!