Help me with upgrading my PC please.

[Denton0987654321]

Hello

I currently have a PC which is making me frustrated since it won`t run Prince of Persia: forgotten sand just because I don`t have a dual core CPU, so I decided on upgrading a few components. I have always been an INTEL fan when it came to CPU`s, but have recently decided I would like to go with AMD, but since I don`t know anything about AMD or its motherboards, I decided to ask for help. I currently have a Pentium 4 Duo, 1.5ghz RAM, HD 4830, 500gb hard drive, an old DELL motherboard, and an even older box. I really just want to keep my Hard drive and graphics card and redo most of the rest of the PC.

I have been shopping at COM-X for a while and they have served me well, so I did some research and would like a few opinions or anything that would help me decide on what to buy and what would be compatible. I have a limited budget of around R3000-00 and that`s already pushing it since my original budget is just R2500. These are the components I think I want:
-Sapphire AM3RS760G2 AM3 all-in-one Motherboard- R567-00
-Coolermaster RC-430 Elite 430 Windowed side panel + thermal master 420w PSU black PC Chassis- R628-00
-AMD Phenom II X4-840 - 3.20GHz Quad Core Socket AM3 Processor- R995-00
-Kingston DDR3 1333mhz Ram - 2 x 2Gb sticks, at R187-00 each.
Total: R2564-00

This is the best price I could get so far. Would these be compatible, or should I rather stick with Intel? I just want a Rig, that would take me for another year until I get a REAL salary.. Then I`ll see if I can`t go all out. So any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[StarBound]

Few things that is going to upset you. The P4 Duo is indeed a duel core cpu. Your problem from the looks of this is most likely your ram at first glance. Then your graphics card isnt exactly top of the range but considering the time the game came out and the card you have it should be running decently.

I don't know much about AMD and its boards but from a previous thread I made it is advised to go for the phenom 2 955 or any of the 9 series phenoms. Motherboards I cant comment on. But your graphics is definitely going to bite you in the end.

Whats your current psu and case? Can you reuse most of your current parts?

[Denton0987654321]

I know I dont have the best of graphics cards, but it runs smoothly with most games, I played Crysis 2 the other day on high settings, and believe me, it worked well. But like I stated, next year i'm going to get myself a decent pc. My pc is a Dell optiplex 745, just visit http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/pr ... hspecs.pdf , it states alot of specs, but they differ from mine, I might have had it wrong with the cpu, the cpu is a Intel Core 2 duo, if that is still the same thing, I have a 300 watt psu. I kind of forced the graphics card in there and had to cut off a few parts from the box itself. . But everything fits well, and I don`t mind running the graphics a bit low, just as long as it is at a reasonable level without lag, then i`m a happy gamer.

But I`ll see if I can`t get some extra RAM from a friend just to test it out on my pc, Imagine that`s the only problem. Because I really searched everywhere on how to fix that game and my only conclusion is fixing the pc, because it works fine on all my friends computers. I am going to re-use my; keyboard, mouse, screen, graphics card, cpu fans, other fans. That's about all the things i`m going to re-use.

About the CPU, would you say the AMD PhenomII X4-955 - 3.20GHz Quad Core Processor is the one you are talking about? Do you think it will fit the motherboard? BTW thanks for your reply.

[Denton0987654321]

oops..sorry.. i got the mini tower dell.

[StarBound]

Dont know the price differences but a 945 or 955 will do better than any of the 8xx series.

I dont know about the board. You might also want to up your psu to 550W or 600W.

[Hman]

The X4-955 should work just fine with the motherboard you want. If you can afford it go for it.

Should be a nice little system, and when you've got some spare cash be on the look out for a better graphics card. 2nd Hand you can find some real bargains out there with some people dumping previous generation cards to get the new stuff.

[Denton0987654321]

Thank you very much for all your replies guys, I think i`m going to go with AMD this time and give it a go, hopefully it wont disappoint. and ofcourse save up some more and look for a new graphics card as soon as is possible. once again thanks, but if anyone wants to post some more info, your welcome, i`m only going to do the buy round about Tuesday.

Thanks!!

[The_Jelly]

K iv just been unto comx and had a quick look......

the Amd x4 955 is R1020

http://www.comx-computers.co.za/HDZ955F ... -43060.php

the sapphire board that you have choosen is a bit of a mystery to me? is there any specfic reason why u choosen that board?
its really ugly and doesnt have half the features as the next board down....

i would go with the asus M4A78LT-MLX all in one for R582 (Also has overclocking features if u wanted to get a bit more out ur cpu)
also checked the asus site and this board fully supports the 955.

http://www.comx-computers.co.za/MB-AM4A ... -43460.php

I see why u have choosen that chassis. A 420w power supply will be more than enough to power that pc with a 4830.

as for the memory 2 of those sticks will cost u R374 so why not get the kingston 1333 4gb hyper X kit with the blue heatsyncs for R400... a kit has been designed and tested to work without any conflicts so would be a better buy IMO.... and they look hell of a lot better....

http://www.comx-computers.co.za/KHX1333 ... -43657.php

total price R2630 not even R100 more

im not very into AMD based pc's so if someone else would verify my findings would be a great help......

[Denton0987654321]

lol, You see, i`m clearly a noob with all this AMD stuff, I just chose the Sapphire, well for no apparent specific reason that I can currently think of. Except for..no..still can`t think of a reason, but I will then rather go for the Asus, since I really love the way it looks, and most of the specs that I understand, look pretty cool, as for the RAM, I never thought of getting a kit, slipped my mind, and I thought kits would be super expensive. I really appreciate your reply, and thank you for setting me on the right path. .

[The_Jelly]

not a problem Denton anytime.... and welcome to the forums dude....

[Denton0987654321]

Thanks man.

[Ron2K]

K iv just been unto comx and had a quick look......

the Amd x4 955 is R1020

http://www.comx-computers.co.za/HDZ955F ... -43060.php

the sapphire board that you have choosen is a bit of a mystery to me? is there any specfic reason why u choosen that board?
its really ugly and doesnt have half the features as the next board down....

i would go with the asus M4A78LT-MLX all in one for R582 (Also has overclocking features if u wanted to get a bit more out ur cpu)
also checked the asus site and this board fully supports the 955.

http://www.comx-computers.co.za/MB-AM4A ... -43460.php

I see why u have choosen that chassis. A 420w power supply will be more than enough to power that pc with a 4830.

as for the memory 2 of those sticks will cost u R374 so why not get the kingston 1333 4gb hyper X kit with the blue heatsyncs for R400... a kit has been designed and tested to work without any conflicts so would be a better buy IMO.... and they look hell of a lot better....

http://www.comx-computers.co.za/KHX1333 ... -43657.php

total price R2630 not even R100 more

im not very into AMD based pc's so if someone else would verify my findings would be a great help......

Consider this verified. I don't think that Denton is going to find much better within his budget range.

@Denton: done the obligatory intro yet?

[The_Jelly]

Thanks for that Ron much appreiciate it.....

[Denton0987654321]

Thanks Ron, appreciated, seems i`m gonna have a wonderful year of gaming, just did that intro thing just now. Thanks for showing me, still got a lot to learn about these forums. Love reading them though.

[The_Jelly]

give it a couple months... get involved i some threads... and u will be a pc guru in no time!

[THE_STIG]

I know I dont have the best of graphics cards, but it runs smoothly with most games, I played Crysis 2 the other day on high settings, and believe me, it worked well. But like I stated, next year i'm going to get myself a decent pc. My pc is a Dell optiplex 745, just visit http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/pr ... hspecs.pdf , it states alot of specs, but they differ from mine, I might have had it wrong with the cpu, the cpu is a Intel Core 2 duo, if that is still the same thing, I have a 300 watt psu. I kind of forced the graphics card in there and had to cut off a few parts from the box itself. . But everything fits well, and I don`t mind running the graphics a bit low, just as long as it is at a reasonable level without lag, then i`m a happy gamer.

But I`ll see if I can`t get some extra RAM from a friend just to test it out on my pc, Imagine that`s the only problem. Because I really searched everywhere on how to fix that game and my only conclusion is fixing the pc, because it works fine on all my friends computers. I am going to re-use my; keyboard, mouse, screen, graphics card, cpu fans, other fans. That's about all the things i`m going to re-use.

About the CPU, would you say the AMD PhenomII X4-955 - 3.20GHz Quad Core Processor is the one you are talking about? Do you think it will fit the motherboard? BTW thanks for your reply.

Hang on, so you have a core 2 duo and can't play Prince of Persia That game should have no problems running on a core 2, what core 2 is it exactly and what OS are you running?

You might not even have to spend all that money on a new rig, just do a few small upgrades to your existing pc and I am sure it will then run Prince of Persia nicely. I also have a Core 2(see spoiler) and I run games like Crysis 2, Metro 2033........all on the highest settings and it runs smoothly so don't go putting the blame on your CPU. As long as it is not some ancient 1.8ghz Core 2 you should be fine for another year until you can get yourself a nice i5 rig

oh and just FYI a pentium 4 and a Core 2 are two completely different things(I would give you that technical reasons but that would take up too much space and confuse you ). The Pentium 4 was inefficient, hot and in my opinion rubbish whereas the core 2 was efficient, cool, and fast

[Denton0987654321]

Yeah. For some weird reason unknown to me I just can`t seem to play POP. I Install it, and when I run it, it displays one of those windows errors stating: 'The program needs to close'; with a send and don`t send icon. I tried everything I could possibly get my hands on to make it work, but to no avail. But it works fine on my friends pc, so I decided I need too upgrade my pc, but, this is not the only reason. The BIG proble with my dell, is the fact that my motherboard is situated on the opposite side which EVERY other motherboard is situated. If you look from the front, most MOBO`s are screwed in on the right hand side, mine is left. Weird, and believe me, very inconvenient, since my Graphics card is upside down, and actually has no support since it`s just fitted into the PCI slot, and can`t be screwed into the case itself, its just hanging there, I've even had a few overheating problems, so, I`m tired and just need something new that will hopefully keep me going for a while.

It`s a brilliant CPU, I know, It`s 3Ghz, and I haven`t found a game that I can`t play at least on high settings without a lag. But thanks for the insight Stig. I always thought they were the same, I did some research now and I think I understand the differences now. But I still think I wanna go the AMD way. Thanks for posting.

[THE_STIG]

Well I am suspecting that you have windows XP, there are a few know problems with windows XP and prince of Persia so go and have a look if there is a patch. Also it could be something else like the graphics cards drives are out of date or the game did not install properly(hate it when that happens). If I was you I would not go for an AMD at this point, rather save for a nice i5 rig

[Denton0987654321]

An I5 sounds nice, and I have given it thought it`s just so freaking expensive, and by the time i have enough money for the i5 there`s gonna be a i10 or something and the i5 would be old news, hate that everything move so fast. lol. And Motherboards that are worth buying for intel are just as expensive. And if AMD is going to work out a bit cheaper and work just as well, i think I should try it, but it`s almost like I have a constant battle between AMD and Intel in my head, one friends says go AMD one says stay on intel, sso confused i am, but I will think about it a bit more and look for better prices for Intel.

Anyhow, yes I do have XP, didn`t think that could be a problem, I shall investigate, and I`ve installed it numerous times. And my graphics card is up to date I try and update it at least every 2 months, if an update is available.

[THE_STIG]

Don't be so sure, I am currently saving for an i5. The new sandy bridge based processors are much cheaper than you think and no I don't think they will release an i10

here are some prices:

http://www.sybaritic.co.za/store/index.php?cPath=21_688

http://www.sybaritic.co.za/store/index.php?cPath=81_689

Still don't really know why POP wont work, it works fine over here.

[Denton0987654321]

Yeah. They not TOO bad. But I`ll rather try and get the i7 next year when I finally get a decent salary. . Just need something to keep me busy till i`m finished studying. but thanks for the info. . I blame UBISOFT...

[buffalobill]

If it's POP specific, then it's more likely to be some driver or other - which can be a ***** to resolve. Search the forums and you *may* find a resolution. Alternatively, a clean install of Win XP could get you somewhere.
Howver, you've decided on an AMD upgrade. I've recently done so from an Intel duo-core: ECS Black MB, AMD Phenom X4 965, ATI Radeon 5770 VapourX, 1333Mhz RAM and Corsair HD50 Hydro Series for CPU cooling. All within my HAF 932 chassis. Not top of the line but it will do for some time and runs very cool.
A word of advice from one who's been through this. If you're going to bang a hard drive used on an Intel into an AMD, there's an intel sys file you're going to have to disable or get rid of, otherwise it won't boot - at all. Do a google search on upgrading to AMD before you install and you will save yourself a lot of heartache. It took me a week to isolate that issue and by then I'd made so many system changes, I wound up reformatting anyway.

[Denton0987654321]

Hey bufallobill, thanks for you rinput, I will google that hard drive thing. And another question for all..Windows 7 or Windows xp. I am currently a happy user of windows xp and im curious if its worth going to 7, any advice??

[StarBound]

http://forums.pcformat.co.za/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=39916

check out that thread and links. That is what we got going and trying to get the prices as low as possible. Note though that for R2000 more your getting a system that I would start trusting more but if you have no money then either of those systems might be what your looking for. I'd recommend the i3 system over the amd one as far as cpu goes.

The windows 7 vs xp debate, go 7. XP is discontinued, its support is waning, games want vista or 7, your new system will handle windows 7 much better than it will xp.

[buffalobill]

Hey bufallobill, thanks for you rinput, I will google that hard drive thing. And another question for all..Windows 7 or Windows xp. I am currently a happy user of windows xp and im curious if its worth going to 7, any advice??

Not me. I'm still on XP. I'll have to upgrade some time but doing four home PCs will be a bit pricy.