System Upgrade

[N33]

Greetings,

I am thinking about upgrading my desktop computer. Currently the Specs are:

Windows 7 64-bit SP1
Intel Celeron E3400
Asrock G31M-GS
4GB DDR2
Nvidia GTS 450 1GB

Ideally I need a computer capable of running Trainz and Pro Tools 10. Pro Tools and Trainz specs are similar on the Processor and Ram. The issue I am having is that I need to Upgrade the motherboard, ram, processor and possibly the graphics card due to the socket no longer being in production.

Please list your recommandations from UK websites eg www.scan.co.uk and www.aria.co.uk.

I wish not to spend too much ie less £750.

Regards

Johan

 

[William0d0]

I don't see why you couldn't keep the video card, I was running my old GTS 450 in a new P67 motherboard I bought last year.

My recommendations.

CPU http://www.scan.co.uk/products/inte...-33ghz-hd3000-igp-850mhz-6mb-cache-95w-retail 168.18 inc VAT.
Motherboard http://www.scan.co.uk/products/evga...-1155-ddr3-sata-iii-6gb-s-sata-raid-micro-atx 99.20 inc VAT.
RAM http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-...c3-12800-(1600)-non-ecc-cas-9-9-9-24-xmp-150v 42.96 inc VAT.
Power Supply http://www.scan.co.uk/products/750w...-80-plus-bronze-sli-crossfire-eps12v-quiet-fa 83.70 inc VAT.
Video Card http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1280...-gpu-797mhz-shader-1594mhz-480-cores-plusfree- 202.28 inc VAT.

That includes a video card for under your price limit.

If your Windows is OEM you may need to purchase another copy.

 

[clam1952]

possibly the graphics card due to the soclet no longer being in production.

It's the PCI socket and AGP sockets that are on the way out, the GTS450 is PCIe which is the latest standard and is not going anywhere just yet.

Edit: I'd add http://www.ebuyer.com/ to the list, sometimes cheaper than scan, sometimes more expensive however they do some good bundles and special offers.

 

[N33]

I don't see why you couldn't keep the video card, I was running my old GTS 450 in a new P67 motherboard I bought last year.

My recommendations.

CPU http://www.scan.co.uk/products/inte...-33ghz-hd3000-igp-850mhz-6mb-cache-95w-retail 168.18 inc VAT.
Motherboard http://www.scan.co.uk/products/evga...-1155-ddr3-sata-iii-6gb-s-sata-raid-micro-atx 99.20 inc VAT.
RAM http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-(2x4gb)-corsair-ddr3-vengeance-jet-black-pc3-12800-(1600)-non-ecc-cas-9-9-9-24-xmp-150v 42.96 inc VAT.
Power Supply http://www.scan.co.uk/products/750w...-80-plus-bronze-sli-crossfire-eps12v-quiet-fa 83.70 inc VAT.
Video Card http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1280...-gpu-797mhz-shader-1594mhz-480-cores-plusfree- 202.28 inc VAT.

That includes a video card for under your price limit.

If your Windows is OEM you may need to purchase another copy.

Greetings,

I have looked at your recommendations and I personally was looking at an Intel Xeon processor vs i5 or i7. Is this a good idea?

Furthermore, my OS is disk installed so there should be no problems. I was also planning on keeping the graphics card as it is relatively new to me (Past 8 months).

Thank you @clam1952 for recommending ebuyer, I have looked and there are a number of good items on there.

I sadly cannot upgrade till possibly next year due to parental restrictions. This has caused me to use TS2009 Sp4 until the upgrade.

Thanks for your tips, help and ideas. They are much appreciated

Regards Johan

 

[fran1]

What socket is the mobo ? If it's 775 you can still get quad core cpu's although they're not as good as the i5's and 7's.

 

[N33]

What socket is the mobo ? If it's 775 you can still get quad core cpu's although they're not as good as the i5's and 7's.

Greetings,

Yes the motherboard is a 775 and I have found this processor: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Intel-Cor...Computing_CPUs_Processors&hash=item2ebedf4ecf.

What do people think?

Regards

Johan

 

[Beattie]

One thing I would suggest for the cpu is something new for intel came out about 1 or 2months ago is the 3generation icore5 and 7s. As I see they are better and are faster in general without overclocking looks like Generation 2 is now old technology now.

 

[RRSignal]

Greetings,

Yes the motherboard is a 775 and I have found this processor: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Intel-Cor...Computing_CPUs_Processors&hash=item2ebedf4ecf.

What do people think?

Regards

Johan

No. If you're going to stick with socket 775, look for the e6700, a 3.2GHz CPU dual-core Pentium. This was what I ran in my "gaming rig" until last week, and it performed very well. Just be sure your motherboard will take it, though most will.

Raw CPU clock speed still matters and is probably the most important factor - at least one of the most - in Trainz operation as it is still highly CPU-dependent and it's still rather limited in its ability to fully utilize multiple cores.

See here for source:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-E6700-Pentium-Dual-Core-Processor/dp/B003N9JWZ4

Edit: Beware that Intel has another chip with the E6700 model number that only does 2.67 GHz. This is NOT the CPU to which I am referring.

 

[N33]

No. If you're going to stick with socket 775, look for the e6700, a 3.2GHz CPU dual-core Pentium. This was what I ran in my "gaming rig" until last week, and it performed very well. Just be sure your motherboard will take it, though most will.

Raw CPU clock speed still matters and is probably the most important factor - at least one of the most - in Trainz operation as it is still highly CPU-dependent and it's still rather limited in its ability to fully utilize multiple cores.

See here for source:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-E6700-Pentium-Dual-Core-Processor/dp/B003N9JWZ4

Edit: Beware that Intel has another chip with the E6700 model number that only does 2.67 GHz. This is NOT the CPU to which I am referring.

I see. I did not know that Trainz was so CPU dependent as I thought it was very graphics card based. (You saved me from considering this: http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...ro+PCI-Express+Graphics+Card+?productId=49303).

I think I will probably wait for a bit as TS2009 SP4 runs fine on it with no settings adjusted so I can wait for the upgrade. It just depends upon what percentage I am paying. Hopefully I may be able to get some high end components which will last a while.

Thanks for all the help everyone, it is greatly appreciated

Regards

Johan