Upgrade time (mid-high end)

O

obs

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Nov 4, 2002
Messages
4,936
So my computer is around 3 years old and it's time to upgrade. Also, running into blue-screens on a daily basis is also spurring this upgrade. Here's what it is now:

Asus A8N-SLI Premium
AMD 4800+ X2
8800 GTS 512
Raptor 150GB
Seasonic 600W PSU

Here's what I'm looking to upgrade to:

MB: MSI P45 Platinum
CPU: Q9450
RAM: mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066
Heatsink: XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler
HDD: WD 640GB WD6400AAKS
Case: Antec P182

Making this purchase today so any input would be well appreciated. Budget is around $1000. I'm upgrading the case because my current one (Lian-Li black aluminum) rattles too much.
 
That all sounds fine for your budget. It is often recommended to get a bolt-thru kit for that Xigmatek cooler though.
 
dhc014 said:
That all sounds fine for your budget. It is often recommended to get a bolt-thru kit for that Xigmatek cooler though.
Click to expand...

Yea, had that as well just didn't mention it.
 
Save some money with this RAM instead:

$85 - G.SKILL 4GB(2x2GB) DDR2-1000 F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ

/*------------- <cut n paste> -------------*/
Formulas for Intel platform @ 1:1 settings: (base FSB speed is SDR, or single data rate)
c × [Base FSB speed] = CPU Clock speed (c = CPU Multiplier)
2 × [Base FSB speed] = RAM speed (DDR: double data rate)
4 × [Base FSB speed] = Effective FSB speed (QDR: quad data rate)

On Intel platforms, running the RAM higher than a 1:1 ratio with the CPU is, for the most part, useless, so don't bother trying to do so. If the BIOS does it for you, just let it. All you need is a 1:1 config, though. Here's some possible clock speeds (as always with OC'ing, your results will vary):

Q9450: 8 × 333 = 2.6Ghz, DDR2-667 << STOCK speeds
Q9450: 8 × 400 = 3.2Ghz, DDR2-800
Q9450: 8 × 450 = 3.6Ghz, DDR2-900
Q9450: 8 × 500 = 4.0Ghz, DDR2-1000

You won't notice a difference between CL4 and CL5, unless you're running benchmarks (and even then, the difference is negligible), so don't pay a huge price premium for lower latency.
/*------------- </cut n paste> -------------*/
 
So you paid $135 for 4GB of ram thats only 33Mhz faster than the G.Skill? :confused: oh well, hope you enjoy your new system!
 
Nothing to do with speed. Was reading in this motherboard's thread where a user was having compatibility problems with G skill ram and this board.
 
Thats funny, I just used that same RAM on that same board for a co-workers build. Worked fine. But I see your hesitation, and its understandable. However, personally, I've had more compatibility problems with Mushkin and GeiL than I have had with G.Skill and A-Data... go figure. :confused: Come to think of it, there were compatibility problems with the MSI P6N SLI-FI and G.Skill RAM. :(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top