Upgrade Advice

[Complaint Department]

I'm considering upgrading my old warhorse to Windows 7, having skipped the Vista phase and liking what I'm hearing about Win 7. Power shouldn't be an issue - the system was certified Vista ready when bought and handles very well. It can run Fallout 3, but at the lower framerates. This is what I'm considering.

First, the video card of course - if for no other reason than it's divx port has gone bad. It's a GeForce 6800, I'm looking to replace it with this monster

http://www.nvidia.com/object/product_geforce_gtx_295_us.html

I have a 500 watt power supply so I should be safe on that end.

The CPU is a Pent 4 3ghz single core. I don't think it needs upgrading but if it does it's time to buy a new computer.

I have two 100 gig SATA drives. For the most part one is handling the OS and the other my documents, though there are exceptions. I'm considering buying a fast flash cached drive to install the OS to, then consolidating documents to one of those drives and wiping the other to establish a RAID mirror since the drives are now 3 years old and I worry sometimes about failure due to age (The motherboard supports RAID on a hardware level). The consideration on the new disk is more on data access speed than capacity - I have 30 gig of docs and 50 gig of aps so I'm not in a storage bind.

I have a creative audigy 2 soundcard. Creative has a BAD reputation about properly upgrading drivers - will this be a sore point?

I have 2.5 gig of memory and room to expand out to 4 gig. I see no reason to change this unless I install 64 bit Windows.

And that's about it I think (Basically I just want to improve my gaming a bit and get my drives into a raid array in case one fails).

[Pigs in Space]

Why would you install 64 bit windows on a 32 bit processor?

I wouldn't bother upgrading any of it - unless it's going to be a gaming machine, then you will need the RAM and the videocard for sure.

[Complaint Department]

Uhm, my processor is 64 bit. I'm running a 32 bit OS at the moment. If the processor was 32 bit I wouldn't have a motherboard that could support 4GB (Why build a motherboard with more memory slots than the processor can handle?)

[Schizm]

Uhm, my processor is 64 bit. I'm running a 32 bit OS at the moment. If the processor was 32 bit I wouldn't have a motherboard that could support 4GB (Why build a motherboard with more memory slots than the processor can handle?)

Um, because it maxes out at 3.3 gb of memory on a 32-bit processor, and people who want to max out their ram would need to put in at least 3.5, which is a really unwieldy number. Thus, they just rounded up to 4gb in most of the late 32-bit motherboards.

Howbout actually telling us what the model number of the processor is?

[PWD]

I'm considering upgrading my old warhorse to Windows 7, having skipped the Vista phase and liking what I'm hearing about Win 7. Power shouldn't be an issue - the system was certified Vista ready when bought and handles very well. It can run Fallout 3, but at the lower framerates. This is what I'm considering.

First, the video card of course - if for no other reason than it's divx port has gone bad. It's a GeForce 6800, I'm looking to replace it with this monster

http://www.nvidia.com/object/product_geforce_gtx_295_us.html[/quote

Divx port? Whut? the 295 is a beast and will carry you well for the time being.

[quote]I have a 500 watt power supply so I should be safe on that end.

Not necessarily. Check the vidcard's power requirements in both draw and cabling. That 295 is a hungry hungry hippo.

The CPU is a Pent 4 3ghz single core. I don't think it needs upgrading but if it does it's time to buy a new computer.

It does if you're putting that video card in. You're already cpu bottlenecked on the 6800. putting a 295 in there will be like trying to service a 30 lane Sonic drivethru with a single waitress - and the waitress has no legs and the wheels on her roll-cart fell off.

I have two 100 gig SATA drives. For the most part one is handling the OS and the other my documents, though there are exceptions. I'm considering buying a fast flash cached drive to install the OS to, then consolidating documents to one of those drives and wiping the other to establish a RAID mirror since the drives are now 3 years old and I worry sometimes about failure due to age (The motherboard supports RAID on a hardware level). The consideration on the new disk is more on data access speed than capacity - I have 30 gig of docs and 50 gig of aps so I'm not in a storage bind.

Your available space is tiny, but you can easily add drives assuming more SATA ports (not a safe bet for older mobos). Motherboard RAID is in general terms pretty shitty. Google why if you're truly interested. If you're worried about MTBF failures on your drives, just replace them instead. Far less headache for not necessarily high cost. Your definition of "high" may vary, so of course do your own research - just be sceptical of mobo raid.

I have a creative audigy 2 soundcard. Creative has a BAD reputation about properly upgrading drivers - will this be a sore point?

Almost guaranteed to be a problem. Creative seems to be taking a slightly more positive stance toward Win7 drivers than they did toward Vista, but even so the Audigy2 is paleolithic and they won't be keen to be supporting it if they can avoid it. It's just how they are. Consider a selfcontained headset/usb sound option like the Logitech G35 headphones. Logitech, unlike Creative actually does release drivers and support old hardware so you'll get more future-proofing out of it. What you won't get is linux support to my knowledge so that may deal-break it for you.

I have 2.5 gig of memory and room to expand out to 4 gig. I see no reason to change this unless I install 64 bit Windows.

You will want it full for 64bit. Cram that puppy. Minimum for 64bit will be 2g, but realisitic minimum is closer to 4g. I run 8g. You're probably aware you'll get better bang for your buck if you can see your way clear to a cpu/mobo/memory upgrade rather than throwing money at the old system. Your call, you know your finances best.

And that's about it I think (Basically I just want to improve my gaming a bit and get my drives into a raid array in case one fails).

To improve your gaming, the vidcard's a good one but you will starve it. You really need a cpu upgrade if you will want to be chugging out high end games at the kinds of settings that will require that 295. Unfortunately that drives an entire system replacement.

Don't cozy up too close to the raid array idea as insulation against old drive failure. Mobo raids are notoriously unreliable, and expose you to another single point of failure if the mobo dies (and sometimes even on bios flashes).

[Complaint Department]

Ok, having taken this all into account I think I'll just upgrade systems later in the year or early next year (at which point my system will be 4 years old - old for a computer system for me anyway).

[PWD]

Plenty of time for you to budget and plan. With time, you can craft a nice middle-of-the-road but still powerful box that'll cost you a fraction of the bleeding edge fire breathers but still deliver 80% or more of the performance.

F'rex, ATI (of whom I am not a fan, but still) have released some $150-ish area video cards recently which are real hot shit performance-wise for a mere fraction the cost of the Nvidia fire-breathers.

[Complaint Department]

While reading a C|Net review I came across this bad news
It's not easy to set up once you've downloaded the XP Mode installer. You'll need to double-check that you have the right hardware, and can get the right software. Hardware Virtualization Technology, also known as AMD-V, Vanderpool or VT-d, must be supported for it to work. Motherboards older than two years probably won't work, and even if you do have a newer one you might have to go into your BIOS and activate Hardware Virtualization. CPU-identification utilities are available from Microsoft that can tell you if you're in the clear or not.

XP virtualization is something I do need to run IE 6 for at least the next 2 years because of my chosen field of work. Upgrading a motherboard = new system.

So, I usually spend $1000-$1500 on a new system, not including monitor. Here's what I want to do and if anyone wants to go through the thought exercise.

Needs.

I'm not afraid to assemble things myself.
It can be a Mac (running parallels to handle Win 7) - so VK, pay attention :)
It must be able to run IE 6 virtually for testing in some manner.
It must be able to run Fallout 3 at 1600x1000 widescreen resolution with all graphic abilities enabled (I believe that's the most demanding game I own).
It's sound must be able to support a 5:1 home theatre setup.
It's MIDI playback must NOT sound like something out of a toybox (most on board sound chipset do).
4 GB RAM upgradable to a minimum of 16
My current hard drives are SATA. I will buy a new hard drive with the system. My current ATI case has room for 4 drives comfortably.
Bluetooth would be nice. I liked syncing my phone to my work iMac.
I'm actually using all 5 USB connections on the back of my machine, not including the PS/2 style mouse. So at least 8 USB connections - my current machine has 7 (two on the front not in use)