How is this for a CPU upgrade?

[KenM]

Last March I upgraded to a Geforce 6800 GT 256 MB. But it was AGP slot. I needed to upgrade my CPU and motherboard. But I can't just buy a new computer and put the card in, all the new systems have PCI express video slots. So, I order some parts from NewEgg. Right now I have a Athlon 2400 CPU, 1.5 GB RAM, and the 6800. I got these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820141198

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103531

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128286

I mainly play Battlefield 2 and WoW. I never did anything like this before. Think I'll see a big increase in prefomence with it? I can't even have BF2 on high settings right now.

 

[trancejeremy]

Should be great. The 64 bit Athlons kick ass, and I think that CPU is about as good as you can get without getting into multi-threaded core stuff, which seems a bit too early to get into (IMHO), because most software doesn't seem to take advantage of it.

 

[ssampier]

Last March I upgraded to a Geforce 6800 GT 256 MB. But it was AGP slot. I needed to upgrade my CPU and motherboard. But I can't just buy a new computer and put the card in, all the new systems have PCI express video slots. So, I order some parts from NewEgg. Right now I have a Athlon 2400 CPU, 1.5 GB RAM, and the 6800. I got these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820141198

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103531

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128286

I mainly play Battlefield 2 and WoW. I never did anything like this before. Think I'll see a big increase in prefomence with it? I can't even have BF2 on high settings right now.

Not a bad build. Personally I wouldn't go with that solution simply because you're spending close to $300 for CPU, but only $70 for the motherboard. They don't "line-up" in my mind; kinda like putting old tires on a new car or putting expensive racing tires on a car that's designed for errands and to/from work/school.

I'd go with the following, but keep in mind, I'm not a gamer:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131540

And I'd get two sticks of fast RAM for Dual Channel speed increase.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145450

 

[KenM]

I forgot to mention, with the RAM, I did buy two 1 GB sticks. SSampler, that motherboard you put up did not have an AGP slot. Thats what I needed to use my video card.

 

[Thanee]

Well, I wouldn't spend $300 on a CPU, but it sounds like a good choice, if you are willing to do so. But I'm perfectly fine with low to moderate settings, it's not like high settings increase the gaming experience that much.

Maybe you'll also need a really high end graphics card to get the most out of it, though, but they tend to be even more expensive.

Bye
Thanee

 

[KenM]

Maybe you'll also need a really high end graphics card to get the most out of it, though, but they tend to be even more expensive.

Bye
Thanee

I got a really good graphics card last march. So I still want to use it, thatswhy I had to get an AGP board.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

That's a sweet setup. I upgraded from a Athlon XP 2200 with a 6600GT AGP card to an Athlon64 3000+ with 1GB of Dual Channel DDR RAM and it smokes. I went from 42fps at 800*600 medium detail in Doom3 to 65fps with the settings at 1024*768 high detail.

The 64-bit Athlon is a beast of a CPU and in gaming whips the out of much higher clocked Pentium 4 chips. I'm a huge AMD fan. I'm going to put a Dual Core chip in next year. *giggles like schoolgirl*

 

[KenM]

Someone else told me that once I switch out the motherboard, I'll have to reinstall Win XP. but I'm using the same hard drive. I have the WinXP CD and CD Key I got when I bought the computer. Anyone know if this is true?

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

Yes. A lot of settings are tied to the motherboard make and if you just swap it out Windows will not operate properly. You need a fresh install.

 

[KenM]

Does that mean my hard drive will be cleaned out as well?