[dzacbbb]

Good afternoon geeks

Well this is my first post I was recommended to these forums from a old friend. I am seeking some advice on upgrading my PC to hopefully be able to play the upcoming Starcraft II game with settings set to max(Ultra)...

I am thinking I need to upgrade my CPU and video card and have no idea which direction to go...Also I am not looking to spent more than $300 for both(I wouldn't mind if it costs less ) Also I am not really sure where to purchase to get a good deal as well as service.

Any feedback/advice would be greatly appreciated!

Here are my current specs:

OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows 7 32 bit
CPU TYPE: INTEL PENTIUM D CPU 2.80GHZ(looking to upgrade)
GFX CARD: NVIDIA GEFORCE 8600 GT(looking to upgrade)
DESKTOP RESOULTION: 1440x900 (is this determined by my video card or my monitor?)
HARDRIVE: 250GIG
RAM: (4 x 1GB) OCZ Special Ops Urban Elite 2GB 240-Pin DDR2
MOBO: ABIT IP35-E LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard

Edited by dzacbbb, 01 March 2010 - 05:27 PM.

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Hi dzacbbb, Welcome to Geekstogo!

Your motherboard supports a wide range of cpu's so this is good. Here is the list... HERE Also, Toms Hardware is a trusted hardware reviewer and they have a CPU Hierarchy Chart. You can look at what cpu's perform best HERE.

I recommend a Q8300 $149.99 for the processor. And a Radeon 5770 (5k series just came out) $169.99.

Both have free shipping. These two together will be a nice upgrade for your system and note that the 5k series of Radeon cards support DirectX 11, and so does Windows 7 so you will be very up to date in the department. The processor is a quad core vs. your old dual core and it has a higher FSB (Front Side Bus) of 1333mhz vs. the old cards 1066mhz and the Q8300's architecture overall is much better than the Pentium D series of processors. You should be able to play many games at great settings.

EDIT: And if you didn't notice, I recommend you buy from Newegg.com. They have cheap prices, great customer service and can be trusted, most geeks seem to prefer Newegg.

Edited by Ferrari, 01 March 2010 - 06:27 PM.

[Ferrari]

Hi dzacbbb, Welcome to Geekstogo!

Your motherboard supports a wide range of cpu's so this is good. Here is the list... HERE Also, Toms Hardware is a trusted hardware reviewer and they have a CPU Hierarchy Chart. You can look at what cpu's perform best HERE.

I recommend a Q8300 $149.99 for the processor. And a Radeon 5770 (5k series just came out) $169.99.

Both have free shipping. These two together will be a nice upgrade for your system and note that the 5k series of Radeon cards support DirectX 11, and so does Windows 7 so you will be very up to date in the department. The processor is a quad core vs. your old dual core and it has a higher FSB (Front Side Bus) of 1333mhz vs. the old cards 1066mhz and the Q8300's architecture overall is much better than the Pentium D series of processors. You should be able to play many games at great settings.

EDIT: And if you didn't notice, I recommend you buy from Newegg.com. They have cheap prices, great customer service and can be trusted, most geeks seem to prefer Newegg.

Edited by Ferrari, 01 March 2010 - 06:27 PM.

[rshaffer61]

EDIT: And if you didn't notice, I recommend you buy from Newegg.com. They have cheap prices, great customer service and can be trusted, most geeks seem to prefer Newegg.

Yep bought my new Motherboard, CPU and Video card from them and had it all in 7 days.

[dzacbbb]

I was actually just looking at that graphics card! Thank you so much Ferrari! Already placed my order...

[Ferrari]

Already placed my order...

Excellent, you should be very happy with the upgrade.

[dzacbbb]

Edited by dzacbbb, 03 March 2010 - 11:28 AM.

[dzacbbb]

Good morning Ferrari!

So I just received my CPU/Video card yesterday! Newegg is was really fast thank you!!

I installed the video card first and it was a success

Next I removed my old CPU and replaced it with the one you recommended. The only thing that was different was the CPU fan used a bigger plug on the motherboard.(Sorry I do not know the right terms) When I powered up my rig it began to restart itself every 10 seconds. Is there some setting or a jumper I have to hit to get this up and running? Sorry I am not super comp savy but I didnt have this issue when I installed my original CPU years ago.

Also I attempted to put my old CPU back in and during the load up process I receive the following error message..."CPU is unworkable or has been changed. Please recheck - CPU Soft Menu"

In the bios should I set it to auto detect CPU and add new CPU? Thats what I was thinking but unsure...

Please advise

And thank you in advance!!

Edited by dzacbbb, 05 March 2010 - 11:16 AM.

[rshaffer61]

Sounds like your bios needs to be cleared.
Some motherboards have a jumper to clear the bios and some you would actually have to pull the cmos battery out for about 5 minutes and then reseat it.
This will clear any information on the old cpu and allow the system to reset all bios information according to the new cpu.
Also double check and make sure the cpu is seated correctly.

[dzacbbb]

Would this but the jumper with 3 PIN's? I from 1-2 PIN to 2-3 PIN? I might have done this last time but its been a while. And if I have to remove the battery I would not know where to look because I am sure I havent done that...

[rshaffer61]

Cmos battery.

[dzacbbb]

Unplug powercord to my rig, remove CPU battery..wait 5 mins and reset? I'll try that when I get home. I appreciate it sir!!

[rshaffer61]

Let me know how it works for you.
Also be aware you will have to set the date and time back up in the bios.

Edited by rshaffer61, 05 March 2010 - 12:06 PM.

[dzacbbb]

I will post back around 7pm PST

Edited by dzacbbb, 05 March 2010 - 01:05 PM.

[dzacbbb]

Also...
When installing the new CPU & the stock intel Fan/heatsink...

On my mobo instead of holes to attach intel's "snap in fan" there are 4 holes which are made for screws. I was able to get the fan in and it didnt go anywhere but it was rather loose.

Any ideas?

Sorry for all the questions lol...

[rshaffer61]

Can you take a pic of the setup and attach it to your next post? If it is what I'm thinking the connections snap in and then you would need to turn it a little to tighten it down.