Ok, fine!

**Bunni** · 03-08-10, 03:27 PM

Ive been out of the hardware loop for a while now, any advice will be greatly appreciated...
Current stats:
os: xp
gpu: 2x 7800 gtx sli'ed
cpu: 2.41ghz single core (64x bit)
ram: 4gb (2.75gb registered in xp)
ample amounts of hd space

Looking to upgrade my mobo and cpu, would like to be at a level where i am set for another 3-4 years, and be a nice base to upgrade/swapout parts over the next few months. Would prefer a quad core cpu and a really solid motherboard... What price ranges am i looking at? Im not interested in any of the overly priced new-releases that will drop hundreds of dollars in cost over the next few months. Mobo has got to be sli compatable, i cannot afford a new gpu atm, barely a mobo and cpu... :3 Whats the word on

Any advice or help will be greatly appreciated!
Bunni-

Also, i have quite a handful of os's installed I know i can easily salvage all my unix installs, but ive never tried a mobo n cpu swap with a windows install. Anyone ever tried it? id really, really, prefer to not reinstall my windows installations... :3

**space.cowboy** · 03-08-10, 03:29 PM

You will have to reinstall windows if you are doing a new motherboard.

**Cybs** · 03-08-10, 03:31 PM

Don't know what your budget is but I can tell you this... you'll need to upgrade mobo, CPU, and RAm all at the same time most likely. Although I can't say for sure since you don't specify what you have.

As for Re-installing Win XP, it can be flakey at best when you change out the motherboard. Although you might not have to do a reformat. You can do a XP repair install then update Win XP and you should be fine. The repair install will just install Windows XP but leave everything else intact like installed programs... etc.

**Bunni** · 03-08-10, 03:43 PM

Originally Posted by Cybs

Don't know what your budget is but I can tell you this... you'll need to upgrade mobo, CPU, and RAm all at the same time most likely. Although I can't say for sure since you don't specify what you have.

As for Re-installing Win XP, it can be flakey at best when you change out the motherboard. Although you might not have to do a reformat. You can do a XP repair install then update Win XP and you should be fine. The repair install will just install Windows XP but leave everything else intact like installed programs... etc.

I may just end up doing a single install of w7, so i guess ill have to accept that. As for budget maybe looking at 800$ to go into this

**Mcstrange** · 03-08-10, 03:50 PM

Originally Posted by space.cowboy

You will have to reinstall windows if you are doing a new motherboard.

Not always. I just updated Mrs Mcstrange's PC from a ddr2 dual core mobo/cpu to a new quad core ddr3 setup and she just had to call microsoft to re-register it. Was quick and cake like.

Now if you flip intel, amd, or more specifically radically change your Southbridge chipset or is it northbridge? i forget which is the important one atm... but whatever, you dont always have to reinstall windows.

Bunni I dont have recommendations seeing as your asking for a 4 year life span. Maybe get the AMD Quad 965, but even that will likely start showing its age in a year or so as AMD will drop a 6core CPU for public consumption later this year and is already putting 12core cpu in servers...

**Bunni** · 03-08-10, 03:59 PM

Originally Posted by Mcstrange

Originally Posted by space.cowboy

You will have to reinstall windows if you are doing a new motherboard.

Not always. I just updated Mrs Mcstrange's PC from a ddr2 dual core mobo/cpu to a new quad core ddr3 setup and she just had to call microsoft to re-register it. Was quick and cake like.

Now if you flip intel, amd, or more specifically radically change your Southbridge chipset or is it northbridge? i forget which is the important one atm... but whatever, you dont always have to reinstall windows.

Bunni I dont have recommendations seeing as your asking for a 4 year life span. Maybe get the AMD Quad 965, but even that will likely start showing its age in a year or so as AMD will drop a 6core CPU for public consumption later this year and is already putting 12core cpu in servers...

Your saying 800$ isnt going to get my a decent mobo cpu and ram!?! O.o!

**Phyrelight** · 03-08-10, 04:04 PM

if you want 4 years $800 isn't going to cut it. You want an x58 MB and an i7 chip with 6 GB or so of triple channel memory if you want to last that long. Any of the i7 builds that have been duplicated in these forums many times in the last couple months will do the trick.

**Bunni** · 03-08-10, 04:08 PM

Originally Posted by Phyrelight

if you want 4 years $800 isn't going to cut it. You want an x58 MB and an i7 chip with 6 GB or so of triple channel memory if you want to last that long. Any of the i7 builds that have been duplicated in these forums many times in the last couple months will do the trick.

what i have now has lasted 7 years and the entire rig costed 2 grand!

:3 What kind of budget should i be looking at?