[Sed]

Hello Everyone, currently I have a Dell XPS 630i. It has a 8800GTX and the 3.16 GHZ Intel Core 2 Duo Wolfdale processor. The motherboard is the default it came with which is based off the Nvidia 650i chipset.

I am in the market for upgrading, and have a budget of about $800, My current thoughts are to swap out the motherboard for an x58, probably the Rampage II Gene, or the MSI x58M. I don't really need an mATX board but they seem to be about the same performance for a bit cheaper,doing would imply probably having too upgrade the case because the 630i, is not a standard ATX, and also would necessitate upgrading the RAM. I was thinking of either doing this or just sticking to the current cpu and upgrading the graphics card.

Which of these two options would you recommend more? Would you suggest a third option? any info at all would be much appreciated.
Thank you very much

 

[Juggalo23451]

Evga Sli micro
http://www.evga.com/products/moreInf...board%20Family

 

[Daney]

Seems like you'll notice a big difference with i7 unless you're running a phenom II setup.

It would help if you could add your current pc specs here: http://www.overclock.net/specs.php?do=addsystem

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115202
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131371
Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231223

Leaves you with around $200

 

[Sed]

alright, it looks like i will be going with the evga x58 micro, its a bit cheaper then the rampage 2 gene and looks a bit better. The only thing i need to decide on now is the case, i know it would be kinda redundant to put the mATX case in a full size case, but i like the ACTS 840 or perhaps the Silverstone RV01, I was also looking at the Silverstone FT01. I like the looks of the FT01 but it seems to not be good for water cooling. Any advice on the case? Do you think i should go for a full size case, or drop down to something like the NZXT Rogue to better suit the mobo? Thanks for the help

 

[IEATFISH]

Bump for you.

The nice thing about using a case that is a bit big (if you have the space) is you will get great airflow.

I'd get the MB and get a new GFX card, maybe a 4890.

 

[ericeod]

OP, I would sell your current rig on Craigslist and add that money to your current $800 budget. You can then build from scratch, and not worry so much about hardware limitations from trying to reuse your old system.

 

[IEATFISH]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericeod OP, I would sell your current rig on Craigslist and add that money to your current $800 budget. You can then build from scratch, and not worry so much about hardware limitations from trying to reuse your old system.

That's a good idea. With that sort of budget, you could build a nice one from scratch.

 

[Sed]

Selling it might be a good idea, except it seems like it might be a bit risky in a way. Also one of the things i wanted to do, was if i bought a new motherboard, ram and gpu i could pass down my current and upgrade my mother's computer for her. Heres the pricing of something that also looks like a good idea
Motherboard- Evga X58 Micro $200
Case- Coolermaster ACTS 840 $180 (From the coolermaster website)
CPU - Intel Core i7 920 $280
RAM- OCZ 6GB DDR3 $90
That would be $750 total, however i also have a $200 gift card to amazon.com which could be used for a graphics card or to pay for one of the above items, the only problem would be none of this would have any extra cooling and would probably have to use the intel stock
I could drop down from the ACTS 840 to like the NZXT Beta, which would save some money to get a gpu or cooling, what do you guys think?

 

[jonathan9590]

if Dell still uses proprietary parts then you will have to upgrade the PSU as well if it is the stock psu.

reason is becasue Dell use's a different pin layout for the motherboard power cord and if you go plugging it into a non-dell mobo then you could risk frying it.

but like i said this only applies if your system is proprietary, like the other posters said it would just be better to build your own like i am doing. i am giving my 1 year old dell to my mom since i can't upgrade anything, DELL SUCKS