Upgrade Blues.

[soumya]

Guys,

I bought a branded Compaq Presario way back in 2002. My configuration was this:-

AMD ATHLON XP 1800+ @ 1.53 GHz
VIA GA-7VKML MOTHERBOARD
128 MB DDR 266 MHz RAM
SEAGATE 40 GB HDD

I updated my configuration and added a GeForce FX 5200 128 MB RAM, Creative Soundblaster Live! 24 Bit, 5.1 Creative Inspire 5200, 400 WATT SMPS and an ASUS DVD Writer.

Everything was working just right, but about a month ago, whenever I started my computer, I would hear 8 beeps and no display.I did my best to troubleshoot this thing, but it didn't work out. I gave it to a shop and they are saying that everything is working fine except the motherboard. I asked them to give an estimate, and they said that it will take time. I said okay and the first thing that came to my mind is ''upgrade''. So guys, I wanna upgrade to something cool. Here is what I think, I would upgrade too :-

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (2.4 GHz, 4MB L2 Cache)
Intel Original 965 Motherboard
1 GB DDR2 667 MHz Transcend RAM
300 GB SATA 2 HITACHI
XFX GeForce 6800 GT 256 MB GRAPHICS CARD
iball Cabinet

Now here is the thing, I am still confused whether to go for the Intel Original Motherboard or a NVIDIA SLI based one and, I was planning to buy Geforce 7600 GT but since it doesn't support DirectX 10, i said to myself that I would wait, buy a mid range card for now and after a year, upgrade to GeForce 8800.One more thing, I have this standard keyboard and a ball mouse. Should I upgrade that too? I have heard that optical mouse and wireless keyboards causes problems. So what do you say guys?

P.S. I would also be happy if you recommend a configuration of your choice based on (Processor, MB, RAM, HDD, GRAPHICS CARD, Cabinet, Keyboard, Mouse). My budget is around Rs. 35,000 to Rs.45,000, but would be happy to shell out under Rs. 40,000.

[assasin]

Dud e the config dat u mentioned above will over shoot ur budget by a lot U wont get a nVIDIA SLI mobo for C2D If u buy 965 original buy D965RY,else buy Asus P5B DLX.Dont buy E6600,instead buy E6300.Den it'll be in ur budget.

[soumya]

I guess that my budget is enough....

[assasin]

It'll be enough if u buy Intel D965RY original board but'll exceed if u buy Asus P5B DLX.If u can Buy the Asus mobo,its the best.

[ssk_the_gr8]

ur budget is not enough
u will either have to buy a cheaper mobo or e6300/e6400

[soumya]

What mobo do you suggest me to buy?

[assasin]

MSI P965 Neo F,it retails for around 6.5k,but it doesnt have IGP,u'll have to but gfx card.

Gigabyte GA-945GM-S2 retails for 7000 and has IGP(GMA 950).

Intel D965RY retails for 6500,has IGP(X3000)

[Aniruddh]

Mate dont go for 945 chipset..betta get 965...if u gonna put a external gpu then get MSI 965 NEO(6.5k)but u wont b able to overclock it...and if u want an onboard gpu then get a Intel 965RY(6.5k).Dont go for Iball it SUX..get a nu gpu like 7600Gt instead of 6800 which is very old...which companies psu u hav?C2D E6400 is quite gud so i wud rather suggest u to stick wid it instead of E6600 which is almost 4k more then this one.
:--
1-C2D E6400-11.5k
2-MSI 965 NEO(WIDOUT ON BOARD GRAPIX),Intel 965RY(WID LATEST X3000 Grapix)-6.5k,Asus P5B(WIDOUT ON BOARD GRAPIX)-9k
3-512*2 DDR2 667Mhz RAM-5.5-6k
4-Leadtek,XFX 7600GT-11k
5-300GB SATA Seagate/Hitachi-5k
6-Cabinet-Cooler Master,Antec,Zebronics,VIP..with atleast 400W psu-Antec,Coolermaster,Powersafe.

[soumya]

wat about the 7600 GS? i want to invest as less as possible coz i will buy a 8800 next yr!!

[Aniruddh]

7600GS is a gud gpu...for normal use..it will cost u arnd 6.5k.

[soumya]

watz the diff btwn Asus P5B and msi 965 neo? btw, is there anygood mobo for the intel g965 chipset?

[Aniruddh]

P5B has more features.u can overclock wid that mobo like insane,thats not the case with NEO.if u can find one then go for-Gigabyte 965P S3 - 6-6.5K approx (this ones better ..check anandtech for the review of the same)