Topic: Core Upgrade

[Timenn]

I've been planning on doing the following upgrade to my computer:

- Motherboard - MSI K9N SLI-2F nF570 AM2 DDR2 SLI PCI-E
- Processor - AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Socket-AM2 Boxed
- Videocard - XFX GeForce 8800GT 512MB DDR3 DVI PCI-E2
- Possible cables/cards I need to support older devices.

And some extra's (not really part of the upgrade, but nice to get right away) :
- Harddisk - WD 320 GB S-ATA II U300 7200RPM 8MB
- Wireless Router (Gateway supporting NAT)


Now I'm pretty confident that this setup will bring my computer to the next generation (of gaming). The target game for now is still Oblivion, but I expect a few games coming up these years that should put the system to the test. Now I'm usually satisfied with 1600x1200 (or 1280x960) resolutions with (practically) full detail. The reason I plan to do an upgrade instead of buying a new computer is the price. The new computer would cost me ~1200 EUR instead of the current ~700 EUR.
I was uncertain about the videocard for a while, but a few reviews have convinced me that the 8800 GT only performs slightly less than the 8800 GTS 640MB, but is considerably cheaper.

Now I was hoping some of you can help me with answers to the following questions:

(1) Am I correct in believing the motherboard wil support this setup? I've checked that it should support this processor and videocard (2x PCIe x16). Furthermore I have one older soundcard, 2x1024 MiB memory and 4 IDE devices (2x DVD, 2x HD). I realise with the latter I need some additional elements to support them.

(2) I'm planning on upgrading myself. I have never done this before on such a scale however. What are important things I should keep in mind?

(3) I have 4 IDE devices I wish to keep. What additional parts do I need to be able to connect them to this motherboard (ATA => SATA convertors, controllers?), is this even possible?

(4) If I understand it correctly, a Wireless Router will also have a few UTP ports. Will a 54Mbps Wireless Router have a bandwidth of 100Mbps on the wired part? (Believe me when I say that it would make a difference ).

(5) What could serve as an adequate router? Nothing too expensive, it only needs to support a notebook and a desktop. Something which is not too much hassle to configure and supports NAT.

I realise this is yet again a topic asking for help like this, so I hope you don't mind. I must admit I'm quite nervous about doing such a big upgrade. I'm very thankful for any help.

[gryphon]

(2) I'm planning on upgrading myself. I have never done this before on such a scale however. What are important things I should keep in mind?

Don't panic.

(3) I have 4 IDE devices I wish to keep. What additional parts do I need to be able to connect them to this motherboard (ATA => SATA convertors, controllers?), is this even possible?

ATA to SATA, don't keep your hopes up.....

(4) If I understand it correctly, a Wireless Router will also have a few UTP ports. Will a 54Mbps Wireless Router have a bandwidth of 100Mbps on the wired part? (Believe me when I say that it would make a difference ).


(5) What could serve as an adequate router? Nothing too expensive, it only needs to support a notebook and a desktop. Something which is not too much hassle to configure and supports NAT.

For the NAT part, I can't remeber a router which doesn't support it.

If you have a wireless router. The speed of the wireless network is not the speeds on the network ports. 10/100mbt LAN and 54mbps WLAN is default on most routers. I prefer 3Com (54mbps WLAN and 10/100MB LAN) routers. Currently my home in Rotterdam has an Apple Airport Extreme. (108mbps WLAN and 10/100/1000mb LAN)

It is a real shame that Nexland doesn't make network gear anymore. For me it's Cisco or 3Com. Linksys works but has never been in my want-to-have-list. Although I have had about 2 models of them each year. You might want to try and find the Dlink gaming router.

[Timenn]

(2) It's all fit 'n click work?

(3) I only recently disovered ATA has been renamed to PATA. I can imagine converting parallel to serial isn't that easy.
However, I did find a PCI ATA controller which supports a maximum of 4 IDE devices. That seems to be precisely what I need. (Promise Ultra133 TX2 ATA/133 controller)

(5) I've been trying my usual hardware vendors, but they mostly seem to have Sitecom and Linksys. Perhaps you know a vendor around Amsterdam that sells 3Com routers (or Cisco)?

(6) I just stumbled upon the power supply requirement for the video card: 450 W (link). Which means I have to buy a new power supply as well (too bad, I bought a new one this spring). I'm aiming for something providing 500 W. Or should I get something more powerful?

[gryphon]

It's just about ckick-and-work.

Mke sure you know the type of connection of every part and then find the corresponding one. Can't be that hard and most things fit in just one way.

That IDE controller is your best bet.

Linksys isn't that bad. Although I have broken a few of them in anger . ... Don't go for Sitecom though. I don't know of any computer shops in or near Amsterdam.

[Timenn]

Okay, it took some time, but now I'm prepared for the big work. This week I bought a small compact Linksys router which started working correctly the moment I plugged it in. Finding the settings for forwarding FTP and Remote services was easy enough, and yes, I have set a network key
It seems to remember the MAC adresses that have been connected, and reserves an IP adress for them. I have not yet seen how to set manipulate this though. I guess toying around with it is a good idea to figure that out.

I also bought the IDE controller mentioned above. It took some effort to get it running, as the folks at the store I bought it at gave the wrong driver disc with it. Good there is such a thing as internet. Getting the drivers to install was easier than the manual would have you believe. I've only connected one DVD player to it yet, so I can't tell if I did something wrong, just that this one works. I think it saves me some trouble that I will not connect my boot HD to the controller.

That just leaves the final step. If that is going as well as the previous two, I'll have no complaints.