Forums @ Prydwen.net

I want to upgrade my computer in readiness for Lotro.
Atm I have Athlon XP 2600 (Barton), 128MB graphics card, 1gb RAM. Running Windows XP Home Edition, 32 bit.

OK, what I want to do is upgrade to Intel Duo 2 core, with pci-expressX16 graphics and at least 1gb RAM. SATA hard-drive. Want to continue to use my Win XP Home Edition for a while until Vista has had a service pack or two added and any initial bugs ironed out.

But, I'm a bit bewildered. Too many motherboards to choose from and graphics cards just give me a headache trying to work out what they all mean. I'd like an ASUS mobo as first choice, but Gigabyte come a close second in my personal esteem.

So I want a system that will allow a painless transition from Athlon XP to Intel DUO2. Can anyone give me the "lowdown"? Maybe suggest something? If so, I'd be most grateful. Thanks.

EDIT: I'd like to meet the recommended system requirements for LotRO (at least), not the minimum!

i have posted the recommended before but here they are again..

What are the recommended system requirements for the Pre-order?
Intel Pentium® 4 2.8 GHz or AMD Athlon® 64 3000
Supported 128 MB Graphics Card*
1 GB RAM
10 GB available
DirectX® 9.0c
Windows® XP/Vista
Broadband Internet Connection 512kbps or higher
2X DVD ROM

taken from http://www.pryd.net/showthread.php?t=9839&page=2

I think for the most part you've already got what you need set - just look for whichever ASUS motherboard has all the bits you do need and doesn't have the bits you don't (i.e. you don't want to bother with onboard graphics). If there's any motherboard/graphics card features in particular you don't understand or if you don't understand the difference between two boards just ask!

It's probably worth going for 2gb of RAM. In terms of graphics I still rate nVidia best - even more so now that ATI merged with AMD and Intel core 2 duos are the way to go, I'd be a bit weary of how good AMD/ATI graphics cards work with Intel kit now to be perfectly honest.

For the most part it's about balancing power with cost, I tend to avoid over clocked graphics cards tbh as it tends to me shorter lifetime despite what they say. Just find the highest specced card you can in your price range, check reviews and see what they say.

So what's the difference between Intel 775 (975X chipset) and Intel 775 (975P chipset)? Is it something worth worrying about?

Gandelf wrote:So what's the difference between Intel 775 (975X chipset) and Intel 775 (975P chipset)? Is it something worth worrying about?

Probably just different revisions, might be wrong though, the chipset itself doesn't matter too much as long as the board overall has what you need and supports the hardware you're buying.

Thanks.

ATi = stinky

go for nvida

Lieva wrote:ATi = stinky

go for nvida

Have had both, there is really no difference.

Get the most price worth GFX card imo, if it's NVIDIA or ATI dosent matter atall tbh.(go for 256 MB now tbh, 128 wont be enough for long)

Also you should go for 2 GB RAM, less isent going to cut it for long, and in many cases don't even now.

There is no point in buying to bad components, or you will have to upgrade soon again, so it's much better to spend alittle more.

Thanks for the advice so far. I am taking note of it and appreciate it tremendously!

OK, pretty much decided on the basics of my new system:-

Intel CPU Core 2 Duo E6300
Motherboard: Asus P5B-E Plus2GB RAM (maybe only 1GB, depending on cost)
SATA Hard Drive... 80gb minimum
Graphics card to be decided (maybe something like BFG GeForce 7600 GT OC 256MB)
New PSU

All I could do with is for someone just to confirm what type of memory I need, i.e. PC???? whatever. Not entirely sure which memory matches, though I'm guessing PC6400.

If you could help a little, I'd appreciate it, thanks, but does the above sound good?

Going to stick with Windows XP Home Edition, 32 Bit for now, assuming it's compatible (let me know if it isn't). Get Vista later.

There may be online shops that sell the above a little cheaper than Overclockers, but as Overclockers are based in Stoke, I can collect the stuff and save on postage.