rec.autos.simulators

Once again, I'm coming to the PC gurus on RAS for advice on the bast
upgrade path for my racing sim PC.  It seems that my Epox 8Kha+ mobo has
grown a bit long in the tooth, as I'm just about at the maximum
performance that it can provide.  (It won't take a much faster CPU, nor
can I easily oevrclock it.)

So in order to get a significant performance increase, I'm looking for a
CPU/mobo combo that currently provides the most bang for the buck.
Although $$$ isn't much of an issue, I don't need to be on the bleeding
edge if it's going to cost me twice as much as something that's a little
slower.   I'm willing to overclock, if that's the best way to go.  My
only requirement is that I achieve significant performance increases in
racing sims over my present system and I need at least 4 USB ports.  My
present system is configured as follows:

Athlon XP2100+ CPU (to be replaced by a new CPU)
2-512 Megs sticks of PC3200 RAM (I want to re-use these)
Radeon 9700 Pro vidcard (I want to re-use this)
Turtle Beach Santa Fe Soundcard (I don't have to re-use this if the new
board has good sound for GPL under WinXP, but I do still need a good
gameport for my TSW peds).
2-Western Digital 80 Gig Hard drives (to be re-used)
Generic DVD Drive (to be re-used)
Sony DRU-510A DVD Burner (to be re-used)
Logitech MOMO (red) FF wheel and peds (to be re-used)
TSW Sport Wheel & Peds(orig) - (to be re-used) I use the pedals which
connect to a gameport.
OS = Win XP Pro

The sims that I run include GPL, NR2003, GTR (when it's released), F1C,
Richard Burns Rally (when it's released) etc.

I also need a recommendation on a full size case to house this new
mobo.  I want to be able to transfer components from the old box into
the new, and then give the old box/mobo/CPU to my nephew.

One last question:  I've read that it's possible under WinXP to have my
existing HD's recognized by the new system without having to re-format
them.  How true is that?  (The last time I tried, under Win98SE, I had
to re-format).  I'd love to avoid having to re-install all my apps
again.

So, any thoughts on what to get?  And from where?  (I'm basically a
Newegg kind of guy, but I'm open to other sources.)

Thanks!

Bert

I'm currently right about there too, only my hw even older than
your's. Just posting my ideas for an upgrade...

I'm going for a XP2500+ (o/c'ing hopefully to equal XP3200+), which
should be quite an improvement over my good ol'  1.4GHz Pentium III...

You lucky..... I have SDRAM mobo atm, so I need to get new mem sticks
as well.

I was thinking about Abit NF7-S (o/c friendly nForce2 board), which
also has a decent integrated soundcard. It apparently has the same
chip as they use in XBox. It's certainly not HiFi, but should not be
any worse than my current SB Live 5.1. Plus it's GPL compatible =)

I'm a silence freak, so I'd go for Nexus Breeze if I'd need a new
case...

When changing the mobo to a one that has a different chipset, OS
re-install is usually the only way to get it up and running. WinXP is
more flexible than Win9x though, so if it correctly recognises the new
hw, it may even work. Worth a try I guess.

New hw hardly ever requires a hd format though. You can either install
WinXP on top of the old one (installed apps may or may not work
afterwards), or if you have multiple partitions/disks, you can format
just the one the houses the OS (this is what I have and do). Requires
reinstalling all the apps though, but games like GPL, NR2003,
F1-2002/F1C and GTR demo don't need reinstalling (if you have them on
a different drive that you just formatted that is ;)).

HTH
--
- Jussi Koukku -

Just here is what happen to me...  I didnt have to format and reinstall, but
it was dang near a 50/50 thing.  This was XP Home, BTW.

I moved up from a p2 1000 to the new p4 2.4, with of course the motherboard
(with onboard sound & NIC) and ram change, so I guess the drives, and the
vid card was all that came from the old box... Hhehehehe.  Well it wouldnt
boot from XP on the Hard-drive, it constantly failed at a point, that is
said try diagnostics.

I had already figured this was most likely scenario, but I had hoped
otherwise...  I was hoping for too much...  so I rebooted off CD, chose
setup, repair install.

When the PC was done I more or less used the migration wizard to restore
half the stuff, like OE, favorites, but 90% of the software that I use, I
had to:  Move the directories, install again, then copy my originals back,
which put me where I was before the upgrade..  for most apps including
NR2003, gpl, most instant messaging I had to do this with, so what did I
save?

PROBABLY half the work, from format and reinstall really.  In that I mean I
didnt have to move all the files to somewhere safe while I formated C: which
is nice, XP deleted the old windows directory, so almost fresh...  Oh sure I
have lots of contacts in Outlook Express and my addybook, thousands of
favorites I have accumulated over 12 years...  but I have had to learn how
to save those off to restore after format/system-loss anyhow.

Athlon64 is the way to go these days.  I prefer ABIT Motherboards, even
though I have no desires to overclock.

I currently run an Intel P4 2.53 (a one-machine break from AND while they
got their act in order), and I'll most likely go back to them in the next
month or so.  Intel is doing more and more to confuse their product line so
consumers don't realize what they are actually getting, and their new stuff
runs too damned hot.

-Larry

  and then give the old box/mobo/CPU to my nephew.