Upgrade my old spec to a new spec...!! costly..!!

iv-tecman · 9 Mar 2010 at 14:17

Ok this was my old spec –

1 x Antec Nine Hundred - Gaming Case with 200mm Top Fan - No PSU
2 x Seagate ST3250620AS 250GB SATAII/300 7200RPM 16MB Cache - OEM
1 x Microsoft Wireless Black Optical Desktop 1000 - USB
1 x Sony AW-G170AB2 18xDVD±RW/RAM Dual Layer Writer Black - Bare Drive
1 x BFG 8800GTX OC 512MB DDR3 Dual DVI PCI-E
1 x ASUS P5B DLX/WIFI-AP Pentium 4/Celeron/Pentium D/PentiumEE/65nm dual-core/Core2Duo/Core2EE
1 x Corsair (TWIN2X2048-6400) XMS2-6400 2048MB 5-5-5-12 2X240 DIMM Black XMS2 Heat Spreader
1 x Logitech X-540 5.1 Surround Sound Speakers
1 x Arctic Cooling (AC-FRZ-7P) Freezer 7 Pro Socket 775 CPU Cooler
1 x Speeze White Grease For Cpu/cooler Syringe With
1 x Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (2.4ghz) Socket 775 FSB1066 4MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor
1 x Hiper 580W Type-R Modular PSU SLI/CrossFire Certified - Blue
1 x Soundblaster Audigy Platinum Audio 7.1 THX

Just had confirmation that my order has now been shipped and my new spec will be as follows -

Current spec –

1 x Antec Nine Hundred - Gaming Case with 200mm Top Fan - No PSU
1 x Akasa AK-178-BL 12" Cold Cathode - Blue
2 x Seagate ST3250620AS 250GB SATAII/300 7200RPM 16MB Cache – OEM
1 x Western Digital 500GB SATAII/300 7200RPM 16MB Cache - OEM
1 x Microsoft Wireless Black Optical Desktop /Mouse - USB
1 x Samsung SH-B083L/RSBP 8x BluRay ROM / 16x DVD±RW Drive - Black (Retail)
1 x Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5870 Vapor-X 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
1 x ASUS P5B DLX/WIFI-AP Pentium 4/Celeron/Pentium D/PentiumEE/65nm dual-core/Core2Duo/Core2EE
2 x Corsair (TWIN2X2048-6400) XMS2-6400 2048MB 5-5-5-12 2X240 DIMM Black XMS2 Heat Spreader
1 x Logitech X-540 5.1 Surround Sound Speakers
1 x Arctic Cooling (AC-FRZ-7P) Freezer 7 Pro Socket 775 CPU Cooler
1 x Speeze White Grease For Cpu/cooler Syringe With
1 x Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (2.4ghz) Socket 775 FSB1066 4MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor
1 x Zalman ZM850-HP Heatpipe Cooled 850W Modular Power Supply
1 x Asus Xonar D2 7.1 PCI Sound Card (90-YAA021-1UAN00)
1 x Akasa SATA-2 60cm Silver Data Cable
1 x Akasa SATA-2 45cm Silver Data Cable

Installing Windows 7 dual boot Windows XP as I still have some stuff that runs better in XP. I can’t be doing with the Win XP Virtual mode in Win7.

I changed my soundcard simply because of the horrid support from Creative and Windows Vista and Windows 7 and it’s a really old sound card. Its something like 8 years old now…. So time to update.

Running this on a 1080p (1920 x 1080) TV for gaming and a 17” TFT (1280 x 1024) for general desktop usage…. I’ll think about changing the TFT, motherboard and CPU next year. I’ve spent enough already. Provided this can play most games at 1920 x 1080 60hz 60fps average with 2 or 4 x AA then I’ll be happy.

In total I spent around a grand three years ago building the first spec, and I’ve just spent another £690 upgrading…. £1690 is a lot of money however this’ll do all my music, desktop, internet, gaming, movie, blu ray and everything else in one box…. And it’ll last another few years…!! So I can justify it..

pastymuncher · 9 Mar 2010 at 14:36

You just spent £690 on a so called upgrade on a dying socket? Somebody saw you coming. You have the same ancient motherboard and cpu, same ram albeit 1 extra stick, same case, same cooler, same speakers. The biggest changes are the 5870, soundcard and the massively overkill 850w psu. Where have you spent all of that money? For £690 you could have had a brand new rig that was more powerful.

Stupot_ · 9 Mar 2010 at 14:39

Hahahaha. WORST. UPGRADE. EVER.

stulid · 9 Mar 2010 at 14:42

iv-tecman · 9 Mar 2010 at 14:44

pastymuncher said:
You just spent £690 on a so called upgrade on a dying socket? Somebody saw you coming. You have the same ancient motherboard and cpu, same ram albeit 1 extra stick, same case, same cooler, same speakers. The biggest changes are the 5870, soundcard and the massively overkill 850w psu. Where have you spent all of that money? For £690 you could have had a brand new rig that was more powerful.

I spent it on –

Windows 7 Premium
Video Card
Blu Ray Drive
PSU
Sound Card
Additional 2GB of memory
And some new SATA cables….

I asked, and I asked again in the Graphics forum if the CPU could last another year with a new GPU and I was told yes.. By a few of you on this forum… Anyhow, I ordered a 5870 and a larger PSU to enable me to upgrade the motherboard and CPU next year and have plenty of room to make changes, choices etc…

The case is excellent, why change it? The speakers are just fine for everyday usage. You add up the OS and all the components you’ll see where the money went..!!

Oh well..!!

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 9 Mar 2010 at 14:48

iv-tecman said:
I spent it on –

Windows 7 Premium
Video Card
Blu Ray Drive
PSU
Sound Card
Additional 2GB of memory
And some new SATA cables….

I asked, and I asked again in the Graphics forum if the CPU could last another year with a new GPU and I was told yes.. By a few of you on this forum… Anyhow, I ordered a 5870 and a larger PSU to enable me to upgrade the motherboard and CPU next year and have plenty of room to make changes, choices etc…

The case is excellent, why change it? The speakers are just fine for everyday usage. You add up the OS and all the components you’ll see where the money went..!!

Oh well..!!

I don't think that your upgrade is that bad TBH! I would have probably got an HD5850 1GB though and overclocked it a bit, but the rest of your components can be re-used if you intend to upgrade next year.

Stupot_ · 9 Mar 2010 at 14:48

Well of course the graphics card forum will tell you to buy a graphics card. That's they're job when they're not fapping away over ati or nvidia.

The rest of the forums however will advise you to change your ageing CPU!

Your current processor will bottleneck a 5870. The rest of the money you spent on unnecesary fluff that you can upgrade to later on down the line - bluray, sound card, psu wtf?! you're current psu will probably handle 2x5870's, cables, bits and bobs etc etc.

you could have gone i5 with a new mobo, ram, and a 5850 for well within your budget.

iv-tecman · 9 Mar 2010 at 14:50

Great.. So where was you all when I asked over in the Graphics Card Forum if the GPU was overkill for the CPU I’ve currently got? I did ask, I asked a few times…

And I was told to replace the hiper X Type R as it was total crap, so I did. And I can’t use 4GB of memory with an O/S that can see it all.. so again, I needed to get an O/S that’ll use it…. I feel a bit miffed, I knew I should have changed the motherboard and CPU, too late now I’ll have to do that next year as I’m not spending anymore…

Great… My fault should research ‘much’ better before I buy.. And I thought I had…

iv-tecman · 9 Mar 2010 at 14:51

Stupot_ said:
Well of course the graphics card forum will tell you to buy a graphics card. That's they're job when they're not fapping away over ati or nvidia.

The rest of the forums however will advise you to change your ageing CPU!

Your current processor will bottleneck a 5870. The rest of the money you spent on unnecesary fluff that you can upgrade to later on down the line - bluray, sound card, psu wtf?! you're current psu will probably handle 2x5870's, cables, bits and bobs etc etc.

you could have gone i5 with a new mobo, ram, and a 5850 for well within your budget.

I changed the PSU as I was told, and I'd read from links provided about how bad they are - the hiper 580W is known for going bang..!! I really didn't want to change it but anyhow its done...

edit - right... The CPU will be changed - just not yet. Sadly I didn't do it this time around. I can change this towards the end of the year.

Least I've got a top end vid card and a PSU that'll handle it so its not all bad..

Redmint · 9 Mar 2010 at 14:52

I'm going to hazard a guess at the fact your cpu might be throttling gaming performance now as the 5870 is such a beast. And considering your motherboard I'm guessing the e6600 isn't overclocked (much).

edit: okay stupot already said much the same thing, I guess a lot of people just don't check the graphics card forum so much.

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 9 Mar 2010 at 14:52

iv-tecman said:
Great.. So where was you all when I asked over in the Graphics Card Forum if the GPU was overkill for the CPU I’ve currently got? I did ask, I asked a few times…

And I was told to replace the hiper X Type R as it was total crap, so I did. And I can’t use 4GB of memory with an O/S that can see it all.. so again, I needed to get an O/S that’ll use it…. I feel a bit miffed, I knew I should have changed the motherboard and CPU, too late now I’ll have to do that next year as I’m not spending anymore…

Great… My fault should research ‘much’ better before I buy.. And I thought I had…

Your E6600 will be fine - just overclock it a bit!! Next year you can spend another £300 on a new CPU,RAM and motherboard. The £150 AMD and Intel processors next year will probably be much faster than anything currently available at a similar price.

I have a Shuttle 975X motherboard and I can still get my high VID Q6600 upto 3.2GHZ in my SFF - your E6600 should do better with the newer 965 chipset.

iv-tecman · 9 Mar 2010 at 14:55

CAT-THE-FIFTH said:
I don't think that your upgrade is that bad TBH! I would have probably got an HD5850 1GB though and overclocked it a bit, but the rest of your components can be re-used if you intend to upgrade next year.

Thank you. That was my thinking... Once I upgrade the motherboard and CPU towards the end of the year or next year it'll be good for another few years..

and its really good components... Doesn't help that I now feel really bad wish I'd not posted this now... Feel a right idiot, even though I did ask.!! Wrong forum from the sounds of it.

pastymuncher · 9 Mar 2010 at 14:56

The good thing about your cpu is that they are excellent overclockers. Most will hit 3.4-3.6Ghz and some will go even further. If you can get yours above 3.2Ghz (should be easy enough with your motherboard and cooler) it should largely cease to be a bottleneck.

iv-tecman · 9 Mar 2010 at 14:56

Redmint said:
I'm going to hazard a guess at the fact your cpu might be throttling gaming performance now as the 5870 is such a beast. And considering your motherboard I'm guessing the e6600 isn't overclocked (much).

edit: okay stupot already said much the same thing, I guess a lot of people just don't check the graphics card forum so much.

The CPU is overclocked to 3.0ghz.

Stupot_ · 9 Mar 2010 at 14:57

Well, I don't want to **** all over your fire, but I kind of have

So... Have you contacted ocuk?

As CAT says above, its a good base to upgrade later on, personally I feel that £690 is a lot to spend when all you're getting is increased performance in games (and not to the cards maximum potential either).

Redmint · 9 Mar 2010 at 15:01

iv-tecman said:
The CPU is overclocked to 3.0ghz.

Not too bad I guess, as pastymuncher says if you're lucky it would hit 3.6GHz on a higher FSB motherboard. I'm not so sure on what kind of speed you'd need before it didn't cause any kind of bottleneck though.

iv-tecman · 9 Mar 2010 at 15:06

Stupot_ said:
Well, I don't want to **** all over your fire, but I kind of have So... Have you contacted ocuk?

As CAT says above, its a good base to upgrade later on, personally I feel that £690 is a lot to spend when all you're getting is increased performance in games (and not to the cards maximum potential either).

I haven’t contacted OCUK, I just order the components… I was actually thinking that this would be a staged upgrade, I would have changed the motherboard and CPU if the lot in the graphics forum hadn’t said my CPU clocked at 3.0ghz would be fine for the rest of the year…

I thought I could save the money on those parts, and buy Windows 7 and a blu ray and a better GPU. Well, you’ve all blew that theory right out the water…

I’ll have to see if I can upgrade the CPU a little sooner, at this rate all I’ll have left of the PC I built three years ago will be the case and the speakers….

In all fairness I did ask, but least the parts I’ve got will work fantastic with an i5 or something when I finally get it…

I do feel like such an idiot and really have got a red face right now…… Teach me a lesson and upgrade the correct way around next time.

Thanks anyhow.

Redmint · 9 Mar 2010 at 15:13

Doing half a computer upgrade is usually tricky if you want to keep your computer 'balanced'. All I've got left of my computer from May 2007 is the power supply, RAM and HDD.

iv-tecman · 9 Mar 2010 at 15:24

Well lets ask a question shall I….. Is the system now going to run worse, or at least give me some better performance, and a new O/S to tinker around with and some increased FPS in games and decent audio playback and video playback?

If not, then upgrade is a waste if yes, then its not a complete waste of money and when I update the CPU and motherboard will I then see another performance increase?

If the answer is yes to this as well, then maybe I’m not a complete and total idiot.!! And the upgrade is a gift anyhow….. TBH truth told if someone hadn’t given me the money it wouldn’t have been upgraded at all……

Hopefully by the end of the year I’d have saved enough to buy the CPU and motherboard as well…. Shame I took the advice given and got the GPU instead…

Redmint · 9 Mar 2010 at 15:31

No question about the fact it'll be better/faster than it was before.