Upgrade advice

BrianB

BrianB

BrianB

Associate
Joined
15 Jul 2012
Posts
1,938
Hello ocuk people,

Been thinking about getting an SSD, then a new GPU, then new CPU/mobo, but then thinking I will wait. This is a mad cycle.

My current specs:

  • Coolermaster Silencio with GPU hard drive bay removed
  • BeQuiet Limited Edition White 600w PSU
  • Q6600 @3.0GHz on Noctua D-14
  • Gigabyte P35C-DS3R
  • 4GB Corsair XMS w/e 1600MHz CL9 (I'm happy with 4GB)
  • Samsung F3 HD103SJ and also an older F1 750
  • ATI HD4890 1GB (bios flashed with lower clocks and voltages because has never been stable at factory clocks lol)
  • Creative SB Audigy 2ZS
  • BenQ 24"

My choices to upgrade so far are:

  • AMD 7870 from OCUK
  • Intel i3 or an AMD X4? Worried i3 won't perform as well as my Q6600
  • need help choosing motherboard
  • Samsung SSD (don't trust sandforce controller) not a desperate upgrade
  • I think I can keep my DDR3.

I want the upgrades to play games with more eye candy. The secret world looks pretty cool, but my 4890 won't really cut it. Think I can get about £100 for my cpu mobo and gpu on the bay so budget of about £350.

Thanks, look forward to some suggestions.
 
Tbh your current CPU will be fine for most games as there more skewed toward GPU on performance.

With the budget you have i would keep your chip then either get a 7850 and OC it or a 7870 if your budget stretches.

The I3's are in about the same ball park as your current CPU BTW.

SSD's are great for booting/loading but your not going to get any actual game performance from one.

My pic at today's money, if you want a 7850 wait for wednesday and see if one goes on special.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7870 OC Windforce 3X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ Nexuiz & Dirt Showdown PC Games £219.95
Total : £230.75 (includes shipping : £9.00).

 
That saves me fiddling around with my D-14, real pita to install in bottom mount psu cases.

My Q6600 seems fine to me as well, I think it's just my GPU and Hard drive slowing my system down... also my I suspect my GPU is the only noisy component, with high pitched sound.

Think I'll order the new GPU now, and perhaps an SSD in a little while.

Need to find 3 good intake/exhaust fans to replace the stock ones in coolermaster silencio, they are quiet but don't seem to move any air. Anyone used the Xilence Red Wings?
 
Gav_881 said:
SSD's are great for booting/loading but your not going to get any actual game performance from one.
Click to expand...

What about loading in to RPG or MMORPG? Sometimes I experience massive FPS drop, and can hear my hard drive churning up data lol. Perhaps will help in these kind of games.

Trying to decide between the 7870 on offer, or one of the cheaper 7850's. >_>
 
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YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire HD 7850 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ Nexuiz & Dirt Showdown PC Games £191.99
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 830 Notebook/Apple Series SATA 6Gb/s KIT with Norton Ghost - (MZ-7PC128N/EU) £85.99
3 x Scythe Gentle Typhoon 120mm 1150 RPM - 3 Pin £12.98 (£38.94)
Total : £328.33 (includes shipping : £9.50).



The Gentle Typhoons are one of the best case fans to get, very quiet and shift a good amount of air. Samsung SSD is one of the best SSDs you can get at the moment.
 
I agree with you about the SSD, I did some research before I was going to buy one and all sources pointed towards that one.

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Do you think it's worth the extra £40 for the 7870? I imagine the 7850 would blow my 4890 away anyway, but I don't want to miss out on something the 7870 has if it's worth the money.
Seems 7870 has more texture units. Think I'll go for that and skip the fans.

Those fans are so expensive lol! I heard they are the best but I'll wait and see what my case temps are like
 
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Orcvader said:
If you can afford, go for it. Infact the this model is on offer right now, being only £20 more than the 7850: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-099-GI&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=411
Click to expand...

Yeah, just edited my post! :D Thank you for your help. Arghhhh not sure if I want the SSD right now or not. I kinda do...definitely ordering the GPU.

Guess I should order the desktop version of the SSD? Assuming it comes with any adapter I need for installing SSD inside a desktop.

Doh.. Nevermind, realised that the interface is the same for SSD and any other Sata drive.
 
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Your current mobo doesn't have sataIII. The samsung 830 SSD would still work just be slower. You won't get the full benefit till you upgrade the mobo. The Z77s are popular, they include clever software (lucid MVP) to make clever use of the CPUs IGP. It can even use the IGP to boost the GPU performance.

Your current CPU vs 1155 pentium G840

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI HD 7850 Twin Frozr III OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Cards w/ Nexuiz & Dirt Showdown PC Games £194.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £82.99
1 x Intel Pentium G840 2.80GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £53.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/4GX) £23.99
Total : £367.36 (includes shipping : £9.50).



I'm not suggesting the CPU really. It's just to show you can get on the 1155 socket with new RAM on the budget(ish). If you sold your old kit (mobo bundle and GPU) maybe you could stretch to an i5 2500K instead. You already have a great heatsink so if an OEM CPU is much cheaper that's always an option too.

That 7870 is a bit of a bargain. Probably wise to grab that quick and then worry about a mobo bundle. In short i'd leave the SSD till you are getting the full benefit from it.
 
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Thank you, I'll keep that in mind and just go for the graphics upgrade for now then and go from there. I don't do any sustained stressful HDD related things, so I think even on Sata2 I would get the full benefit I require from the SSD, which is just loading game files on demand.

This 7870 deal is too good for me to pass up. Will leave the SSD till later as well as motherboard like you say. Going to order a couple of the fans that Orcvader suggested too.

Gaming wise the processor seems to keep up just fine, only struggle when I up my graphics settings. Also really can't be bothered to take my D-14 off and clean it, then re-fit it. It's really awkward lol.
 
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BrianB said:
Thank you, I'll keep that in mind and just go for the graphics upgrade for now then and go from there.

This 7870 deal is too good for me to pass up. Going to order a couple of the fans that Orcvader suggested too.

I wouldn't need new ram so I guess I'd be on the budget but wouldn't have an SSD so my system would probably be kinda in the same state its in now with waiting for the HDD. Gaming wise the processor seems to keep up just fine, only struggle when I up my graphics settings. Also really can't be bothered to take my D-14 off and clean it, then re-fit it. It's really awkward lol.
Click to expand...

No i don't blame you for grabbing the 7870 at all fella. I wanted to point out that your mobo is only sataII, a sataIII SSD will work and you will notice an improvement but you are paying more for speed you can't use.....yet :(

As i said the G840 wasn't really an option, on the Z mobos you want an i5K really. Are you selling off your old kit or reusing it for a HTPC perhaps?
 
Ah my old kit, is my current kit haha. Will only be selling my HD 4890 now, no need for a HTPC as I don't have a TV I just stream netflix on pc or my Nokia, also just ordered BT Vision for my family (they have a tv). Should get at least 40 quid for the card. I got my gf a 5850 about a year ago, fed up of my 4890 now haha.

I understand I'd lose some potential of the SSD, but also agree I would notice an improvement.

Just overclocked to 3.24GHz Q6600 so far so good on p95 max temp 60c, and this is with practically no airflow so will get those silent typhoons!

SSD probably my next upgrade but will consider getting the a cheap cpu and mobo with sata 3 at same time. The Z mobo looks great, and yeah I'd love a 2500k just can't afford it right now, unless I sell my motorbike lol.
 
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