New rig advice required.

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Hello everyone,

I'm looking for some advice on CPU, Motherboard and Graphics Card for a new gaming machine. My current system is getting old and I have started playing Guild Wars 2 which I would love to have on full settings but I get a really appalling frame rate on it most of the time. Here is my current spec:

Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
System Model: P5Q-PRO
BIOS: BIOS Date: 07/10/08 18:50:41 Ver: 08.00.14
Processor: Intel Quad Core Q6600
Memory: 4096MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 4096MB RAM
Page File: 2594MB used, 5593MB available

So I'd like to upgrade, I don't need a case, power supply, monitor, peripherals or operating system just motherboard, graphics card, cpu and ram. I am open to suggestions but would like to keep thing inside 1k if possible.

I'm not why my current system hates GW2 so much as I'm clear to run beyond the min specs it just really acts up, jumpy etc.
 
What's your current PSU? Just to make sure it is powerful enough for a new GPU. :)

You don't need £1k for just those components, have a look at my below spec. I added in a 128GB SSD also, put GW2 on it and map load times will fly. Not just that, your OS in general will be much snappier and feel so much nicer to use.

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI HD 7950 Twin Frozr III OC V2 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE FARCRY3, Hitman Absolution, Sleeping Dogs & 20% off MOH Warfighter PC Games £251.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £112.99
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 830 Series SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive - (MZ-7PC128B/WW) £89.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £25.99
Total : £665.95 (includes shipping : FREE).

 
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At 100 posts you would qualify for free P&P, so it's worth discussing the options.

I think I'd start with the mobo bundle. Is your 460 a 1GB model?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £112.99
1 x Thermalright Silver Arrow SB-E CPU Cooler (Socket LGA 2011/1366/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA775/AM2/AM3/FM1) £49.20
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB2133C11DC) £39.95
Total : £399.13 (includes shipping : £10.00).



I own a 460 and have OC'd it (900mhz core, 2100 Vram) and on the new beta drivers it's still surprisingly capable. If you still aren't happy you can grab a GPU with your free P&P without penalty. Remember though there is lucidMVP software with the mobo which would use the IGP to boost the 460 ;)

This mobo allows SLI/Xfire (dual GPUs) your PSU will be a limiting factor possibly. The Kingston genesis RAM is cheaper and still good, faster than 1600mhz makes little odds to be fair. I've used a fast kit but it's a good price and they all have lifetime warranty so I figure it's wise to get the best you can.
 
Last edited:
What's your current PSU? Just to make sure it is powerful enough for a new GPU. :)

You don't need £1k for just those components, have a look at my below spec. I added in a 128GB SSD also, put GW2 on it and map load times will fly. Not just that, your OS in general will be much snappier and feel so much nicer to use.

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI HD 7950 Twin Frozr III OC V2 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE FARCRY3, Hitman Absolution, Sleeping Dogs & 20% off MOH Warfighter PC Games £251.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £112.99
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 830 Series SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive - (MZ-7PC128B/WW) £89.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £25.99
Total : £665.95 (includes shipping : FREE).


Hiya, thanks for your reply. My PSU is a corsair 600watt unit :)
 
At 100 posts you would qualify for free P&P, so it's worth discussing the options.

I think I'd start with the mobo bundle. Is your 460 a 1GB model?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £112.99
1 x Thermalright Silver Arrow SB-E CPU Cooler (Socket LGA 2011/1366/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA775/AM2/AM3/FM1) £49.20
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB2133C11DC) £39.95
Total : £399.13 (includes shipping : £10.00).



I own a 460 and have OC'd it (900mhz core, 2100 Vram) and on the new beta drivers it's still surprisingly capable. If you still aren't happy you can grab a GPU with your free P&P without penalty. Remember though there is lucidMVP software with the mobo which would use the IGP to boost the 460 ;)

This mobo allows SLI/Xfire (dual GPUs) your PSU will be a limiting factor possibly. The Kingston genesis RAM is cheaper and still good, faster than 1600mhz makes little odds to be fair. I've used a fast kit but it's a good price and they all have lifetime warranty so I figure it's wise to get the best you can.

Hey I think my GPU is 2gb however I'm not sure I thought it was 1gb. Here is the DXDiag info on my car and display.

Card name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 SE
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce GTX 460 SE
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0E23&SUBSYS_716619DA&REV_A1
Display Memory: 2769 MB
Dedicated Memory: 978 MB
Shared Memory: 1791 MB
Current Mode: 1680 x 1050 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: SyncMaster T220/T220G,SyncMaster Magic T220/T220G(Digital)
Monitor Model: SyncMaster
Monitor Id: SAM03E5
Native Mode: 1680 x 1050(p) (59.883Hz)
Output Type: DVI
Driver Name: nvd3dumx.dll,nvwgf2umx.dll,nvwgf2umx.dll,nvd3dum,nvwgf2um,nvwgf2um
Driver File Version: 9.18.0013.0623 (English)
Driver Version: 9.18.13.623
DDI Version: 11
Driver Model: WDDM 1.1
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 8/30/2012 19:14:00, 18229096 bytes
 
So do you think I'm being a little hasty by saying I need to upgrade everything? I would like to run GW2 a lot higher than I am but comfortably for my PC and I can't do that at the moment. Should I be investing in a better GFX or should I consider another 460 and run them SLI?

Would I see any true benefit between my Q6600 and an I3?? I used an I3 at work and to be honest it feels a touch slower. :(
 
There is always something on the horizon. If you don't need a new rig now then don't buy yet. But if you constantly wait for the next gen of tech you'll be here forever. :p
 
Hello everyone,

Just an update for you. I went with the advice in this thread and opted to purchase the following kit which arrived today :)

1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor.
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard.
1 x Thermalright Silver Arrow SB-E CPU Cooler.
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C11 2133MHz Dual Channel.

I am retaining my old PSU and Graphics card for the time being.

I have to admit the CPU cooler is massive I couldn't believe it when it arrived hahaha.
 
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