Upgrade advice (or not?) - £500 budget

BadMeatPies

BadMeatPies

BadMeatPies

Associate
Joined
29 Dec 2005
Posts
7
Hi all,

Please could I have some help?

After some time off I'm back into PC gaming. I picked up a 280X on xmas day, with a view to getting 4 gig more ram and calling it a day, but I'm starting to think that it's not enough as I only get 20FPS max on multiplayer in ARMA3 (my current game of choice). BF4 runs just about on ultra in single player but fps is crap before then.

I was going to spend this money on a 24-27" monitor (probably BenQ, model name escapes me) but I have a good screen already so thought hardware would be a better investment for now, but if a ram upgrade is enough then I'd be able to get a monitor right away, which would be nice.

I'm very conscious of noise with my PCs (the MSI 280X, which is considered the quietest iirc, is almost too noisy for me.)

Please can you help me decide what to spend my money on?

Current spec:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R iP45 Socket 775 ATX
RAM: OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 1066MHz/PC2-8500 Gold
PSU: BeQuiet Pure Power L8 730W '80 Plus Bronze'
GPU: MSI Radeon R9 280X Gaming Edition OC 3072MB (picked up at OCUK on Xmas deal)
SSD: Intel X25-M 80GB (small so i can only have my favourite games on, but that's fine, most run off the WDs fine)
Storage: 2 x WD green storage drives (jbod)
Case: Antec Solo (a bit cut up now to fit the 280X)
HSF: Noctua NH-U12P (Socket 754, 940, 775, 939, AM2, AM2+)

I'm a sucker for tech, so budget can be pushed if a creative enough solution is suggested, or at least spread over the coming months, I realise I might just need a new build apart from the gpu so £500 wouldn't be much... god I'm confused, help! Please!
 
 
Thanks both. So basically a full rebuild is prefered.

I know the case is small and old, but I'm happy with it, or do you not think it has the airflow these new components will require?

Are there any areas I could push the budget a little to gain noticeable gains? I hate the phrase cause I know it's bs, but can I 'future proof' the build for a year or two? 16gb ram or an i7 for example?
According to this article CPU does have an influence on ARMA3 performance: http://www.techspot.com/review/712-arma-3-benchmarks/page5.html

Oh, regarding the HSF, I believe my current Noctua is compatible with 1150 socket, according to the info top right, but it isn't listed in the product description? It's incredibly quiet so I'd like to keep it in use if possible.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-010-NC&campaign=social/forum/textlink

Thank you again
 
Hi,

If you had to mod to fit the 280X, i think its time for the case ot go.

the 200R will take the 280X easy. the Airflow is enough.

Yeah future proofing isn't a great term but i know what you mean.. There are many ways to future proof, let me know which you prefer:

  • Grab an i7
  • Grab a i7 and overclock it
  • Set up for SLI/Xfire

Do any of those entice you?

16GB of RAM is pointless, currently, with high RAM prices and no NEED for 16gb you're better off with 8GB. :)
 
I'm noticing my 9550 is starting to show its age a bit. It'd be good in a media pc or office pc now but a new build for me personally, as opposed to friends and customers, is in order I think. I'd be +1 on getting a new mobo, cpu and ram with your budget. The 9550 would be bottlenecking the 280xcard in the game :)
 
Doomedspeed said:
Hi,

If you had to mod to fit the 280X, i think its time for the case ot go.

the 200R will take the 280X easy. the Airflow is enough.

Yeah future proofing isn't a great term but i know what you mean.. There are many ways to future proof, let me know which you prefer:

  • Grab an i7
  • Grab a i7 and overclock it
  • Set up for SLI/Xfire

Do any of those entice you?

16GB of RAM is pointless, currently, with high RAM prices and no NEED for 16gb you're better off with 8GB. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks Doomspeed.

Good point with the case, I agree, would be a pain if the pciE slot wasn't the same and I had to re-cut... I will replace with one of the above recommendations.

16GB pointless, OK.

If you experts think it's worth it, I would be up for grabbing an i7, I've never overclocked, always been concerned about heat (leading to noise). Maybe I should follow the original advice and get a 4670K and see how it all runs, adding a second 280X if it isn't performing how i want it to, or would the 4670K bottleneck?

Idleman - thank you for the link and suggestion, contacting them now.

Again, thank you to everyone for the advice.
 
Last edited:
BadMeatPies said:
Thanks Doomspeed.

Good point with the case, I agree, would be a pain if the pciE slot wasn't the same and I had to re-cut... I will replace with one of the above recommendations.

16GB pointless, OK.

If you experts think it's worth it, I would be up for grabbing an i7, I've never overclocked, always been concerned about heat (leading to noise). Maybe I should follow the original advice and get a 4670K and see how it all runs, adding a second 280X if it isn't performing how i want it to, or would the 4670K bottleneck?

Idleman - thank you for the link and suggestion, contacting them now.

Again, thank you to everyone for the advice.
Click to expand...

No worries, the 200R is a very good budget case.

Sorry, 16GB of RAM has it uses, but Games don't use 16GB currently. Only video editing (heavy) and Image editing (heavy) do this really.

8gb is the sweetspot for gaming.

OVerclocking is pretty safe as long as you have a good cooler. I have a D14 (a MASSIVE heatsink) on my 2500k. The way i've set it means the noise doesn't increase atall when OC'ed.

It sits around 45C-50C on stock clocks (full load) and when overclock to 4.5ghz it sits around 55C-60C., the fan speed doesn't change atall. :)

The OC&C section can help you if ever you wanted too.

If you were planning on going Xfire, i would suggest the 4770k, though the 4670k would be a good alterntive if you REALLY can't afford it.

THe 4670k will bottleneck them a little bit, though you may not even notice it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom