Spec me some upgrades worthy of mordor

BecomingPizza

BecomingPizza

BecomingPizza

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5 Dec 2010
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Ok so, I have a bit of cash to spare and I reckon I could use some upgrades to my machine. I reckon I can install parts fine, I'm just not too familiar with the current market. Anyway here's my current spec:

-Phenom X4 B50 3.1GHz (unlocked from an X2)
-Stock AMD Cooler
-Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB 1600MHz AND 2x2GB some random RAM (Don't want to turn off pc and check what brand they are right now, came with PC, figured it couldn't hurt keeping them in there when I added the corsair sticks)
-Asus M4A77TD
-5770 Vapor-X graphics card
-450W random PSU (came with PC)
-Inwin Fanqua case
-3 hard drives, cd drive, windows 7 yadda yadda...

This is used for gaming, video editing & programming (if that will affect parts choices... I don't know :)) and I'd like to spend ~£400 but could go as high as £700.

What I had in mind for upgrades:

-New cpu/motherboard - I see the FX4170 for around £100 and my eyes light up at the prospect of 4.2GHz :D but I hear Intel's current line up wipes the floor with AMDs stuff..

-CPU cooler - clueless as to which!

-New PSU - bit concerned that this random no brand psu I have could explode at any moment, and 450W is not a lot to play with :S

-New graphics card - my 5770 is ok.. but I'd like better :D also the dual monitor flickering on this card is hugely annoying. Not a priority for now as this could come in a few months.

-New case - I guess this is mainly down to personal preference, and could be done at a later date.

-Not bothered about SSDs for now, quite happy to wait for their prices to drop a bit and maybe get some in a couple of months or so.

I hope I'm not being too vague with my requirements! Thanks in advance!
 
The list of the usual suspect.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x MSI HD 7850 Twin Frozr III OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Cards w/ Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £169.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £81.98
1 x XFX Pro 550W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £56.99
1 x Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £54.98
1 x Thermalright True Spirit 120 CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/1155/1156/AM2/AM3/FM1) £24.98
Total : £583.92 (includes shipping : £12.50).



BTW, keep the corsair ram and ditch the other. It's not worth the trouble for a Ivybridge build. Then you can sell the cpu + motherboard + ram + 5770 combo for a little scratch. I don't think you would want to submit your potential buyer to the horrors of InWin cases and PSUs.

The cooler is out of stock but plenty around. Corsair A50, Hyper 212 evo, Matterhorn Pure. The TrueSpirit 140 kicks ass, but wont fit in that case. You will need a case with 170mm CPU cooler clearance.
 
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olivier renault said:
The list of the usual suspect.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x MSI HD 7850 Twin Frozr III OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Cards w/ Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £169.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £81.98
1 x XFX Pro 550W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £56.99
1 x Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £54.98
1 x Thermalright True Spirit 120 CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/1155/1156/AM2/AM3/FM1) £24.98
Total : £583.92 (includes shipping : £12.50).



BTW, keep the corsair ram and ditch the other. It's not worth the trouble for a Ivybridge build. Then you can sell the cpu + motherboard + ram + 5770 combo for a little scratch. I don't think you would want to submit your potential buyer to the horrors of InWin cases and PSUs.

The cooler is out of stock but plenty around. Corsair A50, Hyper 212 evo, Matterhorn Pure. The TrueSpirit 140 kicks ass, but wont fit in that case. You will need a case with 170mm CPU cooler clearance.
Click to expand...

+1 to this!

With the money you are looking to use to upgrade, you could easily replace every part except HDD/Optical Drive and have amazing performance :)

The spec above does exactly that!
 
Awesome thanks a lot! I may end up with different case I'll have to look through the hundreds on the market just to see if any catch my eye.

Just out of curiosity, would spending the extra on a 7870 rather than a 7850 bring me much of a performance increase in games?
 
OliverDavis said:
+1 to this!

With the money you are looking to use to upgrade, you could easily replace every part except HDD/Optical Drive and have amazing performance :)

The spec above does exactly that!
Click to expand...

...... :)



BecomingPizza said:
Awesome thanks a lot! I may end up with different case I'll have to look through the hundreds on the market just to see if any catch my eye.

Just out of curiosity, would spending the extra on a 7870 rather than a 7850 bring me much of a performance increase in games?
Click to expand...


Not particularly, you can just OC the 7850 and get a performance boost if need be. :)
 
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BecomingPizza said:
I imagine it will be quite a step up from my 5770 at any rate :) thanks!
Click to expand...

Definitely a big boost! You'll have no issues with anything you throw at the system with the suggested upgrade. :D

E: Thought I'd throw in that SSDs probably won't come down in price much more, I wouldn't imagine so anyways, they're already a bargain!
 
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If you want to upgrade the GPU and you can afford it, then go up to HD7950. And with a decent manufacturer as always, preferably with custom 'twin fan' cooling. Gigabyte, Asus, MSI, Sapphire.

HD7850 is a great card nonetheless. It's about on par with a GTX570 / HD6950, and overclocks better than either, while using a lot less power and being quieter. It's the best price/performance bargain, along with the HD7950. For the top tier performance, the the GTX670 (forget the 680), but a lot more expensive.
 
BecomingPizza said:
Hmmm a 7950 is tempting, and I could just about afford it :D but would that require more than a 550W PSU?
Click to expand...

nope. A good 550W will power any single modern GPU easily. If you want to save your money, the 7850 is a good card. Basically, look up benchmarks, reviews and comparisons between the cards. See if the performance gain is worth your cash, or not.

For comparison, I am still using a 6950 2GB, and I'm very happy with its performance. Borderlands2, Guild Wars 2, you name it.
 
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olivier renault said:
nope. A good 550W will power any single modern GPU easily. If you want to save your money, the 7850 is a good card. Basically, look up benchmarks, reviews and comparisons between the cards. See if the performance gain is worth your cash, or not.

For comparison, I am still using a 6950 2GB, and I'm very happy with its performance. Borderlands2, Guild Wars 2, you name it.
Click to expand...

Aha good stuff! I'll look up some comparisons and decide. Thanks :D
 
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