£300 Upgrade advice

BoB3rt

BoB3rt

BoB3rt

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Liverpool
Yo,
Upgrading one of my PC's used by friends if have a wee LAN or family.
Current spec is:

2.0ghz Core2Duo
2gb 800mhz DDR2
and HD3850
250gb HDD Seagate
Abit IP35-E Motherboard

basically i want it more comfortable for Starcraft2 =)
So looking for GFX card and Ram to start i think, and could do with more hardrive space.

So these are the items i am thinking:

HIS IceQ 5 Turbo ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £117.49
(£99.99) £117.49
(£99.99)
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 LGA775 'Yorkfield' 2.5GHz 4MB-cache (1333FSB) Processor - Retail Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 LGA775 'Yorkfield' 2.5GHz 4MB-cache (1333FSB) Processor - Retail £112.79
(£95.99) £112.79
(£95.99)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD502HJ) Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD502HJ) £32.99
(£28.08) £32.99
(£28.08)
Sub Total : £224.06
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £9.50
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £40.87
Total : £274.43

Been a while scince i bought parts but the price of Memory is still high... unless it was realy low a while back?
But if i can pick up 4GB ram for about £40 what do ya think?

would appresiate any help thanks!
 
why the older card?
although am sure its just as gud but newer has more recent tech plus less heat... so i believe.
 
Instead of the Q8300 get a second hand G0 stepping Q6600 for £70-80. Q6600's have more cache than the Q8300 and a higher multiplier which will help if overclocking.
 
Hello BoB3rt :)

BoB3rt said:
basically i want it more comfortable for Starcraft2 =)
Click to expand...
From everything I am reading this game doesn't actually use more than two cores? . . . so I'm not sure if spending £112.79 on a Yorkfield is gonna be money well spent?

Don Woligroski @ Tom's Hardware said:
The number of CPU cores has less of an effect than clock rate, although there is a clear performance deficit once a single CPU core is used.



From these numbers, it looks like you'd want to run at least a dual-core CPU above 2.0 GHz to play StarCraft II. For smoother gameplay, a dual-core over 2.5 GHz should be enough to do the trick. Admittedly, playing against multiple difficult AI opponents might be a little more taxing on the CPU than our benchmark, so if you're upgrading with StarCraft II in mind, we'd recommend the higher end of this spectrum. A triple-core CPU at 2.8 GHz or more should be able to provide all the performance you'd want for StarCraft II.
Click to expand...

I'm wondering did you try and OverClock this processor you already have? (are you ok with OverClocking?) . . what exact model number is it please?

BoB3rt said:
  • 2.0ghz Core2Duo
  • 2gb 800mhz DDR2
  • and HD3850
  • 250gb HDD Seagate
  • Abit IP35-E Motherboard
Click to expand...
I'm also wondering, if you need more memory would you be thinking of buying another 2GB of DDR2 or instead a 4GB kit of DDR2 and sell your current 2GB kit?
 
Yo,

Thanks for the intrest wayne.
The processor is an E2180 (2ghz 800FSB)... I have looked into overclocking a lot and wanted to with my current rig (in my sig) but i have had countless problems with my Q6600 and Motherboard not likeing each other (BUG - they won't or ignore to fix) so No am not really comfortable with overclocking at the minute

I see your point only needing 2 cores however SC2 is the most likley game to be played, but other RTS and FPS games will be played on it also, however i assume they will be fine with 2 cores (only huge applications.. rendering etc would benafit 4cores? nvm lol)

Well it would be rather difficault to find another 2 gb of the same ram ( GeIL 6400C4 ) to match up... if there is another 2 slots? i should look up the MoBo and check its capabilities now.
so the idea would be sell the 2gb and replace with a 4gb (2x2gb) set.

Thanks for the help!!

EDIT:

4 X 240-pin DIMM sockets support max. memory capacity 8GB
· Supports Dual channel DDR2 800/667 un-buffered non-ECC memory

ok so there would be enough slots, but isnt it ill advised to mix diffrent ram sticks.
Also looks like i am going to have to stick to 800mhz was hoping to have gone to 1066mhz.
 
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Hello BoB3rt :)

Lets try and get you "sorted!" . . .

BoB3rt said:
I have looked into overclocking a lot and wanted to with my current rig (in my sig) but i have had countless problems with my Q6600 and Motherboard not likeing each other (BUG - they won't or ignore to fix) so No am not really comfortable with overclocking at the minute

  • Intel® Core™2 Quad Q6600 (G0) 2.4GHz
  • Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro
  • Asus P5KC Motherboard
  • 4gb Kingston Hyper-X DDR2-1066
  • Radeon™ HD5770
  • Corsair 520HX
Click to expand...
Ok, so what you are saying is you tried to overclock before using your current system, had some problems which you attributed to a "bug" and now have cold feet about anymore overclocking? :D

Firstly those specs look "ideal" for overclocking? . . . I can't see any reason that rig isn't running at 3.0GHz right now? . . . I'm prepared to spend a little time with you giving it a go if your keen . . . let me know what you think this bug is?

In the meantime here's what I think you need to do to get that rig overclocked . . .

  1. Go into BIOS and load [Setup Defaults] then save & exit . .
  2. Go into BIOS and change [Ai Overclocking] from [Auto] to [Manual]
  3. Then change [DRAM Frequency] from [Auto] to [DDR2-800] then save & exit . .
  4. Go into BIOS and first change [FSB Frequency] from [Auto] to [333] then change the [DRAM Frequency] again to [DDR2-800] then save & exit . .
  5. Your Q6600 should now be @ 3.0GHz with the memory running at DDR2-800 . . *optional* if this doesn't work then "perhaps" the vCore need adjusting, change [CPU Voltage] from [Auto] to say [1.400v] then save & exit . . .
  6. If this has all worked so far and the machine is stable then you can go back into BIOS and change the [DRAM Frequency] from [DDR2-800] to [DDR2-1066] then save & exit . . .

asusp5kc.jpg


That system with the Intel® Core™2 Quad Q6600 @ 3.0GHz and the memory running at DDR2-1066 should absolutely "fly" :p

BoB3rt said:
I see your point only needing 2 cores however SC2 is the most likley game to be played, but other RTS and FPS games will be played on it also, however i assume they will be fine with 2 cores
Click to expand...
So . . . depending on whether or not we have had success getting your main rig overclocked we can turn our attention this your spare machine . .

  • Intel® Pentium® E2180
  • Abit IP35-E Motherboard
  • 2GB GEIL DDR2-800 CL4
  • AMD Radeon™ HD3850
I don't see a reason why that system can't run at least 2.66GHz . . . all this would involve is changing the FSB from 200 to 266 and perhaps making sure the memory frequency stays at DDR2-800 . . . if you can get that stable then perhaps there is scope to try for 3.0GHz . . . although some of those Pentium® chips didn;t like running too high an FSB but its worth a shot before you "splurge" £££ . . .

This doesn't address the issue of the memory however . . . 2GB may just not be enough! :(

BoB3rt said:
so the idea would be sell the 2gb and replace with a 4gb (2x2gb) set
Click to expand...
Yeah that would make some sense I suppose, bit of a drag to be buying DDR2 now but if you can sell your old 2GB set to offset the cost £££ and assuming we can get your systems overclocked it is a viable options (along with an updated GPU) . . .

Kingston HyperX 4GB

£72.84 inc

Hold off buying anything for the moment until we work-out if the OverClocking gods favour you . . . :cool:
 
Yo,

Ok, so what you are saying is you tried to overclock before using your current system, had some problems which you attributed to a "bug" and now have cold feet about anymore overclocking?
Click to expand...

Am not sure if i am allowed to post a link to another forum but here is a thread i made over at ASUS to give you an idea of my problem on main rig.
There really is no point even trying to overclock it, but its not that i have gotten cold feet i would love for it to run them speeds - a Q6600 was not made to be 2.4ghz :(
So i may just swap out the board for a P5Q Delux somtime. (however the only thing i havent tested is the CPU itself, but i cant see that being the problem if when the PC starts it runs fine.

Over too the second rig... this aint really my computer (i didnt pay for it) however i would definatly give it a go trying to push it to least 2.6 :) either way i have £300 to upgrade it though. i was actully thinking of this:

AMD Phenom II X2 Dual Core 555 3.20GHz Black Edition (Socket AM3)

OCZ Gold 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Low-Voltage Dual Channel

ASRock M3A770DE AMD 770 (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard

Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD502HJ)
Total : £229.13

and possabilly pick up a GFX upgrade for about £100???

Thanks again for the help!!!
 
Hello BoB3rt,

I read your thread (and the other three threads) over at the ASUS forum and its hard to see what the problem is . . . sometimes there is a genuine problem which the end-user can do nothing about and sometimes the end-users just run out of patience and jump on the "bug-bandwagon" :p

From what I have read it appears that people had a good working Asus P5KC but as soon as they installed the Intel® Core™2 Quad Q6600 (G0) you get a failed boot? . . . just a blank screen with all the fans running? . . is this right?

Does it just hang there doing nothing? . . . even if you wait for a minute or two?

BoB3rt said:
There really is no point even trying to overclock it
Click to expand...

I wouldn't agree, that chip really needs to be running at 3.0GHz so I have an idea . . . would you be prepared to swap the processors between boards? . . . this would be a great trouble-shooting excercise and "if" it works you could potentially be solving a problem that has bugged you for two years and also saving yourself some money £££ if it fixed the problem?

  • Intel® Core™2 Quad Q6600 (G0)
    • Asus P5KC Motherboard
  • Intel® Pentium® E2180
    • Abit IP35-E Motherboard

  • Intel® Pentium® E2180
    • Asus P5KC Motherboard
  • Intel® Core™2 Quad Q6600 (G0)
    • Abit IP35-E Motherboard

BoB3rt said:
Over too the second rig... this aint really my computer (i didnt pay for it) however i would definatly give it a go trying to push it to least 2.6
Click to expand...
When you say it it "aint really my computer" what do you mean? . . . is it your PC to play with/overclock or it is someone elses? :confused:

BoB3rt said:
i have £300 to upgrade it though
Click to expand...
That's great you have a chunk of money £££ to spend but if your prepared to roll up your sleeves and get some last ditch trouble-shooting done you may be able to make that money go along way . . . would be really good to find out whats possible with the set of hardware you already own and then buy the hardware you really "need" and sell off the parts you no longer need!

Let me know what you think! :cool:
 
Yep thats right.. its as if it has trouble from a 'cold' start. The monitor stays in standby so is obviously getting no signal and all fans run at 100% and it will stay like that i have left it up to 10minutes once. I have always had a Q6600 init and it didnt start till after 6months, i can safley say i have tried most things to sort it and after the reading of others having the same issue that it must be a bug in some way. however i keep meaning to put the internal speaker in and see if i get any beeps when it does this.

More recently though i have figured something out: if i start and all fans go to 100% they ever so slowly decrease in speed (getting quieter) take about 3-4 mins before there at the level they should be, if i then restart the PC it will work more often than not ?? It litrally is like it has trouble with starting from 'cold'. how ever if i didnt wait these 3-4 mins i could be here a while restarting before sucess... on the off chance someimes turning the PSU off and back on will help aswell (meaning this has worked more than a couple of times to be a coincidence) and as i have said i have tested a diffrent PSU also.

Am going to try your clock settings on this rig now and see if it stays stable.. however i should had after clocking my ram which i have had stable, when it get he 'cold' start problem it will then start with an error saying "overclocking failed please press F1 to enter setup for defaults" or along those lines... BUT i have had that message even when the PC is running at stock!? just a mess!

i was going to swap the cores at some point and test run them for a week as you say...however as i was saying the second rig is a family computer, that i use if friends come round (might aswell be mine) but if the rents get a wiff of me messing about with it (overclocking etc...) they be less than impressed. however am willing to give it ago.
After that if it is successful i will aquire 4gb of RAM... although would not upgrading to the spec above (previous post) be better at 3.2ghz and DDR3 ram?

Many thanks Wayne!

EDIT: ok so i restored deafults and restarted (no problems) enters setup again and changed AI overclocking to manual and then the DRAM-freq to DDR2-800 and save and exit... computer restarts and does nothing (same old problem) took me 3 restarts before i had to knock the power of at the PSU... after that (suprise suprise) it decided to work only to get the message:

IMG_0091.jpg


fail :(
 
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