Best bang-for-buck bundle (gaming)

SoapSurgeon

SoapSurgeon

SoapSurgeon

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All alliteration aside,

I currently have:

GA-MA78GM-US2H (or similar board, its definitely AM2+ and DDR2, micro atx)
AMD Athlon XII 5050e 2.6Ghz
4Gb DDR2 Ram (cant remember brand, but decent)
ATI HD 5750 1Gb

I was browsing the recommended specs of Civ V and it recommends a quad core CPU. My CPU is pretty poor anyway (was originally built for HTPC). Considering this machine will primarily be used for games, what upgrade path should I take?

1) Buy a phenom II x4 and be happy?
2) Buy a new bundle of cpu, mobo + ram - either intel or AMD dont mind.
3) Buy a new GFX card?
4) nothing, quit moaning, it'll be fine.

I'm leaning towards 2 at the moment, but dont know which bundle to go for. I like the look of the x6 processors, but i might be being a core-whore!

What bundles do you recommend? (from OCUK obviously!)

Matt
 
I would just get a Phenom II x4,x6 as the rest of your pc is fine...you could go for the 5770 also but the 5750 will be fine i would imagine (havent see recommended spec)
 
I agree either a 955 quad ore or the 1055t hexa core. You could look for a second hand 5850 or a new 460gtx 1 gig card.
 
OK,

the reason I was suggesting a new mobo is that I wasn't sure I could run an x6 in my mobo. I know the AM sockets are meant to be compatible but the difference between DDR2 and DDR3 i wasn't so sure about. Basically, am I getting the most out of an x6 with an AM2+ mobo?

Oh, I'm thinking of x6 because for value for money it seems to make sense at the moment.

Budget is flexible, but lets say around £500. Although, if just buying a CPU would be fine then im not going to argue!
 
Your motherboard does support 6 cores you will just have to do a bios update...i would get a Phenom II x6 and then if you want you could also get a GTX 460,5770,5870 etc but its not necessary....
 
Use CPUZ to find the exact model of your board so you can check the CPU compatibility on the manufacturers website.
 
Yeah, I did CPUZ last night - but forgot what it was! I will confirm tonight.

I know its a gigabyte micro atx AM2 socket mobo with on board HD3200, just can't remember which one!

I have found an HD 5870 on the MM so might buy that. Thanks for advice.

edit: not worth going intel?
 
Best bang for buck performance bundles is easily the Argon i3 @ 4.2GHz bundle , it is on this week only offer aswell!

For simply gaming the i3 at 4.2GHz isnt going to break a sweat and with £500 to play with you have enough left for a new GPU to go with it. A 460 or 470 GTX maybe?
 
Don't know much about intel cpus, is the i3 quad core? Don't think it is.

Civ V recommends quad, so I assume it is capable of using 4 cores. I know its probably not essential but what do you think? Also, future upgrades, arent intel changing the socket again soon, I heard a rumour that the new AMD chips will use AM3 still, although im not sure.

I might add that I have an another reason for wanting to upgrade. I was planning on handing down my parts to my brother, so he can play Civ 5. I have another thread on here about the troubles he is having with a new GFX card I got him, so a full upgrade would benefit him too - although it is not essential.
 
Phenom IIx4 and GTX460 1gb will do the trick nicely. Maybe a decent cooler so you can have a go at overclocking although I don't know what your mobo is like for that.
 
Ha, lots of choices. I will have to draw up a list of possibilities.

I think it is clear that a full upgrade is unnecessary, pending exact mobo model. However, I haven't written it off yet.

Thanks everyone for your advice.
 
I would go AMD....If you can i would suggest selling your pc then buying a new one which is AM3 and DDR3 because that way you have a good chance of being able to use the new Bulldozer cpus unlike Intel's 'Sandybridge' cpus will not work with any current motherboards eg 1156 (i3,i5 etc)
 
Yeh thats good....although you can save if you can overclock yourself...but thats a good option paired with a 5770/5870/GTX 460 or even your 5750 :) just stick your old gear on the MM. Check your trust.
 
My motherboard is:

GA-MA78GM-DS2H

So apparently it supports the latest AMD processors. I might look into getting a new x4 or x6 processor and new GFX card then. What are the best value GFX cards at the moment? With a marked improvement over my 5750 of course...
 
Either a 5850 or a 460 1 gig and overclock them :) or a second hand 5870 if you can find one for a good price
 
OK, I've been looking around.

Thinking of getting:

AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 965 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.40GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail (this week only) as it has a higher clock speed than the X6 and chances are 6 cores wont be used for a while by which time new CPUs will be out.

It also turns out I have a 5770, not 5750 - is it still worth the upgrade?
 
The 955 would save you £20 and is only 200mhz slower clock at stock, though the 965 is a good choice. No real point in upgrading from a 5770 for now in my opinion. Sure it's not as powerful as a 5830/gtx460-768/gtx460-1gb but for civ 5 and playing at 1920 1200 it'll do nicely.
 
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