Do i need to upgrade?

Count_Zero99uk

Count_Zero99uk

Count_Zero99uk

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Huddersfield
Im toying with the idea of a new build, as i have mentioned before. Though money is tight so if there is a cheaper way to get something better im all for it.

I was thinking the other day about maybe half upgrading the system and then worying about the other half nearer xmas.

Anyway here is what i currently have


Core 2 Duo e6600
Gigabyte GA-965P-DQ6 Motherboard
Ati Radeon HD 3850 512Mb
2 x Corsair CM2X1024-6400 - (so 2gb total)
2 x 250 gb SATA harddrives
Windows xp.

This is all in an antec p100 case with a 600w seasonic (something like that name).

Now my thoughts were to increase the following

OS shift from XP to Windows 7 Home (£100)
this allows me to up my memory to 4 gb, will probly get something along the same lines as what i have in there.
and an upgrade on the graphics card.

Now the OS and the GFX card i would want to move over to the new machine, so a future proof card thats in the just about budget card would be good.

How much of an improvement would i see with doing this on games like Borderlands, Fallout 3 etc. As im not sure where the slowdown comes wether its the ram or the cpu or even the gpu.

Any and all suggestions grately received.

Thanks as allways for your advice.
Zero.
 
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Count_Zero99uk said:
How much of an improvement would i see with doing this on games like Borderlands, Fallout 3 etc. As im not sure where the slowdown comes wether its the ram or the cpu or even the gpu.

Any and all suggestions grately received.

Thanks as allways for your advice.
Zero.
Click to expand...

NINJA EDIT (REMOVED POST)
 
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I personally wouldn't reccomend half upgrading mainly as it will leave you feeling slightly dissapointed and out of pocket by the time you finish the upgrade.

by far the best advice i ever got on here was to save up for the whole thing in one go

also in regards to your cpu,ram question when i jusmped from my old socket 939 system to the new rig in my sig every game i own has been given a new lease of life it's suprising how much the processora can hold things back without you knowinggone from playing crysis at 20-30fps to playing it at 40-50 fps, phot shops for me is now so fast compared to my old rig. Once you catch the bug and get something new i think there is no looking back you'll be wanting more and more and more just like the industry wants you to

my best advice to you is to save 400-500 quid over x period of time by then maybe prices will have fallen (or if your unlucky risen) but hopefully release of the hexacores should drive down some of the prices of the older chips (chips to you that would be blindingly fast)

hope this helps a little and if none of that made much sense it's cause i'm half asleep lol
 
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I would look to overclock the E6600 to around 3GHZ to 3.2GHZ.

If you don't have an aftermarket cooler the following one should do the job:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-035-AR&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=1395

The HD4870 1GB will be a huge upgrade over what you currently have:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-204-SP

The particular model of the HD4870 1GB I linked too also has a very good and relatively quiet aftermarket cooler too.

The HD5770 is similar to the previous card in performance but has DX11 and lower power consumption:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-014-C3

For around £70 an HD4870 512MB is excellent value for money:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-100-HT

However DX11 and DX10 works only under Vista and Windows 7.

It should not be more than 10% slower than the 1GB version.

I would probably only upgrade to Windows 7 when you get a new machine as most games still will work under DX9.

2GB should be still enough for gaming under XP.

The overclock and the new card would be enough to boost your framerates in games a lot.

This review gives you an indication of the relative performance of these graphics cards:

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2009/11/23/powercolor_hd5770_video_card_review/

An HD4870 512MB,HD4870 1GB or HD5770 1GB should be able to run most modern games at 1680X1050 on very high settings.
 
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