General Upgrade Advice

RussZS · 30 Aug 2010 at 11:07

Hi folks,

I currently have the following spec:

- E6600 @2.7Ghz
- 4GB Geil RAM
- Asus P5B
- Corsair HX620
- 8800GT 512MB

I'm just getting back into playing games (BC2 mostly) but it's a bit sluggish at 1920x1080, so I want to throw some money at it.

Ideally, I'd just like a processor and a new gfx card if possible? If so, what should I be looking at? Ideally no more than £300-350 for the two!

I've been recommended a 5770 and a Q6600. Good choice?

Thanks,

Russ.

ChrisD. · 30 Aug 2010 at 11:08

All you need is a new card, the E6600 is more than capable of running BC2. I don't think moving to a Q6600 will give you any noticeable improvement in games.

I bought a 5850 to replace my old 8800GTX and it's a superb card and runs BC2 at full settings at 1920*1200.

stulid · 30 Aug 2010 at 11:08

a GTX460 and Q6600 is much better.

than a 5770.

a GTX460 is £145,

www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/156?vs=172

and well worth the money over a 5770.

a second hand Q6600 is £80

www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/156?vs=172

closet match I could find, also modern games are using more and more cpu cores.

RussZS · 30 Aug 2010 at 11:12

Is the PSU still adequate for these newer cards? It was a decent one back in the day IIRC!

stulid · 30 Aug 2010 at 11:14

psu is fine, plenty of life left in it.

ChrisD. · 30 Aug 2010 at 11:16

RussZS said:
Is the PSU still adequate for these newer cards? It was a decent one back in the day IIRC!

Yes.

RussZS · 30 Aug 2010 at 11:21

GTX460 and a Q6600 then, everyone agree? That seemed too easy!

Are the newer processors like Q8400 no good? I've seen a few Q6600's about for £80 or so.

Thanks for your help folks, appreciate it!

ChrisD. · 30 Aug 2010 at 11:24

I really don't think you'll see all that much difference moving to a Q6600.

stulid · 30 Aug 2010 at 11:24

yeah check the members market.

you don't live close to weston do you?

stulid · 30 Aug 2010 at 11:28

the paragraph near the bottom says bad company2 uses all the cores where possible

www.techspot.com/article/255-battlefield-bad-company2-performance/page7.html

but then they disable some cores, and its still not maxed out, weird.

RussZS · 30 Aug 2010 at 11:28

Nope, I'm in sunny Wolverhampton!

I'll try the card only first MilanoChris, then change the CPU if its still struggling!

Thanks everyone

ChrisD. · 30 Aug 2010 at 11:31

Final paragraph:

Here is the same Core i7 920 processor with two cores disabled as well as HyperThreading. As you can see neither core is maxed out, but the CPU utilization is much higher. So again, a decent dual core processor such as a Core 2 Duo E8xxx or Phenom II X2 should be enough to get the most out of your graphics card in this game. While it is quad-core optimized, the game is not demanding enough on the CPU to warrant it based on what I have seen so far.

IMO, the money spent on buying a Q6600 would be better put toward a slightly better GFX card.

thingemajib · 30 Aug 2010 at 11:36

the gtx 460 is a better performer, but there have been a fair few second hand 5770s going in the MM for £85-100 lately (i know because i have been buying a fair few of them XD). At that price, the 5770 is a much better deal

edit: theres a couple going for 85 each now - http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?p=17268343#post17268343

coldfused · 30 Aug 2010 at 11:36

agreed. Put more money into a new a GFX card, or put it aside for a better future build.

RussZS · 30 Aug 2010 at 11:45

An £85 5770 looks very tempting! Is a 460 twice as good?

I can't believe how out of touch I've become!

What's my 8800 worth? About £30?

stulid · 30 Aug 2010 at 11:47

£35 with postage

RussZS · 30 Aug 2010 at 11:49

I think I'll just get a 5770 now, for what is effectively a '£50 upgrade' then spec a complete new build in 2011

Thanks folks!