General upgrade query

Mal Cullen

Mal Cullen

Mal Cullen

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Joined
7 Feb 2010
Posts
191
Location
Essex
Hi all and thanks for any suggestions in advance!

I have managed to acquire a PC my brother put together back in 2008. My own machine which was a similar build bit the dust, not sure if it was PSU or Board or what but fixing that is for another thread...

System is as follows (Cut & Paste from battle.net beta profile settings!)

My System Specifications
Operating System:
Windows 2.6.0.6002 (Service Pack 2)
CPU Type:
Intel® Core™2 CPU 6600 @ 2.40GHz
CPU Speed:
2.42 GHz
System Memory:
2 GB
Video Card Model:
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS
Video Card Memory:
1.35 GB
Video Card Driver:
nvd3dum.dll
Desktop Resolution:
1680x1050
Hard Disk Size:
372.61 GB
Hard Disk Free Space:
137.06 GB (37%)
Download Speed:
805.66 kB/s (6.6 mbps)

I know that
1st thing to do is put in another 2 gigs of memory (which I have in my other dead machine) same type as the existing.
2nd thing is to get a copy of Win 7 home premium rather than the Vista 64 it is running on.

What is going to be the next step on getting this machine running a bit better? I have no need for uber settings as you can see from my native resolution above. Mainly I want to be able to play both Diablo 3 and Guild Wars 2 when they are out. Also will have several other Steam games available like CSS, TF2, Dead Island. Will it ever be able to play BF3? Being honest have Xbox 360 for gaming..

The detail above will play Crysis 1 on medium but struggles a touch due to the lower memory I think.

Do you think maybe a 1G HD 6950 is the best bet? Trouble is I am really only looking to spend £150 on trying to get this machine ticking over a bit better so it is still a touch outside my price range..

Any other views please let me know.

Cheers

CLH
 
Well it's a quadcore fella so meets the minimum requirement for gaming. I would check if the bios supports overclocking.

If yes and one isnt fitted I would consider an aftermarket heatsink. Gelid tranquillo was around £20 i believe. The nvidia 460 super OC is £120 i think or opt for a 6870 £130ish with games if the 6950 is out of budget. That's what i'd do anywho
 
As you say the fist thing is to pop in another 2GB of RAM.

What motherboard do you have? Assuming it'll allow you to overclock try picking up a second hand LGA775 cooler and overclocking the CPU. Even a reasonable CPU should get you to about 3.0-3.2GHz, if it's a decent G0 stepping, you may be able to push 3.5-3.6GHz with a bit of luck.

As for a GPU upgrade, depends on what PSU you have. Could try looking at second hand cards such as a 5850 or GTX460 for around £70 if your looking to do it on the cheap. Otherwise something like a 6870 would probably be your best bet.

edit; beaten to it.
 
I run a second system with the same processor, I added a GTX 560Ti (1GB) which appears to have helped a lot, but I've also overclocked it too now up to 3.2GHZ - this may have helped a lot- added a reasonably cheap cooler too: Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2.

I run BFBC2 at 1920x1080 at high settings with a very playable FPS rate.

If you have the money I would definitely recommend a 6950 though !

P.S. Make sure you get the 64 bit Windows 7, or you won't be able to use the full 4GB RAM!
 
any particular reason your going to switch to win 7 if it has valid vista 64 bit ?

processor looks like a e6600 dual core not a q6600 quad, so might want to confirm that first, download cpu-z and run it.

it will be able to play bf3 as it's around the minimum spec that i've seen posted.

as mentioned a 2nd hand 5850 or 460 would do ok , if not the 6870 new would be a decent card.
 
sedmonds said:
I run a second system with the same processor, I added a GTX 560Ti (1GB) which appears to have helped a lot, but I've also overclocked it too now up to 3.2GHZ - this may have helped a lot- added a reasonably cheap cooler too: Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2.

I run BFBC2 at 1920x1080 at high settings with a very playable FPS rate.

If you have the money I would definitely recommend a 6950 though !

P.S. Make sure you get the 64 bit Windows 7, or you won't be able to use the full 4GB RAM!
Click to expand...

560ti is 6950 money though bit out of the budget. If you notice his monitor isn't 1920x1080. I would think the 6870 or 460 Super OC would make more sense.

Nice for someone to post practical experience though and good shout about stating 64bit.....sometimes we take things for granted on here

*edit* well spotted MP, my eye sight must be failing me swear I saw a Q before the 6600 :(
 
Last edited:
Cheers for all the replys. I believe has already an aftermarket cooler when it was built but will run everything tonight and post the full specs.

I alwys thought that Win 7 was better for the quad core's than vista and is generally a smoother and faster experience?

anyway will update later this evening and thanks again.

If I go £68 for Win 7
and
£130-£150 for new video card I will be fine..
 
Found my brother's forum post when he built the rig back in June '07

OKAY SO AFTER SOME CAREFULL CONSIDERATION THIS IS THE SPEC I ORDERED TODAY.

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz (1066FSB
Gigabyte GA_P35_DQ6 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit
BFG GeForce 8800 GTS OC2 640MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express
Samsung SpinPoint T HD501LJ 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache
Samsung SH-183LBEBN 18x18 DVD±RW Dual Layer Serial ATA Lightscribe ReWriter (Black)
NZXT Zero Crafted Series Aluminium Full Tower
Creative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer 7.1 Soundcard
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit Edition DVD - OEM - 1Pk
Noctua NH-U12F (Socket LGA775/754/939/940/AM2) Heatsink
Akasa AK-ICR-01 Internal Card Reader
Corsair HX 520W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU

So the above is what I am currently sitting on. It is all purring nicely but I would love to bring the spec into a 2011 setting.

What is the view on what will give most bang for buck?

Monitor it will be used with is a Sammy 1680x1050. E6600 hasn't been clocked.


CLH
 
It would probably be wiser to ditch windows 7 (seeing as you have a 64bit OS) and look to get a Q6600 second hand instead with that money. Double check that mobos supported CPUs before buying though, it should accept the Q6600.

Look into getting access to the MM (members market) on here. You've been a member a while, i cant remember if there is a post requirement too.
 
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