Help on upgrade please

warrenpfo

warrenpfo

warrenpfo

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Joined
21 Jul 2009
Posts
14
I currently have:

Intel quad core 2.94 CPU
4gb Cosair mem
Acer striker extreme mobo
8800gtx graphics card

I have given my father my backup hard drive so need to invest in a new hard drive and was thinking should i at the same time upgrade some or all of the other components.

First off it all sits in a very big cooler master tower which i would not mind getting ride of and scaling own to a smaller box.

I was thinking run a SSD for the operating system and then a Nas drive for the rest.

I know the graphics card is now old but is the rest still ok for modern day gaming.

Thanks for any suggestions.
 
What are you looking to upgrade then other than needing a new hard drive and thinking about getting a smaller case & solid state?

EDIT: Do you have a budget range you'd be willing to spend if you chose to upgrade?
 
What do you primarily use your PC for?
If it's gaming, get that GPU upgraded straight away to a 5850 or 6870 or something.

The RAM and CPU are both fine, you can get a decent 40GB SSD for around £60-£70 on OcUK. Smaller cases? I can't really help you with that, down to personal preference.

If it's a C2Q Q6600 or similar, get a decent cooler and get into some overclocking, C2Q can easily reach 3.6GHz ;)
 
Emphacy said:
What do you primarily use your PC for?
If it's gaming, get that GPU upgraded straight away to a 5850 or 6870 or something.

The RAM and CPU are both fine, you can get a decent 40GB SSD for around £60-£70 on OcUK. Smaller cases? I can't really help you with that, down to personal preference.
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+1 to this. I recommend the 6870 highly as I personally own one and have absolutely no regrets. Wonderful card which can max everything but if you start maxing at HD 1080p then it can scale pretty damn well, crossfire and you've got GTX580 beating performance ;p.

Also like Emphacy said, case is down to personal preference and you can get your hands on an OCZ Agility SSD pretty damn cheap!! For a case I'd recommend the CM690 II Advanced Dominator case but it's personal preference.

Good luck with what you choose to do! :D
 
Thanks chaps the pc is used mainly for everyday use but on the weekends i like to get gaming.

I will look for a new GPU and a smaller case. There is no budget as i have not upgraded for a few years so happy to get the best i can now to last a few more years.

If HD was important to me then which Graphics card is best these days?
 
stulid said:
A ATI 6870 is not good value for performance when a ATI5870 is £149 - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-147-XF&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1711

it beats a 6870 - http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/294?vs=290

the cheapest ATI 6870 in stock is £20 more.
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Stulid is right, I never noticed the 5870 at that price. Definetly get a 5870 for £149.99, you'd be stupid to turn that performance down for that price. I might buy two of these and sell off my 6870 :P

warrenpfo said:
If HD was important to me then which Graphics card is best these days?
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5870 or something high up from NVIDIA such as a GTX460 and above ;p
 
Are the ATI cards these days considered better than Nvida?

Can you run 2 5870 together as you can with nvida in sli. I know it wont be called sli but am not sure what ATI call it.
 
warrenpfo said:
Are the ATI cards these days considered better than Nvida?

Can you run 2 5870 together as you can with nvida in sli. I know it wont be called sli but am not sure what ATI call it.
Click to expand...

HOLD ON.

your motherboard is based on a nforce chipset, ATI crossfire wont be happening anytime.

So either run the fastest single ATI card you can afford, or buy the best nvidia card or run two in SLI.
 
Ok so its one 5870 then. Thanks i will place the order tonight.

Now just need to find a smaller case and i think the psu i have could do with a change just so i can get one that you can remove the excess wires from to tidy up thinks as i have a bunch of unused connections off my current psu.
 
warrenpfo said:
Are the ATI cards these days considered better than Nvida?
Click to expand...

Depends what for. I've heard people say around "Are you power hungry? Or stability hungry?" In the impression of ATI = Raw power, NVIDIA = More stability. That's only what I've heard though.

When you say "Are ATI better then NVIDIA?" Or vice verca, it isnt a simple yes or no, it's what you want the cards for, which card it is and also your own opinion. I personally prefer NVIDIA for their PhysX and CUDA technology but I cant really choose between the two, both have their ups and downs. NVIDIA is like the Intel of CPU's, amazing but pricey I suppose :P Personal opinion.
 
warrenpfo said:
Ok so its one 5870 then. Thanks i will place the order tonight.

Now just need to find a smaller case and i think the psu i have could do with a change just so i can get one that you can remove the excess wires from to tidy up thinks as i have a bunch of unused connections off my current psu.
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Sounds good! Will want some pics when you get it :D For a case I'd recommend the CM690 II Advanced Dominator (white) because it's a brilliant case and I was actually going to go for it before i changed my mind to an Antec 1200 ;p plus the white because i think it looks better :D As for a PSU I could say the Coolermaster GX 750W? It has the PCI-E connections and should be more than enough to feed your system :P If you're wanting Modular for easier cable management you'd be paying a bit more but I'd say a 750W HX from Corsair?

EDIT: Sorry for double-post.
 
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