Looking at my current spec, what should I upgrade?

DublinDude · 22 Aug 2011 at 13:10

Hi guys,

Its a while since I have upgraded my pc and I am out of touch with whats the latest in terms of processors and graphics cards.

My current build is:

Motherboard: Asus P5Q
Video Card: HD4870
Processor: Q6600
Memory: OCZ PC6400 4GB
Hard drive: 2 * F1 1TB
Sound Card: XtremeGamer
Power: Corsair 620watt
Monitor: 24" p2450
Speakers: Logitech Z-2300
OS: Windows 7 64bit
Case: ATCS 840
Keyboard: Tarantula
Mouse: Lachesis

Have prices come down much on the graphics cards and processors? I am not sure if I upgrade my processsor and/or graphics card would I need to upgrade my psu!

I used to be well up on all this stuff but I am so out of touch these days! I do a bit of photoshoping and gaming.

stulid · 22 Aug 2011 at 13:12

Change the graphics card first - http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18309452

Many bargains in there.

Then if still not satisfied, then change the CPU/Motherboard and RAM.

j.col · 22 Aug 2011 at 13:12

what is your budget? also your psu will be fine for most systems

Jony27 · 22 Aug 2011 at 13:13

get a CPU cooler and overclock the CPU too

DublinDude · 22 Aug 2011 at 13:22

stulid said:
Change the graphics card first - http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18309452

Many bargains in there.

Then if still not satisfied, then change the CPU/Motherboard and RAM.

Thanks! As I have said I am out of touch with hardware these days! I am not sure how they compare to the one I have!

j.col said:
what is your budget? also your psu will be fine for most systems

I don't know as yet, I am thinking of maybe upgrading one thing at a time. So not sure to start off with a videocard or processor or memory.

Jony27 said:
get a CPU cooler and overclock the CPU too

Not really something I am interested in tinkering with just yet! In case I break everything! lol

stulid · 22 Aug 2011 at 13:23

DublinDude said:
Thanks! As I have said I am out of touch with hardware these days! I am not sure how they compare to the one I have!

Ah,

4870 vs 6950 2Gb - http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/304?vs=293

DublinDude · 22 Aug 2011 at 13:29

stulid said:
Ah,

4870 vs 6950 2Gb - http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/304?vs=293

Thanks for that! At a quick glance it would appear to be a significant performance improvement. Would my current PSU support it?

Jony27 · 22 Aug 2011 at 13:31

DublinDude said:
Thanks for that! At a quick glance it would appear to be a significant performance improvement. Would my current PSU support it?

yes, more than enough.

stulid · 22 Aug 2011 at 13:33

DublinDude said:
Thanks for that! At a quick glance it would appear to be a significant performance improvement. Would my current PSU support it?

Aye.

DublinDude · 22 Aug 2011 at 13:36

Jony27 said:
yes, more than enough.

stulid said:
Aye.

Cool, I may start with the video card so!

What about memory and processor?

stulid · 22 Aug 2011 at 13:37

DublinDude said:
What about memory and processor?

Do them if you ain't satisfied after fitting the new card.

stulid · 22 Aug 2011 at 13:47

another thing to factor is postage costs of doing two orders (gpu first, ram and board and cpu second) I take it you live in ireland? going by your user name, so you don't get free delivery.

Jony27 · 22 Aug 2011 at 13:52

stulid said:
another thing to factor is postage costs of doing two orders (gpu first, ram and board and cpu second) I take it you live in ireland? going by your user name, so you don't get free delivery.

this too, i live in N.Ireland, when i ordered my headset, it was free, but when i specd up a system, postage came to £20.

DublinDude · 22 Aug 2011 at 14:11

stulid said:
Do them if you ain't satisfied after fitting the new card.

Yea, that's a logical way of approaching it.

stulid said:
another thing to factor is postage costs of doing two orders (gpu first, ram and board and cpu second) I take it you live in ireland? going by your user name, so you don't get free delivery.

Yea, all the way over here in sunny Dublin!

It's a pity about the delivery costs! You would think after making so many purchases they would waive that!!

DublinDude · 22 Aug 2011 at 14:12

Jony27 said:
this too, i live in N.Ireland, when i ordered my headset, it was free, but when i specd up a system, postage came to £20.

It's free in N.I? Its only 2 hours up the road!

Marine-RX179 · 22 Aug 2011 at 15:01

DublinDude said:
Not really something I am interested in tinkering with just yet! In case I break everything! lol

No offense, but you should be hanged for running a Q6600 on a P5Q board at stock speed

You are not gonna break anything if you are careful and follow the advise for overclocking here...and if you are thinking of upgrading anyway, what's the harm on trying on overclocking?

...well, unless you are still thinking of selling off your parts. But bare in mind if you are not upgrading the CPU/platform, it would mean more budget for a better graphic setup.

j.col · 22 Aug 2011 at 16:24

Marine-RX179 said:
No offense, but you should be hanged for running a Q6600 on a P5Q board at stock speed

You are not gonna break anything if you are careful and follow the advise for overclocking here...

this^^ you have a very good mobo for overclocking, even with the stock cooler you should get the Q6600 to around 3.0GHz, which will give you a performance boost in games.

Only way to break it is to give it too much voltage (above 1.6v), they are very tough little cpu's.

Also consider that if you decide to upgrade the cpu to a newer tech ie. I5 or SB than you will have to change the ram and motherboard.

The Q6600 is still a very capable cpu, especially if its above 3.0GHz, as i said, overclock it to 3.0ghz and then buy the HD6950 Stulid recommended.

Jony27 · 22 Aug 2011 at 16:27

DublinDude said:
It's free in N.I? Its only 2 hours up the road!

its free for some items, probably not so heavy ones like my GamesCom 367 Headset, took only 2 days to get here for free

what i meant was, when i spec up a full system and come to the delivery option, its £20 for DPD 2 day delivery.