New Build or upgrade?

Darkmistress

Darkmistress

Darkmistress

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Joined
24 Nov 2008
Posts
43
Hi guys,
I'm busy weighing up whether it's time for a new build or to upgrade my current system (which is rather dated now). My specs:

MSI K9A2 Neo Motherboard
AMD 9850 Phenom 2.5GHz Quad Core Black Edition
4 GB DDR 2 Corsair XMS 2 Ram (Running at 800MHz)
MSI Radeon HD6850
ASUS Xonar Essence STX
Corsair CX600 PSU
750 Gb Seagate Barracuda (SATA 1)
2x 500 Gb Western Digital Caviar Black (SATA II)

This system has served me faithfully for many years now and has been through many reincarnations of motherboards, psu's and graphics cards.
My biggest issue currently is I'm suffering unbearable slowdowns running LOTRO.

I'm almost certain my bottleneck is my hard drives and have been considering SSD's all day. But as I'm limited to SATA II on my motherboard I'm really not sure it's going to give my rig another breath of life.

My other main issue is my RAM. I'm stuck in the past with 800MHz DD2 and no way forward. Upgrading to 8Gb ram will be very expensive for DDR2.

Any advice hugely appreciated!

Please bear in mind I mostly play LOTRO and Dwarf Fortress, so raw processing power is a huge plus (as far as Dwarf Fortress is concerned).
I'm not fussed about cutting edge rigs or playing at high resolution (I still use a 19 inch monitor) nor about the latest games (but it's always nice to have)

Sorry for the long post!
 
I would start again and get a new build if possible, but keep some components...you are running an old am2 board, with old ddr2 memory... it will be very difficult and expensive to just upgrade..

Keep the sata 2 HDD(good for storage)
Keep the PSU.. its a good one

Now buy everything else.

Depending on budget, go for:

i5-3570k
8gb ddr3 1600mhz
7850 1gb
z77 mobo
128gb or similar ssd

all you will need for a nice speedy gaming system
 
Thanks for the advice CinderzFTW.

Not really sure about replacing my Graphics Card though. I think it's pretty decent for what I use it for. Also my sound card is a really good one so I think that's just fine.

What about an AMD system? I haven't had an Intel system for about 10 years now so I wouldn't even know where to start.
 
erm for budget on AMD, id go for:

Piledriver FX6300 six core
8GB 1600mhz ram
a good 970 mobo
256 ssd or 128 ssd

you can get the cpu and mobo via amd for the price of just the i5 xD
 
Thanks again for such fast replies.
I've been reading a ton of threads and I see there is a new intel chipset coming out next month but I doubt that it will really impact prices of AMD parts that much, unless there was a compelling reason I should be considering an i5 over an AMD chip (for my PC use).

If I was to consider the Piledriver which 970 mobo would you suggest? Is it worth paying a bit more for a 990?
I'm much more concerned about long term use and the ability to upgrade in the future than anything else.
 
 
Darkmistress said:
I'm considering the following right now:

Crucial RealSSD M4 256GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive £164.99
AMD Piledriver FX-6 Six Core 6350 Black Edition 3.90GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £107.99
Asus M5A97 AMD 970 (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £81.95
Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracer 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLT2CP4G3D1608DT2TXOBCEU) (Orange & Blue Activity LEDs) **WORLD FIRST** £59.99

Total £426.31 (including shipping)

What do you guys think?
Would I see a substantial improvement with this setup and would it all work together?
Click to expand...

get a good cooler too... add one the arctic a30 cooler, and overclock that 6 core to 4.5ghz xD
 
I already have a really nice aftermarket cooler. It's a good few years old now but I can't see any difference between it and the new ones I see for sale these days. I can't remember what make it is but it cost me a small fortune when I bought it.
 
Sorry a few more questions:

Will the Asus motherboard support the piledriver or will it need a bios flash? I would much rather not have to flash the bios and would rather get a different board that does support it.
Are the AM3+ Motherboards the same as AM2+ for fitting my cooler? Also with my current setup I have been unable to use two of my Ram slots for years now as my cooler is huge and it blocks them. As a result I've always had my ram in slots 3 & 4. Looking at the Asus board I strongly suspect I'll have the same problem. Do the newer coolers have the same problem?
 
Hi guys just a quick update, after a ton of research I just went ahead and ordered the following:

AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8350 Black Edition 4.00GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £161.99
Crucial RealSSD M4 256GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT256M4SSD2) £139.99
Samsung S24B300HL 23.6" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £129.95
MSI 990XA-GD55 AMD 990X Chipset (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £79.99
Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracer 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLT2CP4G3D1608DT2TXOBCEU) (Orange & Blue Activity LEDs) **WORLD FIRST** £59.99
OcUK Professional 2.5" to 3.5" SSD Adaptor Plate - Black £5.99
IC Diamond 7-Carat Thermal Compound (1.5g) £3.59
OcUK Tech Labs Zaward OEM 120mm Golf Ball Fan £2.99

Total cost was £596.47 including delivery

I thought what the hell might as well go for a decent upgrade. I think I've managed to squeeze the max bang for my buck. What do you guys think?
 
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