pcu/gpu/mobo upgrade

peter tron

peter tron

peter tron

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Joined
6 Oct 2012
Posts
277
Location
(do-or-die) Wye, Ashford, Kent, UK.
evenin' guys,

i want to upgrade soon.

these are my current specs:

cpu: intel core 2 duo (2ghz)
gpu: nvidia geforce 9600gt (1gb)
ram: 2gb

i have about £200 to £250 planned for the upgrade of the cpu/gpu/mobo (i'm thinking that i will need to add atleast another 2gb of ram too).

this is a gaming rig, and primarily i want to hammer fps issues that i am having, as things like that really wind me up, moreso than a lack of 'eye-candy').

from reading around, it seems that an i3 cpu would be a very good upgrade, as an i7 seems 'overkill' (even though it would be great 'future-proofing').

the nvidia gtx 460 or 560 seems like a good move.

and lastly, i would need a decent mobo to accommodate the above.
i'm not looking at oc'ing or sli,so i wouldn't need loads of spaces.
i saw an asus 1155 socket on ebay for about £60...

anyway, these are are just my thoughts from my travels on the 'net and i would like to hear your opinions on the above.

if i left anything out, drop us a line;)

cheers!

baz
 
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What`s the rest of your spec?
Make and model Psu.
What case do you have?
Are you using TV or monitor, if monitor, what res is it?
Are your hdd/dvd sata drives?
What`s your OS?
 
hi mei!

hmm, i fear the gpu you suggested is slightly out of my price range, even though the majority of 560 gpu's seem to be about the same price.
i really should streamline the budget down to £100 second-hand atm...

i was looking at a palit 560 gtx for about £95

it is £50 cheaper, but why is this (only the one fan?).

the cpu was an interesting choice. i've not stumbled across this one yet.
so it is similar to the i3 without the hyper-threading? i couldn't find any real reviews, apart from one on amazon.

can you suggest a user-friendly benchmark site so i can compare my current cpu to the one you suggested (and the i3)? (although i'm sure what you suggested is to be an obvious improvement over my current cpu;).

the mobo plus the ram is definitely within my fiscal range!:)

cheers!
 
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hi idleman,

Idleman said:
What`s the rest of your spec?
Make and model Psu.
What case do you have?
Are you using TV or monitor, if monitor, what res is it?
Are your hdd/dvd sata drives?
What`s your OS?
Click to expand...

competitors: ah yes, woops!:( i guess i didn't really think about that! apologies.

psu: i need to crack open the case for that. the bloke told me it was around 700w? i'll have some free time thursday, so i'll crack it open then.
(bear in mind, i have that "wet behind the ears, newcomer, tech, luddite" fear, with regards to performing my first proper upgrade installation.

case: i can't spot any specific brand. it was built by a shop for the previous owner. it just says "eclipse computers":(

i have an lcd @ 1920 x 1080 (60hz)

hdd: it's an ata drive.

os: vista 32 service pack 2

baz
 
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Whats your monitor?

What else can you use from your old comp? Best to give us a full breakdown of what you have and what games you wish to start playing..

AMD trinity rig maybe? rjkoneill posted some interesting results on a 1050 screen...looks very good for the money.
 
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Trusty said:
Whats your monitor?

What else can you use from your old comp? Best to give us a full breakdown of what you have and what games you wish to start playing..

AMD trinity rig maybe? rjkoneill posted some interesting results on a 1050 screen...looks very good for the money.
Click to expand...

the lcd is a hanspree.

as for what i'm keeping from the comp? everything apart from wanting to upgrade the mobo/cpu/gpu. another few gigs 'o' ram, of course.
 
ignore what i said, i'm talking rubbish.

Didnt spot the 1080 bit earlier..

Yeah find out what psu it is, keep your case and other bits and bobs...

Tbh 2nd hand might be your best option, you could either go Q6600, 480, and another 2gb ram..

Or you could save up a bit more, add in the money you get for your current gear and then get a more up to date comp like an i3...

I'm not sure what to suggest, it's a difficult budget with a 1080p monitor...

if you add in £50 for you current gear (generous) and another £50 of your own, that gives you a much nicer budget for people to play with..

I would suggest Trinity as it seems very good for the money but i'm not sure how it stands up at 1080p though, i think that'll be your downfall.
 
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Trusty said:
ignore what i said, i'm talking rubbish.

Didnt spot the 1080 bit earlier..

Yeah find out what psu it is, keep your case and other bits and bobs...

Tbh 2nd hand might be your best option, you could either go Q6600, 480, and another 2gb ram..

Or you could save up a bit more, add in the money you get for your current gear and then get a more up to date comp like an i3...

I'm not sure what to suggest, it's a difficult budget with a 1080p monitor...

if you add in £50 for you current gear (generous) and another £50 of your own, that gives you a much nicer budget for people to play with..

I would suggest Trinity as it seems very good for the money but i'm not sure how it stands up at 1080p though, i think that'll be your downfall.
Click to expand...

i was slightly confused about the 1080 lcd issue. you mentioned that it might be my downfall. could you elaborate further?:)
having another proper pc monitor cannot be done, financially and space-wise.
60hz is fine. i think most games i play look/play just great on that.

cheers,

baz
 
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Yeah, no it's a great screen, i don't mean that you change that. All i meant was that for 1080p screen your going to need more beef GPU wise and the budget doesnt really allow for that. Like i said, it's a difficult budget with what trying to achieve.

I think a 7850, some more ram and a 2nd hand Q6600 might be your best option.
 
ah, when i crack the case thursday evening, i will find out for sure (model + power).

with regards to gpu beef:
i'm guess i could always shift my game res. down a notch or two?
atm i always play at 1920 x 1080.

to clarify things a bit more:
i amnot looking at playing the newest resource power-hungry titles (bf3 etc.). i am more-than-happy to snap them up when they're a few years down the line.
for instance: i play a lot of half life 2 [episode 1 & 2] sourcemods, and i would just like to have 60fps with vsync on. most of the time i get this, but not all of the time.

concerning fps in source engine titles (half life 2/mods etc.):
i notice fps might drop to something like 14 in certain areas with heavy detail & high res. textures.
even when i reduce res. and advanced settings to the lowest, i still do not get my fps back. it is still at 14, even with vsync disabled.
if something like this happens, and i try what i have done above, then i assume surely it is an optimization problem associated withe the coding, and not my gpu?
 
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Yeah check back when you know what psu you have. Nah leave your res like, if your only play source games...this will certainly take care of the gpu side of things..

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI HD 7850 Twin Frozr III OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Cards w/ Nexuiz & Sleeping Dogs PC Games £155.99
Total : £166.79 (includes shipping : £9.00).



Cpu & ram wise, i would look at trying to find a Q6600 (G0 slackr, make sure you get that stepping, it ran cooler than the B3)

..then get some ram, is your ram two sticks of 1gb or one stick of 2gb?


theres some ddr2 ram here -
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=701&catid=8&subid=144
 
well, mostly source games. i use steam a lot.
i have mostly fps/adventure/stealth games, plus some old school platformer type affairs.
i do have some newer titles, such as deus ex human revolution, crysis 1 and 2.
dead space runs nice.

i am strongly considering the 7850, bearing in mind it has been on the block since earlier this year, and i take it it should have has some updated drivers since earlier this year?
a good price too! although i'm not sure if the games are my cup-o-tea.but they're FREE, so i can sell 'em (probably)

how would the 7850 run on my current cpu, until the replacement arrives?
i take it the cpu would slow it down?
 
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