System upgrade help

markomania

markomania

markomania

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Joined
15 Feb 2010
Posts
638
Location
Birmingham
Hi all

I built my current computer in 2007 but haven't been following the hardware scene so don't know where to start with upgrading.

I use it for gaming, would like to start the GTA episodes but with better performance than I got in GTA4. Also have it ready for Battlefield 3 :D

Budget atm is £300

My current spec:

CPU - Intel Q6600 @ 2.4GHz
GPU- Nvidia 8800GT
RAM - OCZ 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2 6400/800mhz Gold
Motherboard - Asus P5KC
PSU - Hiper Type-M 580W
Case - Antec 900
Operating system - Windows Vista 32 bit (I've bought Windows 7 64bit Home Premium)
Hard Drives - Western Digital 640GB Caviar Blue / Samsung EcoGreen F2 1.5TB
Monitor res - 1680 x 1050

Hopefully a few tweaks will keep it going a while longer!

Thanks in advance :)
 
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 460 OC 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £173.89 (£147.99)
Kingston HyperX 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 8500C5 1066MHz Dual Channel (KHX8500D2K2/4G) £70.49 (£59.99)
Be Quiet! Straight Power E7 600W Power Supply £58.99 (£50.20)
Total: £303.36
 
Thanks for the replies

My friends decided to upgrade so I've bought his xfx gtx 260, and 2gb of the same ram I have for £80

Does anyone know any good guides for overclocking?

Also is my psu enough for a gtx 260?
 
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I've bought his xfx gtx 260, and 2gb of the same ram I have for £80

i hope thats both items for £80?
 
I've had a think and would rather wait and build a completely new pc instead of upgrading bits but for £80 it looks like a good improvement over my 8800gt
 
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yes, you got a good deal there fella, good work! You will need a decent cooling solution for your Q6600 then you can set about getting a decent overclock. 3.6Ghz will probably be the ceiling for you, maybe even only 3.4 but thats still a significant overclock and will extend the life of your CPU before you finally have to upgrade. There are many coolers to choose from but fortunately you have a big case so most (if not all of them) should fit.

Current king of the air coolers is the Thermalright Silver Arrow if the reviews are to be believed, but OCuk doesnt yet stock it so the next best is probably the Noctua DH14 (£66.99) which is pricey but was the previous King of air coolers. There are several cheaper alternatives...

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 £18.99 - Cheap, reasonable cooling but no master now, great value for money however and probably ample for a half decent overclock on your Q6600.

The Titan Fenrir also deserves consideration. Around £33
 
JimboJet said:
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 £18.99 - Cheap, reasonable cooling but no master now, great value for money however and probably ample for a half decent overclock on your Q6600.
Click to expand...

I'm glad you mention that, its the cooler I currently have!

Where do I start with overclocking?
 
google is your friend, the Q6600 is a very popular CPU with overclockers. Perhaps one of the other members will be able to provide you with a link.

If i were you I'd start with a search for "overclocking Q6600 on Asus P5KC"
 
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