Tactical upgrade on a limited budget!

benhog

benhog

benhog

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5 Mar 2011
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11
My current pc is alienware build from like 3 years ago - its an old dog but it has served me well. I'd love a new system but im a student and i dont have a job so money is too tight for that, so i thought i would upgrade some parts, and then when i do have money (should get a job this summer) i can transfer them across to a hypothetical new pc.


My specs;
CPU: Intel Core 2 Extreme q6850 @ 3.00 Ghz
GPU: Nvidia 8800 gtx (700mb one) - untill recently I had 2 in sli but one broke
RAM: 3Gbs nondescript cheap crap - 4Gbs till recently one broke lol
Mobo: Nforce 680i Sli
Hdds: 2 x 500Gb, 1 x 1tb hdd

Budget, about £100 -

WEI: 5.9

Subscores;
CPU: 7.2
RAM: 5.9
GPU: 6.9
HDD:5.9

Right so, what I want in the future is a nice i5 sandybridge machine with all the bells and whistles but right now i'm almost skint - but i really am bored of waiting for prices. I just had to buy a new mouse as my longstanding g5 has packed in (everything is breaking - 3+ years not bad though i guess?), and some headphones but I want something nice for my pc.

I want a gtx 460 at least (i know that will stretch the budget somewhat).
I also want a SSD, i can get a 60gb for about £80 elsewhere.
I also need new RAM, thinking a 2 x 2GB corsair kit ive seen for £50.

I do game, but not as much as I used to - i just love my new toys.

What do you think would be best for this system bottleneck wise? Considering also that this mobo only has ddr2 RAM so wouldnt tranfer to a new system, whereas ssd and GPU would? I am being pulled every which way lol.

Any advice appreciated (also sorry, this forum is probably inundated with posts like this).
 
Did contact logitech about g5, they gave some good advice but not much else - caught a bad one i guess lol. Have already ordered a Logitech MX518, on the basis of lotsa good reviews and cheap cheap pricetag.

Tracked my RAM down to Quimonda (hyb18t512 written on chips, 64t128020hu25fb on system information) - not much luck finding any sources online - as i say a bit nondescript cheap stuff i think, and definately no warranty anywhere either. Theyre 1.8v and 5-5-5-18. Don't really know what to do with RAM other than replace im not a massive techie unfortunately.

Are the ocz drives likely to be cheap on release? Sounds interesting.

I run at 1900-1200 usually on quite low graphics, but it does run surprisingly well considering (a bit of a shock after the loss of 1 8800 but ive adapted), dont keep an eye on fps numbers lately but all is playable in moh, tf2, css and dod (but not beautiful). Worse in cod:black ops but thats just the game and i dont love it anyway so its ok. I wouldnt mind spending over to get a 460, i'd just leave the ssd for a later date.

As a side note, i havent played games since losing the ram stick - as the only mouse i currently have is a slow ass microsoft wireless thing - so im not too sure how it handles right now.
 
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i see, ty rifles

- what do you think about the ram situation? I mean will it make a nasty bottleneck such that gpu isnt a sexy as it should be, or ssd for that matter? I do like a responsive pc.
 
I do have liquid cooled cpu, as alienware installed - never looked into oc'ing really as ive never felt the need. Probably should lol.

Could grab another 8800, but i really dont like them that much as a card, no real reason why it just seems like a step backwards - especially as they wont be moving into any new rig i manage to scramble in summer.

So would 2Gb be better than the 3Gb i have currently cause of the dual channel mojo?

-- lol posts coming quick and fast ty, i'll try that kingston stick £15 is indeed a very handy fix ty, and get a 460 for now - and hopefully that new species of ssd you mentioned will be reasonable in summer time.
 
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Nvidia fan sadly :) - plus even with a job its not likely that i would be getting more than a 460.

Im also thinking its more likely that ssd prices will drop faster than gpu prices relatively as theyre still new and anyone breaking into the cheap market will dominate it?

I think i'll ignore the ram problem and just get that kingston stick and see how it goes.
 
40-60Gb seems alright to me, just OS a couple games and programs - though saying that if i install steam onto it, all games i ever get off steam will need to be on it which is a bit annoying, partic some games are real space hogs - my steam folder is a full 42 gigs atm lol :s
 
i can just be real selective i guess, and i can always just back up the folders of games i want but dont have space for on 2nd hdd rather than re'dl every time
 
Im going to leave the ssd for summer and get my ram and gpu sorted in the thort term - ty for your help its been educational - but, like, in a good way lol.

I'll tell yas how i get on with it all.

-- oh if you remember what it is drop the name and i'll look it up - ty
 
What happened!

Well i have my MSI gtx460 Hawk, and my kingston ram - both installed - and I just got my mouse delivered so am about to test drive this stuff.

Been fiddling with msi afterburner too to get some gpu overclock, also been starting (finally) to lean to cpu overclock - only moved from 3.0 Hgz to 3.06 but still it worked lol, so more fun to be had there. (luckily my 680i sli has seperate speeds from fsb memory and cpu so i dont have to hate my cheap ass ram :D).

Anyway thank you for all you help, i look forward to a future ssd purchase too :)
 
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