Time to do an upgrade... Need a little bit of advice.

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I'm almost certain I'm going to go for the GTX480 - been looking at the specs, and I'm pretty pleased with how it looks.

Here is my current set up:

22 inch monitor
4GB of 1064mb RAM
Intel Quad Core Q9550 2.83 GHz
Nvidia Geforce 280
With the Nvidia N-Force Motherboard with built in 7.1 Surround Sound

Is there anything else there that could do with an upgrade?

Also, on a slightly more vital note: My case is messy, and far too small for my current componants. I deal with over-heating daily, and I cannot rig watercooling into my current case. I've got the largest fan I can get in there, but still my CPU and RAM is prone to over-heating.

What new cases are there about? I'm looking for one that has a lovely air-flow, and being capable of watercooling is a huge bonus. (or how about the system already built in? ;) )

Any advice would be lovely!

EDIT: In fear of being flamed to death for my graphics card choice, I'd probably try ATI as well. Haven't actually looked at their cards yet. I'm still living in the 00s where Nvidia dominated the market completely, but the original cooling issue still remains!
 
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I'm no expert , but if you got a better case & a better cooler for your CPU you could overclock it an it would improve your system loads, you could look at this case but you may find it at bit on the expensive side "The Obsidian Series 800D" . An nvidia cards are way over priced for what they are an you would be better off with getting a ATI card depending on budget something like a 5850 should do the job nicely.

What's you budget for getting new parts?
 
mrfun1981 said:
I'm no expert , but if you got a better case & a better cooler for your CPU you could overclock it an it would improve your system loads, you could look at this case but you may find it at bit on the expensive side "The Obsidian Series 800D" . An nvidia cards are way over priced for what they are an you would be better off with getting a ATI card depending on budget something like a 5850 should do the job nicely.

What's you budget for getting new parts?
Click to expand...

My budget is around £1000.

I've had a quick look at the case, technically speaking, what should I be looking for in cases? And what do I need to watercool the hardware? Thanks... Regarding cases, I'm honestly looking for the biggest, best airflow, and have plenty of room! Having trouble picking one out... Price doesn't necessarily mean it's a better cooler. :(
 
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If you want a case with excellent airflow then my first recommendation would be the coolermaster haf 932. it is excellent for air cooling and has loads of room/mounts for a water cooling system. Here is a review, also my flatmate has one with an i7 rig in it and he thinks its lovely.

As for going with the Nvidia GTX 480 card, Its obviosly up to you - but I would suggest you have a look at some reviews before you spend your ~£450. Here are some: [1] [2] [3] [4]

Also, what PSU and motherboard do you currently have?

If you haven't already, I would suggest installing an aftermarket CPU cooler (such as this), this will keep your CPU nice and cool and allow you to try your hand at some overclocking.
 
I think you should definty get a new case and a aftermarker cooler than oc that babe. That should give you a nice improvment. And something like a 5850 should be a nice upgrade and you can also overclock that babe.
 
Really! You're planning on an upgrade... those aren't bad specs (as long as your mobo is decent). What exactly do you need to run that doesn't run well on your rig?

Looks like cooling should be the first item to address. I use an Antec P182 case which is very roomy, allows tidy cable management, very quiet and compartmentalises the heat producing components from one another. It's not all fancy on the outside though, no flashing lights or vanity windows.

I don't know if you're using a stock CPU fan, if so then upgrade that fan and heatsink. I haven't had the need to OC yet but I preemptively bought my OCZ Vandetta 2 after reading a ton of reviews.

Also, you could consider installing your OS to an SSD.
 
Not sure really why you need to spend that sort of money on upgrading a system that is currently fine. I would personally invest the time and effort into overclocking the CPU. As you say, maybe just a new case :)
 
Hi - was planning to prepare for Next-gen gaming, whilst being capable of rendering 3d Graphics. My card is fine - but DX11 capability is a huge bonus, especially if I'm able to run software well.

I have a very large air cooler for my CPU at current - so large in fact, I can't fit the side of my case on! It just doesn't seem to cool things well enough, because of the heat coming off my GTX 280.

My current motherboard supports DDR2 RAM, and an LGA775 CPU. It also has an intergrated 7.1 surround sound card.

My motherboard is a Nvidia N-Force SLI, I do believe. The exact model, I'm not sure - but I am aware it supports the 1000 or so MHz RAM, as well as two PCI-E 2 slots.

PSU unit, again, the model I'm not sure of - but it's a 1000watt powersupply, as I was originally planning to run 2 GTX 280s, until I realised this would be completely pointless, as I would have to eventually replace them with DX11 cards.
 
Well, I'm still looking about for a case; the one that was linked to me looked very nice, but I thought I'd have a look around on my own also. What sort of specifications should I be looking for in a case to ensure it gives adequate cooling? Size? I'm really stumped when it comes to hardware and casing, because there are so many pros and cons of each case! I've seen a few for several hundred pounds, but seem to give worse performance than one which is two hundred pounds cheaper! Any advice on what I should be looking for?

Thanks. I really am clueless as to what I need to get sorted out.
 
MkII has been out of stock for awhile And usually cases can be a personal nothing, but i think you could add something like Coolermaster HAF 922 to the list for similar prices as the one stulid spec'd.
 
I had a loot at the coolermaster HAF 922 - and then moved onto the 932. Looks very nice - and it seems that it should be able to cool my system well enough.

However; I'm not sure if it's big enough to fit the things I require in there. I've had a few issues in the past with my graphics card not fitting into the case - will this be possible? And how about water-cooling, has anyone done it with this case, and have any experience in how difficult it is to set up?

Thanks.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-157-CM&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=29
 
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