To Upgrade or Not.

WastedWrath

WastedWrath

WastedWrath

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Joined
11 Sep 2008
Posts
35
Hey!
I bought my first components in 2009 from OC, specs are:
Intel Core 2 Q6600
Asus P5Q Deluxe
4GB OCZ PC2-6400C5
ATi Radeon HD5850
Corsair VX 550W ATX
Antec 900

I recently bought a Corsair M4 which my mobo apparently utilise to its full potential.
I have decided to upgrade some/all components on my moneyoffthegovernmentforhigherlearning loan.

I was wondering if I could get some help on the biggest bang for my buck and also which parts do/don't need upgrading.

I figured I would buy a new mobo and cpu first, ram soon after and then see how much money I have left for a new GPU.
I am looking for "overclockability" and value for money. Mainly for gaming/progressing through my computing course without difficulty on a budget of around 400-500.

Any help appreciated.
 
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If your not struggling in games i would hold off and save up for a bit longer, the bid difference is when you go from mech to SSD. I doubt you will see much real world difference from Sata 2 to 3 benchmarks will show a big jump though.

Whats your budget if you were going to upgrade?
 
 
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Hi, yeah sorry I didn't include a budget I'm thinking around £400-500.
I already have a Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2.

Would you recommend a GPU upgrade as well, I don't feel like I've realised my current GPUs maximum potential or is the GPU market good at the moment?
 
WastedWrath said:
Hi, yeah sorry I didn't include a budget I'm thinking around £400-500.
I already have a Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2.

Would you recommend a GPU upgrade as well, I don't feel like I've realised my current GPUs maximum potential or is the GPU market good at the moment?
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If you dont feel the need to upgrade and you are happy with frame rate than dont upgrade and wait for new GPUs next year Q2-Q3 ;)
 
IC3 said:
If you dont feel the need to upgrade and you are happy with frame rate than dont upgrade and wait for new GPUs next year Q2-Q3 ;)
Click to expand...

Oh I definitely feel like I need the upgrade as I have been noticing large frame rate drops for a while but just the fact that I haven't looked at overclocking for my GPU whilst everything else is OC'd makes me feel like I haven't got the best bang for my buck.

Also, I've been "waiting" for the new (insert hardware) that's coming out next year for the past few years, I think it's time I bit the bullet.
YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte ATi Radeon HD 7950 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE FARCRY3, Hitman Absolution, Sleeping Dogs & 20% off MOH Warfighter PC Games £239.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £173.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £106.99
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1156/1155/1366/AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+/FM1) £47.99
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (PV38G160C9K) £29.99
Total : £610.94 (includes shipping : £10.00).

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This looks nice but it is a little over my price range, how long do you think this will last me? I'm looking for "overclockability" and value. Thanks.
 
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WastedWrath said:
Oh I definitely feel like I need the upgrade as I have been noticing large frame rate drops for a while but just the fact that I haven't looked at overclocking for my GPU whilst everything else is OC'd makes me feel like I haven't got the best bang for my buck.

Also, I've been "waiting" for the new (insert hardware) that's coming out next year for the past few years, I think it's time I bit the bullet.


This looks nice but it is a little over my price range, how long do you think this will last me? I'm looking for "overclockability" and value. Thanks.
Click to expand...

About 4 years if you will OC
 
Mei said:
which games you playing?
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I'd like to be able to play some of the latest games at my native resolution and older games on their highest. Some I play are ARMA2 (naturally taxing anyway), ACIII, Hitman, League of Legends (mainly a RAM upgrade needed for this),Total War series.
IC3 said:
About 4 years if you will OC
Click to expand...

That sounds similar to my current setup which I felt I had pretty good value for money for, this will get me through uni and then some, but by that time
I'll have you guys tax money paid to me weekly to help me buy crack in my new council flat because I can't do anything with my degree ;)
I'll have a paying job.
 
WastedWrath said:
I'd like to be able to play some of the latest games at my native resolution and older games on their highest. Some I play are ARMA2 (naturally taxing anyway), ACIII, Hitman, League of Legends (mainly a RAM upgrade needed for this),Total War series.


That sounds similar to my current setup which I felt I had pretty good value for money for, this will get me through uni and then some, but by that time
I'll have you guys tax money paid to me weekly to help me buy crack in my new council flat because I can't do anything with my degree ;)
I'll have a paying job.
Click to expand...

Hahaha :p
What prices? :D
 
So far I have these as definites:
YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £173.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £106.99
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (PV38G160C9K) £29.99
Total : £322.37 (includes shipping : £9.50).



Would you guys recommend definitely swapping out the GPU and is that the best value I can get for a new GPU?
New power supply subject to power needs.
 
The benchmarks I've seen on the GTX 660's seem pretty good, especially for under £200. Combined with that 3570K, you ought to be just fine.

Either that, or wait until next year like has been suggested, but if you want an upgrade sooner rather than later, the above is an option for you :)

I (almost) feel your pain with Uni - I go myself next year!
 
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