Trying to upgrade a pc to play latest games, need some advice please, specs inside?

truewraith · 12 Jun 2011 at 15:12

hi

just trying to upgrade my bro's pc but most of its not too bad but what needs upgrading to play new games like Duke Nukem,Brink etc as they just die upon loading or they crash etc

XFX HD 5750 512MB Dual DVI HDMI PCI
3gb ddr2
AMD 64 3500+
MB: GA-MA770-UD3
570w psu
running on Win Xp Pro Sp3

the g card is a good card still i think but maybe the cpu needs to be sorted

MAssive thanks in advance for any help or advice

regards

sk82jack · 12 Jun 2011 at 15:13

Whats your budget?

truewraith · 12 Jun 2011 at 15:20

oops cant be leave i left hat out

sorry

round about 200 pound, or 100s less lol

stulid · 12 Jun 2011 at 15:23

What PSU does he have?

Exactly what 5 series card is it?

This is the cheapest thing to do - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-244-AM

The CPU is on the CPU support list for the motherboard.

And then maybe sell the 3GB of DDR2 and fit a proper 4GB DDR2 kit and get the dual channel memory working.

Leezy · 12 Jun 2011 at 15:30

truewraith · 12 Jun 2011 at 15:55

huge thanks for the info, really hope the card is till a good one

updated my post with more info

stulid · 12 Jun 2011 at 15:56

Cards still good for medium resolutions.

You thought about installing Win7? and the 955BE CPU will be around £165

truewraith · 12 Jun 2011 at 16:09

i did suggest that yeah but hes not sure as hes been on xp for so long, but i think i could put it on and let him see what he thinks but then can use Dx11, i have Windows 7 Ultimate (64 Bit)

£165 ?

opethdisciple · 12 Jun 2011 at 16:12

Yea, for new games Win 7 is an advantage.

Improved performance and DX11.

For instance BF3 will not support Win xp at all, it will not work.

stulid · 12 Jun 2011 at 16:13

Sorry, thats £165 for the CPU and a OEM copy of Win7 64bit home edition.

But as you already got one

then get it on. will also allow the 5750 card use its DX11 features too.

paradisiac · 12 Jun 2011 at 16:16

from my experience when i had my HD5770s and from what i have read (dont shoot me down stulid) the HD57XX range are not the best at DX11 support, so if this is the only reason for a win7 upgrade, then i would think about spending the money somewhere else.
i did however have my HD5770s nearly a year ago, so drivers might of improved support of DX11.

opethdisciple · 12 Jun 2011 at 16:20

The 5770 support Dx11 just as well as the 6990.

The difference is in the performance, not the support.

paradisiac · 12 Jun 2011 at 16:23

opethdisciple said:
The 5770 support Dx11 just as well as the 6990.

The difference is in the performance, not the support.

thats what i meant, must have worded it wrong. from benchmarks and running it, things seemed happier with the DX11 stuff off.

truewraith · 12 Jun 2011 at 16:34

Leezy said:

so these and the current g card with win7 64 should make some good gaming but not on high resolution !

just out of curiosity what card would you guys buy

dont go crazy tho

Moothead2 · 12 Jun 2011 at 16:38

This is a good price at the moment: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-259-SP

Comparison of that and your current card: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/164?vs=173

There are also a couple more if you're willing to pay a bit more.

honosuseri · 12 Jun 2011 at 16:47

Checking his current mobos cpu support list it will take a phenom ii 955 (you might need to update the bios first though).

There isn't a massive difference in performance between DDR2 and DDR3. I would probably slot in the 955BE (up the mulitlier by 1 to make it a 965) and add the radeon 5850 which is on offer at £100. That's your £200 gone nearly but worth the upgrade for gaming.

What stulid said about the memory is a fair point.....there's a xmas or b'day present in the asking

truewraith · 12 Jun 2011 at 17:03

ok again cant thank u guys enough

phenom ii 955
and the radeon 5850
with bios update on MB
and maybe stick win7 64 on there

and it should be cool

!

honosuseri · 12 Jun 2011 at 17:16

That's what i'd do for my bro/myself......and there is no "maybe" about it you really should have win 7 64 bit installed, especially if you are going to up the RAM later.

The mobo needs BIOS version "FG" to support the 955, check what the mobo has currently. I've added the support list in a link so you know im not telling porkies

http://www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=3302

olivier renault · 12 Jun 2011 at 22:36

Depends what kind of PSU as well. Needs two PCI-E power connectors for a 5850, and ideally over 30A on 12V.

truewraith · 12 Jun 2011 at 22:47

shame i aint got the time these days to look things up with silly work i do

but massive thanks and please recommend me a PSU to get for the setup