Upgrade for my Son's PC

SparkiUK · 27 Dec 2009 at 18:16

My son's PC which i built 4 years ago now getting a bit slow, it currently runs an AMD 64 3Ghz processor on a MSI Neo Platinum K8N motherboard (Socket 754), with 2GB of DDR400 RAM, 120GB SATA Disk and a ATI Radeon X1950 Pro graphics card.

He wants to run Windows 7, currently using XP and mostly uses internet for web browsing, playing music and World of Warcraft. There is a new World of Warcraft edition out next year which will require better performance so I need to consider that. What upgrades would you advise? PSU is good, as is the cooling fan so those should be OK to keep, as is hard disk I think. So basically need, I think, new processor, motherboard and RAM. Monitor OK also, 22inch Samsung DVI-D.

Really not sure of best route and really appreciate your advice.

PermaBanned · 27 Dec 2009 at 18:20

What's your budget and what are his total current specs?

RJC · 27 Dec 2009 at 18:21

What make / model is the psu.

How does this look:

Asus ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card + Ruby Doll £123.98
(£107.81) £123.98
(£107.81)

AMD Phenom II X3 Tri Core 720 Black Edition 2.80GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £97.99
(£85.21) £97.99
(£85.21)

Gigabyte GA-MA785GT-UD3H AMD 785G (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £76.99
(£66.95) £76.99
(£66.95)

G.Skill Ripjaw 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL) £74.99
(£65.21) £74.99
(£65.21) Sub Total : £325.18 Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £9.50 VAT is being charged at 15% VAT : £50.20 Total : £384.88

Schizo · 27 Dec 2009 at 18:22

how much do you want to spend.

people can give you idea's once you give us a budget to work with.

what route do you want to go ?....ie....amd or intel.

how long do you want this upgrade to last ?

SparkiUK · 27 Dec 2009 at 19:41

Thanks for the responses. As for budget, say £250, mostly his money so I'll add to it, needs to last 3-5 years before next upgrade i guess. But he mainly plays World of Warcraft. I know you can spend thousands on this stuff but i need to stick to this budget as close as possible. Not bothered by AMD or Intel, whichever is best value i guess. Went AMD in the past as they were best value at the time. Case is a gaming case so that's OK I think.

Anything else you need to know?

Deific · 27 Dec 2009 at 19:45

You'll struggle to make it last 4 years with a 250 quid upgrade - Maybe another 2

SparkiUK · 27 Dec 2009 at 19:48

RJC said:
What make / model is the psu.

How does this look:

Asus ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card + Ruby Doll £123.98
(£107.81) £123.98
(£107.81)

AMD Phenom II X3 Tri Core 720 Black Edition 2.80GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £97.99
(£85.21) £97.99
(£85.21)

Gigabyte GA-MA785GT-UD3H AMD 785G (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £76.99
(£66.95) £76.99
(£66.95)

G.Skill Ripjaw 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL) £74.99
(£65.21) £74.99
(£65.21) Sub Total : £325.18 Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £9.50 VAT is being charged at 15% VAT : £50.20 Total : £384.88

Thanks for that. I'll open up the PC and see what the PSU is and the cooling fan also. Little more than I want to spend

RJC · 27 Dec 2009 at 19:50

Just done a quick revision

Gigabyte GA-MA785GT-UD3H AMD 785G (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £76.99
(£66.95) £76.99
(£66.95)

G.Skill Ripjaw 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL) £74.99
(£65.21) £74.99
(£65.21)

Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4730 512MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £69.99
(£60.86) £69.99
(£60.86)

AMD Athlon II X2 Dual Core 245 2.90GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £46.99
(£40.86) £46.99
(£40.86) Sub Total : £233.88 Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £9.50 VAT is being charged at 15% VAT : £36.51 Total : £279.89

SparkiUK · 27 Dec 2009 at 19:57

Another thought, is it worth, or even possible, to just upgrade the graphics card, or is the motherboard too old now?

Randomface74 · 27 Dec 2009 at 20:02

That whole PC is old. You need a completely new one. Anything spent upgrading this is wasted cash that would be better put toward a new machine. The WOW update isn't due until late in the year, so there's time to save.

Zenduri · 27 Dec 2009 at 20:22

I kinda agree with billysielu if you can hold out then save up more cash as in the long run the better upgrade you do the longer it should last.

However, heres a quick hashup of an idea from myself

NOTE: There is no graphics card i know. Iwould recommend trying to pick up an ati 4850 for aorund £50 2nd hand or if you get VERY lucky a 4870 for £60/65

One of these would bring you on budget then.

SparkiUK · 8 Mar 2010 at 16:47

Right thought I'd revisit the post as my son spent his money on Xbox games, never mind. However, as per the 1st post in terms of current spec, he has now just presented me with £300, and asked me how he can best upgrade his pc for gaming with that budget. Suggestions appreciated now he's finally ready

bJN · 8 Mar 2010 at 16:50

CPU, motherboard and RAM would likely be the best upgrade for that sort of money.

Have a look at the i3 dual cores or perhaps even the AMD Phenom II quadcores, both should fall into the price bracket

Speed · 8 Mar 2010 at 16:54

Well if he wants improved gaming performance then a graphics card upgrade is a must. But I guess WoW isn't that demanding.

HybridX's spec seems good, coupled with a nice graphics card card. 2nd hand 4890 or GTX260 216 would be a good idea.

It really comes down to what games he plays and at what resolution.

SparkiUK · 8 Mar 2010 at 17:34

He only really plays World of Warcraft, though a new more demanding version out later this year. So was really wondering if the specs above are still valid as i appreciate things move on quite fast.

cmndr_andi · 8 Mar 2010 at 17:45

This would be my suggestion, very similar to HybridXs from months ago - just some stuff has got more expensive.

The motherboard is currently out of stock, but it is worth waiting for - its a good board at a good price IMHO.

I had a read of this test a while back - its seems that the GTS 250 graphics card does rather well in WOW @ 1680x1050 (the most common resolution of 22in monitors). When the WOW upgrade comes I imagine this card will handle it fine if it can currently pump out 50-55fps.

As for the CPU, it runs current WOW very well, this benchmark shows the slightly faster Athlon II X2 255 ( 3.1GHz vs 2.8GHz) running with a GTX 280 at 64fps. This obviously isn't a representation of what you will get, but it does indicate that you won't be limited by your CPU.

Also, if funds allow - you may want to upgrade the HDD. Going for something like the very nippy Samsung F3 will mean that loading things is done much smoother.

PhoenixUK · 8 Mar 2010 at 17:47

x3 435 - 55GBP
785g mobo - 70gbp
ram - 75GBP
----------------------------
200, 100 left for GPU, 2nd hand 4850 or 4870 would be best bet, will end up with around ¬ 270total. could spend the 25-30 on new HDD as well if he's still got an old one. HDD adds up a lot to performance as well.

------------------------
2nd option:
555BE - 75gbp
same mobo as above - 70
same ram as above - 75

that comes at 220gbp , still 80 left for better GPU or gpu+hdd.

I wouldn't buy 5750 just now unless he really needs DX11.

Best bung for buck is probably the 4870 now which you can get for 50-60 2nd hand.

SparkiUK · 9 Mar 2010 at 13:31

Thanks for that, I'll look for a 2nd hand graphics card on ebay or something, unless someone has one, 4870 seems the best bet from reading above posts, should i be looking for one with 1gb memory?

So, assuming i can get for for say £60, leaves £240 left, what am i best getting with that, seem conflicting advise above and a little confused. sorry. I may buy him a new HDD seperately outside of that budget, so he really just needs motherboard, processor and ram i guess.

shadowake · 9 Mar 2010 at 13:40

Second hand stuff can be iffy (although my 4870x2 is second hand and not had a problem, i had a second hand board that arrived faulty and lost my cash on it), remember new comes with warranty. This is what I would get (plus an F3 hard drive if you can stretch to it):

Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5750 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £95.99
(£81.69) £95.99
(£81.69)
Patrtiot G Series Sector 5 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Dual Channel (PGV34G1333ELK) Patrtiot G Series Sector 5 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Dual Channel (PGV34G1333ELK) £79.99
(£68.08) £79.99
(£68.08)
Asus M4A78LT-M LE AMD 760G (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard Asus M4A78LT-M LE AMD 760G (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard £57.99
(£49.35) £57.99
(£49.35)
AMD Athlon II X2 Dual Core 250 3.00GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail AMD Athlon II X2 Dual Core 250 3.00GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £51.99
(£44.25) £51.99
(£44.25)
Sub Total : £243.37
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £9.50
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £44.25
Total : £297.12

cmndr_andi · 9 Mar 2010 at 13:56

I this particular case, I would advise going for an Nvidia card. Looking at this test, the GTS 250 is much faster than the 4850 in games. Even though the two cards have very similar performance in most other games. Therefore I would have to conclude that WOW prefers Nvidia cards, so aiming for a 9800GT or GTS 250 (new) would be your best bet, or 8800 GT/GTX/GTS(512MB), 9800GT/GTX(+), GTS 250 or GTX 260 192core/216 core second hand.

As for going for the 4870, according to this review (make sure to select 1680x1050 resolution) the 4870 1GB performs on par with a GTS 250 (2fps more), while the 512MB version performs 10fps worse.