Upgrade my PC

Clishem

Clishem

Clishem

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Joined
15 Aug 2009
Posts
21
So let's say I have a £400 budget (+/- £100), I have no clue on what hardware goes with what etc. and have never built a PC from scratch so yeah enlighten me ;)

Here are my specs atm, please don't laugh.

Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 @ 2.33GHz
nVidia GeForce 630i/7100 Mobo
2 x 2GB DDR2 Ram (I don't know what make)
nVidia GeForce 9800GT (512MB)
640GB Harddrive
I don't know what PSU it has


It is the Packard Bell iMedia x2416


Ok thanks for reading :D
 
steve258 said:
What do you use it for? Thing is oem builds are usually pretty inflexible when it comes to upgrading. Psu might not have sufficient wattage and the case might be too small for a powerful graphics card...etc. Not saying it can't be upgraded you just need to make sure it can accommodate custom parts. A new build at this budget is possible but it won't be much faster at all than what you have now. Unless you are willing to consider selling it to help fund a new build?

Having said that if you just want to game then a new gfx and a ssd would be my choice. Great improvements and well within budget. On the other hand if you want the processing power you'll need a new mobo/CPU/ram combo. But with an oem case the new mobo might not fit.
Click to expand...

I was thinking exactly the same.

I was just looking at the pre-custom built "Titan Xenomorph" and thinking to just get that and have done - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-237-OK&groupid=43&catid=1444&subcat=1712


But now I have looked at the spec RJC has posted, it looks pretty good but would it be worth paying the extra £70 for the Xenomorph?
 
Cookeh said:
Well, that depends.
How proficient are you and how confident are you about building it yourself?
If not very, then pre-built can be the better option
HOWEVER, there really are few things more simple than building your own PC (especially seeing as everything has an instruction manual :p)

The only reason i would recommend the Xenomorph over self-built is if you really don't want to overclock, but want the performance boost.
Click to expand...

I am 100% sure I can build it myself (even though it would be my first) and have never overclocked this PC because I was worried I wouldn't have eough cooling. The 9800GT I have got now has died twice in a year (artifacts etc) and to fix it I just blasted it with the heatgun for a few minutes and let it cool (I know that it's going to die again in a month or so)

But yes I am all for the performance, since this would be primarily for gaming.

So you would suggest building it myself, then overclocking, rather than bying a pre-built model?
 
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Cookeh said:
Definitely!

Not only do you get the satisfaction of building and overclocking your own rig, but its cheaper!
Click to expand...


Haha ok then that's sorted, but I have to be honest, I don't really want to use the AMD cpu from above, could you suggest a different spec without the any AMD parts? I'd rather go with nvidia and intel.

EDIT: Ahh, just read your newest post, please no AMD :D
 
Also, the ram that I have in this PC, would I be able to put it in the new build? I don't know how to find out what make and model they are so if you could help me with that, it would be appreciated ;)

EDIT: Ok thanks for the reply up top, but I can't see it.. Haha it's a little small for me sorry :P
 
Cookeh said:
Here are the direct links:
http://www.imagebanana.com/view/xjseb38n/i3.JPG - Dual Core (i3)

http://www.imagebanana.com/view/7oxmdc6j/i5.JPG - Quad Core (i5)


As previously mentioned, someone could probs spec you a better motherboard - Im not that keyed into the P55 chipset.
Click to expand...

Ok thanks for that, but I think I've said something wrong.
It's ATI I don't like (Graphics) not AMD CPU's haha.
I'll keep the specs in mind and look around a bit myself. But again thanks a lot, very hepful. :cool:

EDIT: Stulid, since I've been browsing the forum past two days it seems that you know your stuff and have posted on almost every thread, your spec always gets picked, not that I don't appreciate Cookeh's inputs haha.
 
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stulid said:
thread hijack bitches.

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 460 OC 768MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with HAWX2 PC-Game £129.99
(£110.63) £129.99
(£110.63)
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £117.49
(£99.99) £117.49
(£99.99)
Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 AMD 870 (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard £84.99
(£72.33) £84.99
(£72.33)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £65.99
(£56.16) £65.99
(£56.16)
Corsair CX 500W ATX Power Supply £49.98
(£42.54) £49.98
(£42.54)
Silverstone SST-PS03B Precision Midi Tower Case - Black £42.99
(£36.59) £42.99
(£36.59)
LG GH22LS50 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter Lightscribe Drive - Retail £14.99
(£12.76) £14.99
(£12.76)
Sub Total : £431.00
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £77.48
Total : £520.23


but I think I would just grab that i5 build and have the faster pc.
Click to expand...

Haha, very good stulid I'll have a look through that.

Are there any differences between these two cases?
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-068-SV
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-125-AN

I saw that they are the same price, just thought I'd ask.
 
Lmao, I see ok then, I just thought one might be bigger than the other etc.

Ok, so I've come to this build.

computerd.png


I've took off the DVDRW as I already have one.
 
Cookeh said:
Haha!

So are you all sorted with your spec?
Click to expand...

Just one quick question, I would need to get the 64bit OS right? As the 32bit only supports upto 3GB of RAM (If I have learned correctly)
Also I love XP it's been my choice of OS since it came out, I have no idea why but games like COD4 and such run better on XP than any other OS, would it be better to use Windows 7 on this build?

Other than that, I am very happy and thanks a lot for the suggestions ;)
 
pastymuncher said:
If the main use of the pc is gaming then these builds are pointless and no more than a sidestep. The performance gains are simply not worth it. The socket that i3/i5 is based around is going to be killed off in a couple of months as well which means that the next time you want to upgrade you will need to replace everything again.

Best bang for buck would be a new graphics card provided your psu is powerful enough.
Click to expand...

Interesting post.
I have no idea how to look into my PSU on my current build, could I use software to determine the power o0r would I have to manually look?
 
Cookeh said:
Manually look - I've never heard of software that can tell you

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if it existed xD
Click to expand...

Thanks for clearing that above post up, was getting a little worried there that I was just getting basically the same build with a better gfx haha :rolleyes:
 
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