Upgrade or new build?

DaveB653

DaveB653

DaveB653

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23 Apr 2014
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37
Ok firstly, thanks in advance for the help, from browsing these forums its seems great advice is always given :)

So onto my topic, I currently have a PC bought from OC a few years ago (March 2011), a Cataclysm Hogger, stock spec bar an upgraded graphics card (not sure but 760 or something rings a bell?)

Now I know im also having a bit of trouble with it resetting itself and slow running, windows keeps asking me if i want to change my options to speed up performance.

So is this system worth upgrading or am I better to buy brand new?

Spec im after is mainly for playing WOW, although the step daughter has potential to be a gamer so want it a little future proof if possible, along with minor photo-shopping (nothing serious just touching up family pics) I will use the 500gb hard drive and have monitor mouse and keyboard to use (although I may upgrade the monitor (or duel screen). Im also guessing the case will be good to use?

Budget is around 600-700 (without monitor) and I am willing to try a self build although Ive never done it before so e prepared to be pestered :p

Think thats it, do your worst :) oh and recommendations for a monitor would also be gratefully accepted :)
 
Im not totally sure to be honest Kefan,

If i recall its an i3 processor, 500gb of HDD, like i said an nvidia graphics card 1gb 760 gtx sounds familiar but i dont know, does that card make any sense?

Is there a way I can check up on the builds OC used to make?

Dave
 
Ah no i upgraded it, to the 460 1024mb, still pretty weak now im guessing? Also with the pc resetting itself randomly and the "slow system" type warnings, I assumed (maybe wrongly, what I know about comps could written in caps on the back of stamp) my RAM was on its way out too.

Hmm so you think i should hold out till June? But yeah the DVD drive is hardly used and the case seems in good nick too :) Anyway of testing the PSU, cos im guessing that powers the whole thing?

Thanks already fr the quick response :)
 
Ok so rather than starting a new thread I'd bump this one upto the top :)

So any new advice for me, im awau offshore just now so bits and pieces could be ordered ready for me getting home on the 9th July.

As stated its mainly for playing WOW, (and the kids seem to like the SIMS but Im assuming thats not an issue for any machine now?)

As Kefan stated I could probably re-use the case, DVD and at a push the HDD (hard disk drive?) Would prefer to get new RAM just to be on the safe side, I'm assuming the issues with my PC are coming from this, and besides I think there's only 4gb of it.

Budget is around the same, 600-700 pounds, not including monitor, keyboard etc.

With the monitor is there anyway of finding out what model I currently have and whether its decent or not? Its not top of my list but something that might need replacing due to tech advances, I believe its 3 and a half years old or so :)


As always many thanks in advance

Dave
 
Budget is flexible could probably stretch it to 800 to get the best bang for my buck :) Thats 800 without monitor :)
 
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Thanks very much :)

If the link you gave me hasnt changed since 2011 then the first one is my pc , bought off here in March 2011 (I think), standard spec bar the upgraded graphics card, nvidia 460,

Its fairly slow, not sure what settings I run Warcraft on now but I think its pretty low. My main concern was the random-ish blue screens that occur (random as in they can randomly happen, but I can almost guarantee it happening after coming off Warcraft)

But I also get windows popping up every now and then asking me if I want to change resolution as my pc is running slow (or words to that effect).

To be honest I think its just a good time to upgrade and I'm making excuses so I can justify it to myself, the pc gets me by, but I want ultra graphics on wow and no lagging, or poor graphics :p

Thanks in advance

Dave
 
That's good,

So I'd say the case, Cooler (as long as its got 1155 fittings), PSU and Hard drives can be carried across, no problems.

So really you'll be needing only a few bits. But the important ones. :)

YOUR BASKET
1 x Powercolor Radeon R9 280X TurboDUO 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £229.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4690K 3.50GHz (Devil's Canyon) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £189.95
1 x Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 7 Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £139.99
1 x Intel 320 Series 120GB Internal SSD SATA 3GB/s 2.5" 7mm (SSDSA2BW120G3) £59.99
Total : £629.52 (includes shipping : £8.00).



New CPU, RAM, GPU and SSD.

The board may look high spec and the RAM may look missing. But the RAM (which is great stuff) comes free with that motherboard. Its only £5 more than a low spec motherboard + the same RAM, so why not.

The GPU comes with a free games voucher.

The SSD is a great choice for that money. This will obviously replace your HDD as the boot drive and the HDD will become just a storage drive. This will mean re-installing all programs again, which is good for performance. :)

It is also a fraction of your budget, so may I suggest looking at a new case/PSU/cooler too.

YOUR BASKET
1 x BitFenix Ronin Tower Case - Black £69.95
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 550W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £55.99
1 x Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure Edition CPU Cooler £29.99
Total : £167.63 (includes shipping : £9.75).



Much better. :)

THoughts?
 
Looks good :)

Is that GPU the one I've seen a lot of on here or am I thinking of the 290? what are the differences performance wise.

This may also be a silly question but how would I transfer/reinstall my items onto the SSD, and what are the benefits of SSD over a normal HDD (this is just for my info)

Also would that GPU be suitable for doubling up (SLI?) in the future, and is it worth it for online games?

I'd also defiantely get the cooler so I couldnt mess up figuring out if its 1155 or not :p As you can probably tell my pc knowledge is rather limited :)


Sorry for all the questions :p

Thanks so much for the help
 
Oh also just thought of another question, when online gaming what is getting hit the most pc wise? I just like to have an idea of why people reccommend certain bits and pieces, and also for general knowledge.

And...... one more question :p

Any idea how much RAM the m/b comes with? I couldnt see it on the link :)

Think I'm done......... for now hehe
 
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DaveB653 said:
Looks good :)

Is that GPU the one I've seen a lot of on here or am I thinking of the 290? what are the differences performance wise.

This may also be a silly question but how would I transfer/reinstall my items onto the SSD, and what are the benefits of SSD over a normal HDD (this is just for my info)

Also would that GPU be suitable for doubling up (SLI?) in the future, and is it worth it for online games?

I'd also defiantely get the cooler so I couldnt mess up figuring out if its 1155 or not :p As you can probably tell my pc knowledge is rather limited :)


Sorry for all the questions :p

Thanks so much for the help
Click to expand...

The 280X's and 290's are popular, so maybe. :)

You basically just the SSD as you're main drive and boot up to install windows that way, then re-install STeam, or any other programs you want to run fast to your SSD. You can keep some games files and pictures stored on your HDD.

I'd say its probably about 6-8 times faster.

Yeah you can SLI that GPU, but you'll need a beefier PSU, 750W+

DaveB653 said:
Oh also just thought of another question, when online gaming what is getting hit the most pc wise? I just like to have an idea of why people reccommend certain bits and pieces, and also for general knowledge.

And...... one more question :p

Any idea how much RAM the m/b comes with? I couldnt see it on the link :)

Think I'm done......... for now hehe
Click to expand...

Well, ill guide you through what lead me to my spec.

(I know that) WoW is a single threaded game so multi-core CPU's which rely on threading perform poorly. SO this rules out the FX series as this is how they work.

WHile the game probably only uses 2-4 cores at the most, the i5 is the most logcal choice as it has a fair amount for power than the i3. The i7 is an i5 with hyper threading, so you see no extra power for your money. :)

The GPU is a good choice as its very good Price vs performance. While WoW is more leaning to the CPU side, this means a beefy card (like the 280X) will have room to flex its legs. YOu should max out WoW on Ultra easy (beside the biggest battles, which is more game than hardware related).

It comes with 8GB of 2133mhz RAM. :)
 
Ah ok thanks for clearing all that up for me :)

Yeah I accidentally moused over the RAM pic and found the 8gb bit :p

So in your opinion would it be worth upping the gpu to the 290, just to make it last a bit longer, or is it not really worth it?

My HDD is only 500gb as well, and its half full just now so would be better just replacing that as well?

So I take it when I transfer or load things onto a PC with SSD and standard HDD I'll get a prompt asking me where I want to put it?

If so can you lock it? Otherwise it will end up full of rubbish that the kids download :(

Also is it worth getting more RAM? or again am I just overdoing it? Seems a lot of people think RAM means a faster machine (me included in that) :p
Thanks very much
 
DaveB653 said:
Ah ok thanks for clearing all that up for me :)

Yeah I accidentally moused over the RAM pic and found the 8gb bit :p

So in your opinion would it be worth upping the gpu to the 290, just to make it last a bit longer, or is it not really worth it?

My HDD is only 500gb as well, and its half full just now so would be better just replacing that as well?

So I take it when I transfer or load things onto a PC with SSD and standard HDD I'll get a prompt asking me where I want to put it?

If so can you lock it? Otherwise it will end up full of rubbish that the kids download :(

Also is it worth getting more RAM? or again am I just overdoing it? Seems a lot of people think RAM means a faster machine (me included in that) :p
Thanks very much
Click to expand...

Theres no need to replace a fully functioning hard drive. Just format your 500gb drive and have it serve as a media/downloads hdd. Also there will be no need to "lock" your new SSD provided you setup stuff like Steam and your browser properly.

As an example in Chrome settings you can change the default download folder to be anywhere on your computer, even a different HDD. So when you are initially setting up change the Steam/Chrome/Firefox download locations to be on your larger mechanical media hdd.
 
I agree with above. :)

Ill field your other questions.

280X > 290, not a bad idea but I think a 280X will handle all you'll be throwing at it. :)

RAM. You are a little wrong. :)
RAM has two elements which effect system usage, size and speed.
Size is basically; How much data it can process in one 'unit' of time.
Speed is; How fast it processes this data.

So really the only way MORE RAM helps is if you're consistently using more (the full amount) of RAM you currently have. 8GB is more than enough for your uses.
 
Ahhh ok I get the whole RAM thing now :)

Just for comparaison could you link me a decent 290, not really sure what to look for spec wise and theres a few to choose from :)

And buying wise, how often do the deals on here change? As in im away for 4 more weeks so is it worth buying the bits on offer just now and waiting to see if any others come on offer or should i just stump up the cash now and have it all waiting for me? :)
 
Just re-read an ealier post doomed, and you mention a better fan, any recommendations for that too?

Should be buying this soon ish :)

Oh and can I re-use my windows CD on my new PC? Or will it transfer over with my HDD without a problem?

Thanks again so far, and sorry for pestering, just wanna do it right hehe
 
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