Upgrade or New system

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Joined
7 Apr 2013
Posts
106
Hi Guys,

should I upgrade this system or buy a new system

If it's best to upgrade, what should I upgrade?

System Specs

Case - STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA CASE + 2 FRONT USB

Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7-2600 Quad Core (3.40GHz, 8MB Cache) + HD

Graphics - NVIDIA 1280MB GByte GTX570OC V2 PCI-E

Motherboard ASUS® P8H67-M LX SI: MICRO ATX MAINBOARD, LG 1155, SATA 6.0Gb/s

Memory (RAM) 8GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)

1st Hard Disk SSD 250GB

2nd Hard Disk 1TB SERIAL ATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 16MB CACHE (7,200rpm)

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM

Power Supply 600W Quiet

Processor Cooling INTEL SOCKET LGA1155/1156 STANDARD CPU COOLER

Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler

Sound Card ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Facilities ONBOARD GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI CARD

USB Options 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD

Operating System Window 7 64bit

Samsung 3D Monitor 24"
 
for me i'd just change the m/b and cpu and maybe if your flush the memory so a bundle sticks out for my mind

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-123-OE&groupid=43&catid=2512&subcat=2518

for £549.98 inc VAT is a nice little setup and quite a jump of a upgrade, but if it's more than you wish to spend, let us know your budget, so we can give better options, if the video cards a bit on the slow side, then a upgrade to that as well might be a option, leaving the system as it is, then replacing the whole unit next year maybe?
 
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Your CPU is still good and imo it's not worth buying a new motherboard or CPU.

If you play games it might be worth upgrading the GPU.
 
Thanks for the info.

I'd visited the gadget show @ the weekend and some of the system setups were excellent. Graphics were a lot better than my system.

I'm looking for better graphics to use with 3D. When I spoke the Tech guy he mentioned the processor was only 2nd generation and will not use the 570 PHYISX to full capacity. Apparently the 3rd Generation would access the capacity of the graphic card. Not sure what he ment.
 
for me i'd just change the m/b and cpu and maybe if your flush the memory so a bundle sticks out for my mind

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-123-OE&groupid=43&catid=2512&subcat=2518

for £549.98 inc VAT is a nice little setup and quite a jump of a upgrade, but if it's more than you wish to spend, let us know your budget, so we can give better options, if the video cards a bit on the slow side, then a upgrade to that as well might be a option, leaving the system as it is, then replacing the whole unit next year maybe?

Would my case be sufficent or do you propose a new case?
 
dont know the case tbh and whats the make and model power rating of the psu / power supply unit etc?

Case - STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA CASE + 2 FRONT USB
600W power supply
This is the approx size of the Case.

Dimentions

46cm External Width
41cm External Height
18cm Depth
30cm Internal Width
40cm Internal Height
HD/CD bay is approx 12cm width
HD/CD bay is approx 40cm height
600W ALPINE PSU 120MM GOLD FAN
 
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your case seems fine, standard tbh, but your psu is a none high branded one, ie low end value type, have used a few in the past and never had a issue with them either, but many would say here change it as well, and if i was spending £500 plus so would i tbh, as if it fails it could take out the whole system and most things as well....

so whats your budget you'd like to spend min and max etc? and then we can work with that
 
my budget is around £600-£800

I could go for the bundle you're requesting and have about £200 extra, to play with.

what do you suggest

if the package, your advising is a good upgrade. Then we could improve the package by maybe adding a case with a new PSU.

overall, I have a budget of £600-800, maybe a little more.

thanks
 
£549.98 for the bundle, then a video card would be next for me, then another psu later if it's needed

1 x "Intel Extreme Masters Z77" Intel Core i7 3770K 3.50GHz @ 4.40GHz DDR3 OC Bundle £549.98
- 1 x Standard Build Systems - Approximately 5-7 working days £0.00
1 x Gigabyte ATi Radeon HD 7950 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Crysis 3 & Bioshock PC Games £259.99
Total : £821.38 (includes shipping : £9.50).



then something like this for a psu, one of the best there is tbh....

1 x XFX 750W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply £83.99
Total : £94.49 (includes shipping : £8.75).

 
I would'nt sidegrade from a Sandybridge to a Ivybridge, especially when it's soon to be replaced by the Haswell cpu's on a new socket. A 3.4ghz 2600 is not going to bottleneck the likes of a 7950. All i would change for the time being is the psu and the gpu. If you really want to change the cpu/mob/ram at least wait until Haswell launches in a couple of months.
 
Decisions, Decisions

I really want to get the best performance out of a graphic card, whichever one I choose. How would I do that.

For example, if I went for a graphic card, would my current processor give me the maximum performance of that card?

These are the main reasons for the change.

Would you say my system has any compatable issues. EG one part is the weakest link, slowing down the rest of the system.

Thanks for the replys so far.
 
The weakest link in your rig at the moment is the psu. It's a cheap and nasty heap of junk that can be had for £10.99. That say's a lot about the quality of a so called 600w psu. Get rid as soon as possible and buy something of good quality such as XFX (made by Seasonic), Seasonic, Enermax or similar.

Your cpu will not hold back a card such as the 7950. We have people on here running Sli/Crossfire on lesser cpu's than yours.

If you really want to upgrade your cpu/mobo/ran (no need to in my opinion), wait until around June as the new Intel Haswell (Ivybridge's replacement) cpu's along with their new socket will be launched then. Going over to Ivybridge from a Sandybridge now is just a sidegrade. For the sake of a couple of months it's worth waiting.
 
Totally agree with the above

PSU and GPU is all id touch your 2600 even if not a k model is still plenty to run a 7950 or gtx670, If your really getting the upgrade bug hold back a few week haswell is coming
 
Thanks for the info.

I'd visited the gadget show @ the weekend and some of the system setups were excellent. Graphics were a lot better than my system.

I'm looking for better graphics to use with 3D. When I spoke the Tech guy he mentioned the processor was only 2nd generation and will not use the 570 PHYISX to full capacity. Apparently the 3rd Generation would access the capacity of the graphic card. Not sure what he ment.

Hi there,

On the gaming zone systems we were using the following GFX cards; HD 7850 2GB, GTX 670 2GB and another HD 7850 2GB.

The Carl Zeiss machine used a GTX 680.

The Scarab Dirt 3 racing chair machine used a HD 7970 3GB!
 
Which card

3GB XFX Radeon HD 7950 DD, 5000MHz GDDR5, GPU 800MHz, DVI/DVI/HDMI/mDP +Crossfire Offer

or

this card

2GB EVGA GTX 670 FTW, 28nm, PCIe 3.0 (x16), 6208MHz GDDR5, GPU 1006MHz, Boost 1084MHz, Cores 1344

I will also go for a new PSU

XFX (made by Seasonic), Seasonic, Enermax or similar. (550w, 600w or higher)

From the comments I've been advised to change the board/processor in a couple of months and to update the card and PSU only. Would my system work well, if I changed to the above choices. (PSU/Card)
 
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Unfortunately Nvidia cards have a huge price premium over AMD cards. I only have a 670 because it was only £225 from OCUK's clearance section. I would'nt touch a XFX graphics card with a bargepole as their customer service should anything go wrong is abysmal. The MSI Twin Frozr lll 7950 boost edition (£233 with 5 games) and Sapphire 7950 boost edition (£239 with 2 games) are cracking deals.

A couple of power supply suggestions:-

XFX 750W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply (£83.99)

Seasonic M12II 650W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply (89.99)

Your current cpu/mobo/ram will be fine with the above and give you a nice boost, not to mention peace of mind with having a quality psu.
 
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Which card

3GB XFX Radeon HD 7950 DD, 5000MHz GDDR5, GPU 800MHz, DVI/DVI/HDMI/mDP +Crossfire Offer

or

this card

2GB EVGA GTX 670 FTW, 28nm, PCIe 3.0 (x16), 6208MHz GDDR5, GPU 1006MHz, Boost 1084MHz, Cores 1344

I will also go for a new PSU

XFX (made by Seasonic), Seasonic, Enermax or similar. (550w, 600w or higher)

From the comments I've been advised to change the board/processor in a couple of months and to update the card and PSU only. Would my system work well, if I changed to the above choices. (PSU/Card)
YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte ATi Radeon HD 7950 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Crysis 3 & Bioshock PC Games £251.99
1 x XFX 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply £99.98
Total : £363.97 (includes shipping : £10.00).

 
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