Upgrade priority

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Joined
5 Mar 2007
Posts
24
Noticed the stickies but honestly I'm not sure how my current pc ranks so I don't know where to be looking,

Current set up

Case - Antec 900
Proc - Core2 E6700
Mboard - EVGA 680i
GFX - HD4800
Mem - 4gb DDR2 dual channel OCZ
HD - 320GB Seagate Barracuda IDE 16MB + 1tb external for storeage
Op - Win7 x64
Good psu and all set for monitors etc...

Evening guys. Can you take a look at my current set up and tell me where I should be upgarding. PC is used 70/30 work/gaming. Work wise I use postgres for active database. Gaming wise BF2BC would be my aim. All bought new in 2007 and gfx upgraded around June last year.

I'm thinking GFX card is still ok for gaming but if you think i would benefit from a new one let me know. Really not sure out of hd, ram, mobo and proc if/what needs upgrading. Looking for a nice balance of cost vs performance so I'll be set for next 18+ months.

Shooting for around £450ish max spend. If you can either tell me what needs swapping or suggest what to swap it with I would be muchos grateful.


** ninja bonus** Pc kicks out a fair bit of heat and warms the room after a while so wouldn't mind extra cooling if costs permit.
 
Are you overclocked at all at the moment? Looking at your current spec its a tough one choosing what to upgrade. Simply moving to SATA would be a benefit so have a look at a 320GB SATA drive first.

The problem your left with is what to do next, what needs upgrading further. I'm running an overclocked Q6700, 4GB and a 4850 512mb and I have to run BFBC2 at low settings (full 1680x1050 res) for it to run smoothly. Could be worth spending an amount on the above hard drive and a new GFX card before then saving up a new cpu/mobo/memory combo?

I've just done the opposite mind you, bought the combo before the GFX card as i'm unsure what to go for at the moment :(
 
yeah the gfx is fine, you could go with an i5 setup but are you really getting unstable fps in bf bc2 or have you just got the upgrade itch?
 
Got a 4890 1gb. As its still in beta I think performance for BFBC2 should be upgraded with optimization patches come release or shortly after. Don't know for sure as I've not played the demo. I run dual montiors at 1900 but only plan to game on 1.

Hard drive sounds like a good idea but its a bit pricey for the SSD at the moment. Link posted was a lower end SSD. Is it worth buying a new Sata drive with SSD just coming out? How much of a diff will it make?

Mobo/mem/core still looking ok and not in need of a major overhaul? Not sure which way to go....
 
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-260-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=567

This CPU, 45 nm therefore less heat good clock.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-082-SA&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=1279

This hard drive, your system runs at the slowest component, so loading programs and games will benefit for the added storage and greater capacity, general rule of thumb, the bigger the faster with non SSD drives.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-008-TI&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=

This CPU cooler, will help solve cooling issue, one of the cheapest and best on market, plus quiet too.
 
where do you get good second hand components these days?

In fact I have a few to sell too (8800 GTS) so would be happy to hear your thoughts

The famous auction site is a good place to sell your stuff. However make sure that you are up to speed with their terms and conditions.

A few important things you should do for an auction:
1.)Put clear pictures of your item in the listing and an accurate description.
2.)Clearly point out the payment options you are allowing and the required time period to pay within.Also limit the auction to the UK ONLY and do not allow people with dodgy feedback to bid. Some of this can be automatically set up and its should be mentioned in the auction too.
3.)Post the item via a RECORDED or REGISTERED delivery method and package the item properly.It is your responsibility for the item to reach the buyer in good condition. Take pictures of the packaging of the item.

Also Loot is a good place to sell stuff through and so is Gumtree.
 
OcUK sold the last Q6600 a couple of weeks ago :(

Another good source for a 6600 or 6700 ...... you could try to Google CEX (UK only). Current rate is £110. At least you'll have a point of contact for a replacemnet if you get a duff one!

ATB :)
 
Once last ninja bump. Can you guys give me a ball park for what my proc, mobo and ram is worth if I flog it 2nd hand??

Proc - Core2 E6700
Mboard - EVGA 680i
Mem - 4gb DDR2 dual channel OCZ
 
If the OP looks at the CPU support list for the EVGA 680i only 65NM Intel quad cores are supported:

http://www.evga.com/support/motherboard/

http://www.evga.com/support/motherboard/nForce_Intel_CPU_List.pdf
Yep, 65nm quads on nforce 680i only, and if the op intends to overclock, unfortunately the nforce 6 series boards are terrible for overclocking quads, couldnt get above 3.0ghz with my q6600 on an evga 680i a1, same chip clocked to 3.8ghz on a p45 asus p5q deluxe board.
 
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