Upgrade recommendations

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Joined
28 Jan 2007
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1,586
Location
London
Hey all, sorry I keep making threads but I keep changing my requirements and the thread becomes hard to follow, so I'm starting afresh...

Need some help upgrading my current system:

  • Lian Li PC-P60 case
    • REPLACING WITH FRACTAL DESIGN R2 case
  • E8400 3ghz (oc'd to 3.4ghz on stock)
    • need quieter/better cooler
  • Abit IP35 Pro XE
  • 4GB Corsair 6400C4DHX (2x2gb)
  • PNY 8800 GT 512mb (i think)
    • definitely needs upgrade, requirements:
      • Handle general use and gaming - ie. Modern Warfare 2 @ 1920x1200 on 24" monitor
      • HDMI output 1080p (with audio) to TV -- require new mobo??
      • Preferably silent - aftermarket gfx cooler to achieve this?
      • Must fit the above case
  • Corsair HX 520W Modular SLI Compliant PSU
  • 320GB WD Caviar Blue Sata-II for Windows7 (fine for os)
  • 1TB Samsung F1 Sata-II (fine for data storage)
  • 500GB Seagate 7200.10 Sata-II (replacing with another samsung 1tb)
  • Netgear WPN311 PCI 108mbps wifi adapter
    • need a better one as this one has a bug which limits to 54mbps on x64
The general requirement is to get it ready for Modern Warfare 2 on 24" monitor and output movies to TV, but make it quieter and rid the ridiculously blinding LED alien mothership lightshow that is the PC-P60 ¬_¬

Budget: ~£180-£200 (for graphics card + cooler, cpu cooler and wifi card)
 
4890 for the grpahics issue
h50 for the cpu cooler
also good case choice what colour you get i got black pearl cant woat for it over my current case which is a jeantech aqua
any wifi card i would amagine should do the job and that should be close to your budget
 
4890 for the grpahics issue
h50 for the cpu cooler
also good case choice what colour you get i got black pearl cant woat for it over my current case which is a jeantech aqua
any wifi card i would amagine should do the job and that should be close to your budget

Yeah sweet case right? I'm getting the pearl black too, matches the rest of my kit.
H50 seems good, never tried water cooling before - Should be pretty straight forward right? Worth the £60?
4890 - any specific card to go for? No experience in this. There's a "Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4890 Vapor-X 2GB" going for £185 elsewhere but that's way expensive.

Thanks!
 
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http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-124-XF&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1403
that a good card to go with i think it even has the special warranty were as if it goes wrong tell oc and they exchange straight away
h50 are spose to be real good i do think 60 quid is a bit steep since the 1366 version is like a tenner cheaper btu it is amazingly good at cooling and im most probs gona buy one tomorow ready for my case and everything just gotta make sure i have the funds first lol
 
Thanks a lot man that covers everything.

I was going to consider a full water cooling kit but that'd be too expensive for now. Funds funds funds, what a pain :p
 
Just a quick question about the graphics card. I currently have the PNY GeForce 8 8800GT (512MB, GDDR3), which I've checked prices for and is selling for average £120 (funny cos I bought it for £90 lol). Does that mean there isn't much difference in the performance of the cards? The 4890 is £140..

If I get rid of my card for say £100 on ebay or w/e would I be better off spending a little more for a better card than the 4890 so I don't need to upgrade for 2-3 years or will the 4890 do??

Thanks.
 
the 4890 is about twice as good as a 800 no jock lol dno why they selling for that much i never really rted them that highly to be honest but if you can then that is a good idea a really good card for 20 quid cant go wrong lol
 
Ok thanks, I'll buy the 4890 for now and I'll stick the 8800 gt on ebay and hope ^^

I don't know how much I'd get for it but surely it'd be worth spending £40-£60 for upgrading to 4890.
 
Don't allocate more to the graphics card in the hope you get £100 on ebay for the old one.
They generally go for 50-60 quid from what I've seen. You then have to take out the seller fees so you are probably looking at around £50 towards the new card for the sale of the old. Unless you decide to use it for physx as suggested :)
That's my plan too.
 
Ok fair enough, thanks for the warning.

My main reason for this upgrade is to be able to play Modern Warfare 2 on a 24" monitor @ 1920x1200 resolution with nice smooth graphics. Not necessarily top end but around 40-50 fps average? Would that be possible with the 4890?

Thanks.
 
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