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Idleman

Idleman

Idleman

Soldato
Joined
14 Apr 2011
Posts
12,269
Location
Newark
Mobo: Asus P5N-MX 775

CPU: Pentium(R) Dual-Core E5200 @2.5GHz

Graphics: Nvidia 9500GT 512mb

Looking to upgrade for better gaming. Struggling to meet specs for latest games. All assassin creed games need a better CPU than i have at the moment. Everything esle is OK. Getting a lot of lag and unable to run at full performance. My problem being, there are so many to choose from. Just need something to keep pace.
 
Idleman said:
Mobo: Asus P5N-MX 775

CPU: Pentium(R) Dual-Core E5200 @2.5GHz

Graphics: Nvidia 9500GT 512mb

Looking to upgrade for better gaming. Struggling to meet specs for latest games. All assassin creed games need a better CPU than i have at the moment. Everything esle is OK. Getting a lot of lag and unable to run at full performance. My problem being, there are so many to choose from. Just need something to keep pace.
Click to expand...

What sort of budget do you have for the upgrade? As you have two main options - Another S775 processor or a completly new socket (although this would mean new processor / Motherboard and Ram).
 
Hi Guys,
thanks for the quick response.

Budget wise, i have about £600 to spend. So that would have to cover Cpu/mobo and a new Gpu(with HDMI connecter).

My main problem is i don`t fully understand the specs, like what makes one cpu, mobo or gpu better than another. Plus the compatability issue.

I just want something that will allow me to play my games as they were made to be played. I have all AC, AC2 and ACB but experience lagging whilst playing. I used Can You Run It(http://cyri.systemrequirementslab.com/CYRI/intro.aspx) which says my CPU fails on all AC games.
So basically i my system to be able to play these high end games for a few more years.

All advice is very welcome.

PS. I don`t mind spending a bit more to achieve this. Building a custom PC intrigues me but my limited knowledge gives me second thoughts.
 
For gaming just overclock the CPU and go with the best GPU for the res you game at. Yes you could build an entirely new system but personally I would wait. Im still using an athlon x2 6000 and the E5xxx processors smoke it especially when OC'd, pair it up with an HD6950 or something like that. that'll keep you going for another wee while until you save up a bit more and then upgrade. The 6950 can then be carried over to the new build. Much better than buying an all round PC and ending up skimping on the GPU and having to upgrade it again sooner or next time you build.
 
pastymuncher said:
For £600 you can get a Sandybridge based system. I am sure someone will come along and spec you a build soon.
Click to expand...

you called?

not sure if your salvaging anything from your old computer or not, so i just spec'd a £600 sandybridge setup

if you want to, you coupld almost certainly use the HDD and DVD drives from your old computer, and the case might work too (although you'd need to take a few measurements first to see if the graphics card would fit, an ATX motherboard would fit, and the CPU cooler would fit)

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor £167.99
1 x MSI P67A-GD53 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** £109.99
1 x Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5850 Extreme 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **OcUK Exclusive** £107.99
1 x BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W Power Supply £42.98
1 x Antec 100 One Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black £39.98
1 x G.Skill RipJawsX 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (F3-12800CL9D-4GBXL) £39.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500413AS) £30.98
1 x Corsair A50 High-Performance CPU Cooler (Socket AM2/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £24.98
1 x LiteOn IHAS124-19 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
Total : £594.88 (includes shipping : £12.50).
 
feeddagoat said:
For gaming just overclock the CPU and go with the best GPU for the res you game at. Yes you could build an entirely new system but personally I would wait. Im still using an athlon x2 6000 and the E5xxx processors smoke it especially when OC'd, pair it up with an HD6950 or something like that. that'll keep you going for another wee while until you save up a bit more and then upgrade. The 6950 can then be carried over to the new build. Much better than buying an all round PC and ending up skimping on the GPU and having to upgrade it again sooner or next time you build.
Click to expand...

No room for another card. I need at least 3Ghz to cut out the lag and enjoy the games to there full potential. Never overclocked before, not sure what to do. Plus, how much more would i get.

Reaper, will bear in mind your suggestions, don`t have the time to put this together at the moment because i work away. Only get the occassional w/end.
What`s a 5min job for you is hours to me.
 
Idleman said:
No room for another card. I need at least 3Ghz to cut out the lag and enjoy the games to there full potential. Never overclocked before, not sure what to do. Plus, how much more would i get.

Reaper, will bear in mind your suggestions, don`t have the time to put this together at the moment because i work away. Only get the occassional w/end.
What`s a 5min job for you is hours to me.
Click to expand...

if its your first time building a PC, then i would make sure you've got most of the day to do it in. i think it took me a good couple of hours to build my first (and so far only) one, mostly because i was following all the incomprehensible manuals to the letter. (had some problems installing the operating system, but that was my fault)

if you think you have time to build one yourself, then that would be great, but by the sound of things your going to want to go for a prebuilt computer, which will have a major price premium (about £150-£200)
 
You will never get a good pre-built system for £600. You should really take Reaper's advice and build that system as it will be just amazing for gaming and keep your sorted for a good while to come. It is several times better than the one you have at the mo . If you're not confident doing it yourself get a friend or someone over.
 
Idleman said:
No room for another card. I need at least 3Ghz to cut out the lag and enjoy the games to there full potential. Never overclocked before, not sure what to do. Plus, how much more would i get.

Reaper, will bear in mind your suggestions, don`t have the time to put this together at the moment because i work away. Only get the occassional w/end.
What`s a 5min job for you is hours to me.
Click to expand...

Your Intel processor is faster than my AMD at the same speeds. 3GHz athlon 6000+ would be similar to a 2.5Ghz intel. What I was saying is replace your 9500 with an HD6xxx card and oc your PC and you'll be grand. There are several guides on here how to do it. the E5xxx where capable of 4GHz if it was a good chip and with a good cooler and mobo. No reason you can't hit 3.5GHz with yours, esp with an ASUS board.
 
feeddagoat said:
Your Intel processor is faster than my AMD at the same speeds. 3GHz athlon 6000+ would be similar to a 2.5Ghz intel. What I was saying is replace your 9500 with an HD6xxx card and oc your PC and you'll be grand. There are several guides on here how to do it. the E5xxx where capable of 4GHz if it was a good chip and with a good cooler and mobo. No reason you can't hit 3.5GHz with yours, esp with an ASUS board.
Click to expand...

Decided to OC. Got rid of stock cooler and fitted a Hyper 212+(a little to big for case). Have managed to get to 3.4Ghz stable. Ran Itb at max 5 and standard at 10, all passed. Temps running at low to mid 40`sC and in the 70`s at full load. Ran Prime95 for 18+ hours all passes. Will do the Crysis test and monitor temps, when i get another free w/end. But i think my main problem with existing case, is ventilation. Only 1 rear and cpu fan.
Started another thread in the OC`ing section, but seem to have problems uploading screenshots, any advice on how to best insert links, etc,.
Looking around atm for a new case, something with better cooling capabilities and room for future upgrades.
 
if you think you have time to build one yourself, then that would be great, but by the sound of things your going to want to go for a prebuilt computer, which will have a major price premium (about £150-£200)[/QUOTE]

Hey Reaper don`t want to buy another PC. Would much prefer to build my own. As regards time, i only work about 7-8 months a year so come Jan, will have a few months to play around. So in the meantime all work and no play. This gives me 7 months to get all the hardware i need, for the system i want.
As i said in previous post, i`ve decide to OC my existing CPU purely for experience. Don`t want to OC a really good CPU.
Also decided i want my new build to be as quite as is possible, as the constant whirring of my existing PC is annoying to say the least.
 
the noise of your pc will mainly be due to the fan on your gpu. You could just buy a 3rd party cooler and 3rd party fan for your gpu and overclock that which would improve your 9500GT quite a bit. Your cpu is fine once overclocked for nearly all games.

Your cooling is fine as your cpu temp is fine.
 
clocka said:
the noise of your pc will mainly be due to the fan on your gpu. You could just buy a 3rd party cooler and 3rd party fan for your gpu and overclock that which would improve your 9500GT quite a bit. Your cpu is fine once overclocked for nearly all games.

Your cooling is fine as your cpu temp is fine.
Click to expand...

Any recommendations?
 
your 9500GT is pretty old and slow, i'd get a new DX11 card and a 3rd party heatsink and use no fan on it. Choose an AMD 6XXX or Nvidia GTX 5XX card that you are willing to pay for, once you've picked a card post in here with it and someone will find you a gpu heatsink that will fit it.
 
Just been looking at this MSI 1024MB GDDR5 GeForce GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr II OC, but without the OC. Cheapest about £180.
What`s the main difference between Nvidia, MSI, Pny and Gigabyte. All selling virtually the same card, but BIG difference in Price.
I imagine the heatsink on this should be adequate.
 
they are all the same as all the nvidia cards are made by nvidia, the company just stick their logos and their own cooling on them, sometimes overclock them by default and sometimes different amounts of memory.

you should read some reviews comparing the ati hd6xxx series and nvidia 5xx series and look at how they compare in benchmarks before choosing which card. I don't following gaming so i'm not sure if the GTX560 Ti is better than the ATI 6870 which can be had for £156.

the cooling on the cards will keep the cards cool yes but they will be loud, you could get a 3rd party big copper heatsink and have it silent.
 
Mobo
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-037-OP&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1906
or this
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-450-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1906

CPU.

i5-2500k

GPU.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...-113-MS&tool=3
or
GeForce GTX 560Ti or 580 when price comes down later in the year

RAM. I could do with some advice on.

Cooling System, will decide later, air or water?

Already have 2 hdd`s, but will have at least 1 ssd for OS, yet again, undecided and looking for advice.

PSU

OCZ ModXStream-Pro. Already bought, currently in existing pc.

Case. This is by far my biggest headache. Looked at hundreds and seen nothing i either like or want. Toying with the idea of designing and building my own custom case. That way, i get what i really want. Got GoogleSketch, so will try to come up with the picture i have in my head. Will start a new thread in Cases.

All help, advice and contructive criticism, welcome.
 
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