upgrading my pc for gaming, how much?

Deathon2wheelz · 1 Sep 2013 at 13:29

Hey guys,

Trying to decide if I want a ps4, xbone or PC for next gen gaming, but not sure if my current rig needs a full overhaul or not.

I have core i7 920, and Asus p6t mobo, 8GB ddr3 1333mhz, a 700w psu (I think) and well my graphics card will suck but it is a hd6800. None of the above is overclocked atm, and the CPU is on a standard fan.

How much would it cost me to turn this into a pc that can run gamed like BF4 on ultra? What can I keep and what simply has to go?

Thanks for looking.

wazza300 · 1 Sep 2013 at 13:31

a better gpu,maybe a 7950/7970 or wait for amd's newer gen cards which will be out soon

a mild overclock on your cpu and better cooler? idk what cooler you have and an ssd

and maybe 1600mhz ram

Deathon2wheelz · 1 Sep 2013 at 13:33

What sort of price would I be looking at?

Also I have a 120gb SSD.. forgot about that.. soery baaaad hangover today!

wazza300 · 1 Sep 2013 at 13:37

ok your current ram 8gb might be fine,i just prefer above 1333mhz,

id just go for a decent gpu and a mild overclock maybe 3.6ghz to 4ghz on your cpu

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-190-MS £199 for the 7950

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-204-MS £270 for the 7970

Deathon2wheelz · 1 Sep 2013 at 13:41

Oh well that is cool then!! So I would also need a better heatsink if I am OC my cpu?

Thanks for your help mate.

james_2k · 1 Sep 2013 at 13:43

how have you got 8gb ram, what size sticks are they?

wazza300 · 1 Sep 2013 at 13:45

yes,are you using stock intel cooler?

this is a decent budget cooler

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-035-CM&tool=3 £26

or this for a high end cooler

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-020-AL £58

^^ make sure it will clear your memory heatsinks and fit inside your case though

@James he can run dual or tri channel,works out roughly the same performance 6gb tri vs 8gb dual channel

james_2k · 1 Sep 2013 at 13:47

im not sure about that. dual will be slower unless you need the extra ram.

probably not noticible but still, dont want to run single channel in a dual motherboard and same for dual in a triple.

wazza300 · 1 Sep 2013 at 13:50

it usually evens out though more ram in dual vs faster tri

james_2k · 1 Sep 2013 at 13:51

i remain unconvinced

would stick another 4gb in there to get optimal ram speed.

wazza300 · 1 Sep 2013 at 13:57

x58 struggles with large amount of memory though

esp when you oc the cpu,8gb is plenty for gaming

Deathon2wheelz · 1 Sep 2013 at 14:38

Cheers guys... Another question, how often do you have to upgrade your gfx cards to stay current? Just weighing up my options

james_2k · 1 Sep 2013 at 14:43

wazza300 said:
x58 struggles with large amount of memory though

esp when you oc the cpu,8gb is plenty for gaming

i ran 12gb of samsung green at ~1900mhz with my 920 at 4.5ghz without an issue. on the rampage 2 gene.

wazza300 · 1 Sep 2013 at 14:49

Deathon2wheelz said:
Cheers guys... Another question, how often do you have to upgrade your gfx cards to stay current? Just weighing up my options

dunno,new amd cards are out shortly current 7k series should last you a few years or wait to see what the newer cards offer?

@James I only tried 12gb once in my x58 I needed nearly 1.4v qpi/vtt@1600mhz ram speed was too much for my liking so I ram 6gb at 1.32v qpi@1800mhz ram speed

Deathon2wheelz · 1 Sep 2013 at 14:51

wazza300 said:
dunno,new amd cards are out shortly current 7k series should last you a few years or wait to see what the newer cards offer?

@james I only tried 12gb once in my x58 I needed nearly 1.4v qpi/vtt@1600mhz ram speed was too much for my liking so I ram 6gb at 1.32v qpi@1800mhz ram speed

Cheers mate

wazza300 · 1 Sep 2013 at 14:55

i'd be surprised if you couldn't run bf3/4 on an overclocked 7950 or 7970

Deathon2wheelz · 1 Sep 2013 at 14:59

wazza300 said:
i'd be surprised if you couldn't run bf3/4 on an overclocked 7950 or 7970

Surely i wouldn't have to overclock those to run BF3/4 on ultra?

wazza300 · 1 Sep 2013 at 15:02

no but in overclock I mean max or get close to max ccc/overdrive settings without touching/adding any gpu voltage

the 7 series cards overclock really easily

Deathon2wheelz · 9 Sep 2013 at 10:07

Sorry for the very late reply...

Thanks for your help.

I am looking at getting a liquid cooler for CPU (likely corsair H60 or 80), 8 GB of 2133 mhz Ram, a 2TB hdd and either a HD 7970 Tahiti XT 3gb or the GTX 680 2 GB..

How does that sound, and also some input into the GFX card would be ace.

Doomedspeed · 9 Sep 2013 at 10:31

Deathon2wheelz said:
Sorry for the very late reply...

Thanks for your help.

I am looking at getting a liquid cooler for CPU (likely corsair H60 or 80), 8 GB of 2133 mhz Ram, a 2TB hdd and either a HD 7970 Tahiti XT 3gb or the GTX 680 2 GB..

How does that sound, and also some input into the GFX card would be ace.

I don't think you need new RAM to be honest.. it's not worth the extra money.

I'd just get yourself a new HDD (if you need it)

and a new GPU.

This GTX 680 is cheaper than any 7970, so this would be my choice: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-156-MS&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=2255

Though there are new AMD cards out soon, so it may be worth biding your time.. If you can't the 680 is a solid choice..

If you can't get a 680 for under £250/£260 i'd turn to the 7970 (under £250).