Upgrading my PC, Need help with some upgrades :)

deadmeatdan

deadmeatdan

deadmeatdan

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30 Jul 2011
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Hey guys,

Been a long time, and to think that back in the late 90's I was going to all your OcUK LAN's. Hope you're all still doing great.

Now, I've been content with my PC for a few years and I'm a little out of the loop with all the new Hardware atm.

I need help figuring out what I need to spend to get my PC ready for Battlefield 3.

I'm looking at buying these items:

XFX ATI Radeon 6950 HD 800MHz 2GB PCI-Express 2.1 HDMI
Corsair Memory 8GB (2 x 4GB) Dominator DDR3 1600MHz DIMM CL9

I'd like to know your opinion on what else I should upgrade if anything to make sure this pc runs smoothly.

Here's my spec:

OS Version: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional , Service Pack 1, 64 bit
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E6850 @ 3.00GHz, Intel64 Family 6 Model 15 Stepping 11
Processor Count: 2
RAM: 2029 Mb
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS, 640 Mb
Motherboard: Intel Corporation, DG33BU, AAD79951-407, AZBU748000FU
PSU: JeanTech 600W Modular Arctic Active PFC, 24-pin PSU

Hope you guys can help,

Dan
 
For Battlefield 3 / demanding games :

- memory : too small.
- CPU : too slow.
- PSU : too weak.
- graphics card : too old.

:D Upgrade the lot to 2500K + 6950 2GB. £500-£750.

Ideally...

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI GeForce GTX 570 OC Twin FrozR III Power Edition 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £254.99
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £163.99
1 x Asus P8Z68-V Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £129.98
1 x Lepa B-Series 850W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply £92.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £59.99
1 x Akasa AK-CCX-4002HP Venom CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366/AM2/AM3) £35.99
Total : £749.93 (includes shipping : £10.00).




Cheapest...

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £163.99
1 x MSI GeForce GTX 560 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £149.99
1 x Asus P8P67 LE Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard ** B3 REVISION ** £68.98
1 x Antec TruePower New Modular 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply ** FREE 3D Mark 2011 Advanced ** £59.99
1 x Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £26.39
Total : £481.33 (includes shipping : £10.00).



Then anything in between.
 
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Ahhh, I was worried you might say this.. Looks like my original £300 budget just went up a few hundred pounds!

Thanks for the tips guys, i'll look into it.

Cheers,

Dan
 
OK i've done some research.

What do u guys think of this spec?

-Corsair Memory 8GB (2 x 4GB) Dominator DDR3 1600MHz DIMM CL9

-AMD Phenom II X6 1090T 3.2HGz AM3 Black Edition Processor

-Asus M4A87TD EVO, AMD 870, AM3, 4DDR3, 2PCI-Ex16, CrossfireX 16x4x, RAID, 8CHHD, USB3 & SATA6, ATX

-XFX ATI Radeon 6950 HD 800MHz 2GB PCI-Express 2.1 HDMI

all for £535 Approx

I've got a nice CPU cooler, a zalman flower, that should do the trick.

What do u guys think?
 
- Go 2500K over Phenom II (even X6), especially for gaming.

- Graphics Card good.

- You don't realistically need 8GB, but that's fine by me. A place to save a few buck though.

- The Corsair PSU is fine. Probably better options at the price but if you want to go with Corsair, Can't go wrong. If you are wanting to save money and stick to one GPU for a while, the Antec TP-550 is a bargain at £60. Or the XFX Core 550W will als odo the job. You don't need to spend £100 on PSU, unless you are thinking SLI / XFire.

In short.

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI GeForce GTX 570 OC Twin FrozR III Power Edition 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £254.99
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £163.99
1 x MSI P67A-GD53 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard ** B3 REVISION ** £114.98
1 x Antec TruePower New Modular 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply ** FREE 3D Mark 2011 Advanced ** £59.99
1 x Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £26.39
Total : £632.34 (includes shipping : £10.00).



Maximising GPU and CPU power :)

Add a 3rd party cooler later for 30% boost, although imo not necessary right now. Can cut down to a 6950 2GB, should do well in BF3 too.
 
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Thanks dude,

This info will save me a few bob i'd imagine.

Are MSI a good brand to go for? I want longevity and reliability as a top priority, i wont be upgrading again for at least 3 years.

When you say 3rd party cooler, for 30% boost? what do u mean?

Is it worth spending the extra £70 for a gtx570? wouldnt it be better to get a gtx 480?

Dan
 
If you're looking to save money, you could go for a MSI Twinfrozer 560Ti and overclock it further to achieve the same speeds as a stock GTX570 and save £70 in the process.
 
the GD53 received top marks, and the MSI P67 boards are good. Less problems than Asus. There is still some debate about the VRM designs (MSI goes for high quality, low quantity VRMs, Asus and Al are more conservative).

3rd party cooler gives you a 4.4GHz overclock relatively easy. So you go from 3.3GHz to 4.4GHz overclock -> 30% increase. However, a 2500K at stock will handle everything you will throw at it.

I would not go for a 480. They are quick, but they huff and puff. 570 is the way to go, however, a 6950 2GB is very quick too, and uses less power. BF3 (Frostbite engine) is not Nvidia-biased like some games, so it should do well, specially with the high Vram.

That 570 is factory-overclocked with a proven custom cooler design (they use the same design since the 470's, and across multiple platforms). It's very quick.

You can transfer the £40 savings going from 570 to 6950 to a 'better' motherboard, like the Asus P8Z68-V, the AsRock Z68 Extreme 4, or the Asus P8P67 Pro. Good solid boards.
 
see coldfused you're running a core2 duo with 4gb of ddr2 and u have a modern decent card...

is it really nessesary for me to have to upgrade my whole pc to play bf3.

I mean, my pc runs Crysis 2 on 1600x1050 (my max resolution) smoothly and beautifully.
It also runs Shogun 2 pretty well also, but obviously not maxed out.

I love my old 8800gts, its been a reliable card for me. This machine has never felt slow until recently i've noticed it could do with an upgrade (minor i thought)

I'd really like to stick to a budget of £400 MAX otherwise my wife will cut my balls off!
 
another two options

8GB.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 6950 "Dual Fan Edition" 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE DIRT3 Game £209.99
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £163.99
1 x Asus P8Z68-V Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £129.98
1 x Antec TruePower New Modular 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply ** FREE 3D Mark 2011 Advanced ** £59.99
1 x Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) £59.99
Total : £635.94 (includes shipping : £10.00).




3rd party cooler for 4.4GHz.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 6950 "Dual Fan Edition" 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE DIRT3 Game £209.99
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £163.99
1 x Asus P8Z68-V Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £129.98
1 x Antec TruePower New Modular 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply ** FREE 3D Mark 2011 Advanced ** £59.99
1 x Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £26.39
1 x Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £23.99
Total : £626.33 (includes shipping : £10.00).

 
i knew that there was a strong possibility that asking guys on a forum what i need to upgrade may end up with a "replace everything" answer.. but i'm on a tight budget.. it's possible to bump it up to £600 but my wife will destroy me!
 
My friend is playing the bf3 alpha and comments on how much it eats the VRAM so probably best to go with the 6850, but again it's alpha and can change dramatically from now to retail.

Upgrading the gpu alone is pointless if your CPU can't process all it's power in time hence creating the bottleneck issues, it's pretty much the way it goes unfortunately.

I myself just went to change my CPU a few weeks ago and ended up with a £800 new rig ><

Btw, easiest way of keeping your marbles is DON'T TELL HER :D

*edit* another option would be to hold fire at the moment, save cash and actually wait for the game is released and see other people's rigs and how it handles the game and aim for a comfortable mixture of performance/cost, waiting 3-4 months can help
 
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deadmeatdan said:
I'd really like to stick to a budget of £400 MAX otherwise my wife will cut my balls off!
Click to expand...

Then for the sake of your future children,

6950 / 560ti.
Antec PC-550W PSU.

and we go back to the dual core CPU, and the 2GB memory. Hard to say, but I have a feeling those will struggle with BF3.

So either a GPU + PSU upgrade.
Or CPU + Motherboard + RAM upgrade. And pray the 880GTS can work at minimum settings in the game. And that you are not using Win 7 OEM.

All within budget. You could get a good 2500K setup for £400.
 
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Thanks Oliver, you've been a real help.

I just did a "test" with the wife and told her i ordered it at £600.. WOW she went ballistic!

OK gunna have to let her cool off, and try again in a few weeks. Maybe i'll wear her down a little :)

Cheers for all the help guys :)
 
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