Upgrading on a budget.

Tom_D said:
Cheers! Now I understand. :)

So with an SSD I will just notice all around performance in terms of loading times, opening applications and things like that? I don't game so I'm not expecting anything in that department. :)

Thanks
Click to expand...

Pretty much... It all depends what you do, but overall they are snappier. Think corsa vs Ferrari. If all you do is drive to Tesco, it won't make much difference, but when you hit the autobahn life becomes a lot easier.

I find them at their best in laptops as their hard drives are very slow.

Wait 30 mins and find out actually. Get that thing installed. Let me know how it goes.
 
Just got a question about the SSD, I just noticed in the screenshot the seller provided it said the SMART health is 97%.

What does this mean exactly?

Cheers
 
Tom_D said:
Just got a question about the SSD, I just noticed in the screenshot the seller provided it said the SMART health is 97%.

What does this mean exactly?

Cheers
Click to expand...

Hes probably used drive health to get that figure. Google has all the info you could want on S.M.A.R.T. A lot more than i can offer you.

Hope the drives ok and up and running.
 
I was hoping to source a PSU from the MM, but I'm not having much luck.

So my question is, are cheap PSU's really something to stay away from?

Ideally I want something to run a 4850 or a 5770.

I saw a 750w Artic PSU on another stores website for dirt cheap, but because it's 750w and how cheap it is, should I stay away from it?

The specs are:
k9GsN.png


Sorry if this seems like a silly question, just trying to explore all options at the moment.

Cheers!
 
Also consider that newer generation graphics cards (e.g. HD7770) will provide similar performance to older cards but with lower power draw, as they are built on a newer process node (smaller transistors). This means less need for a beefy power supply, and less need to worry about case heat dissipation.

You should still go for a good brand PSU though- tests have shown that sometimes the "600W" no name power supplies actually provide less power than a 450W from a reliable brand like Corsair.
 
Cheap PSU's aren't as bad as everyone thinks. Look at OEM PC's for e.g. Dell and HP. Their PSU'S can and most of the time do last for years without hiccup. They're no brand junk.

I wouldn't run a £1200 gaming system off one, but for an office PC they're perfectly fine.
 
Buchanan0204 said:
Cheap PSU's aren't as bad as everyone thinks. Look at OEM PC's for e.g. Dell and HP. Their PSU'S can and most of the time do last for years without hiccup. They're no brand junk.

I wouldn't run a £1200 gaming system off one, but for an office PC they're perfectly fine.
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I just picked up a OCZ ModXStream Pro 500W Modular PSU for £25 from the MM. Seems like a very fair deal to me!

Think it should fit the bill nicely for a 4850/5770? :)

Cheers
 
your 5450 should be fine for 1080p im using 1 in my htpc at the mo to output to my 46" 1080 sony 3D tv never a glitch with it.

running with 4GB ram and a celeron g540.

I would deffo say upgrade the CPU and that SSD will make insane difference.

i chucked 1 into my HTPC as it was very slow and its now as faster to boot than my gaming rig.

If you take a look on ebay you can get a core 2 quad for around £30 / 40 that with the SSd would make a good improvement without having to change ur mobo
 
passey89 said:
your 5450 should be fine for 1080p im using 1 in my htpc at the mo to output to my 46" 1080 sony 3D tv never a glitch with it.

running with 4GB ram and a celeron g540.

I would deffo say upgrade the CPU and that SSD will make insane difference.

i chucked 1 into my HTPC as it was very slow and its now as faster to boot than my gaming rig.

If you take a look on ebay you can get a core 2 quad for around £30 / 40 that with the SSd would make a good improvement without having to change ur mobo
Click to expand...

I never thought about that actually. It could be a much cheaper option to look for a Quad LGA775 chip instead of getting an i3.

I will keep that in mind... What would be the ideal one to go for for around £40?

Cheers
 
i have seen Q6600's going for £40-£50, get a G0 revision one
just make sure your mobo will support it
edit it does
 
Mobo is a little dated but it says this in the spec

Support for an Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme processor/Intel® Core™ 2 Quad processor/Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor/ Intel® Pentium® processor Extreme Edition/ Intel® Pentium® D processor/ Intel® Pentium® 4 processor Extreme Edition/ Intel® Pentium® 4processor/Intel® Celeron® processor in the LGA 775 package
**L2 cache varies with CPU
Click to expand...

Core 2 Quad is the one to look for?


Cheers
 
Damn, run into a major problem.

I recieved the case today, however it's only a coolermaster 355 and not a 355u.

Maximum card length is - VGA card length: 230mm / 9.05 inch

I'm going to struggle getting a GFX Card in aren't I?

Cheers
 
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