Want a decent cheap upgrade. Where to start?

MrMartyn1984

MrMartyn1984

MrMartyn1984

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Joined
26 Jun 2009
Posts
200
Location
Sunderland
Hi all,

Going to try and upgrade my PC in bits over the next few months.

Current setup

ASUS M4A78 PRO
Phenom II x2 550 over clocked to 3.75
4GBDDR2 800mhz
Radeon 4670 512mb

What I'm wanting to do as I'm on a low budget is upgrade the graphics card (1st I think) to something where I'll see better performance but won't cost a fortune! I don't play a lot of games but I do like it to run smooth when I play them. Recently got Rage and it doesn't run well at all and jumps all over the place.

Is a Radon 5770 or 6770 a decent upgrade for what I've got? I know it's no 6870 but it is £50 cheaper.

Also, after graphics, is it worth changing just the CPU or trying a new board like a ASUS M5A78L USB3 (£56) and 8GB DDR3 1600 (£40) and using the unlock core feature to see if I can gain performance that way?

Would like to see an improvement if I'm going to spend money on it, what would you recommend, that would last me a couple more years but fairly cheap(if such a thing exists)?
 
what psu are you running on that system ?

have a look in the nvidia refurbs there are 460 gtx's for around £80.
 
if its decent quality and the amps on the rails are ok the 450w is the minumum requirement according to nvidia, so you should be fine.
 
So if I just change the graphics card should that give the full system a boost in games withou needing to change the CPU? I'd be happy with that if that's the case. So is a 460 nvidia a lot better than the ATi? I've always had ATi cards is the reason I ask.

Cheers.
 
for the price it is, ati wise 6850 would be ok if you could find one within budget.

what sort of resolution do you need to game at and are you that bothered about going high detail ?
 
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