What should I upgrade?

[Joh619]

What should I upgrade? Need help setting it up

Hey up.

I've got a PC that I bought from OcUK nearly 3 years ago, that a friend built for me. Its the longest I've ever kept the same PC for and it starting to get a bit slow. The only upgrades I've done to it is to get another 4Gb RAM (making it up to 6Gb) and go from XP > Vista.

I mostly play on WoW, although I do sometimes play on other games when my addiction lets me, but most of them are older.

I tend to play WoW on my main monitor (24") and have the internet/DVD playing on my other monitor. The problem seems to be that everything is starting to slow down so I'm considering upgrading some stuff. Someone suggested that I just buy a new PC, but I don't think I can afford anything amazing atm. Problem is, since I built this PC I haven't really paid attention to what is good etc so I'm a bit lost as to what to get and was hoping for some friendly advice

This is what I've got atm:

Western Digital Caviar RE 250GB 2500YS SATA-II 16MB Cache

Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz

Leadtek GeForce 7950 GT EXTREME 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express)

Gigabyte GA_965P_DS4 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard

GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (upgraded to 6Gb)

Enermax Galaxy 850W EGA850EWL ATX2.2 Modular PSU

NZXT Lexa Classic Series Ultra light Aluminum Midtower.


I'm guessing it would be worth upgrading the CPU and Graphics Card? But what would I need to get (that would work with my motherboard, and fit in the case). I was thinking of spending £200-£300, maybe a little more for something that'll last a bit longer. Any advice appreciated

 

[Joh619]

Thanks for the advice on the graphics card. I'll definately have a good think about getting that.

As for overclocking...it sounds pretty scary and I don't know if it would be something I'd be able to do. Also, I'm fairly sure the cooling in my case wouldn't be much good as I mostly bought it coz it looked pretty and not because of its cooling abilities

 

[Joh619]

Hey,

I'm back! Happy New Year! I bought the 5850 as per your very kind advice last year. I'm now looking to maybe upgrade something else. I have no idea about overclocking, and my case cooling probably isn't up to much, although I just got some new fans for it.

I was thinking about getting a new processor, but I'm assuming that I'd have to upgrade the motherboard for that? And then if I do that, I might as well upgrade the RAM as well.

I've been looking at stuff online, but I'm not sure about compatability with the things I've already got, and if anyone has any recommendations as to a good set? I'd probably want to spend around £200-£300.

The other thing is, is there any size guides for motherboards? My case isn't massive and the power supply is pretty huge so I'm worried that it might not fit

Thanks.

 

[Joh619]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll have a look into both of them.

Only problem is that I have an OEM version of Vista, so I'll probably have to buy a new OS as well. But it's probably a good time to upgrade to Windows 7.

 

[Joh619]

Hey,

Thanks for the suggestions. I went ahead and bought all this and I've got it installed. It seems to be working fine, but I'm getting beeps like the BIOS beeps (2 short beeps) but there don't seem to be any issues... I can boot into Windows fine. I rang up overclockers tech support but they hadn't heard of that problem either.

/edit...I think its coming from the PSU :O

 

[Joh619]

OK, so I've narrowed it down to being the PSU that's making the noise. I've also found the rest button on it that stops it beeping, but there's still a big red light on the back of it :S

Looking in the manual it says that the red light, along with 2 beeps and the fact that its still working means either:

Power good, signal abnormal.
or
System loading lower than PSU minimum output load requirement.

I can't see it not having enough load on the PSU with all the things I've got connected. But I don't understinand what the "signal abnormal" might mean? I've not done anything with the power cable. I didn't even move it from my desk and it's still plugged in the same place.

Has anyone else has a similar problem? Or have any ideas as what I can try to get it to not beep at me?