What upgrade path to make?

Anchorman

Anchorman

Anchorman

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Joined
6 Sep 2010
Posts
28
Hi all, been browsing these forums for a while - but finally decided to take the leap and register so I could ask for some advice!

My dilemma is a rather aged pc which I currently use, and how to improve it...
Specs are :

Acer aspire
AthlonX2 4200
Mobo ? (assuming am2 cheapie!)
4*512 ddr2
550w psu (added)
256mb 1650xt gpu (added)
150Gb hd
Vista hp oem
crap 19" screen @1280*1024

I can't afford to replace the lot at the moment, so wondered what could be done to benefit me now until I can.

With less than £200...

Thanks!
 
Oh, and is it possible to use the disc that came with th pc to reinstall/repair once new components are added? I will upgrade to w7 eventually, but if I can get by for now I will!
 
A new graphics card would give you a huge improvement. Something along the lines of a ATI 5770 would be good.

As for the rest of the rig. Both AMD and Intel are phasing out all of their current sockets so there is no future upgrade path there. Intels socket 1156 (i3/i5) will be gone by the end of the year followed by 1366 (i7) in Q3 next year. Socket 775 is still hanging on but is old tech now. AMD is launching it's new Bulldozer cores next year (Q2) which will require a new socket (AM3+).

Personally i would just replace the graphics card now which alone will give you a major boost. Then save up so that you can replace the CPU/mobo/ram all in one go next year.
 
pastymuncher said:
A new graphics card would give you a huge improvement. Something along the lines of a ATI 5770 would be good.

As for the rest of the rig. Both AMD and Intel are phasing out all of their current sockets so there is no future upgrade path there. Intels socket 1156 (i3/i5) will be gone by the end of the year followed by 1366 (i7) in Q3 next year. Socket 775 is still hanging on but is old tech now. AMD is launching it's new Bulldozer cores next year (Q2) which will require a new socket (AM3+).

Personally i would just replace the graphics card now which alone will give you a major boost. Then save up so that you can replace the CPU/mobo/ram all in one go next year.
Click to expand...

but by next year the next big thing will only be a year away, personally I would wait for that.....but by then in 2012 the next big thing will...........see a pattern?
Socket 775 in old tech but still very much a upgrade path.
:D
 
Ok, cheers for the replies. Yeah, the gfx is on a pcie slot - thankfully there's something I CAN upgrade!

So a decent card would be better value than a new cpu i.e. Phenom 955? (and is this because my board is am2?)

Sorry for all the dumb questions...:confused:
 
redshadows said:
but by next year the next big thing will only be a year away, personally I would wait for that.....but by then in 2012 the next big thing will...........see a pattern?
Socket 775 in old tech but still very much a upgrade path.
:D
Click to expand...

I disagree. I would'nt advise anybody to build a new rig around a dying platform. 775 is several years old now and is being left behind by the newer sockets. As the high end cpu's are drying up they are getting more and more expensive. Q9550 cpu's for example are rare in retailers now and just about the only way to get one is second hand on the bay and the price on there has taken off big time and is only going to get worse. Good for people like me when we decide to jump ship but bad for anyone who wants a easy upgrade.

AMD is the best bang for buck at the moment with a Athlon X2 and AM2+ motherboard coming in at around £95. The best way would to buy a X6 1055T as it will last a lot longer but with a new mobo and ram it's over the OP's £200.

I stand by my original advice and would say to the OP to upgrade the graphics card now and start saving to replace his rig with a up to date system. The X1650XT was'nt a very good card when it came out and would get an absolute hiding from even one of todays low end cards. It's also likely that the OS is a OEM version so a new operating system would be needed with a new motherboard anyway.
 
Well for me P45 chipset socket 775 system with second hand [email protected] and 5850 was a huge upgrade and boost from my 6 years old PC world OEM system that consisted of AMD Athlon 3000+ cpu and ATI Radeon 9200 se family gfx at roughly the same price. I must have jumped over 100 gfxs to reach 5850. My newer system feels so hightech and plays almost all the games fine on max settings:).
 
Unfortunately, new mobo/cpu/ram would mean new os aswell - which would be unaffordable at the mo.:( I know bit by bit is not the best way to do it, but needs must as they say!

I had actually considered a 5770 when they came out (and were cheaper!), but was scared that the cpu would be a huge bottleneck, therefore not really making it worthwhile. What do you think about this? And if I DO get one, would a Quad 640 work in my mobo as I could get both for about £200?:)
 
You'll be lucky if the motherboard supports AM3 CPUs, you'll need to do a bit of research on the model number of the PC or motherboard to find out if it does or not.
 
well,a fellow member told me in a thread that just because something is old,it doesnt mean that its useless.
it really depends on what you want to do with the pc,you can still put a decent gpu in an lga775 and play games at decent settings.
if your not one of those people who gets all the new stuff when they come out,the lga 775 should last you 2-3 years.
the e5400 and g41 combo is around £80 you can reuse your ddr2 as theres really no need to buy another pair of ddr3. put in a 4850/70/90 and voila!
 
ok will find out about mobo, and get back to you!

And yes, strangely enough I'm not one for latest and greatest (as you could probably tell!:D), but it would be nice to run a few later games... Mostly racing sims atm, but do like the fps/sim category too.
 
what brand is your psu,if its a know brand then going for a gtx460 is a good move and there on sale atm :D
your £200 could/would get you a g41 combo,e5400 and gtx460 but if you have a after market cooler you could try overclocking the cpu to around 3.3-4GHz
 
PSU is a Trendsonic 550BTX, i know it isn't a great make - but it does have a seperate 12v 4pin connector. Will it be up to the job?

Mobo is EM61SM/EM61PM. All I can find is an update to the bios from 2008/12/09, nothing about what cpu's are compatible.
 
It would appear that from looking around the net that your board will take up to a AM2 X2 6000 cpu with the latest bios. It will not take a AM3 cpu. If you want to go down this route look for a cheap second hand one off the bay.

If you change your motherboard you will need a new operating system as well which will completely blow your budget out of the water. Best bang for buck at the moment would be to buy a 5770 or 460GTX and maybe a Corsair CX400 psu. Save up some more money and do a full rebuild including psu. Trendsonic are terrible quality psu's.
 
It might not take AM3 CPUs but I'd be suprised if it didn't take AthlonsII which are AM2+, this would be a lot better upgrade than getting an useless cheap intel mobo and 4yr old intel cpu which is more of a sidestep than an upgrade...
------
if not, just get cheap AM2+/AM3 setup and sell your current stuff, you can get a good setup for just as low as around 120 or so, after selling your old parts, you'll still have enough cash to upgrade the GPU.
 
Ach, oh well!

Maybe I'll spend a bit less on a card then start saving up for a new rig, replacing the gfx when I do.

Thanks for everyone's time.:)


Edit: Geez that took me a long time to post, missed another response as I was typing!
 
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Can't find any decently priced am2 chips anywhere, but not sure if I should take the gamble on an am2+? Don't want to have to buy new mobo (and os) for an already old cpu.

Any more opinions welcome!:p
 
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