Gaming Rig - Upgrade

Lister1

Would be interested in what peoples views are on upgrading my current system. The processor is probably holding it back at present as it is the oldest component but I am not too sure on whether current processors would be compatible with the same socket motherboard. Graphic card also might need an update which in turn might require the power supply to be changed also. Am open to hearing all suggestions on upgrading so don't be shy....

1. What is your budget? [€600-€800]

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? [Gaming, FPS and MMOs(Guildwars 2)]

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [No]

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? [Hard drive/DVD Drive/Case/PSU/etc.] (If possible state brand and model of the parts to ensure compatibility)

Current System
Case: Antec 900
Operating System: Windows 7, 64bit
Processor: Intel Core2 Quad CPU Q6600 @2.4Ghz
Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2
Motherboard: Unknown(any ideas on how to find out?)
Memory: 8GB Ram, 4x2GB OCZ PC26400
Power Supply: Corsair HX620W
SSD: 120GM, Kingston
Hard Drive: 2 x 500GB Hard Drive, Samsung HD501
Sound Card: Creative SB X-FI
DVD/CD Rom Drive

5. Do you need a monitor? [No]

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [No]

8. How can you pay? [Credit Card/Laser]

9. When are you purchasing? [Within the Month]

ShadowHearth

well with your budget you can go for a whole insides upgrade

i see you dont mind sli/CF, so i added a bit more expensive mobo so you could go CF in near future.
7870 should do you for awile too.
there is some more money left, so you can add crucial m4 ssd

http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=46110&agid=1145

if not, then sink the rest of the budget in to gpu, 7970 or gtx 680.
Item|Price
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155|€187.99
8GB-Kit Corsair XMS3 DDR3-1333 CL9|€37.99
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€112.70
Sapphire HD 7870 OC 2GB GDDR5 PCI-Express|€308.28
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€665.95

Lister1

Cheers for the reply Shadowhearth.

A few quick questions....

1. Will my old power supply support the new additions?

2. Would it not make sense to keep my existing memory?

ShadowHearth

Is that ddr3 memory and what are the clock speeds on it, sorry i am on the phone now. If its ddr3 with at least 1333 then keep it.

Psu should be not a problem now anyway. You had those 2 cards in cf amd that new 7870 will use even less power then your old cards.

marco_polo

You will need DDR3 memory as DDR2 is no longer used on the last few generations of motherboards boards, and unlike alot of other components RAM never has backward compatibility.

The silver lining is you could probably get a decent enough price for it second hand as DDR2 is very expensive nowadays.

ShadowHearth

marco_polo wrote: »

You will need DDR3 memory as DDR2 is no longer used on the last few generations of motherboards boards, and unlike alot of other components RAM never has backward compatibility.

The silver lining is you could probably get a decent enough price for it second hand as DDR2 is very expensive nowadays.

I knew its iffy . Though I heard some older q6600++ had some DDR3 support.

Anyway, yes, new ram if it's ddr2 after all.

Lister1

Yes, it is DDR2 ram....as when I purchased it DDR3 was too expensive!

Lister1

Just to clarify the old graphics card was a two in one, see link below. Not sure if this would have used the same power as having two separate cards.

Edit: Do you think the power supply would need updating if I was to purchase another graphics card further down the line?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125233

Tea_Bag

It's still a decent rig by today's standards, but it might not be a bad time to shift it, while the components are still worth something.

I'd keep the SSD, 1 HDD, sound card and maybe the psu (as it's a decent unit, and power consumption is coming down) and sell off the rest as a compete system.

you said you're not willing to overclock, but MMOs usually favour high clock single threaded cores, and going to 4.6Ghz is 2 clicks of a button and makes a huge difference.

CrinkElite

I see you say you,re not willing to overclock but If you could get that cpu to a comfy 3.2ghz it would feel like a new machine. You should try it.

Lister1

In the past when I have dabbled in over clocking but have never really observed the benefits of it in game and only seen increased temperatures coupled with noisy fans hence why I am not a fan of it.

I have ordered the parts you have suggested ShadowH with the only change being that I have gone for 16GB of ram as it is relatively cheap anyway. Many thanks for your assistance.

ShadowHearth

Lister1 wrote: »

In the past when I have dabbled in over clocking but have never really observed the benefits of it in game and only seen increased temperatures coupled with noisy fans hence why I am not a fan of it.

I have ordered the parts you have suggested ShadowH with the only change being that I have gone for 16GB of ram as it is relatively cheap anyway. Many thanks for your assistance.

ram is cheap, but you dont need more then 8gb m8 . you wont use that much at all. you better off get an aftermarket cooler for CPU instead m8 for that money!

Lister1

Why no need for the extra ram? I've always though the more the better....

I will probably use the machine for a bit of video processing so possible it would be handy for this?

deceit

ShadowHearth wrote: »

ram is cheap, but you dont need more then 8gb m8 . you wont use that much at all. you better off get an aftermarket cooler for CPU instead m8 for that money!

If he decides to go three screens in the future he will. I'm running out of ram quite often lately with only 8gb ram on my games rig in Battlefield 3 and i'm sure newer games will need more (I taught the same as you until this week when I've put it to use and have ran out of ram 5 times as of tonight)

Eboggles

Lister1 wrote: »

Why no need for the extra ram? I've always though the more the better....

I will probably use the machine for a bit of video processing so possible it would be handy for this?

Most people will only use 4gb of RAM, 8gb for video editing and gaming because it is cheap but makes no real difference in performance, and 16gb is muchos overkill, you should invest the money in something else.

Osmosae

8GB would be minimum I'd recommend for video editing.

Eboggles wrote: »

Most people will only use 4gb of RAM, 8gb for video editing and gaming because it is cheap but makes no real difference in performance, and 16gb is muchos overkill, you should invest the money in something else.

I've come close to maxing out 32GB , different uses than the op but overkill to one person might not be for another is what I'm saying.

Fluffy88

Your hardly going to be selling the old PC Lister?
I'm in the market for a good LGA775 overclockable board

Lister1

Will amend the order to change the RAM to 8gb.

Fluffy88 wrote: »

Your hardly going to be selling the old PC Lister?
I'm in the market for a good LGA775 overclockable board

I will be but don't plan on doing anything regarding selling them on until the new system is up and running. I will give you a shout when I am at this stage...

Lister1

Anyone able to recommend a cpu cooler for me that would be compatible? Case is the Antec 900 so there should be plenty of room available....

Eboggles

Lister1 wrote: »

Anyone able to recommend a cpu cooler for me that would be compatible? Case is the Antec 900 so there should be plenty of room available....

Thermalright Macho

Fluffy88

Lister1 wrote: »

I will be but don't plan on doing anything regarding selling them on until the new system is up and running. I will give you a shout when I am at this stage...

That would be class thanks, I'll be watching this thread now for sure anyway