Zygoptera on 15/2/2009 at 21:50

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So, current computer is:

Core2duo e6400 (@2.13Mhz)
2Gigs of Ram/ 667Mhz
Asus p5ld2-se
7600 GT (Palit, factory o/c)
Monitor @ 1440x900
No name (OK, Macron manufactured) 400W PSU which has yet to fail me and I have complete faith in.

Ram and CPU non overclocked at present, though I've had it running and stable at just below 3Ghz. It's been a good set up and the old 7600 has performed above itself (Witcher playable for 90% of its length @1440x with 2x antialiasing, ffs) but it's getting to be time for a change.

Having done a bit of research I've come up with two plans. The first is to buy just a video card, probably a 4670 as it uses roughly the same power as my 7600. The primary advantage of this is that it would be cheap: cost ~170 New Zimbabwe $.

The second would be a more considerable upgrade- new PSU (probably a Corsair 520 or 550), CPU cooler (Arctic 7 pro or similar) and o/c the CPU/ Ram, and a more hefty video card (probably a 4850, if I can really justify even that at 1440x). Cost ~550 New Zimbabwe $.

I definitively will not be buying a new motherboard, nor a new monitor- if I go that far I'd just put the money to getting a whole new computer.

I'm not particularly concerned about reducing Crysis to a puling ball of jelly gibbering in the corner, just getting a decent framerate on most games which will be out for the next eighteen months or so.

Comments? Suggestions? Recommendations?

Ostriig on 16/2/2009 at 00:01

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Regarding the PSU, I'd suggest making sure that it's got one or two, preferably, PCI-E 6pin power leads. Even if it's not required for the graphics card you may want to get, it might be worth considering it as future-proofing. My mate recently got a new PC with an XFX 9800GTX+ in it, which demanded two such 6pin connections, and for some reason specified that they shouldn't be adaptors. Now, my 9800 GT needs only one 6pin, and it's running fine off a 2molex-to-6pin adaptor, but that may just be my case. And at any rate, bear in mind that if you do decide to go for adaptors, each 6pin lead requires to be hooked up to 2 molex connectors off distinct rails.

TBE on 16/2/2009 at 01:15

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1. Get yourself a decent video card that you can put into your next computer. (i.e. a motherboard that will support i7 processor.)

2. Maybe grab some RAM off of eBay or something. DDR2 RAM is cheap now.

3. Get yourself a decent power supply that will support said video card in item 1. Maybe a decent 750 watt with enough rails to power your 1 video card and another one if you get an SLI or Crossfire motherboard in your next computer.

These 3 upgrades are going to be about $350 or higher, depending on how nice of a video card you want. I'd recommend a (http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=4870&cid=4845823575182977295&sa=title#ps-sellers) Radeon 4870. Or possibly the cheaper (http://www.google.com/products?q=4850&hl=en) Radeon 4850. They are both more than capable of running your games well now, and will go into your next computer with ease.

Zygoptera on 16/2/2009 at 11:31

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Thanks for the comments everyone.

I can't really justify a new processor, just too much cost. If the MB would take an e8x00 I might consider it as that would add quite a bit to the lifetime, but I'm fundamentally reluctant to buy a CPU second hand.

Current slight preference is for a 4850 over a 9800GTX+, as it's cheaper and any difference in speed seems fairly minor. The price jump to a 4870 is a bit too much to consider- if I were looking for a new system I'd probably have gone for one though.

I have a laptop and an old ex-server (of all things) for Dark games.

For the Ram, I'm presuming I won't get so much out of an upgrade due to having 32 bit XP? I could stretch to getting a pair of 2gig sticks as they are cheap as chips (haha), though it's a lower priority and sends the budget towards 'just save for a new computer' territory.

Getting a 750W PSU might be an idea, as it gives more options and doesn't look anywhere near as expensive relative to the lower powers as I suspected. Anyone got any comments on Silverstone as a PSU brand?

Adam Nuhfer on 16/2/2009 at 13:49

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From a CPU only point of view, I don't see much to justify the upgrade for what little bit it would give him. With the i7 out, there are some great possible upgrade paths with DDr2, new MB and a E8500 CPU. I didn't mention the E8400 as it's almost the same price and the E8600 in almost twice the price of the E8500. Then again my EO stepping E8600 in a Gigabyte X48-DS5 is at 4.0 GHZ-1600 FSB with CPU voltage at 1.264 volts and stable after 40 hrs of Prime 95 torture test. Not to shabby for only .014 volts over stock

At 1.232 volts on the cpu, the one core gives an error. at 1.248 and above it's been good to go. This MB I have seems to have a quirk in it when I run at 1.248, so that's why I'm at 1.264


Money invested in a better GPU solution would be a better bang for the buck if he wishes to continue with his current rig.

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