Upgrading PC for Moderate Gaming

[ZeroCell]

1. Are you building this computer yourself or having one built for you (Like HP, Alienware, or even a small shop)?

Computer was built by Allstarshop.com back in 2010 for video editing. I'm now kind-of commandeering it and planning to upgrade a few components to increase its gaming potential.

2. What is your budget and does that include shipping/taxes?

$350-$400, though this is flexible.

3. Where do you live (Please list town, state, and country)?

Anaheim, CA.

4. What do you need this computer to do (like gaming, Photoshop, and so on)?

High quality video editing via Adobe Premiere, moderate gaming (BF3 and PS2), general productivity.

5. What parts will you need for the computer? List what parts specifically, saying you need everything will not do.

EVGA GTX 560 SC $108

SanDisk ReadyCache SSD $50

Corsair Vengeance 12GB (3x4GB) 1600mhz $65

CoolerMaster Hyper 212? $37

New PSU?


6. Are you reusing any parts for this computer? If so say what parts (make and model).

Intel DX58SO iX58 LGA1366 DDR3 ATX Motherboard

Intel Core i7-930

Kingston 6GB DDR3 1333Mhz

Asus GeForce GTS 250 1GB GDDR3

Sony 24X Double Layer DVD±RW Drive

Antec Sonata III Mid Tower ATX w/ 500W ATX12V PSU

Western Digital 1TB 7200RPM

Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 7200RPM

7. What kind of monitor/resolution do you have or want to get to use for the computer?

24" Samsung monitor 1920x1080

8. Do you have already have a OS or do you need one? What OS is that?

Windows 7

9. What are you looking for the motherboard to have feature wise? Like SLI, Crossfire, Firewire, USB 3.0, Sata 6.0 Gb/s, and so on.

n/a Definitely not replacing motherboard

10. Any plans to overclock the CPU or GPU?

Probably yes for both.

11. What time kind of time frame are you planning on ordering these parts?

Sooner the better.

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Main questions are: is the 500W PSU enough to power the machine with a GTX 560?

Would upgrading the RAM from 6GB to 12GB be helpful in the long run?

Should I replace the stock CPU heatsink fan with the CoolerMaster? Is it obligatory for CPU OC'ing?


Thanks for the help, I appreciate it!

[Rbstr]

Upgrading the PSU might be needed. That i7 takes a decent bit of power.
More RAM will probably help in general...but not much with PS2, it can only use 4gb. There's no good reason to get DDR1600 when the chip only supports 1066

You'd be better off spending more money on the GPU than attempting to overclock. It doesn't have an unlocked multiplier anyway.

[ZeroCell]

Thanks for the response. Just out of curiosity, what are the potential downsides of keeping the PSU as is?

And thanks for the RAM input, totally missed that it doesn't support past 1066. I'm wondering though, you say that PS2 can only use 4GB, but then why do the "recommended specs" say 8GB?

Any advice on, if I opted out of the RAM, which GPU to go for? I was pretty firmly set on the 560 since I found it for such a low price.

Thanks!

[Rbstr]

Why 8gb? You've got other stuff in the background. EDIT: oh you've only got 3 ram slots, nevermind.

GPU? Depends on the budget the nVidia 660 and AMD HD7850 are significantly better and cost ~$230 and ~$210, respectively (or even 560Ti @ $200)...but you're going to save about half the difference with cheaper RAM and no cooler.

[ZeroCell]

Ah, that makes sense. Is the stock Intel heatsink fan fine to leave as is?

If so, then perhaps I'll look into a 660. (It's completely compatible, right?) Thanks again. :)