PC Upgrade Assistance (UK)

Kipper · 2012-07-02, 09:28 AM

Alright, lets get the funny part out of the way by my telling you what my current PC spec is (basically).

MB: Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-US2H PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
Mem: Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 X 2GB) DDR2 8500C5 1066MHz Dual Channel
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 7750+ Black Edition 2.70GHz
GPU: Nvidia GeForce 9500 GT 1gb
PSU: 550w
Mon#1: 24" 1920x1080
Mon#2: 19" 1280x1024
OS: Windows 7 Professional

I'm looking to do a decent upgrade without having to rebuild the entire thing; and keeping to a sensible budget (bang for buck, not all out spending).

I know that GPU is a desperate need - thinking of going for a GTX570 or something, they are expensive enough and the 600's are just crazy money.

As for the CPU, is it a noticable step up from a 2 core to a 4 core? My board can take an AM3 chip (I think) but the current processor is a top end AM2+.

Any suggestions? (I'm UK based for pricing).

Goku · 2012-07-02, 09:40 AM

AM3 Processors can be placed in the AM2+ boards, however you must make sure yours does support them. What board do you have? If you can you will be looking at a Phenom II X4 9XX most likely, unless you can X6 for cheap.

GPU? Depends on your PSU. What actual brand and model do you have?

How much are looking to spend? I would recommend getting a CPU+GPU at the same time also. Your current one will bottleneck it.

Kipper · 2012-07-02, 10:15 AM

I believe I'm OK for an AM3 - here's the board spec:

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/pro...px?pid=2995#sp

I remember buying the bundle with a clear upgrade path in mind at the time - I try to ensure that I can extend the life of a computer with one big upgrade after a few years, so that I don't have to buy a whole new PC every time.

Budget wise - I don't have a specific figure in mind, rather, I'm looking for the kit which is best performance for price, I usually find that it's the generation before the very latest stuff, but not always I guess!

Goku · 2012-07-02, 10:33 AM

Still need PSU brand and model before we can go forward. Just to be safe and make sure you do not have a low quality one.

Ebuyer I was looking at either the 965 or 960T/. 960T has the possibility of unlocking to a six core CPU. If that doesn't interest you the 965 is the best bet.

GPU wise. I would be looking into either the 7850 or GTX 570. Entirely depends on pricing though. Need to get Vancha in here. Putting in UK in your title should help.

Kipper · 2012-07-02, 12:16 PM

Sorry, misread your post - thought you were looking for the motherboard model and missed it my original. Just had the side off the PC, the PSU i've got in there is actually a 500w, not a 550. It's a Jeantech JN120F-500AP

My other computer, which exists only for running a WAMP setup (and a minecraft server, lol) has a BeQuiet 550w unit in it, so one can be swapped for the other if needs be.

Pancake · 2012-07-02, 01:03 PM

Originally Posted by Kipper

Sorry, misread your post - thought you were looking for the motherboard model and missed it my original. Just had the side off the PC, the PSU i've got in there is actually a 500w, not a 550. It's a Jeantech JN120F-500AP

My other computer, which exists only for running a WAMP setup (and a minecraft server, lol) has a BeQuiet 550w unit in it, so one can be swapped for the other if needs be.

I would definitely swap the PSU at a minimum. If you have some spending room I would buy a new one.

According to the following article, you will most likely need to upgrade the PSU anyways.

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/s...d.php?t=668502

Goku · 2012-07-02, 02:10 PM

Originally Posted by Kipper

Sorry, misread your post - thought you were looking for the motherboard model and missed it my original. Just had the side off the PC, the PSU i've got in there is actually a 500w, not a 550. It's a Jeantech JN120F-500AP

My other computer, which exists only for running a WAMP setup (and a minecraft server, lol) has a BeQuiet 550w unit in it, so one can be swapped for the other if needs be.

How old are both of those?

Kipper · 2012-07-02, 02:42 PM

Not more than a couple of years. I only put the PC together in 2009 and I've replaced both PSU's since.

The Jeantech one was all I could get hold of at no-notice because I had work to do and the one I had blew, so I had to go out and buy one off-the-shelf instead of having the luxury of choosing online and waiting for delivery.

The BeQuiet one is newer, my server doesn't need the extra wattage, I just added it to try and cut down on fan noise (with limited success - but I now think the cases themselves are responsible for the noise, or at least not reducing it).

If stuff has to be swapped/replaced, then so be it - like I said, I'm not working to a specific budget, obviously I'd like to re-use as much as possible and spend sensibly - I won't go out and buy the latest, greatest kit but at the same time, I'm not going to buy something that's only good for another 6 months. I'd like to get another 3 years or so out of the PC before I start to think about a completely new system.

Mutant · 2012-07-02, 12:10 PM

The 965 is a tad cheaper at Amazon
http://www.amazon.co.uk/AMD-HDZ965FB...1244858&sr=1-6

There should be plenty of 2nd hand Phenom II 9xx X4 and 10xx X6 on ebay.

Doxy · 2012-07-02, 06:01 PM

How much money are you actually planning to spend on your upgrades?

Kipper · 2012-07-02, 09:12 PM

Originally Posted by Doxy

How much money are you actually planning to spend on your upgrades?

As much as I need to to achieve a decent (not mindblowing) spec that will give me another 3 years out of my PC.... I suppose I was planning on around £300 but less is better and more is possible if I really have to.

I'm upgrading because my current spec is out of date, not because I'm suddenly rolling in cash! PS2 is looming and I've been looking forward to it, but what I have is probably not going to run it in a decent way.

Pancake · 2012-07-02, 10:11 PM

Technically you should be able to run PS2 on low-med settings with your current build. However, I assume you want med-high quality settings.

At a bare minimum you will need a CPU and GPU upgrade.

I don't know if you will be bottlenecked by your RAM, however. I think it should be enough if you do a mid range upgrade, but it will likely hurt the performance of a good CPU.

BTW, there is a good video by Linus Tech Tips on futureproofing and why it is a misconception that you will save money by upgrading an old PC. I would recommend checking it out on YouTube.

Kipper · 2012-07-03, 05:57 AM

Yeah, med-high settings and running at a decent clip is all I need, everything on maximum, I can probably do without.

I know its better to buy new when you can with fast moving technology - like I said before, I tend to build a PC from new, give it one major upgrade, then go back and get everything new again the next time.

This is that 'one major upgrade' for this PC, to see it through another few years. It's actually mostly used for doing work anyway, so I can do without the downtime of having to set everything back up again on a completely new box right now.

Feel free to divert this thread into actually suggesting some good value for money components

Vancha · 2012-07-03, 06:52 AM

CPU: Phenom II x4 965
RAM: Kingston HyperX 2 x 2GB
GPU: Sapphire HD 7850

Assuming use with the be quiet! PSU (I don't suppose you know what type? L7/L8/E9?)

That's as cheap as you'll get 2x2GB 1066 DDR2 RAM. There's some marginally better GPUs for £180, but they're Zotac/Palit cards with much louder coolers (and noise seems to be a consideration for you).

A little more for a little more.
A little less for a little less.

Considering your resolution, I wouldn't go down to the regular 560 unless you're happy bringing down your medium/high settings to "the-high-end-of-low"/medium.

Kipper · 2012-07-03, 10:02 AM

Thanks for that, I'll take a proper look later ...

Is there a comparable Nvidia card in price/performance to what you've suggested? I just kind of prefer them as a brand, but obviously not going to gimp myself if the ATI is much better.

Noise is not as bigger issue as I may have led to believe, obviously I don't want needless racket - but the situation is basically that if I'm playing a game, I have the game noises up and don't notice it. What annoys me is excessive fan noise when I'm working during the day, when its extremely unlikely my graphics card will be working very hard since I spend most of the time in text editors! (and I can always put some music on).

My office is a small room with wood floors and plaster walls, and I have two PC's on in there, so probably isn't ever going to be whisper quiet (but on the up side, I don't have to pay extra to heat the room...)