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Upgrading Pc for Less than £400


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#1
Pudzz

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I want to upgrade my Pc for Less than £400

My current system is:
Asrock 4COREDUAL-VSTA LGA775, DDR2, SATA, Lan, 7.1Snd, ATX
Intel Pentium D 935 3.2Ghz Dual Core LGA Processor
2048Mb (2x1024Mb) Dual Channel DDR2 533Mhz Memory
320Gb Maxtor DiamondMax21 SATAI/II 8Mb Cache HardDrive
17 TFT Monitor with Speakers
Logitech S100 2 Channel Speakers
Microsoft Windows Vista 32bit
NEC AD5170A-0B 18X+/-DVD-R Dual Layer Dvd Writer
256Mb GeForce 7600GT PCI-Express16 DVI VGA Card
Galaxy III Black Gaming Case, Window,450W,PSU

I use my computer for gaming, music, videos and Photoshop
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#2
kamille316

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I think you should upgrade your processor to a Quad core Q6600 processor that's £160, I have the quad core and it works great. I checked your mobo online and it seems like it doesn't support a 1333MHz FSB so you can't use any Core 2 Duo that has a name like this E**50.
You should also think about upgrading your video card. what kind of games do you play? If you are going to upgrade this then its very likely you'll have to upgrade your PSU. Can you tell us what's the brand name of your PSU and how many amps in the +12 rail?

Edited by kamille316, 10 January 2008 - 04:43 PM.

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#3
addict_NCL

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you might want too look at graphics. The new 8800 GT's are meant to be good value for price. Bare your motherboard in mind however.

Edited by addict_NCL, 10 January 2008 - 04:43 PM.

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#4
Pudzz

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Not Sure what my PSU is came with the case and cant find what the rails are
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#5
kamille316

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Not Sure what my PSU is came with the case and cant find what the rails are

You have to open your case and look at the sticker that's attached to your PSU.
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#6
Pudzz

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Current Maximum on the rails are:
12 V - 20A
5 V - 40A
3.3 A - 28A
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#7
kamille316

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Current Maximum on the rails are:
12 V - 20A
5 V - 40A
3.3 A - 28A

Based on these, I think you'll have to get a new power supply. A 550-700W with a higher amps in 12+ rail will be good.
There's quite a few power supplies that people here recommend. Here's a few:
Antec Truepower Trio 650 Watt - £77.98
OCZ GameXStream 700W - £71.18 (there's a 600W for £62)
Corsair Memory 520 Watt - £66.98 (not much of an upgrade in terms of wattage but this has a higher amps in +12 rail, also there's a 620 Watt for £88.45)

In terms of amps in +12V rails, read below:
Antec Truepower Trio 650W = +12V1@19A, +12V2@19A, +12V3@19A
OCZ GameXStream 600W and 700W = +12V1@18A, +12V2@18A, +12V3@18A
Corsair 520W and 620W = +12V1@18A, +12V2@18A, +12V3@18A

I suggest the OCZ because its a good price and it is also a great power supply.

There's quite a few graphics card you can choose from. If you have good airflow (you have quite a bit of fans inside your case to help for cooling), I suggest the NVidia 8800GT. You can get the EVGA GeForce 8800GT for £173.88 or the XFX GeForce 8800GT for £176.23. Both are excellent companies with great warranty (both have lifetime warranty).
If you want to save more money and want to go the ATI route, you can get a HD3870 512MB, this one is dual slot so it would help you a lot in terms of temperature (hot air from the card is exhausted outside the case using the second slot). However, I think most of the manufacturer for ATI cards does not have great warranty, I think most of them only offers 1 year.

8800GT has better performance compared to HD3870 but creates more heat. HD 3870 is cheaper and temperature is better. So you should pick which one you'll like.

with NVidia card
Processor: Q6600 Quad Core - around £160
Graphics Card: 8800GT - around £180
Power Supply: OCZ 600W - around £62
Total is £402

with ATI card
Processor: Q6600 Quad Core - around £160
Graphics Card: HD3870 - around £166 (estimate, will depend on which brand you choose)
Power Supply: OCZ 600W - around £62
Total is £388

Try to find a site/store that has a good price for these because I don't know many UK sites online.

Hope this helps.
Kamille

Edited by kamille316, 11 January 2008 - 04:02 PM.

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