[Seltox]

Hey Hey.

I built my computer a few years ago now, and it's starting to get quite out of date (CPU especially, it's even older than the rest)
Here it is:

CPU: Pentium D 950 3.4GHz
Mobo: abit IP-35 Pro
Video Card: XFX nVidia 8800GT
Memory: 2GB of DDR2, dual channel
HDD: 1TB 7200rpm Seagate
PSU: Corsair HX-620w

And that's about all that's important.

Basically, there are a few games coming out this year that i'd like to get and play well (Crysis 2, Battlefield 3, etc) and i'm thinking of giving this rig an upgrade. I guess i'm looking at some advice & guidance as to what is good value for money these days - I don't want to spend a lot, but i'm willing to spend a decent sort of amount.

-- I live in Australia, so i'll be buying everything over here. I'm in Melbourne so preferably a store I can actually go to (PCCG is quite close, for example)
-- All of my peripherals are good and I don't need any. I have a brand new case with all of it's fan slots taken, so no need for a case or fans. I have a dvd burner already, it's a little dodgy but it still does the trick. No need to upgrade it just yet.
-- I'm quite willing to overclock the CPU (Not GPU though, i've had no experience with that) so keep that in mind.
-- What sort of PSU is needed in a powerful modern system? My 620w is more than enough for what I have now, but would it be enough after the upgrade?

I'm hoping to spend maybe somewhere around AUD$800, but it's not exactly a set limit. If you don't feel I need to spend that much, then by all means don't feel compelled to use it all


Cheers for reading,
Seltox.

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Hey man,

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Add them all to your cart. Update RAM to 2x for 8GB total. Buy. Enjoy. Thank me by sending me a cold beer (although it probably wouldn't be cold by the time it got to me haha)

EDIT: Everything else will be fine, case, PSU, HDD etc...

[Troy]

Hey man,

http://www.pccasegea...oducts_id=16403

http://www.pccasegea...oducts_id=12493

http://www.pccasegea...oducts_id=16835

http://www.pccasegea...oducts_id=15891

Add them all to your cart. Update RAM to 2x for 8GB total. Buy. Enjoy. Thank me by sending me a cold beer (although it probably wouldn't be cold by the time it got to me haha)

EDIT: Everything else will be fine, case, PSU, HDD etc...

[Seltox]

Out of curiosity - how much better performance do you suspect i'd get out of getting a socket 1366 CPU? Core i7 960 or something?

Also, i'm really not familiar with the ATI Radeon cards (Only ever had nVidia) so what sort of comparison would you make between that one you recommended and one of the nVidia cards?

[Troy]

I don't think you'd get better performance from the 1366 socket at all. Remember this is an old technology too, now. It is about to be replaced by newer stuff shortly.

Well the ATI graphics card is similar in price to this Nvidia card:

http://www.pccasegea...oducts_id=14904

But this is on a lower performance tier than the ATI I recommended. At the end of the day though you might find the Nvidia may perform slightly better in particular games over the ATI and vice versa. You could choose either knowing you'll get much better performance than what the current 8800GT is giving you.

Performance tiers I am talking about taken from the most recent Tom's Hardware graphics guide, a new one should be out shortly as well. http://www.tomshardw...990,2879-7.html

Cheers

[Seltox]

So I thought I may be able to put off the upgrade for a little while - but i've run into some hardware problems (rendering my computer unusable half of the time.)

I had another look over your list and just have a couple more questions:

Was there a reason you chose the i5 2500 over the 2500K? The 2500K has an unlocked multiplier, and is consequently better for overclocking, right? And it's only like $20 more.

Would it be worth putting in the extra $60 or so to get a HD6950 instead of 6870?