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General Category => Technology and Programming => Topic started by: Carrion Crow on July 06, 2010, 05:15:53 pm

Title: [Nerds Required] Upgrade Scenarios.
Post by: Carrion Crow on July 06, 2010, 05:15:53 pm

I am upgrading my current PC. As it stands it is this:

8800 GTS 320MB
AMD 5000+ X2 ~ 2.6Ghz
2 GB DDR2 800
NForce 4 Chip
700W PSU

I would like to purchase:

ATI Radeon 5770 1GB (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/191864) (With the eye to purchase another one in future for cheaper)
AMD Phenom II 555 Black Edition (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/198349) (With 2 cores but 1 guaranteed unlockable core, possibly 2 if I am lucky as my dad was when he got his)
2 GB DDR3 1600 (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/169270)
ASUS Motherboard (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/161328) that supports core unlocking and has a 790GX chipset supporting Crossfire.

It would suit me to purchase the GPU first for £130 and then upgrade the rest at a later date, if there is any point in that. I am not sure the bottlenecking effect will be of my other existing components so I would like advice on this.

Another option is to purchase the Motherboard, CPU and RAM and stick with the 8800 I have until a later date but my main priority is just to be able to play New Vegas and Deus Ex 3 at reasonable settings when they come out.

The total of the 4 components is £365.08 Inc Delivery.

It would require £231 for the set up minus the GPU and £134 for the GPU on it's own.

My argument for the 5770 is that it is a good card (My dad has one) and it should come down in price when I start feeling the need to upgrade and if I decide to crossfire it after some time I will have spent a lot less than the £250 for a top of the range card with good longevity (Say the 5870 costs a ridiculous amount).

A factor to take into account is my screen resolution that is 1920x1200. I took my monitor downstairs and tested Crysis Warhead, Red Faction 2 and Just Cause 2 on my dad's rig and it seemed to be ~ 30fps for all tests on high settings for his 5770/555/2Gig system set up.

Let's hear your nerd wisdom then!

Title: [Nerds Required] Upgrade Scenarios.
Post by: something bizarre and impractical on July 06, 2010, 05:45:33 pm

Are you sure you only want 2GB? I've definitely gone over that with certain games before.

Title: [Nerds Required] Upgrade Scenarios.
Post by: Carrion Crow on July 06, 2010, 05:47:15 pm

That's something I can upgrade for £50 when I need to cross that bridge. Emphasis on low budget here. I've never had any problems before.

Title: [Nerds Required] Upgrade Scenarios.
Post by: something bizarre and impractical on July 06, 2010, 05:58:26 pm

You'll probably notice the biggest difference by swapping out your GPU first and then worrying about the other components, although the GPU will probably be bottlenecked it should still be a significant upgrade.

Title: [Nerds Required] Upgrade Scenarios.
Post by: big ass skelly on July 06, 2010, 07:25:56 pm

Can I have your old stuff

Title: [Nerds Required] Upgrade Scenarios.
Post by: Carrion Crow on July 06, 2010, 07:26:46 pm

Sure if you'll give me a few bob towards my new stuff (I have all the boxes etc still).

Edit: Bought the 5770, the 8800 is up for grabs.