Worthy upgrades?

[Strangelove]

Howdy,

I built my PC 3.5 years ago with a lot of help from this forum. I'm a gamer. I installed Battlefield Bad Company 2 last night. It runs like snot on a frozen flagpole. Time to upgrade.

Here's the parts I plan to replace:

EVGA 01G-P2-N592-AX GeForce 7950GX2 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Support Dual GPU Video Card

ASUS P5B Deluxe/WiFi-AP LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 Conroe 2.66GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor

I plan to replace them with:

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

VisionTek 900286 Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

Intel Core2 Quad Q9400 2.66GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor

Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit


I welcome any comments on compatibility, quality of components, etc.

Thanks in advance.

[Tempest000]

Whats the total budget?

[Strangelove]

The parts above are ~ $575. I'd like to stay in that neighborhood. Definitely < $700.

[glc]

Not worth the upgrade. Time to step up to the i5/i7 platform and the Radeon 5000 series video cards.

Asus P7P55D-E
i5-750 or i7-860
2x2gb DDR3-1333 or 1600 ram
Highest number 5xxx you can afford

[Strangelove]

Thank, GLC. How's this look:

Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor

ASUS P7P55D-E Pro LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

POWERCOLOR PCS+ AX5770 1GBD5-PPG Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 CrossFireX Support Video Card

Patriot G Series ‘Sector 5’ Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model PGV34G1333ELK

Couldn't seem to stay in budget with i7.

[glc]

You don't need the Pro board - the standard P7P55D-E is all you need. I would also stick with Corsair, G.skill, Crucial, or Kingston ram, and verify it's on the Asus QVL for that motherboard. I'd prefer an Asus, Diamond, or HIS video card. Take the motherboard savings and go with a stronger video card if your budget allows.

What are you using for a power supply?

[Strangelove]

I have OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI 700W ATX12V SLI Certified Power Supply that has worked like a charm. I was going to keep that and my Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB HD.

OK, how about:

ASUS P7P55D-E LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model CMV4GX3M2A1333C9

HIS H585F1GDG Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card w/ATI Eyefinity

Puts me over budget, but who needs food, anyway.

[glc]

Excellent.

[triquee]

Originally Posted by Strangelove Puts me over budget, but who needs food, anyway.

I like the way you think! Time to break out the Top Ramen!

[Strangelove]

Hey, Triquee

How does your rig perform on the latest games? Looks like my setup will be similar to yours in most respects.

[triquee]

Originally Posted by Strangelove Hey, Triquee How does your rig perform on the latest games? Looks like my setup will be similar to yours in most respects.

Heya,

Keep in mind that I don't play a large number of games, just a couple (right now), but! The rig handles what I do play *beautifully*. World of Warcraft has never looked so good and I'm seeing frame rates I never imagined possible with all settings cranked to the max. If you're familiar with WoW, you'll know what I mean when I say I get 45+ fps in Dalaran's Eventide on Friday night and 320+ fps in Ironforge. My old rig used to have a heart attack when the whelps popped in Ony's lair so I was limited to running 10 man. This rig sails through 25 man Ony with all the AOE without a hiccup.

I've also been tinkering with Sims 3 and it handles huge, detailed lots with many occupants with ease.

[Strangelove]

Parts ordered. They didn't have the video card above in stock so I got aHIS H587F1GDG Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card .

Stupid retrospect question: I'm running XP SP2. I plan to go to 7 eventually, but am putting off the pain of losing everything. Do I absolutely need it with the card I ordered?

[glc]

No, it should run with XP. Just make sure you get the right driver. I'd also put SP3 on it.

http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_ca...=xp/radeonx-xp

Unless you need video capture and all that stuff, I'd recommend the driver-only package.

[Strangelove]

Thanks. I feel like I should buy you a beer, or something.

[triquee]

Since you're going to be gaming with this rig, you may want to consider an after market cooler, even if you don't plan to overclock. While there are some disadvantages to using one (CPU warranty void), from what I've been reading, the Lynnfields can run pretty hot. Here's just one review that mentions the drastic difference between using the stock cooler and an after market cooler:

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum...review-20.html

Basic WoW play can push this processor to 40%+ load I believe the Intel published TJ Max for the i5-750 is around 72.7C (http://processorfinder.intel.com/det...px?sSpec=SLBLC) and the above test shows well above that on 100% load. Hardware Canucks recommends the Thermalright MUX-120, but my Cooler Master Hyper 212+ does just as well. I get temps of 42-45Cc at 80% load.

[Strangelove]

Having some troubles.

New thread: http://www.pcmech.com/forum/showthre...84#post1458084