What Should I Upgrade?

droach75 · 03-26-2009, 06:45 PM

I built my PC about 2 years ago.

I kind of need a new FX card to get the best out of COD4. Just wondered if i should upgrade to vista whilst i am it. Memory is so cheap will probably double my memory.

PC SPecs

I have Hiper modular 580 watts PSU
i think i have 2x 12v rails, the number of amps is 18 and 20.

CPU Intel dual core 2.13ghz
2 gig of RAM
XFM 7600GT XXX (graphics card)
Sound Blaster X-Fi Fata1ty edition (sound card)
P5N32-E Sli Plus mobo
WD 320 GB hard drive

**manic** · 03-26-2009, 07:21 PM

I would get a better power supply, and video card. Having at least 2 gigs
of ram running in dual mode would be a good upgrade as well. Imo Vista
is not a upgrade., xp is just fine.

GDkitty · 03-27-2009, 11:29 AM

Video card definately, anything lower than a gforce 8500 wont run anything new very well at all anymore.

While you can go with more ram, not a big step, as anything you get over 3g will not be visible by XP 32bit. You would need to go to Vista for that, but there can be other problems that way too.

John Von Trapp · 03-27-2009, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GDkitty

While you can go with more ram, not a big step, as anything you get over 3g will not be visible by XP 32bit. You would need to go to Vista for that, but there can be other problems that way too.

Just like to point out a little flaw here, and possibly save the poster a little money. Upgrading to Vista doesnt give support for more than 3 GB of RAM. upgrading to ANY 64 bit OS will. XP comes in x64 as well.

Mcninjaguy · 03-27-2009, 11:51 PM

whats your budget?

droach75 · 03-28-2009, 05:39 AM

A new PSU is probably a must,,if i buy a new & more powerful grafix card. I have a Thermaltake Armour case with 4 fans going inc a 25cm side window fan. it does keep my machine at about 30c or under (25c at the mo)

Was thinking of getting this grafix Card for 190 quid from Dabs :

XFX GF GTX 260 Black Edition DDR3 PCIE 2XDVI 666/2.3GHz

I had forgotten XP came in a 64 bit version as well. can you pay4 a download upgrade without paying 120 quid for the WinXP pro version?

I guess 300-350 quid would be ok for GFX card/ram/OS.

and i guess another 100 for a PSU.

Mcninjaguy · 03-28-2009, 11:32 PM

wait for windows 7 to come out to upgrade your OS

that GTX 260 is priced very reasonably!

Corsair 850W TX Series PSU - 140mm Fan - 5 Year Warranty
£114.07
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152604

Corsair 4GB Kit (2x2GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2 Memory Non-ECC Unbuffered
£35.99
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/130429

plus the graphics card
the total is
£340

droach75 · 03-30-2009, 06:32 PM

Well i took your advice, ordered some stuff to have hopefullyu installed for the weekend.

I have ordered.

8gb of ram
a 640GB WD HD
Vista 64 bit home premuim version
The XFM GTX 260

It starts mounting up so I am gonna see how my PSU fairs before i start buying a new one.

If Win7 was available tomorrow i would buy it,,but it sound like it could be a year off. So i opted for Vista, with the view of getting a a couple of years out of it, before i upgrade again or build another PC.

Will probably set up a dual boot so that i can choose between OS and then i don't need to pay for a NOD32 security a 2nd time.

Have a few questions about my dual boot setup,.,,but will post them in the right forum.

Mcninjaguy · 03-30-2009, 07:45 PM

you have to get a new PSU otherwise in a very short time span it will take out your computer

droach75 · 03-31-2009, 05:54 AM

Sounds like i had better order 1 this afternoon. was a bit reluctant,,as the one i have is working fine and changing the PSU will be the tuffest bit of kit to install this week.

Was gonna go for 1Kw Hiper,,but thought,,am i really gonna need that much juice. so will probably go for this 780w hiper from Ebuyer.

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/134072

i do like the idea of upgrading before something dies,,which has been my reason behind a rebuild the last couple of times. so ill just save my 580w PSU for a 2nd back up PC or give it to my brother.

**koala** · 03-31-2009, 06:47 AM

Go for the Corsair 750W (£101). It's much more reliable than your Hiper 880W (£105).

If you don't plan on upgrading your graphics card for the next 12 months, you could install a Corsair 650W (£75), which is easily enough for your current system.

Mcninjaguy · 03-31-2009, 07:04 PM

Hiper PSU's are poor quality

droach75 · 03-31-2009, 09:14 PM

If Corsair did a 800-1000w modular PSU for 100-120 quid i would get one. i thought the Hiper model i suggested was modular. i guess i was wrong.

how about this

Coolermaster 850W RealPower Modular PSU for about 120 quid

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/132289...roduct_reviews

Mcninjaguy · 03-31-2009, 09:34 PM

its got six 12v rails the more the worse it is

the corsair is a much better buy and more stable

droach75 · 04-01-2009, 06:32 AM

I didn't think picking a PSU was gonna be such a headache.

Gonna bite the bullet and go for this Corsair PSU,,pricey but modular

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/143019

I shouldn't have a problem mounting this PSU vertically?

droach75 · 04-01-2009, 06:57 AM

I ran the eXtreme Power Supply Calculator Lite v2.5 prog inc my new FX card/HD/Ram and it said my recommended PSU wattage was 460w

**koala** · 04-01-2009, 07:40 AM

You need to add 30% to the calculator's total to allow for PSU inefficiency. New total: 598W

Have you ordered the Corsair 1000W yet, or do you want some more recommendations? Is modular a priority?

You could still use a 650-750W if you want to save some money. 1000W would be enough power for 2 graphics cards.

droach75 · 04-01-2009, 08:03 AM

I have not ordered it yet. been reading specs and googling reviews all day

Need to order soon,,as all my parts have come today. will probably add everything except the graphics card

Modular PSU is what i am used to, i have a big fan and window on my side panel, so it keeps it looking tidy.

If i wasn't so hung up on it been modular i would get the Corsair 850W TX.

droach75 · 04-01-2009, 08:08 AM

was reading up on this PSU,

Enermax Revolution 850W PSU

About the same price but less wattage than the 1KW Corsair

**koala** · 04-01-2009, 08:27 AM

Enermax used to be one of the top names in PSUs, but they've been overtaken by others like Corsair, Thermaltake and Silverstone in recent years. It's still a good unit, just not one of the best.

If the Enermax 850W is about the same price as the Corsair 1000W, I would go for the Corsair. The extra watts won't be used if they are not required.

Silverstone 750W - modular, 54A/+12V - £90 - ( Review)

03-26-2009, 06:45 PM	#1 (permalink)
droach75 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 29 OS: WinXP / Vista 64-bit My System	What Should I Upgrade? I built my PC about 2 years ago. I kind of need a new FX card to get the best out of COD4. Just wondered if i should upgrade to vista whilst i am it. Memory is so cheap will probably double my memory. PC SPecs I have Hiper modular 580 watts PSU i think i have 2x 12v rails, the number of amps is 18 and 20. CPU Intel dual core 2.13ghz 2 gig of RAM XFM 7600GT XXX (graphics card) Sound Blaster X-Fi Fata1ty edition (sound card) P5N32-E Sli Plus mobo WD 320 GB hard drive

03-26-2009, 07:21 PM	#2 (permalink)
manic Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Florida Posts: 5,237 OS: xp	Re: What Should I Upgrade? I would get a better power supply, and video card. Having at least 2 gigs of ram running in dual mode would be a good upgrade as well. Imo Vista is not a upgrade., xp is just fine. __________________

03-27-2009, 11:29 AM	#3 (permalink)
GDkitty Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 76 OS: XP/Vista My System	Re: What Should I Upgrade? Video card definately, anything lower than a gforce 8500 wont run anything new very well at all anymore. While you can go with more ram, not a big step, as anything you get over 3g will not be visible by XP 32bit. You would need to go to Vista for that, but there can be other problems that way too. __________________ ~Mitch "GDkitty" Sgt. Johnson: "Now listen up! Back in my day, we didn't have fancy tanks! We had sticks. Two stick and a rock for the entire platoon! And we had to share the rock! You should consider yourself very lucky marines!" (Halo 2)

03-27-2009, 11:51 PM	#5 (permalink)
Mcninjaguy Temporarily Banned Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 10,422 OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit My System Blog Entries: 1	Re: What Should I Upgrade? whats your budget?

03-28-2009, 05:39 AM	#6 (permalink)
droach75 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 29 OS: WinXP / Vista 64-bit My System	Re: What Should I Upgrade? A new PSU is probably a must,,if i buy a new & more powerful grafix card. I have a Thermaltake Armour case with 4 fans going inc a 25cm side window fan. it does keep my machine at about 30c or under (25c at the mo) Was thinking of getting this grafix Card for 190 quid from Dabs : XFX GF GTX 260 Black Edition DDR3 PCIE 2XDVI 666/2.3GHz I had forgotten XP came in a 64 bit version as well. can you pay4 a download upgrade without paying 120 quid for the WinXP pro version? I guess 300-350 quid would be ok for GFX card/ram/OS. and i guess another 100 for a PSU.

03-28-2009, 11:32 PM	#7 (permalink)
Mcninjaguy Temporarily Banned Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 10,422 OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit My System Blog Entries: 1	Re: What Should I Upgrade? wait for windows 7 to come out to upgrade your OS that GTX 260 is priced very reasonably! Corsair 850W TX Series PSU - 140mm Fan - 5 Year Warranty £114.07 http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152604 Corsair 4GB Kit (2x2GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2 Memory Non-ECC Unbuffered £35.99 http://www.ebuyer.com/product/130429 plus the graphics card the total is £340

03-30-2009, 06:32 PM	#8 (permalink)
droach75 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 29 OS: WinXP / Vista 64-bit My System	Re: What Should I Upgrade? Well i took your advice, ordered some stuff to have hopefullyu installed for the weekend. I have ordered. 8gb of ram a 640GB WD HD Vista 64 bit home premuim version The XFM GTX 260 It starts mounting up so I am gonna see how my PSU fairs before i start buying a new one. If Win7 was available tomorrow i would buy it,,but it sound like it could be a year off. So i opted for Vista, with the view of getting a a couple of years out of it, before i upgrade again or build another PC. Will probably set up a dual boot so that i can choose between OS and then i don't need to pay for a NOD32 security a 2nd time. Have a few questions about my dual boot setup,.,,but will post them in the right forum. Last edited by droach75; 03-30-2009 at 06:34 PM.

03-30-2009, 07:45 PM	#9 (permalink)
Mcninjaguy Temporarily Banned Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 10,422 OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit My System Blog Entries: 1	Re: What Should I Upgrade? you have to get a new PSU otherwise in a very short time span it will take out your computer

03-31-2009, 05:54 AM	#10 (permalink)
droach75 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 29 OS: WinXP / Vista 64-bit My System	Re: What Should I Upgrade? Sounds like i had better order 1 this afternoon. was a bit reluctant,,as the one i have is working fine and changing the PSU will be the tuffest bit of kit to install this week. Was gonna go for 1Kw Hiper,,but thought,,am i really gonna need that much juice. so will probably go for this 780w hiper from Ebuyer. http://www.ebuyer.com/product/134072 i do like the idea of upgrading before something dies,,which has been my reason behind a rebuild the last couple of times. so ill just save my 580w PSU for a 2nd back up PC or give it to my brother.

03-31-2009, 06:47 AM	#11 (permalink)
koala Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UK Posts: 12,320 OS: XP/7/Ubuntu My System	Re: What Should I Upgrade? Go for the Corsair 750W (£101). It's much more reliable than your Hiper 880W (£105). If you don't plan on upgrading your graphics card for the next 12 months, you could install a Corsair 650W (£75), which is easily enough for your current system. __________________ New members: Subscribe to your thread (Thread Tools) to receive an instant email notification when you get a reply. TSF Folding@Home Team 85015 - details here

03-31-2009, 07:04 PM	#12 (permalink)
Mcninjaguy Temporarily Banned Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 10,422 OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit My System Blog Entries: 1	Re: What Should I Upgrade? Hiper PSU's are poor quality

03-31-2009, 09:14 PM	#13 (permalink)
droach75 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 29 OS: WinXP / Vista 64-bit My System	Re: What Should I Upgrade? If Corsair did a 800-1000w modular PSU for 100-120 quid i would get one. i thought the Hiper model i suggested was modular. i guess i was wrong. how about this Coolermaster 850W RealPower Modular PSU for about 120 quid http://www.ebuyer.com/product/132289...roduct_reviews

03-31-2009, 09:34 PM	#14 (permalink)
Mcninjaguy Temporarily Banned Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 10,422 OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit My System Blog Entries: 1	Re: What Should I Upgrade? its got six 12v rails the more the worse it is the corsair is a much better buy and more stable

04-01-2009, 06:32 AM	#15 (permalink)
droach75 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 29 OS: WinXP / Vista 64-bit My System	Re: What Should I Upgrade? I didn't think picking a PSU was gonna be such a headache. Gonna bite the bullet and go for this Corsair PSU,,pricey but modular http://www.ebuyer.com/product/143019 I shouldn't have a problem mounting this PSU vertically?

04-01-2009, 06:57 AM	#16 (permalink)
droach75 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 29 OS: WinXP / Vista 64-bit My System	Re: What Should I Upgrade? I ran the eXtreme Power Supply Calculator Lite v2.5 prog inc my new FX card/HD/Ram and it said my recommended PSU wattage was 460w Last edited by droach75; 04-01-2009 at 07:06 AM.

04-01-2009, 07:40 AM	#17 (permalink)
koala Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UK Posts: 12,320 OS: XP/7/Ubuntu My System	Re: What Should I Upgrade? You need to add 30% to the calculator's total to allow for PSU inefficiency. New total: 598W Have you ordered the Corsair 1000W yet, or do you want some more recommendations? Is modular a priority? You could still use a 650-750W if you want to save some money. 1000W would be enough power for 2 graphics cards. __________________ New members: Subscribe to your thread (Thread Tools) to receive an instant email notification when you get a reply. TSF Folding@Home Team 85015 - details here

04-01-2009, 08:03 AM	#18 (permalink)
droach75 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 29 OS: WinXP / Vista 64-bit My System	Re: What Should I Upgrade? I have not ordered it yet. been reading specs and googling reviews all day Need to order soon,,as all my parts have come today. will probably add everything except the graphics card Modular PSU is what i am used to, i have a big fan and window on my side panel, so it keeps it looking tidy. If i wasn't so hung up on it been modular i would get the Corsair 850W TX.

04-01-2009, 08:08 AM	#19 (permalink)
droach75 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 29 OS: WinXP / Vista 64-bit My System	Re: What Should I Upgrade? was reading up on this PSU, Enermax Revolution 850W PSU About the same price but less wattage than the 1KW Corsair

04-01-2009, 08:27 AM	#20 (permalink)
koala Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UK Posts: 12,320 OS: XP/7/Ubuntu My System	Re: What Should I Upgrade? Enermax used to be one of the top names in PSUs, but they've been overtaken by others like Corsair, Thermaltake and Silverstone in recent years. It's still a good unit, just not one of the best. If the Enermax 850W is about the same price as the Corsair 1000W, I would go for the Corsair. The extra watts won't be used if they are not required. Silverstone 750W - modular, 54A/+12V - £90 - ( Review) __________________ New members: Subscribe to your thread (Thread Tools) to receive an instant email notification when you get a reply. TSF Folding@Home Team 85015 - details here