$500 CAD upgrade or...?

W

wavepoolktown

n00b
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
5
hey, So i have a computer which i built up a while back,

Asus p5b deluxe motherboard
core 2 duo e6400 @ 2.13 ghz
2 gb of ram
asus eah3870
antec truepower trio 550w (tp3-550)

But in current games its holding me back, So i was wondering if i could just buy a 5850 and have better fps, but i think my cpu wold bottleneck right? So maybe an upgrade is needed,

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
gaming mostly
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
i would like to keep it under 500 Canadian
3) Where do you live?
canada
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
cpu,ram,motherboard, hopefully a new graphics card if my budget can allow it.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
case, powersupply, two dvd drives (ide) 3 hard drives (sata) monitor keyboard mouse etc..
6) Will you be overclocking?
no.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
19'' (1440x900) i might buy a 20'' later on.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
im not exactly sure, i would like to know what i can get now for the money,
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
pretty much reliable,
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
yes.

Im not to sure though, have any ideas anyone?
 
Since you are slightly limited on your budget you might want to look into overclocking your cpu.

Drop this baby in there:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131328
Throw this on your cpu:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065
Get to 3.0ghz or higher.

OR
If you don't want to overclock you could look into throwing in a new cpu:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115041

You may also want to add another 2gb of ram. Do you currently have a single 2gb stick? or do you have two 1gb sticks? What are the specs on em?
 
thanks for the reply,
I have an arctic cooling freezer 7 pro on my cpu right now, AND i have a "casual" overclock to 2.88 ghz, casual meaning i didn't change my ram timings etc, only fsb and my mobo did something with the ram, after 2.88 my computer was unstable, so i kept at that, i didn't see any difference in crysis, so i didn't include it in my first post sorry. although it is still sitting at 2.88, anyways, that cpu you linked to seems pretty expensive, i mean for around $200 i could get an i5.. heres all i know about my ram
Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X2048-6400C4 2GB 2X1GB PC6400 DDR2-800 CL 4-4-4-12 240PIN Dual Channel M *IR-$35*
 
I would suggest saving up a little more money and possibly selling or giving that computer to a friend/family member. With about $800 you can get a very solid gaming machine. With only $500 cad you can't really get much of a gaming machine unless you were reusing more than the psu/case. Would you like me to build up a completely new build and you can try to sell your current build?
 
Shadowssong's idea sounds good, but if not it shouldn't be too hard to upgrade your existing rig.

For 1440x900 (or 1680x1050 if you go to 20") you don't need anything too powerful - the 5750 would be more than enough.

The other thing you might want to upgrade is your RAM - to 4GB. Out of interest, are you running a 64-bit OS?

That might leave enough for you to upgrade your processor afterall, but be careful - your P5B uses the old 965 chipset which might take some reflashing to accept a Wolfdale/Yorkfield chip such as the Q9550.
 
concentric, no im running a x32 os currently,
and thanks for the build, looks nice, would i see major differences with something like this though?
hardforum.png
 
Well, I'd start with the GPU upgrade. Get the HD5770 and try to OC your CPU higher, simply by raising the FSB and vCore. That E6400 should at least reach 3.2Ghz with an AC7P, most likely on 1.4v I'm guessing -- make sure load temps don't go over 60°C and vCore doesn't go above 1.45v. Leave RAM on AUTO for timings, and switch the multiplier to 2x (also lock the PCI-E clock at 100). If that doesn't float your boat, then go with the core upgrade, since buying more DDR2 and/or a used LGA775 CPU would be senseless (can't be used in a Core i3/5/7 or AM3 setup).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top