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build upgrade/thoughts?

C

CTR1

Weaksauce
Joined
Jan 28, 2012
Messages
74
Current setup:
*AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition
*Gigabyte GA-880GMA-UD2H
*G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600
*SAPPHIRE 100314-2SR Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5
*WD Caviar Blue WD3200AAJS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s
*OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI 700W
*Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower w/ USB 3.0
*2x ASUS VH242H Black 23.6" 5ms HDMI Full 1080P
Uses: moderate/some high gaming, watching movies/online tv shows, adobe photoshop/dreamweaver, microsoft office stuff, and may possibly be doing game/graphic design/rendering via photoshop, maya, related software.
*What are the quick/cheap(er/est)/easy upgrades to go for first? I'm guessing memory upgrade to 8gb/16gb first? then graphics card, looking at the 7850/7870(is 7870 worth it over 7850?)?
 
Definitely the PSU first: That PSU was crappy back in 2006 let alone today. That OCZ PSU can barely provide 500W of power under the most ideal of conditions without harming the PC. For most single GPU setups, you should be fine with this PSU:
$75 - Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W PSU

RAM has been going up in price over the past few months. So RAM should be the second item you should upgrade if you have a 64bit OS. If so, I recommend this RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231489

Or if you're fine with just 12GB of RAM total:
$47 - G.Skill Ripjaws Series F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL 2 x 4GB DDR3 1600 RAM

After that, definitely a GPU upgrade. IMO, stick with the HD 7850 as the HD 7870 is still just a tad overpriced for what it offers. In the $400 price bracket, definitely go for the GTX 670.

And then get a new drive as that hard drive is fairly slow and is probably gimping the responsiveness of your system right now. Personally I'd go with a SSD:
$125 - Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SSD
 
Danny Bui said:
Definitely the PSU first: That PSU was crappy back in 2006 let alone today. That OCZ PSU can barely provide 500W of power under the most ideal of conditions without harming the PC. For most single GPU setups, you should be fine with this PSU:
$75 - Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W PSU

RAM has been going up in price over the past few months. So RAM should be the second item you should upgrade if you have a 64bit OS. If so, I recommend this RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231489

Or if you're fine with just 12GB of RAM total:
$47 - G.Skill Ripjaws Series F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL 2 x 4GB DDR3 1600 RAM

After that, definitely a GPU upgrade. IMO, stick with the HD 7850 as the HD 7870 is still just a tad overpriced for what it offers. In the $400 price bracket, definitely go for the GTX 670.

And then get a new drive as that hard drive is fairly slow and is probably gimping the responsiveness of your system right now. Personally I'd go with a SSD:
$125 - Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SSD
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response. I am curious as to why my PSU is bad, it has worked fine for the original version of this computer and the current upgraded version, and still continues to do fine.

For RAM I am weird about it in the sense that I like to keep it at either 4gb, 8, or 16. So I was looking at a 8gb stick and then later on add another 8gb stick for a total max of 16gb; though I do have 4 slots I think, so it would probably be cheaper to do 4 4gb sticks.

Ok, I'll prolly go the route of the 7850, if and when I'm ready to pony up that cash...I bought the 6870 for like 150 new so spending 200+ will take some courage/time lol...

Yeah, the SSD will definitely have to come last but I would probably only get a 60/64gb one, unless I found a really good price for a 120gb+ one.
 
CTR1 said:
I am curious as to why my PSU is bad, it has worked fine for the original version of this computer and the current upgraded version, and still continues to do fine..
Click to expand...
It's based off the FSP Episilon PSU design which has out of spec ripple, or voltage fluctuations, at high loads that can damage or kill your system. At 500W it was ok-ish but past that it could damage a PC. Combined with the PSU's age (it's 5-6 years old) and that its quality wasn't all that great to begin with (even if sticking below 500W), I'd recommend replacement.

CTR1 said:
For RAM I am weird about it in the sense that I like to keep it at either 4gb, 8, or 16. So I was looking at a 8gb stick and then later on add another 8gb stick for a total max of 16gb; though I do have 4 slots I think, so it would probably be cheaper to do 4 4gb sticks.
Click to expand...
Waste of RAM don't you think? Yes you do have 4 DIMMs. But seems like a waste to me to take out that 2x2GB set and just set it aside unless you have another PC that might need that RAM.

Also, do you have Windows 7 Pro or Windows Home Premium 64bit?

CTR1 said:
Yeah, the SSD will definitely have to come last but I would probably only get a 60/64gb one, unless I found a really good price for a 120gb+ one.
Click to expand...

Actually your best bet right for good bang for the buck value and good quality would be around the 128GB market as many of the good 64GB SSDs are actually priced at around $85 or so. Note that the SSD I linked above costs $125 for 128GB of space and that's a solid SSD. So yeah if you want a solid SSD for a good price, your best bet would be to look at 128GB SSDs from the Samsung 830 series or the Crucial M4 series.
 
Danny Bui said:
It's based off the FSP Episilon PSU design which has out of spec ripple, or voltage fluctuations, at high loads that can damage or kill your system. At 500W it was ok-ish but past that it could damage a PC. Combined with the PSU's age (it's 5-6 years old) and that its quality wasn't all that great to begin with (even if sticking below 500W), I'd recommend replacement.


Waste of RAM don't you think? Yes you do have 4 DIMMs. But seems like a waste to me to take out that 2x2GB set and just set it aside unless you have another PC that might need that RAM.

Also, do you have Windows 7 Pro or Windows Home Premium 64bit?



Actually your best bet right for good bang for the buck value and good quality would be around the 128GB market as many of the good 64GB SSDs are actually priced at around $85 or so. Note that the SSD I linked above costs $125 for 128GB of space and that's a solid SSD. So yeah if you want a solid SSD for a good price, your best bet would be to look at 128GB SSDs from the Samsung 830 series or the Crucial M4 series.
Click to expand...

Hmm yeah in that case, it would definitely be a good time to replace the PSU I guess, really wish I didnt have to though... oh well :rolleyes:

Yeah I wouldn't just leave it sitting, I would probably just sell it via amazon, ebay, or here in the marketplace. I have 64bit Ultimate :eek:

True, I have seen better deals for the 120gb+ SSDs vs the deals for the 60/64gb models.

So with regards to the uses I listed in my OP, how will upgrading to the 7850, 8/16gb RAM, SSD, PSU help? Will I see a noticeable difference or would this just be catching up with new/better technology? How long would this upgraded build last?

If I could find some real good deals, then I'd go for it or do it over the year maybe. Though I would like 1/2 monitors that do portrait mode...how will the 7850 handle 2-3 monitors run as eyefinitiy and/or separately?
 
I know it's going to probably cost a little more, but I would try to get a Nvidia based GPU. The CUDA tech will help Photoshop work.
 
CTR1 said:
So with regards to the uses I listed in my OP, how will upgrading to the 7850, 8/16gb RAM, SSD, PSU help? Will I see a noticeable difference or would this just be catching up with new/better technology? How long would this upgraded build last?
Click to expand...
The PSU will definitely improve your chance of the system not dying and better handle the upgrades. The GPU should definitely increase gaming performance. The extra RAM (12GB RAM+) should allow help out in Photoshop and other media content creation apps. As said earlier, your hard drive is fairly slow by current standards. A new SSD will definitely improve the responsiveness of the SSD and handly multi-tasking better. However you basically would be catching up due to your rather old CPU. Especially if that CPU isn't being OC'd. But the CPU should still provide accpetable performance as long as your CPU is OC'd and if you're not doing really heavy duty "adobe photoshop/dreamweaver, and may possibly be doing game/graphic design/rendering via photoshop, maya, related software"
CTR1 said:
Though I would like 1/2 monitors that do portrait mode...how will the 7850 handle 2-3 monitors run as eyefinitiy and/or separately?
Click to expand...
Depends on whether or not you'll be playing games in Eyefinity across 3 monitors. If you're gaming across 3 monitors in Eyefinty, the HD 7850 might not be fine depending on the game you're playing. If you're just gaming on one monitor and the other monitors aren't being used for gaming, than the HD 7850 would be fine.
 
Assuming you would probably be upgrading in phases...

I would say, upgrade memory first since it is probably the cheapest. Then, probably an SSD would yield the highest boost in performance without breaking the bank. Check out www.slickdeals.net and do a search for SSD's. So many good deals on them right now with a price war going on between companies. Last would probably be the video card since your 6870 is still decent for gaming, but again, this would depend on how much graphic design/rendering you are actually doing.
 
Skillz said:
I know it's going to probably cost a little more, but I would try to get a Nvidia based GPU. The CUDA tech will help Photoshop work.
Click to expand...

Thanks, but I am a AMD/ATI fanboy so, im sticking with them for the GPU. I'm not doing enough heavy work to need all the extra boosts I can get. Thanks though.

DirtyB said:
Get this SSD it's the best deal out there right now for a drive around $100

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820249014
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll check it out now.

Danny Bui said:
The PSU will definitely improve your chance of the system not dying and better handle the upgrades. The GPU should definitely increase gaming performance. The extra RAM (12GB RAM+) should allow help out in Photoshop and other media content creation apps. As said earlier, your hard drive is fairly slow by current standards. A new SSD will definitely improve the responsiveness of the SSD and handly multi-tasking better. However you basically would be catching up due to your rather old CPU. Especially if that CPU isn't being OC'd. But the CPU should still provide accpetable performance as long as your CPU is OC'd and if you're not doing really heavy duty "adobe photoshop/dreamweaver, and may possibly be doing game/graphic design/rendering via photoshop, maya, related software"

Depends on whether or not you'll be playing games in Eyefinity across 3 monitors. If you're gaming across 3 monitors in Eyefinty, the HD 7850 might not be fine depending on the game you're playing. If you're just gaming on one monitor and the other monitors aren't being used for gaming, than the HD 7850 would be fine.
Click to expand...

Ok, cool thanks I will keep all of this in mind. If I ever do get to play across 3 monitors then I guess I could lower the settings or whatever to make it work better.

aznguile972 said:
Assuming you would probably be upgrading in phases...

I would say, upgrade memory first since it is probably the cheapest. Then, probably an SSD would yield the highest boost in performance without breaking the bank. Check out www.slickdeals.net and do a search for SSD's. So many good deals on them right now with a price war going on between companies. Last would probably be the video card since your 6870 is still decent for gaming, but again, this would depend on how much graphic design/rendering you are actually doing.
Click to expand...

Thanks, yeah I think I said somewhere that I would be upgrading in phases/over time and so was expecting Danny Bui/or whoever responded first to say upgrade RAM first but good thing he caught the thing about my potentially bad PSU.
 
Oh forgot to mention that my 955 BE is NOT OC'd...YET. As I only have the stock fan/heatsink, what would be the cheapest yet good way to cool it? I've been looking at some of those 3rd party fan/heatsink cooler things that draw air from the outside(or visa versa?)...thoughts?
 
CTR1 said:
Oh forgot to mention that my 955 BE is NOT OC'd...YET. As I only have the stock fan/heatsink, what would be the cheapest yet good way to cool it? I've been looking at some of those 3rd party fan/heatsink cooler things that draw air from the outside(or visa versa?)...thoughts?
Click to expand...

I recommend this HSF:
$30 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus HSF for LGA 1366 and LGA 1156
 
The M3 is $5 more than an M4 right now but $25 cheaper after you get the rebate. It's faster & has a better warranty and is exactly $100 after rebate.

I've probably done 25-30 rebates and gotten them all back. Just use them as gas cards.

If you want to you could wait until someone has the 128gb M4 for $100, it'll probably happen again sometime soon.
 
Danny Bui said:
I recommend this HSF:
$30 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus HSF for LGA 1366 and LGA 1156
Click to expand...

cool thanks, i'll check it out asap!

DirtyB said:
The M3 is $5 more than an M4 right now but $25 cheaper after you get the rebate. It's faster & has a better warranty and is exactly $100 after rebate.

I've probably done 25-30 rebates and gotten them all back. Just use them as gas cards.

If you want to you could wait until someone has the 128gb M4 for $100, it'll probably happen again sometime soon.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll be on the lookout here on the deals page, slickdeals, amazon, newegg, ebay for the ssd and other components.

are you referring to the mushkin enhanced chronos m3/m4? or the plextor? It seems a few products by different companies have the m3/m4, does this indicate newer products as the number goes higher or something?
 
Sorry meant the Plextor M3 like the one I linked above($100 after rebate). If you want to avoid MIR's as others have said wait until you can get the Crucial M4 for around $100.

They both use the same controller but each company has their own firmware for the drives and the plextor has a 5 year warranty vs Crucial's 3 year. The crucial is generally less expensive as well.
 
DirtyB said:
Sorry meant the Plextor M3 like the one I linked above($100 after rebate). If you want to avoid MIR's as others have said wait until you can get the Crucial M4 for around $100.

They both use the same controller but each company has their own firmware for the drives and the plextor has a 5 year warranty vs Crucial's 3 year. The crucial is generally less expensive as well.
Click to expand...

ok cool thanks for the clarification. Are the mushkins any good, they seem decent from reviews on newegg.

any thoughts on a good modular power supply with about 600-700w ? i was looking at another ocz one on newegg and its like $90 after MIR and has atleast 400+ reviews and 4egg score.
 
 
Last edited:
The Seasonic DirtyB suggested is a good unit. Can't beat it for the price if you ask me.

As far as the Mushkin SSD goes if it is the lowest cost per GB for the size you are looking for I'd buy it. I haven't heard any bad things about them.
 
DooKey said:
The Seasonic DirtyB suggested is a good unit. Can't beat it for the price if you ask me.

As far as the Mushkin SSD goes if it is the lowest cost per GB for the size you are looking for I'd buy it. I haven't heard any bad things about them.
Click to expand...

thanks for the input. hopefully a few more people can chime in too.
 
I'll concur that you upgrade in this order:

PSU - Corsair or Seasonic almost always a safe bet
RAM - really any 4x4GB kit would be fine
HSF - CM Hyper212+ so you can effectively OC you CPU
GPU - 7850 if your budget only allows, or 670 if you can do around $400
SSD - 128GB Plextor, Crucial, or Samsung, whichever is cheapest at the time you buy
 
DejaWiz said:
I'll concur that you upgrade in this order:

PSU - Corsair or Seasonic almost always a safe bet
RAM - really any 4x4GB kit would be fine
HSF - CM Hyper212+ so you can effectively OC you CPU
GPU - 7850 if your budget only allows, or 670 if you can do around $400
SSD - 128GB Plextor, Crucial, or Samsung, whichever is cheapest at the time you buy
Click to expand...

great, thanks for the help.
PSU: previously linked to seasonic - saved in my newegg wishlist for reference/buying time
RAM: ive determined that maybe I would just go with another 4gb for a total of 8gb?
HSF: i think for me this will come last as I'm not sure when I'm going to be OC'ing
GPU: yeah I've decided for now 7850; else 7870
SSD: ok i'll be on the lookout for those brands at 120/128gb sizes.
 
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