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Looking to upgrade, Advice?

What's wrong with it?

Budget?

Otherwise I'd suggest a SSD and use the 6400AAKS as storage.
 
Yeah probably i5 760 and either an ASUS or Gigabyte mobo. Answer the questions from the ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS FIRST thread and we can better help you.
 
mystupidmouth said:
Hey fellas, I have the system below

C2Q Q9400 @ 3Ghz | GIGABYTE GA-EP43-DS3L | 4GB G.SKILL DDR2-800 | CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W
Gigabyte GTX 460 1GB @ 850/2000 | WD Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS | Samsung DVD Burner SH-S223F
Hanns·G Hi-221DPB Black 22" LCD Monitor | Antec Three Hundred

Maybe go I5/i7? Or do you think it might be better to get a better board, power supply and another GTX 460??
Click to expand...

IMHO there is absolutely no cost-effective upgrade or overhaul for that system other than possibly just a new PSU and perhaps an aftermarket CPU HSF (if you're still using the stock boxed Intel CPU cooler). This is because going with an i5 or i7 system not only requires a new motherboard, but also requires DDR3 memory (since you will not be able to reuse your existing DDR2 memory on the new system at all). And going with two GTX 460s requires an NVIDIA chipset motherboard, which are almost always less stable in operation than the Intel chipset-based motherboards since there is absolutely no Intel chipset-based LGA 775 motherboard which supports NVIDIA's SLI at all (Intel supports only AMD's CrossFire for dual graphics cards in its LGA 775 chipsets). And if you do choose an NVIDIA-chipset motherboard, stay away from those that use the nForce 6xxi-series or earlier chipsets since they do not support the 45nm quad-core CPUs (yes, your Q9400 is a 45nm quad-core CPU) at all. And if you do go SLI with two GTX 460s, you will also need to upgrade the PSU since a typical system with two GTX 460s in SLI eat up more than 400W at load.

By the way, a modestly overclocked quad-core CPU-based system with even one GTX 460 is stretching it a bit with that 400W Corsair PSU: The GPU consumes 151W at full load while the Q9400 has a TDP of 95W. Plus, you are already overclocking the Q9400, whose stock clock speed is only 2.66GHz.
 
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The moment you started talking about Core i5/i7 and a new board, you ventured into new build territory.

If you want to upgrade what you have, I agree with E4g1e that a new power supply and a new, better video card (like the GTX 470 or HD 6870) would be as far as you could go with this build. With Intel's Sandy Bridge and AMD's Bulldozer coming next year, I wouldn't recommend a new build unless you plan on keeping the "core" (processor, motherboard, and memory) for several years.
 
E4g1e said:
By the way, a modestly overclocked quad-core CPU-based system with even one GTX 460 is stretching it a bit with that 400W Corsair PSU: The GPU consumes 151W at full load while the Q9400 has a TDP of 95W. Plus, you are already overclocking the Q9400, whose stock clock speed is only 2.66GHz.
Click to expand...


Hmm, sounds like i need a new psu. Would i be losing performance from my rig since i might be over doing it?
 
mystupidmouth said:
Hmm, sounds like i need a new psu. Would i be losing performance from my rig since i might be over doing it?
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If you are losing performance, it might also be that your CPU might be running a bit too hot. Especially if you're still using the stock Intel boxed cooler.
 
mystupidmouth said:
Hmm, sounds like i need a new psu. Would i be losing performance from my rig since i might be over doing it?
Click to expand...

You're not losing performance from your rig from your OC because of the PSU, However you are pushing the PSU to its limits and therefore you're risking the death/failure of the PSU or even the entire PC.
 
A new video card does wonders. I have a AMD 64 5200+ or something like that. It is overclocked to 3.2GHZ and I replaced the video card with a GTX 295 when that was the top card. It was like a new system. It really amazed me how well it ran after that video card. And yes that video card is way over kill for this POS MB/CPU. But I still use the system.
 
Danny Bui said:
You're not losing performance from your rig from your OC because of the PSU, However you are pushing the PSU to its limits and therefore you're risking the death/failure of the PSU or even the entire PC.
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That is exactly what I was trying to state. The 400W Corsair PSU is already at its limits with the OP's current configuration (after accounting for the capacitor aging within the PSU). He should upgrade to a good-quality higher-wattage PSU ASAP.
 
umcpgrad said:
you should be good in another year or two
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Maybe with his current core components. However, the PSU should IMHO be upgraded ASAP if he's going to continue using his system's current hardware for much longer.
 
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if that psu is holding him up this far
then it should be ok for another year or two
 
umcpgrad said:
if that psu is holding him up this far
then it should be ok for another year or two
Click to expand...

I based my recommendation from the Extreme PSU Calculator as well as my estimation of the load between the PSU's rails. Right now, his system has already exceeded the PSU's maximum total +12V capacity of 360W.
 
umcpgrad said:
if that psu is holding him up this far
then it should be ok for another year or two
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. That PSU may be very close to death and further usage is just increasing that chance of death.
 
hmm seems like i need a new PSU. Newegg is offering me 12 months no interest using newegg prefered account. Maybe i should upgrade anyhow since i need a new psu anyways.
 
ended up picking up the Corsair 650TX, i5-760,G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600, GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD4. I got my i5-760 @ 4ghz and im getting some nice improvements in games. Not sure why people were saying it wasn't worth it.
 
mystupidmouth said:
ended up picking up the Corsair 650TX, i5-760,G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600, GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD4. I got my i5-760 @ 4ghz and im getting some nice improvements in games. Not sure why people were saying it wasn't worth it.
Click to expand...

The only potential problem with that Gigabyte mobo is that the USB 3.0 ports get dropped to USB 2.0 bandwidth whenever more than one PCI-e x16 slot is occupied by SLI'd or CrossFired graphics cards. But other than that you're good to go.
 
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