Need some opinions on best upgrade.

Cthulhu

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 1, 2003
Messages
413
My current specs are:
Asus p5k
e6600 c2d Conroe stock speeds stock air cooler
2gigs of crucial ballistix ddr2 800
8800gts 320meg
500 watt ps. Can't remember the brand but it wasn't shitty. =)

As far as upgrades go, what would be my biggest bang for buck? I'm still running xp 32 bit so thats why only 2gigs of ram. Gaming wise, I play at 1920x1200. Is my processor underpowered so that if I upgraded my video card that it wouldn't be worth it?
 
I'd go for a 4870/90. Get an aftermarket CPU cooler (Xigmatek S1283 is great for the price), overclock your processor to at least 3.0Ghz if you can. A quad core would help you out in some games, but a new vid card would be a pretty big step up.
 
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I'd go for a 4870/90. Get an aftermarket CPU cooler (Xigmatek S1283 is great for the price), overclock your processor to at least 3.0Ghz if you can. A quad core would help you out in some games, but a new vid card would be a pretty big step up.
how would this card be?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801

as far as the overclocking goes, do you think I could go any higher on the stock hsf? Would rather not overclock at all if my processor won't be a bottleneck on a new video card.
 
how would this card be?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801

as far as the overclocking goes, do you think I could go any higher on the stock hsf? Would rather not overclock at all if my processor won't be a bottleneck on a new video card.

I've actually owned that card before, only it was the 512MB version. You'd definately see higher FPS with it. The fan is pretty damn loud, though. This might be a better deal with an open fan, easier to clean, too.

As far as overclocking, you might be able to get a few more Mhz out of it stock, but probably not a noticable difference. For $35 bucks for the heatsink and fan, and $5 bucks for Arctic silver 5 you can get a pretty decent overclock.
 
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I've actually owned that card before, only it was the 512MB version. You'd definately see higher FPS with it. The fan is pretty damn loud, though. This might be a better deal with an open fan, easier to clean, too.

As far as overclocking, you might be able to get a few more Mhz out of it stock, but probably not a noticable difference. For $35 bucks for the heatsink and fan, and $5 bucks for Arctic silver 5 you can get a pretty decent overclock.
cool, thanks. Just noticed your sig...I have the same keyboard, mouse, speakers and soundcard. Lol.
 
+1 for the 1GB 4870. It's probably the best bang for your buck at the resolution you play at.

Your processor shouldn't be a major bottleneck at 1920x1200, but it couldn't hurt to OC it a little. With the 1283 you'll have cooler temps and a faster processor, the only loss is the time spent installing the heatsink and its cost. IMO it's worth it, a good cooler will actually make your processor last longer. Besides, I ALWAYS notice an increase in overall system responsiveness when I overclock, perhaps because the FSB is pushing data faster, I don't really know. Whenever I run my CPU at stock speeds now, my computer actually feels slow. Once you determine the voltage needed to keep it stable, a conservative overclock is completely hassle-free. I've been running my without problems for over a year.

Also, even though you're running XP 32-bit, 2 more gigs of RAM couldn't hurt depending on how much multitasking you do or how many progs. you have running in the background. DDR2 is dirt cheap right now, so it wouldn't be a bad time to upgrade. Still, GPU and CPU HSF are still priority.
 
yeah the 4870 would be a good call for your system, just make sure your PSU can handle it (if its good, and you don't have a ton of HDs/fans/etc, you should be good to go)

and like silverecco said, more RAM wouldn't be a bad deal, its cheap, and will help with multitasking (a few games will push 2GB a bit far, 3-4GB installed will help with that)
 
right on.. yeah, i guess another couple sticks of ram wouldn't hurt. thanks for the suggestions. =D
 
yeah the 4870 would be a good call for your system, just make sure your PSU can handle it (if its good, and you don't have a ton of HDs/fans/etc, you should be good to go)

and like silverecco said, more RAM wouldn't be a bad deal, its cheap, and will help with multitasking (a few games will push 2GB a bit far, 3-4GB installed will help with that)
this is the power supply i have
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817372002

just checked ati's website and it's listed under supported psu's for the 4870, so i guess it's good to go.
 
Yeah if you buy the video card new, it should come with some Molex to PCI-E adapters, so you should be all set for the other PCI-E connector (because it looks like you only have one on your PSU). If not, I know I've got some around here somewhere, and pretty much everyone else on the forum does, too, so you're covered.

Good luck and have fun!
 
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Yeah if you buy the video card new, it should come with some Molex to PCI-E adapters, so you should be all set for the other PCI-E connector (because it looks like you only have one on your PSU). If not, I know I've got some around here somewhere, and pretty much everyone else on the forum does, too, so you're covered.

Good luck and have fun!
Thanks for the suggestions. =)
 
I'd go for a 4870/90. Get an aftermarket CPU cooler (Xigmatek S1283 is great for the price), overclock your processor to at least 3.0Ghz if you can. A quad core would help you out in some games, but a new vid card would be a pretty big step up.

Definitely agree with this statement. This Xigmatek s1283 is a great cooler and the 6600 will easily clock to 3.0 ghz with out a problem. Between the CPU boost and the upgraded videocard, you should be very happy with the results
 
One last question... Why hasn't anyone mentioned any nvidia cards? Like the gtx275 etc? Is it because the ati card is better or a better bang for the buck? I really don't know, I'm out of the loop for video cards. I don't have any kind one "loyalty" to either one, just curious.
 
One last question... Why hasn't anyone mentioned any nvidia cards? Like the gtx275 etc? Is it because the ati card is better or a better bang for the buck? I really don't know, I'm out of the loop for video cards. I don't have any kind one "loyalty" to either one, just curious.

From what I've seen the 4890 does trade blows with the GTX275. I just prefer the 4800 series at the moment, no real reason though.
 
Consider this instead

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150394

Better warrenty, even if it's a few $$ more. (edit, I see they have deactivated it at newegg, so nevermind)

Alternatively this 4890 if you need the power and are willing to spend $199 on a new videocard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150359

Finally you should consider OC'ing that E6600, mine has been running stable for more than two years at 3,2 GHz, the Xigmatec Rifle cooler suggested earlier would let you attain this pretty easily and is only $26 after MIR at newegg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003)
 
Maybe you should hold out until the new series come out, will help drop the price on the older ones. I heard it releases soon, maybe this week.
 
Hmm, interesting. Might have to hold off and see if the new ones are going to hit this week then. Thanks for the heads up. =)
 
Consider this instead

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150394

Better warrenty, even if it's a few $$ more. (edit, I see they have deactivated it at newegg, so nevermind)

Alternatively this 4890 if you need the power and are willing to spend $199 on a new videocard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150359

Finally you should consider OC'ing that E6600, mine has been running stable for more than two years at 3,2 GHz, the Xigmatec Rifle cooler suggested earlier would let you attain this pretty easily and is only $26 after MIR at newegg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003)
cool thanks. Nice sig btw. ;)
 
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