Upgrade me

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cyclejim

n00b
Joined
Dec 5, 2006
Messages
8
So my current thoughts were to upgrade my video card, but I need some help from the forum to see what the experts think. I play a lot of games... but its been some time since Ive looked closely at my PC because Ive been playing PS3 mostly for the past 2 years. It just died and Sony wants $191 to fix it and I was sorta thinking about upgrading the PC and gaming at a higher level again.

Current setup:
Windows 7 64 bit
4 GB ram
Gigabyte 965P-DS3 MB
450w PSU Coolmax
Radeon 4850 512 MB
Intel E8400 CPU

Was thinking of moving to 2 x 5770s in CF, but.... maybe I need to upgrade my MB/CPU/Memory next?
Of course if I move to a CF setup, my PSU has to go.

What do you think?
thanks in advance!
 
What resolution are you gaming at? That will help determine what you will need for card. I would go for a GTX 470 or 5850 minimum. You will probably have to upgrade the PSU regardless of what card you get as well.

I would avoid crossfire unless you really want to try it out. Yet, that involves getting a new motherboard all together (your motherboard doesn't support crossfire). You could keep your current motherboard and grab one of the cards I mentioned above.
 
You're set for CPU. Moving up to a Core 2 quad would be better of course but if you dont have the budget, don't sweat it.

I would do a 5850 for 1920x1080 and below. If you want something closer to $200, the 4890 is the.best at that price. If you want to go up to $400, get the 5870.

You're probably gonna want to ugrade your power supply too. Not only is it not a very good one but you'll want at least 500 watts with 600+ being preferable. Look at Corsair, Antec, Seasonic and XFX.
 
Thanks for the replies so far, good thoughts..I am gaming at 1366x768 native..on a 32 inch LCD
 
At that resolution it is not even worth considering a 5770 crossfire. It is almost overkill for a 5850 or GTX 470, but with either of those you can easily max out most games out there with AA. I would aim for at least a 600W PSU too. Allows for what cards will be needing from now on by the looks of it.
 
ditch PSU + GPU. OC your E8400, go 6000W quality PSU (Antec, Thermaltake, Corsair, Silverstone, SevenTeam, Seasonic) and a 5850 or a 465/470 and be done.
 
cyclejim said:
Thanks for the replies so far, good thoughts..I am gaming at 1366x768 native..on a 32 inch LCD
Click to expand...
a single 5750 or 5770 is enough for that low res. 5770 crossfire would be severally held back especially in more cpu intensive games.
 
Ditch that shitty PSU and go with a higher quality PSU like these:
$65 - Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W PSU
$90 - Corsair 650TX 650W PSU
$100 - XFX P1-650X-CAG9 650W Modular PSU

You'll be set with the HD 5770. I recommend this one:
$160 - XFX HD-577X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 1GB PCI-E Video Card
 
I don't think you need to upgrade at all. A 4850 can still handle your resolution fairly well. Unless you find the games you play are struggling, maybe wait another year?
 
I gotta agree with rUmX. At that resolution a 4850 is great. I would be looking into CPU/MB more that vid card.
 
rUmX said:
I don't think you need to upgrade at all. A 4850 can still handle your resolution fairly well. Unless you find the games you play are struggling, maybe wait another year?
Click to expand...

+2

Just try your hand at OC'ing if anything. If you are using the stock Intel HSF, throw some money into a new aftermarket one. You can find some really good HSF for around $10 after MIR every now and then. If you want to spend more, snag a new quality PSU also. Think of a high quality PSU and HSF as a multiple platform investment as either one can last multiple platforms easily
 
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