Uprading my PC - Requesting Assistance

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kennyinternubila

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May 7, 2010
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1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? - Gaming
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included? 300 Dollars, No.
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific. Video Card, CPU, RAM
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model. CPU - Possibly, read below.
http://www.cedarpc.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=1397


I have been planning to upgrade my system within this month or the next. I'm trying to keep everything within a budget of $300.
I've decided it was crucial to buy a new case (I currently have a smaller sized case that gets very hot with my current setup). I also want to upgrade my graphics card from a nivdea BFG 9800 GT 512mb.

The graphics card I have chosen to upgrade to is an XFX Radeon HD 4850 which can be found here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150351&cm_re=4850-_-14-150-351-_-Product

I'm also debating on whether I should not go a notch down so to say, on my processor, I currently have a AMD Phenom Q550 Quad Core Processor - 2.21ghz

and I've been thinking about going to an Athlon Triple Core that runs at 3.0 ghz, which can be found here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...3843&cm_re=triple_core-_-19-103-843-_-Product

Is this a good idea? Or should I keep my current processor and buy 4 gbs of ddr3 RAM for about 30 dollars more? (Using DDR2 right now)

Also, keep in mind that I need a case with all of this.

If anyone has any advice and options to offer, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance,
Kenny
 
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None of your links work. In addition, there's no such thing as AMD Phenom Q550 CPU.

It would help if you answered the stickied "ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS FIRST!" so that we can help you better. Right now your whole post is confusing and incoherent.

And please list what PSU you'll be using.
 
power supply unit

list your current parts please, with model names, including case.
 
Motherboard
Manufacturer BIOSTAR Group
Model N61PB-M2S
Version 1.0
Serial Number OEM

CPU
AMD Phenom X4 9550

Video Card -
NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...4143186&cm_re=bfg_9800-_-14-143-186-_-Product

Case - I honestly don't have an answer (it was just included with everything).

PSU - My father will be giving me a 650 watt power supply - Echo Star.

I apologize, this is all the information I have to offer. If you are unable to help that is okay. Thank you for taking the time.
 
In your case, it would be wise if you replace both the processor and the motherboard (and maybe even the memory). This is because OEM-specific mobos are very limited as to which processors they can accept.

I tried locating that model number of the motherboard, and I could not find it at all on Biostar's Web site. This means that you will have to contact the OEM that built your system for any support.

If on the other hand you'd rather upgrade it yourself I'd strongly recommend the replacement of the motherboard, CPU and memory all at once (unless you manage to find a motherboard that's compatible with newer processors which accepts your existing DDR2 memory).
 
So your dad is giving you a Echo Star 650W PSU? If so, tell your dad "Thanks but no thanks." The Echo Star 650W PSU is a piece of shit. No good or even half-way decent 650W PSU in the world will cost $17 or even $32

So in other words, you're gonna have to factor in a new PSU in that $300 budget. The Echo Star will more than likely HARM your PC rather than power it. I recommend this PSU:
$50 - Corsair 400CX 400W PSU

Unlike the Echo Star, it's known for a fact that the Corsair 400CX 400W PSU is a good quality PSU that won't harm your PC. The Corsair is a Ferrari compared to the tri-cycle Echo Star in terms of quality.

For gaming, I don't see why you want to downgrade the CPU. That Phenom is already the minimum for many games these days. If you want to upgrade your CPU, you're gonna have to upgrade the motherboard as well since more than likely that mobo (due to it being an OEM mobo) will not support any of the newer AMD CPUs.

Also at $137 shipped, the XFX HD 4850 is a piss poor buy since for just $23 more, you can get the significantly faster HD 5770 video card. Yes the Corsair 400CX will still be enough to power the HD 5770:
$160 - ASUS CuCore Series EAH5770 CuCore/2DI/1GD5 Radeon HD 5770 1GB PCI-E Video Card

Case wise, I recommend this budget case:
$50 - Cooler Master Elite 335 RC-335-KKN1-GP ATX Case

Sadly that will only leave you with $50 left for a new CPU and mobo. So you have to up your budget or ditch the case. The PSU is non-negotiable: You're gonna need a new PSU no matter what.
 
Danny Bui said:
So your dad is giving you a Echo Star 650W PSU? If so, tell your dad "Thanks but no thanks." The Echo Star 650W PSU is a piece of shit. No good or even half-way decent 650W PSU in the world will cost $17 or even $32

So in other words, you're gonna have to factor in a new PSU in that $300 budget. The Echo Star will more than likely HARM your PC rather than power it. I recommend this PSU:
$50 - Corsair 400CX 400W PSU

Unlike the Echo Star, it's known for a fact that the Corsair 400CX 400W PSU is a good quality PSU that won't harm your PC. The Corsair is a Ferrari compared to the tri-cycle Echo Star in terms of quality.

{snip}

The PSU is non-negotiable: You're gonna need a new PSU no matter what.
Click to expand...

I agree - for the very reasons that I will be explaining. To the OP: Tell your Dad to send the PSU back.

First, no sub-$50 PSU can actually deliver 650W for even a brief moment at a realistic internal operating temperature of 35~45°C (95~113°F). More than likely, the ratings on various Echo Star PSUs are peak ratings at an unrealistically low internal operating temperature of only 20°C (68°F) - and they cannot even handle such high ratings for any longer than a brief moment, at that. And even if the amperage ratings per rail were to be trusted, the $17 unit appears to be an obsolete design with a lot of capacity on the +3.3V and +5V rails but relatively little capacity on the +12V rail. The $32 unit also has too little capacity on its +12V rail for its highfalutin wattage claim.

In other words, I would not trust that PSU on even a 266MHz Celeron system with no L2 cache and ATi Rage Pro Turbo AGP graphics, let alone a reasonably fast modern AMD system with an HD 5770.
 
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E4g1e said:
I agree - for the very reasons that I will be explaining. To the OP: Tell your Dad to send the PSU back.

First, no sub-$50 PSU can actually deliver 650W for even a brief moment at a realistic internal operating temperature of 35~45°C (95~113°F). More than likely, the ratings on various Echo Star PSUs are peak ratings at an unrealistically low internal operating temperature of only 20°C (68°F) - and they cannot even handle such high ratings on any longer than a brief moment, at that. And even if the amperage ratings per rail were trusted, the $17 unit appears to be an obsolete design with a lot of capacity on the +3.3V and +5V rails but relatively little capacity on the +12V rail. The $32 unit's total +3.3V, +5V and +12V ratings combined do not add up to anywhere close to 650W - in fact, far less than 650W.

In other words, I would not trust that PSU on even a 266MHz Celeron system with no L2 cache, let alone a reasonably fast modern AMD system with an HD 5770.
Click to expand...
Excellent write-up.
 
kennyinternubila said:
I see. Well, I have new things to look at. Thanks everyone :)
Click to expand...

Post a final buy list before you buy. Otherwise you might end up buying or using bad parts (like with the PSU)

EDIT: yup those will be good upgrades.
 
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Wait, wouldn't I need a power supply that runs at 450w rather than 400 for that video card though? o.o
(Also, could my current power supply run it, since it's running a 9800 GT? Not sure about the make and model, but I'll ask my dad about it later.)
 
kennyinternubila said:
Wait, wouldn't I need a power supply that runs at 450w rather than 400 for that video card though? o.o
(Also, could my current power supply run it, since it's running a 9800 GT? Not sure about the make and model, but I'll ask my dad about it later.)
Click to expand...

Nah that 450W recommendation is a CYA measure due to the all shitty PSUs out there. the Corsair 400CX is more than enough for that video card. Would not recommend running your current PSU since A) you haven't told us what PSU you have and B) just because it's running fine now doesn't mean it will in a few months.
 
Danny Bui said:
Nah that 450W recommendation is a CYA measure due to the all shitty PSUs out there. the Corsair 400CX is more than enough for that video card. Would not recommend running your current PSU since A) you haven't told us what PSU you have and B) just because it's running fine now doesn't mean it will in a few months.
Click to expand...

And since that system uses an OEM motherboard, it also means that it uses a PSU that the system builder chose to use. And that is what we would like to see before we could determine that if it's "OK" for that system's existing components or not. But still, we strongly recommend a new PSU if you're going to upgrade the other components of that system.
 
those choices seem rock solid! Post back once you have it up and running!
 
get yourself $500 or $600 and build a whole new system with a c2d or some kind of athlon triple core, mb, 4gb ram, a 5770 (or 5830), and new psu.. otherwise you are prob going to spend a lot more time trying to get it to run correctly than you will be gaming.
 
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