Looking for hardware upgrade recommendations

V

Vaelic

n00b
Joined
Sep 22, 2009
Messages
57
If you can provide links from newegg too, I would be greatly appreciated

I currently have:

INTEL CORE 2 QUAD Q6600
4 GIGS RAM (DDR 2)CORSAIR
ATI 4870 512MB
ASUS P5B M/B INTEL CHIPSET P965
CREATIVE X-FI
 
Ok, can you answer the questions at the top of the sticky "answer these questions first".
 
sure thing, sorry!


1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc: GAMING
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$500-700
3) Where do you live?
VA
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
RAM, MB, VIDEO (Recommand a nice case too please :)
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model. HD, P/S, SOUND CARD. P/S is a Coolmax CUG-700B
6) Will you be overclocking? No
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have? I have a 37" LVM37 1920X1080
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Next month or so
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc. standard. no SLI etc
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit? Windows 7 64 bit
 
The only upgrades that you need to consider are a new video card, like the HD5850 or HD5870, and a better quality PSU to use along with it, like the new Antec TP-750 or Corsiar HX650.

If you haven't already, consider overclocking the Q6600 to around 3GHz, if not a bit higher. The long story short is that a new video card will turn the Q6600, at its stock 2.4GHz speed, into a performance bottleneck.

If you really need a new case, you can't go wrong with the Cooler Master RC-690. A new revision, known as the CM 690 II, is expected to arrive soon, but I can't tell you when.
 
tiraides said:
The only upgrades that you need to consider are a new video card, like the HD5850 or HD5870, and a better quality PSU to use along with it, like the new Antec TP-750 or Corsiar HX650.

If you haven't already, consider overclocking the Q6600 to around 3GHz, if not a bit higher. The long story short is that a new video card will turn the Q6600, at its stock 2.4GHz speed, into a performance bottleneck.

If you really need a new case, you can't go wrong with the Cooler Master RC-690. A new revision, known as the CM 690 II, is expected to arrive soon, but I can't tell you when.
Click to expand...

QFT.

That Coolmax is pure crap:
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=68
 
tiraides said:
The only upgrades that you need to consider are a new video card, like the HD5850 or HD5870, and a better quality PSU to use along with it, like the new Antec TP-750 or Corsiar HX650.

If you haven't already, consider overclocking the Q6600 to around 3GHz, if not a bit higher. The long story short is that a new video card will turn the Q6600, at its stock 2.4GHz speed, into a performance bottleneck.

If you really need a new case, you can't go wrong with the Cooler Master RC-690. A new revision, known as the CM 690 II, is expected to arrive soon, but I can't tell you when.
Click to expand...

hey thanks for the info man! Out of those two PSUs which do you recommend? Also, if I overclock this to 3GHz you think the 5870 would not be bottlenecked then?
 
Go with the cheaper of the two PSUs.

You shouldn't see any issues if you're able to overclock the Q6600 past 3GHz. There are plenty of guides available to show you how.
 
I just overclocked with the above setup tp 3GHz :) I guess I'll check out a new vid card now
 
The HD5850 will generate less of a hit on your wallet, and, if you're not trying to push ultra-high everything while gaming, it will provide excellent frame rates in most games. We often recommend the XFX brand for its "double lifetime" warranty and its excellent customer service, but it isn't much more expensive than other brands' cards.
 
Use Speedfan or CoretTemp to monitor temps. Then use a program like Prime95 or OCCT or Intel Burn Tool to load up the CPU. Let those apps run for an hour and not the steady temp.
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
 
XFX's "double lifetime" warranty basically offers the person that you sell/give the card to the same lifetime warranty that you had, provided that you both register the card. That said, XFX reportedly has better customer service than VisionTek, though most of that good will could have been obtained from XFX's sales of Nvidia-based video cards (unlike VisionTek, which only sells AMD/ATI-based cards).

But it only works with the original and second owners, and only if the original owner registers the card beforehand.
 
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