Looking to upgrade for Bioshock: Infinite

Nocashvalue

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Feb 16, 2008
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Hi all. I just bought Bioshock: Infinite, somewhat foolishly without reading the system requirements. As it happens, I'm currently running XP and my computer is not quite up to scratch.

I've been out of the loop for a while, so I'm quite puzzled by all the versions of Windows there now are - could anybody advise me on which will do me best? I've not much money to spend, so the OEM versions seem more desirable perhaps. Is there any major disadvantage to this?

I'd also like to upgrade some of my components if possible, but I don't know upgrading which to what will give me the best performance boost for my money. Could anyone advise please?

I'm in the UK, and I think my budget is £160 for both parts and OS. I know it's not a huge amount to work with, but hopefully someone brainy will be able to work something out!

My current setup is as follows:

Motherboard: Asus p5k
http://uk.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_775/P5K/

Graphics Card: Radeon 3850 HD
http://www.powercolor.com/Global/products_features.asp?id=51

(I think the cooler is a bit different but it is the same as shown. Incidentally, this has been making an odd throbbing noise for a small while now - any ideas on this too would be a nice bonus!).

Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-Q6600-Core2-2-4GHz-Processor/dp/B000LRMR26

RAM: 2x1gb Corsair DDR2
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-corsair-ddr2-pc2-6400-(800mhz)-240-pins-non-ecc-unbuffered-cas-5-5-5-18-lifeitme-warranty

PSU:Antec Earthwatts 500w
http://www.amazon.co.uk/computers-accessories/dp/B0073VXPIS

(I believe it is that one - it is certainly 500w)

Hard drive:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/131301

DVD Drive: No idea what this was. It's black!
Case: Antec P182 http://www.antec.com/demo/p182/p182_flash.html

Thanks very much.
P.S. I am a student, if it helps...
 
Solution
The OEM or System Builders version just means that the key you get you can only use once. The key ties itself to the first motherboard its installed on, so you cant use it an another machine like you can the retail version. If your after an OS for a single machine (and have no intention of upgrading the mobo anytime soon) then its a good option.

Always go for the 64bit version, 32bit limits you too a max of 3.5GB of RAM.
If your going for Win7, get the Home Premium version unless you think your going to be using more than 16GB of RAM, then get the Professional.
With Win8, just get the standard version.

Damn, thats a pretty tight budget.
You might be able to buy a student version of Windows for cheap, see if your school/university has...
The OEM or System Builders version just means that the key you get you can only use once. The key ties itself to the first motherboard its installed on, so you cant use it an another machine like you can the retail version. If your after an OS for a single machine (and have no intention of upgrading the mobo anytime soon) then its a good option.

Always go for the 64bit version, 32bit limits you too a max of 3.5GB of RAM.
If your going for Win7, get the Home Premium version unless you think your going to be using more than 16GB of RAM, then get the Professional.
With Win8, just get the standard version.

Damn, thats a pretty tight budget.
You might be able to buy a student version of Windows for cheap, see if your school/university has something set up for that or browse around on Microsoft's website to see if you can go through there.

This is the best I could do, it wont perform all that great, but better than what you have currently.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A8-3870K 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (£69.99 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: MSI A55M-P33 Micro ATX FM1 Motherboard (£36.00 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£24.13 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£68.35 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £198.47
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-02 12:04 BST+0100)

You will have to re-use the case, HDD, PSU in this to get it working. The graphics card will be outperformed by the integrated graphics in this system, so you might want to sell it or just sit on it until it has some use later on.
 
Solution

Nocashvalue

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Feb 16, 2008
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18,510


Thanks for the response - the Windows advice is particularly helpful.

With regards to the hardware, would it be a better idea to upgrade just, say, the graphics card and the RAM for now? It seems that on such a small budget it might be better to do that?
 
Upgrading the GPU will give you a short term boost to performance, but to really use its full potential you would need to do a platform upgrade (mobo,CPU, RAM and OS*) eventually.
Upgrading the GPU now and doing a platform upgrade later will get you more performance than what I suggested, but almost entirely just because in total your sinking more money into it. If you save up and spend all the money in one go, you will get a better result.

*
Need a better CPU, which needs a new mobo, which requires DDR3 RAM, which will invalidate your current install of Windows so you need a new key. Upgrading old systems is pretty much one long domino effect, just be thankful you have a decent PSU or you would need that for the new GPU.

EDIT: Have you considered a Linux OS? I don't know how it will fare in terms of game compatability, but if your looking for a free OS then a Linux Distribution like Mint or Ubuntu is a good option.
 

Nocashvalue

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Feb 16, 2008
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Okay. I think this might be a better option in the end fir ne: I have £160 to spend right now, and may/may not have some more in the future. I don't mind spending more money overall on the whole thing in the future if I have it, but I'd quite like a bump in performance now, that will carry me through into the future if I were to upgrade the rest at a later date with more funds available.

If I were to just replace the GPU, could you recommend anything suitable? I'm guessing replacing the whole thing is probably a better idea than trying to get a second card to do some crossfire shenanigans with.




I'd be all for it, except Linux support for most of my games is non-existent sadly :(.

On googling, it appears I can get an upgrade copy of Windows 8 Pro for £60 or so, as a student. Do you know if it would be possible/legal to use this to do a clean install of windows, or do I definitely need to have a previous version of windows installed? I'll just get the OEM Windows 7 Home Premium if not.

Thanks again for all your help; it's much appreciated!
 
Whats actually pretty funny is that for £160 you can get yourself a HD7850 or 7870 graphics card, that comes with a free copy of Bioshock: Infinite and two other games.
If possible, might want to see if you can get a refund on the game to get some funds.

I recommend you go with this card.
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-sapphire-radeon-hd-7870-ghz-edition-28nm-4800mhz-gddr5-gpu-1000mhz-1280-cores-dp-2x-dvi-hdmi-plu
I used to run a 7870 before I replaced it with a 7970, their pretty good performers at 1080p and overclock fairly well.

Be careful with the upgrade copies, I almost got suckered into it myself when I saw them selling for cheaper than a normal Win8 copy. The upgrade copies only apply to the standard Win8 installation, and upgrades them to Win8 Pro. The only way to upgrade from XP/Vista/7/8 to a different OS is to just replace the thing.
 

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