Upgrades for Desktop built in 2008 or?

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Giftz

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Aug 30, 2013
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Hello! I was generously given the computer I currently use from my brother. He built it in 2008 when it cost him around $1200 to make. I am considering upgrading certain parts of it to make it perform even better now; I was also considering whether I should just start over with a new computer from scratch.

I listed all of the parts that should affect the computer except for like the fans + dvd drive, etc that he purchased in 2008. Basically, I was wondering whether you consider it more worthwhile to upgrade certain parts or make a new computer entirely.

I told him I wasn't sure which parts I need to upgrade together or which parts in particular I would upgrade if I wanted more gaming power. He said if it was him (I think in response to upgrading parts alone) he would upgrade the CPU, motherboard, graphics card, and RAM; he said the power supply is pretty good.

I was also considering getting two 1 TB hard drives or one 2 TB hard drive for space. Right now I have a 75 gb SSD for my C drive and two 256 GB hard drives for the D and E drives. I would like more space on my D or E drive for my STEAM games so that I can install a lot / all of them without having to uninstall games to create more space. I'd play games like TERA or other MMOs and steam games like Skyrim, etc. Hopefully with an improved computer I could bump them up to max settings and have increased, high FPS that flows smoothly.

Whether upgrading or building a new computer is the better choice to make, I'd hope to be able to have a strong gaming computer that can run games on high settings / high fps for (hopefully) years to come. I'd spend up to about $1000-$1500 max on a new computer. For upgrades anything less than that price is also great.

Thank you very much. I haven't built a computer before and really appreciate the help. Hopefully I will be able to make it happen.


(CASE)
Thermaltake Armor Series VA8003BWS Black Full Tower Case w/ 25CM Fan
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=11-133-021&Tpk=N82E16811133021
________________________
(CPU)
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor
BX80562Q6600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=19-115-017&Tpk=N82E16819115017
________________________
(Motherboard)
ASUS P5E LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=13-131-219&Tpk=N82E16813131219
________________________
(Graphics Card)
XFX HD-577A-ZNDC Radeon HD 5770 XXX Edition 1GB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150464
________________________
(RAM)
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel
Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=20-231-122&Tpk=N82E16820231122
________________________
(Power Supply)
PC Power and Cooling S75QB 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply compatible ...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=17-703-009&Tpk=N82E16817703009
________________________
(Hard Drives)(2 of them)(as D and E drives)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA
3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=22-148-262&Tpk=N82E16822148262

(a 75 GB SSD added later also. now is main C drive)
________________________
(Monitor)
LG W2252TQ-TF Black 22" 2ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 10000:1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005112

The operating system I run is Windows 7 64 bit.

 
Solution
Frisbee_68
I'd say building from scratch would save you a lot of trouble. If you upgrade your graphics now, your CPU will be bottlenecking the graphics. If you upgrade your CPU, you'll have to upgrade your motherboard and RAM as well...essentially building a new computer. You should leave this one as it is and start a new one. As for a computer that will run games on high settings for years to come, that will probably never happen, since games are improving all the time and technology is changing. Computers over a year old likely can't run next gen games without being upgraded. I had to switch from 2 560ti's in SLI to a 680 in order to run Crysis 3 on maximum.

As for your new build, Newegg has some very good DIY kits that save you a bunch of...
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Frisbee_68

Frisbee_68

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Jun 26, 2011
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I'd say building from scratch would save you a lot of trouble. If you upgrade your graphics now, your CPU will be bottlenecking the graphics. If you upgrade your CPU, you'll have to upgrade your motherboard and RAM as well...essentially building a new computer. You should leave this one as it is and start a new one. As for a computer that will run games on high settings for years to come, that will probably never happen, since games are improving all the time and technology is changing. Computers over a year old likely can't run next gen games without being upgraded. I had to switch from 2 560ti's in SLI to a 680 in order to run Crysis 3 on maximum.

As for your new build, Newegg has some very good DIY kits that save you a bunch of money.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1413476

This kit gives you everything you need, and you can use the extra money from the budget to get more RAM, or more hard drives.
The i5 Haswell CPU is all you really need for gaming, and the 660 is a very respectable graphics card. It should run almost all games on high or max.

Good luck!
 
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G

Giftz

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Aug 30, 2013
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Thanks for the help. So that combo comes with 2 sticks of 4 gb ram (8 gb). You mean so I could add 2 more of the same sticks and have 16 gb? At first I thought you meant get different RAM like 2 sticks of 8 gb ram seperately. But you can't exchange parts in the combo I guess, right? Do all computers have at least 4 slots for RAM? I wasn't sure if there were only 2 slots for RAM. Thanks.
 
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Frisbee_68

Frisbee_68

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Some mini-ATX boards only have 2 memory slots, however this is standard ATX and has 4 memory slots. So you could in the future add more RAM if needed. The case also has plenty of space for hard drives, so you could always add more hard disks or SSDs.
 
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Giftz

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Hey thanks again for the info and help, Frisbee. Cool. I was considering getting 16 gb of RAM anyway since I see a lot of streamers on twitch with powerful computers that run games quickly use 16. Though I do notice most people seem to recommend 8 gb of RAM here when people ask. In task manager I usually do only see about 3 - 4 gb of RAM used on my computer I think , when under heavy load such as playing a large game. So is that why; is 8 gb of RAM just more than enough already and 16 doesn't improve much?

Is the case included in that bundle a good case for a computer? Does it have enough fans and ventilation and space? My computer right now generates a lot of heat and I worry about it and always want it to ventilate well so it doesn't die. I wipe the fan entrances clear of dust regularly because I worry about it. Basically, compared to the case I have now for this comp ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=11-133-021&Tpk=N82E16811133021 ) is that case ok? Or should I consider a different one do you think?

Besides the RAM upgrade (maybe) and uncertainty about how good a case I need I probably would want to add a SSD and second HDD. For the SSD maybe bigger than 75 gb I have now (~125-150 maybe?) for my C drive since I think that is supposed to be good and another drive (1 tb or smaller would be fine too) so I can keep my E drive exclusive to steam.

Oh and sorry for this dumb question as well that I hopefully already know the answer to but: do you need to buy an operating system as well? I'm guessing you do, right? I think I'd buy a 64 bit home edition of windows 7 which is like $100. Thank you for all the help.
 
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AxlFone

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May 21, 2013
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Is the case included in that bundle a good case for a computer?
Click to expand...
IMO no.

Does it have enough fans and ventilation and space?
Click to expand...
Maybe, maybe not. Hard to tell when you have not build ps in that same case.
This is good case and have now good price.
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/fractal-design-case-fdcadefr4blw
This case come with 3 fans. And you can add 3-4 more. You really do not need so much fans. Nut you can.

I probably would want to add a SSD and second HDD
Click to expand...

Here is good 128GB SSD http://pcpartpicker.com/part/sandisk-internal-hard-drive-sdssdhp128gg25
I like more bigger ones. They are faster and they do no slow down so easy.
256GB is better choice. http://pcpartpicker.com/part/sandisk-internal-hard-drive-sdssdhp256gg25
Other good SSD are samsung pro or new EVO , evo is cheap but I think pro is better. But more expensive.

HTT get seagate 3TB drive http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st3000dm001
1TB drive is 60$ and 3TB is 120 so you get 1TB for free.

That combo is not bad but it is not good ither. For you I mean.

Build your own build here. http://pcpartpicker.com

I did build like this. What do you think?
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1y1T0

Was thinkin this is more what you need. Or what is good parts and have reliability too.
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1yfrS

Much better motherboard. Good video card. Really good PSU. Really good reliable one and good price now. Normal price way higher.
16GB memory. Good case. cpu cooler is nit cheap side. That you can get better.
Noctua coolers are the best. Six years warranty and huge sucses in reviews and tests.
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/noctua-cpu-cooler-nhu12s
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/noctua-cpu-cooler-nhu14s
Phantex is bit cheaper but enough good.
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/phanteks-cpu-cooler-phtc12dxbk

I know To Fractal R4 case good cooling fan setup. But you need to get this cooler.
http://www.amazon.com/Thermalright-BW-Support-Socket-Driver/dp/B008YTUN38
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1642/pg1/thermalright-macho-reva-bw-cpu-cooler-review-introduction.html

Anyway. It goes like this. You remove Fractal r4 back fan and put it in floor of case. Then you add two 120-140mm fans to top of that case. Last you add this cpu cooler fan to back of case. Now you have 3 fans under fan controller (original)
Then you have 2 fans top of the case. Take scythe gentle typhoons (700-1150 rpm) Id get 700 rpm to sure silen work.
And tahat original cpu cooler in back of the case. This way you can silent the video card making your own fan controller profile to msi afterburner. Because you have one silent fan in bottom of that case pushing cool air to video card. This you can adjust trugh fan controller. Now remember that this case do have really good dust filters too.
Look this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asc9YA32rBc

Hope this did help to get better build for you. Good luck with your build :)











 
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