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Respectfully, I request computer upgrading expertise and suggestions.

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  • Computers
  • Systems
Last response: in Systems
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November 25, 2013 11:52:44 AM

Hello, I am here to ask if you guys would mind giving me some advice for upgrading my computer at a reasonable price. I'm not dirty cheap and would like something of quality, so I'd like possibilities for any things that are recommended such as a new harddrive by giving the option of a cheaper one and then a more quality one.

I've done a bit of research myself but I'm interested in what you guys think. If possible, please use links to Amazon or Newegg so I can review them myself, I don't know the validity of other sites.

Anyway, my system was built in 2007 and rebuilt in March of 2011, this is what it has:

1 x ASUS VS248H-P Black 24" HDMI LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor
Comment: It occurs to me that I literally limited myself to a 1980 by 1080 resolution without knowing it, lol.

1 x EVGA 012-P3-1571-KR GeForce GTX 570 HD w/Display-Port (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready ...
Comment: I don't have SLI, I'm willing to consider it but know much about it or know if my cooling could handle it with my power supply.

CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C9
Comment: I know it's just six gigs of ram. I'm considering possibly upgrading but I'm not sure if I should just try to get another 6 gigs of that or go for something entirely else, it is old after all.

ANTEC NINE HUNDRED BLACK STEEL ATX MID TOWER COMPUTER CASE
Comment: Expensive when I got it, but old now. I've considered possibly upgrading it simply because of better space and wire management and fans but I feel that is a lower priority.

LINKSYS WMP54GX PCI Wireless-G Adapter with SRX
Comment: I'm under the impression this is my ethernet card. I couldn't begin to talk about ethernet cards. Not a high priority.

COOLMAX CUG-700B ATX 12V( V.2.2) 700W Power Supply
Comment: A six year old power supply. I never considered SLI because I don't likely have the power necessary and I just keep hoping this thing doesn't die on me.

SEAGATE ST31000528A SATA DEVICE 1 GB Barricuda
Comment: This seems to work well and is from the past 2 years, but I think I really need to get some more space.

For cooling, alongside whatever came with the case, I have an APEVIA CF12SL-UBL 120mm Blue LED Case FAN attached to the back. I had a second right on the inside of the plate you take off for opening the case, but it was so loud I got sick of it. I think fans are a big thing I want to upgrade and so some good fans (don't need to be LED, lol) that are extremely quiet but will also be much stronger would be nice. Not sure if I need to get a new processor fan as that uses the default.

I had a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 card but it died on me 2 years later so ehh that was useless.

Additionally:

I have an I7 950 Quad Core processor and the Gigabyte UD3R motherboard (yes I'm locked in the I7 I guess) both of which are not being replaced so quickly in this and which I got at the same time as the EVGA.

I've never overclocked anything, I didn't feel I had the cooling power to do so.

----

I play a lot of games, and I TRY to play them at max, though probably play them at 85% to 90% of what's considered max, but I never do medium settings anymore and I'm happy about that.

My graphics card idles at 40*C and goes to 75-85 for high end games these days and so my EVGA fan controller likewise raises that to 85% and that's a very loud sound. I'd like to lower the temperature of that if possible.

All in all my goal is to have some good options to upgrade the potential of my computer to last a bit longer and to be better at what it does, while also decreasing temperature and increasing storage as that's a necessity right now. I understand solid state and all that but I don't have an unlimited budget so some options for an increased storage drive above 1 TB would be good, and whether it should be Seagate Barricuda again or a WD Blue or Black (and the actual differences of those for my purposes) or something else.

TL/DR:

I'm looking to reduce my idle and active temperatures, increase my storage, possibly get some new fans, and maybe look at RAM. Anything else is additional and will be decided on merit.

As an addendum: I have tried figuring this all out myself, but I've just been way too busy and can't seem to make a choice, especially with Black Friday coming and so I don't know if what I need is on sale or not.

Edit:

My storage is 1 TB not 1 GB.

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November 25, 2013 12:36:22 PM

Lots to talk about here. An i7 950 and a GTX570 while a bit old, are still pretty capable equipment. They aren't going to be winning any performance prizes, but I would have thought they'd have no issues running modern games, as long as you are happy to fiddle with settings a little.
While 75-85 degrees seems very high (and probably very loud) my understanding is that is fairly normal, if a bit unpleasant. If you haven't done it before, it's perhaps worth cleaning out the fan section of the card with a can of compressed air, it might improve your temperatures (and therefore noise) a bit.
I probably wouldn't advise SLI. Finding a well priced GTX570 at the moment won't be easy. If you really wanted to upgrade in this area, you'd probably be better off spending your money on a new card.

I own an old Antec 900 (using it as a footstool as I type) and I know it has a bracket for a fan on the side panel. Its potentially fiddly to install, but if you do want to try and improve graphics card temperatures, this might be worth investigating.

A 6year old PSU is probably not going to be in fantastic shape, depending on how it has lived. In the long term, it's probably worth replacing.

Doubling up your ram probably won't make a world of difference, you can always check your usage while gaming. I doubt that is holding you back.

An SSD can be a nice upgrade as it decreases load and boot times, but in sheer value for money, it's not going to be a great return, especially for gaming performance.

There is nothing wrong with getting another Barracuda, they are well priced. The difference between Caviar Black and Blue is not immediately obvious, as the ranges overlap at the 500GB/1TB levels. All Black drives offer 5 year warranties and 64MB caches at capacities from 500GB to 4TB, where Blue offer 3 year warranties and a varying cache size at capacities from 80GB to 1TB.
If you want a drive bigger than 1TB, you will be comparing the Barracuda with Caviar Black. At the 1TB level, there are both Blue and Black drives. There is no real difference in speed between all three really, so the difference is fairly academic, but if it is 1TB you are looking at, make sure to pick a 64MB cache version.
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November 25, 2013 1:01:13 PM

Rammy said:
Lots to talk about here. An i7 950 and a GTX570 while a bit old, are still pretty capable equipment. They aren't going to be winning any performance prizes, but I would have thought they'd have no issues running modern games, as long as you are happy to fiddle with settings a little.
While 75-85 degrees seems very high (and probably very loud) my understanding is that is fairly normal, if a bit unpleasant. If you haven't done it before, it's perhaps worth cleaning out the fan section of the card with a can of compressed air, it might improve your temperatures (and therefore noise) a bit.
I probably wouldn't advise SLI. Finding a well priced GTX570 at the moment won't be easy. If you really wanted to upgrade in this area, you'd probably be better off spending your money on a new card.

I own an old Antec 900 (using it as a footstool as I type) and I know it has a bracket for a fan on the side panel. Its potentially fiddly to install, but if you do want to try and improve graphics card temperatures, this might be worth investigating.

A 6year old PSU is probably not going to be in fantastic shape, depending on how it has lived. In the long term, it's probably worth replacing.

Doubling up your ram probably won't make a world of difference, you can always check your usage while gaming. I doubt that is holding you back.

An SSD can be a nice upgrade as it decreases load and boot times, but in sheer value for money, it's not going to be a great return, especially for gaming performance.

There is nothing wrong with getting another Barracuda, they are well priced. The difference between Caviar Black and Blue is not immediately obvious, as the ranges overlap at the 500GB/1TB levels. All Black drives offer 5 year warranties and 64MB caches at capacities from 500GB to 4TB, where Blue offer 3 year warranties and a varying cache size at capacities from 80GB to 1TB.
If you want a drive bigger than 1TB, you will be comparing the Barracuda with Caviar Black. At the 1TB level, there are both Blue and Black drives. There is no real difference in speed between all three really, so the difference is fairly academic, but if it is 1TB you are looking at, make sure to pick a 64MB cache version.


Thank's for replying.

Yeah in regards to the fans I do have a side mount but it was really loud, I'd like some advice on putting in a new one that might be a lot quieter and work well? What I mean by this is that I'd like actual suggestions for what fan to buy, as well as perhaps for my processor. I mean like whisper quiet or makes no sound preferably. I do try to spray air at the fans once in a while but that really doesn't do much because it attracts things like none other.

Decreasing the temperature so the graphics fan is on lower settings would be preferable. You think I should just go with another barracuda at 2 or 3 TB rather than a Black? I know the black is better but what percentage increase are we actually talking about? Same goes for a SSD. If I were to just put 1 or 2 games and the OS and system on the SSD what would be the increase in the form of a percent?

As for RAM, it seems I use 80-90% most of the time.
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November 25, 2013 2:10:52 PM

If you are using 80-90% regularly, then its possible a memory upgrade would help. I'd look into the cause first though. Unless you are running multiple game clients or some sort of multitasking, 6GB should be sufficient for games.

@ fans and stuff. If your graphics card is very noisey, then it probably won't make a lot of difference what you do in the rest of your case, as it will always dominate. What might work is if you had a fan controller, and some quality fans like Scythe Gentle Typhoon. This would give you a greater control over your airflow overall, though it wouldn't necessarily solve your graphics card issue.

As for HDDs, the speed of the drive is going to be nearly identical (between Barracuda and Caviar Black) but the Barracuda is vastly cheaper. The Black justifies its price point, to a degree, by offering such a good warranty. As I understand it, the Barracuda is 2-3years, the Black is 5years.
For games, an SSD will really just boost load times. If you currently play games where this is a big thing, then the difference will be dramatic, as will your system boot time. Once you are in a game and fragging away, SSD is not really providing much value.
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