Upgrade: partly or whole ?!

[SashaYu]

Hi everyone, need some help on making decision.

My current system will be 2 years old soon & I’m going to upgrade it. Mostly I’m post working photos, listen to music & watch HD movies (connected thru hdmi to 40” TV) on my computer but I like to play games sometimes as well (1920x1200), so first of all I want to change a graphic card. My choice is ASUS EAH5850/G/2DIS/1GD5. The question is whether it is going to work fine with my current configuration. In other words please help me to find weak parts of my system and decide whether I should renovate the whole system or just change the main parts. My system configuration is:


CPU E 6750@3,3 Mhz
MB Asus P5Q
RAM DDR2 800
Video Geforce 8800 320 MB
HDD Western digital 1TB black series
Power block 450 W

 

[AMW1011]

Ha, I'm upgrading my E6750 as well.

Well the absolute first thing we need to do is upgrade that PSU. You need a brand name, good quality 500-600w PSU.

This is a good option:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371007&cm_re=antec-_-17-371-007-_-Product

Now we need to decide how much CPU power that you need. You have two options, buy a nice Q9400 or Q9550 to drop in that motherboard or go with an i5/i7 build on LGA 1156. Unless you do a lot of really professional work then I doubt that you will notice a huge difference, at least not one that's worth the price difference, between the two options.

Now for the GPU: Your best bet would be a single 5850 or 5870 depending on which you can afford.

Hope that helps.

 

[SashaYu]

Thanks for the answer.

Well, since I’ve decided to wait until moving to i7 (especially until 930 is out) I will probably stick to the Q9550. Hope my MB Asus P5Q will work fine for a new configuration. This is what I have planed for upgrade:

CPU: E6750 >>> Q9550
COOLER: Box >>> Noctua NH-U12P
MB: Asus P5Q
RAM: DDR-2 800
VIDEO: GeForce 8800 GT >>> ATI 5850
HDD: Seagate ST3500320AS, Western Digital 1001FALS
CASE: LianLi
PSU: 450W >>> Chieftec APS-850C


Any suggestions how to make such upgrade more balanced =)

 

[AMW1011]

The motherboard will support the Q9550 just fine.

I recommend against that PSU because there are no credible reviews of it and Chieftec is not a very well regarded PSU manufacturer at this time.

Stick with Antec, not the Basiq or Neo series, Corsair, PC Power and Cooling, Seasonic, or the Enermax Galaxy S DXX or Revolution series.

 

[SashaYu]

will DDR-2 800 fit whole system? or it may slow down everything? THQ

 

[DanglingPointer]

Hi everyone, need some help on making decision.

My current system will be 2 years old soon & I’m going to upgrade it. Mostly I’m post working photos, listen to music & watch HD movies (connected thru hdmi to 40” TV) on my computer but I like to play games sometimes as well (1920x1200), so first of all I want to change a graphic card. My choice is ASUS EAH5850/G/2DIS/1GD5. The question is whether it is going to work fine with my current configuration. In other words please help me to find weak parts of my system and decide whether I should renovate the whole system or just change the main parts. My system configuration is:


CPU E 6750@3,3 Mhz
MB Asus P5Q
RAM DDR2 800
Video Geforce 8800 320 MB
HDD Western digital 1TB black series
Power block 450 W

Mate,

Follow a methododical way of identifying your objectives. That way you get to highlight any problems you currently have with your current rig, from which you can draw up a list of requirements, then after that, list your objectives for implementation.

I too was in a similar situation recently just like you but with a C2 E6300 on a 965P board. I wrote about me experience in the following link, look for user "DanglingPointer". http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/page-265738_28_50.html