Another existing homebuilt ready for upgrade

[Horrgakx]

Hi all. I used this forum last time I upgraded my PC so thanks (once again!) for the advice.

Now I'm a believer in helping ones self. However, I don't have a clue which hardware is compatible, even the compatibility guide in the user manual gets out dated at some point. So with the technology changing constantly, my question initially is "How do you know what you can use"??
I had a read through the 'guide to choosing parts' which is fair enough but it could never go into specifics.

Anyway, my system specs are below. I think the graphics card could do with being updated; on Armed Assault 2 the low memory on it causes blank textures to be reloaded constantly. Also unsure of the CPU.

Motherboard; ABIT IX48-GT3 Socket 775
CPU; Intel Core2Quad Q9400 (2.66Ghz) - Socket 775
RAM; 4Gb Corsair TwinX DDR3 1333
Graphics; GigaByte 8800GTS (320Mb)
HD; SATA hard drives
CD; SATA DVD & CD (Lightscribe) burner
OS; Win XP Pro, SP3

I will probably be buying from www.scan.co.uk as I've used them for my previous orders and find their pricing competitive and support pretty good.

Thanks

 

[enzo matrix]

Your CPU is excellent. But you could do with a graphics card update. What is your budget?

 

[dndhatcher]

I agree with enzo. Overclocking the CPU might help some, but getting a graphics card with 1GB RAM would make that into a pretty solid gaming rig. Might also help to upgrade to win7 64it to make use of your RAM.

 

[Horrgakx]

Thanks folks. The video card totalled £200 when I bought it!!
Depends on what the price/performance payoff is. For example I think I'd be aiming 1) for something with some more memory, 2) as a year or so has passed since the 8800GTS, the technology will have improved to give better performance for the same money. I'm not interested in dual cards though.

PS - its worth saying that the temperature the motherboard monitor for the CPU is bust, it goes full-scale when it is first turned on cold. I had issues with the PC shutting itself down due to a false overtemp detection. It compounded to my problem that my speaker wire is broken in the case and I had no idea it was blaring warning beeps at me :/ So I would prefer to leave the CPU as it is intended.

 

[obsidian86]

welll that video card will now struggle to get £50 for it tech has advanced alot in a yr a 5777 will suit your build perfectly and add win 7 and you set a while

 

[Horrgakx]

Thanks - but whats a 5777?

 

[dndhatcher]

Thanks - but whats a 5777?

A misspelled 5770.

 

[Newf]

Pre-order but I'm sure it's coming very soon:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Gigabyte-GV-R585D5-1GD-B-Radeon-HD-5850-1GB-ATX-HDMI-Graphics-Card
If your current psu handles the 8800, it should handle this as well. I am making this assumption though since no psu is mentioned.

 

[Horrgakx]

That looks like a beast ... expensive too

 

[dndhatcher]

Almost twice as fast as a 5770, almost twice the price. Really hard to find since everyone wants one.

 

[enzo matrix]

+1 for the 5850. Good performance/ price and a very good upgrade from your 8800. Just make sure it fits in your case.

 

[Newf]

Gee, you spent £200 last time.
What's wrong with skipping a generation and spending another £200 now?

 

[dndhatcher]

+1 for the 5850. Good performance/ price and a very good upgrade from your 8800. Just make sure it fits in your case.

5850 is only 9 inches, a motherboard is 9.5 inches so it cant be a problem. Also Im pretty sure there were no 8800/9800 series cards shorter than 9 inches.

 

[jerfle]

+1 for the 5770. They available and the performance between the cards will be astronomically.

 

[Horrgakx]

Something I am worried about with upgrading to Win7 are the motherboard (and chipset) drivers. Abit have a DIRE website for driver downloads.

Does anyone know if there are Win7 drivers for "ABIT IX48-GT3 Socket 775" motherboard?