Upgrading my FX-60

[Dislexic]

Hey there,

(Sorry if this is in wrong section)

I'm quite the noob when it comes to computers, so I was hoping you could help. My computer isn't what it used to be when I bought it and was thinking of upgrading it so I'm able to play the newer games such as Battlefield: Bad Company 2 on descent settings and basically ensure my computer is up to scratch for the next few years at least.

These are my specs according to everest:

OS: Windows XP Home Edition (SP 3)
CPU: Dualcore, 2600 MHz (13 x 200)
Motherboard: Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe (3 PCI, 2 PCI-E x1, 2 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR DIMM, Audio, Dual Gigabit LAN, IEEE-1394)
Motherboard Chipset: nVIDIA nForce4 SLI, AMD Hammer
System Memory: 2048 MB (PC3200 DDR SDRAM)
Video Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GT (256 MB)
Video Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GT (256 MB) (Two in SLI configuration (Something like that?))

Sorry if you needed more information or some of that was useless, let me know if you needed something else.

Anyway what kind of upgrades should I be looking at? Money isn't really an issue unless its worth just buying a new PC, otherwise I just want to get a few things which means I'm able to play the newer games with a good frame rate.

Thanks for any help!

 

[saaiello]

You are gonna have to get new mother board to upgrade processor that board is just way too old. You are basically gonna have to start from scratch.

 

[Lmeow]

Yeah. The FX-60 was legendary back in its time, but, times have changed a lot. I'd say you'd have to get a new computer - the FX-60, despite being the fastest 939 processor, will bottleneck any decent modern graphics card - even something mainstream and a generation old like the HD 4670.

I say get a Core i5 750 + P55 motherboard + 4GB DDR3 RAM + ATi Radeon HD 5850. More than sufficient for most of today's games. You could reuse the case, and most likely power supply - two GeForce 7800GTs would consume more power than an HD 5850.

 

[Dislexic]

What kind of cost am I looking at for a descent motherboard / CPU / GPU? Any suggestions?

 

[enzo matrix]

You could always salvage the video cards. But if you are unhappy with your current performance, keeping those cards might not satisfy you.

I agree with a fresh build. A good budget build could include an Athlon IIx3 440, 4GB of ram, and a radeon 5770 or GTX260. Totaling maybe $500-600.

But taking "The next few years" as 3 or 4 years, you might want to invest in something a bit more pricey.

 

[Dislexic]

Ahh well that's the thing really, I don't want to buy something which is 'out-dated' so quickly. I've only had this PC 5 years or so and Battlefield Bad Company 2 is unplayable

I'm up for starting from scratch, I'll definatly take a look at your suggestions, money isn't an issue as long its going to last.

 

[saaiello]

I would say dont go for anything less then a Phenom II 955BE or an I5 750. The Phenom build all set in done you will be looking in the mid 600s to $700 and an I5 build about $750. If you build either one of these with lets say a HD 5850 you should be good for atleast the next 3 years maybe even more and at the most it will just be a GPU upgrade in a few years.

 

[Dislexic]

OK well I've been looking at the stuff and I'm alright with paying a little extra for the i7 models maybe 920 / 930.
Looking at the motherboards, the suggestion of P55 came up with about 20 different options with practically the same name with a range of prices and just couldn't tell the difference tbh, a little help with that would be appreciated.
As for a GPU I'm not sure at all really, is HD 5850 a good bet? and just the one? I'm not too savvy with the SLI or whatever it is..

 

[mindless728]

if all you are doing is gaming, the i7 is overkill TBH, the i5-750 or Phenom II X4 955 would be fine

 

[maximiza]

your vid cards got to go.






i got same mobo, get into 64 bit world and max out memory to 4 gigs. My 2 7800GTX held up but they were very out of date. You can sli fermi our get one ati card. I am wating to upgrade whole system when pcie-3.0 comes out. You have unlocked mutliplier so you can do better then stock on cpu. The mobo is cetified Xp, Vista only but works smooth as butter.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Priodically Tom's Hardware publishes "build it yourself" articles. They normally have three articles for three price ranges and a fourth article which is a value comparison of the three systems. The newest articles were published last month. The articles are a good starting point for building a new system. Here are the links:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/value-gaming-pc,2578.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-core-i7,2582.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/performance-pc-ssd,2568.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/system-builder-marathon,2581.html

 

[obsidian86]

here is a good thread

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/269162-13-recommended-builds-usage

 

[swifty_morgan]

The minimum requirements are close to what you have.... HAHA. Don't believe what you read because the game won't "play" with those. I have/had 7800's. They are completely useless for most of the more demanding games today.

You don't need to go to the expense of an i7 set up unless you have a real want to do it. The AMD955/4gig-1333 memory/and a $80-$140 board ( Gigabyte ) will make a darn good gaming machine. For a video card..... I'd go as new as I could get.... ATI5850/GTX470 and up. No need really for sli or xfire.

Getting a card now and putting it in the machine you have will be a ton better at everything than what you have. The rest of your system can't keep up with it but that's ok..... just so you can see the GPU difference. Good Luck.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

Minimum System Requirements
OS: Windows XP
Processor: Core 2 DUO @ 2 GHz
Memory: 2 GB
Hard Drive: 15 GB for Digital Version, 10 GB for Disc Version
Video Memory: 256 MB (NVIDIA GeForce 7800GT/ATI X1900)
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
DirectX: 9.0c
Keyboard and Mouse
DVD Rom Drive

Recommended System Requirements
OS: Windows Vista/7
Processor: Any Quadcore Processor
Memory: 2 GB
Hard Drive: 15 GB for Digital Version, 10 GB for Disc Version
Video Memory: 512 MB (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260)
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
DirectX: 10
Keyboard and Mouse
DVD Rom Drive

 

[mindless728]

i would also recommend selling that FX-60 when you get a new computer, those can sell for a good chunk of change