Looking forward to upgrade my built PC.

[highsis]

This is my hardware spec. I would appreciate any advices. This is a gaming PC.



CPU Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (2.4GHz, 4MB, Conroe)
Mainboard ASUSTek P5W DH Deluxe (i975x, 1305, rev 1.xx)
RAM Kingston DDR2 PC2-5300 4GB (1GB x 4, 5-5-5-15, 0632)
VGA HD 4870
HDD SAMSUNG HD321LJ
ODD FT9354M DRC215T SCSI CdRom Device
Power 600W Unknown Brand
Case Unknown Brand
Cooler Unknown Brand
Monitor BenQ FP222W (Digital)
Sound/SP Realtek ALC882 HD-Audio / Unknown Speaker
KB/Mouse Logitech Y-BN52 / LG Optical 3D510
OS Microsoft Windows 7 64bit




My monitor loves to go black whenever it has chances, so I will need a new monitor.

Should I go for 16:10 or 16:9?

Which size is good for my system to handle? I prefer full option in game graphic rather than high resolution. I often down set my screen resolution to 1280*800 anyway because with 1680 1024 resolution, most games are extremely laggy.




I decided to buy i5 2500k CPU, but I assume this can't be installed on my 5 year old motherboard. Which motherboard do I need?



I will upgrade my ram to DDR3 8gb or 16gb(Paradox games are text-flooded and my 4gb rams always pass out). How do you look at ram's specification? I saw on newegg that DDR3 1066 rams from kingston are much more expensive than DDR3 2333 rams from corsair. That is a nonsense! Please indulge me.



Would I need another power supply?




Please help!

Thanks in advance.

 

[Proximon]

This is my hardware spec. I would appreciate any advices. This is a gaming PC.



........
My monitor loves to go black whenever it has chances, so I will need a new monitor.

Should I go for 16:10 or 16:9?

Which size is good for my system to handle? I prefer full option in game graphic rather than high resolution. I often down set my screen resolution to 1280*800 anyway because with 1680 1024 resolution, most games are extremely laggy.

I decided to buy i5 2500k CPU, but I assume this can't be installed on my 5 year old motherboard. Which motherboard do I need?

I will upgrade my ram to DDR3 8gb or 16gb(Paradox games are text-flooded and my 4gb rams always pass out). How do you look at ram's specification? I saw on newegg that DDR3 1066 rams from kingston are much more expensive than DDR3 2333 rams from corsair. That is a nonsense! Please indulge me.

Would I need another power supply?

Your upgrade priorities based on your list:

PSU - You need quality power otherwise you are just throwing money away
Case- Adequate ventilation is key to parts longevity.

How do you know it's the monitor that needs replacing? Have you tried replacing the cable?

You need to give a budget for your upgrade, then it will be a lot easier to advise you. Any more than 8GB RAM is overkill.

 

[highsis]

My friends told me that most of black-out issues are not fixable. But as you advised, I will look into it.

I'm thinking of spending up to $500~$600, without a monitor. CPU 200 + RAM 200 + Mobo + Power supply are what I plan.

If I buy Intel i5 2500k, DDR3 8gb, Power supply, and compatible motherboard(perhaps p67?), would you tell me which brand and model are going to work best?

Thank you!

 

[dan4patriots]

i5 2500K- $225
Coolermaster Hyper 212 + Cpu Cooler- $30
Asus P8P67 Pro $175
4GB DDR3 Ram- $45
Nvidia 560 Ti- $248

Total- $723 (based on Amazon.com prices)

 

[dan4patriots]

didnt see that also you needed psu, so scratch the 560 Ti and get an XFX 650w psu for $100 on Amazon and get a Radeon 6850

 

[Proximon]

Here you go, don't miss the promo code on the RAM

■Rosewill Green Series RG530-S12 530W Continuous @40°C, 80 PLUS Certified, Single 12V Rail, Active PFC "Compatible with Core ...
■G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL
■Kingston DataTraveler G3 2GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive (White & Orange) Model DTIG3/2GBZ
■ASRock P67 PRO3 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
■Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
TOTAL: $509.96

 

[dan4patriots]

it is better to buy on amazon.com as newegg charges tax and amazon is cheaper

 

[highsis]

Thank you guys for replying! Couple more questions, if you don't mind

Would I need another power supplier when I already have a nameless brand of 600w?

And I see there are a LOT of different p67 motherboards and price range are vastly different. Is "ASRock P67 PRO3 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard", as Proximon kindly suggested, what I want?

Lastly, if I want to expand ram in the future to 16gb, can I buy another set of 2*4gb ram and just put it up their? I thought there is an stability issue which makes set of rams more expensive than buying them individually.

Thank you! I think I could even go buy them before Easter ends...

 

[Proximon]

it is better to buy on amazon.com as newegg charges tax and amazon is cheaper

Newegg charges tax for orders sent to CA, TENN, and NJ only. Amazon is rarely cheaper before or after shipping. It always pays to comparison shop though.

 

[highsis]

Best answer selected by highsis.