Upgrade or let it run till it dies

[sorrowfox]

Hey all, Just wondering if it's getting time to upgrade components. I've had this system for a couple years and even then I was iffy on what I was buying.

Motherboard is a Gigabyte 965P-DS3 (rev2)

CPU Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 @ 2.40GHz

GPU Radeon 4850 512mb

Sound is Onboard

RAM Kingston 4g dual channel ddr2

with a 313gig seasgate sata.

running windows 7 32bit

I'm not a hardcore gamer but I do enjoy them as well as watching movies etc.

any advice is appreciated, also I have no IMMEDIATE plans to act on this info, but I do wish to keep a budget under $1000.

 

[wjsprowler]

It honestly depends on how serious you are with gaming. If you wanna get a computer that can handle most serious games I would suggest selling that computer and buying all new components because you will need a good CPU + Videocard if you want to play the latest games on max settings.. and if you are gonna upgrade those you may as well get a better mobo, HDD, etc.

I would suggest getting an i5-2500k w/ a GTX 560 ti video card. Together they can handle pretty much anything. If you center your build around them you will able to handle pretty much any game at max settings with decent FPS. I can play crisis 2 on max settings (with only the occasional slight lag in FPS) with both of them.. and you can always leave room for another video card. If you SLI 2 of those you can handle any game on max settings @ 60+ FPS give or take. Just my 2 cents.

 

[g-unit1111]

If you just plan to do minor upgrades vs. a full system overhaul - just add a new CPU cooler (there's plenty of 775-based coolers available), a new video card, and max out the RAM, and you could do that for around $250.

Otherwise you could replace your motherboard with a z68, CPU, RAM, and maybe video card, and do the whole thing for less than $600.

 

[sorrowfox]

Thank you both. I should have stated I have no plans to do SLI/Crossfire, nor do I plan on Overclocking(I'm an idiot, and we idiots should stay away from messing with that stuff)
Is there a specific reason for z68? or is it just a lower cost?

 

[sorrowfox]

did some digging..

Mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128487

Ram http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231460

CPU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

it's also 3am est so.. yeah >.>

 

[AdrianPerry]

Your current system doesn't really have any components worth keeping to be honest.

A new motherboard/CPU would be required, more than likely a new power supply, certainly DDR3 RAM would be needed and then a Graphics card if you wanted one.

A $1000 budget is very generous if your not considering spending alot of money on a GPU.

Ideal build would be something along the lines of:
z68 motherboard
i5-2500k
1TB HDD
60/120GB SSD
Mid-tower Case
DVD/Blu Ray Drive
4/8GB DDR3 1600MHz RAM
500w PSU (good branded one with 80PLUS rating)
And then you have a choice of graphics cards. ATI 6870 is a great mid range choice that will game very well and costs around $150 on NewEgg.

 

[mirchandise]

^ He doesn't want to overclock, so you should probably drop the K. Seems like a nice build though.

 

[AdrianPerry]

^ He doesn't want to overclock, so you should probably drop the K. Seems like a nice build though.

While I appreciate people don't know the ins-and-outs of over-clocking, I would still encourage you go for an "overclock-able" build.

The i5-2500K is about $10 more than the i5-2500. Almost ALL motherboards (z68 especially) come with some kind of built in software feature on the motherboard that will overclock for you. This requires no technical knowledge what so ever. You literally just click "overclock" and it does everything for you. Even without spending money on an after-market cooling, the stock cooler should still keep perfectly safe temps with over-clocks around 4GHz.

This can show gains of around 30% performance from in i5-2500k and with a fairly good CPU cooler ($30) 4.4GHz-4.5GHz can be seen from doing this. For the sake of just $10 it just seems insane not to go down this route.

 

[sorrowfox]

I located my new egg acc info and found my parts list from when I originally built this, back in 2007.
CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-620HX 620W ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Compatible with Core i7, I had ordered it by mistake but chalked it up to inexperience and used it anyways. If I can still keep it, it would save money. Do I really need an SSD?

 

[AdrianPerry]

You don't need an SSD by any means. Its just a nice feature that's becoming more and more popular in custom builds due to its increased performance and much quicker windows boot times.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

my suggestion to your title question is: Do both.

build a whole new PC. then convert this old PC into a HTPC and hook it up to your TV for netflix, hulu, and other digital video. Maybe buy a blu-ray player. the 4850 is VERY powerful and can make for a good htpc/light gaming living room PC.

 

[sorrowfox]

Thanks all you've definitely given me good advice and ideas. I'll grab the I5-2500k for sure, if any thing I need to get over my reluctance to OC =)

 

[nordlead]

While I appreciate people don't know the ins-and-outs of over-clocking, I would still encourage you go for an "overclock-able" build.

The i5-2500K is about $10 more than the i5-2500. Almost ALL motherboards (z68 especially) come with some kind of built in software feature on the motherboard that will overclock for you. This requires no technical knowledge what so ever. You literally just click "overclock" and it does everything for you. Even without spending money on an after-market cooling, the stock cooler should still keep perfectly safe temps with over-clocks around 4GHz.

This can show gains of around 30% performance from in i5-2500k and with a fairly good CPU cooler ($30) 4.4GHz-4.5GHz can be seen from doing this. For the sake of just $10 it just seems insane not to go down this route.

While that is true, you can drop to a i5-2400 and it will be more than sufficient and be $30 cheaper (or a i5-2320 and save $40 if bought today). You could then switch to a H series motherboard and save some more money, but lose some features that may not be worth it depending on if you typically upgrade or not. I would say it depends on budget and risk aversion (overclocking always has more risk than running stock)

 

[g-unit1111]

Thank you both. I should have stated I have no plans to do SLI/Crossfire, nor do I plan on Overclocking(I'm an idiot, and we idiots should stay away from messing with that stuff)
Is there a specific reason for z68? or is it just a lower cost?

The Z68 supports a huge range of Intel SB processors - from the low-end Pentiums to the (currently) highest-end i7-2600K - and is one of the best to support the newest hardware around - it has native built-in support for 3TB hard drives and SSD - and is also one of the easiest to setup an SSD on. Sure, all the other Intel chipsets from x58 onward will support a lot of that hardware, but the Z68 is designed around it.

 

[AdrianPerry]

While that is true, you can drop to a i5-2400 and it will be more than sufficient and be $30 cheaper (or a i5-2320 and save $40 if bought today). You could then switch to a H series motherboard and save some more money, but lose some features that may not be worth it depending on if you typically upgrade or not. I would say it depends on budget and risk aversion (overclocking always has more risk than running stock)

True, true.