superkillrobot

Distinguished
Apr 20, 2011
21
0
18,510
Approximate Purchase Date: ASAP

Budget Range: $300-350

System Usage from Most to Least Important: SW:TOR-> SC2-> Diablo 3 (if it ever comes out.) Highest setting if possible.

Parts Not Required: Power Supply (http://zumaxpower.com/products/zu500w.htm) Computer Case (mATX) HDD (seagate barracuda 7200.11) Optical Drive

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: none

Overclocking: no

SLI or Crossfire: maybe

Monitor Resolution: 1440x900 @ 75hz

Additional Comments: I've read Tom's bench marks on SW:TOR and I'm still racking my brain on which parts are going to yield me the best bang for my buck, I've decided to ask the community because pretty soon I'll be able to make my purchase and I want to make sure I get the right stuff. This is what I'm currently trying to replace:
Phenom x4 9500
4gb ddr2 667
am2+ mobo
HD 4830 512

I'm kind of scared of getting a phenom/anthlon II because they are old, and the FX stuff seems to really not be worth it if you can't afford the 990 chipset. I've never used nVidia or Intel in my own builds, nothing against them, just never had the budget.

Thanks in advance!
 

tlmck

Distinguished
Spec wise, you could probably upgrade to a Nvidia 550 Ti card, or even a AMD 6850. Any higher and you would likely need a new power supply, motherboard and CPU. Even though it says 500 watts, based on the specs on their web page, your PSU is one of the older spec units that supply most of the amperage on the +3.3v and +5.5v rail.

Modern systems require the most amperage on the +12v rail. The good news is that it does seem to have over voltage protection which should save the rest of your components in the event of PSU failure. When plugging in the new video card, if your PSU fans get noticeably louder, that means it is struggling to keep up and will fail sooner than later.

When you do replace it, a quality 80 plus certified unit from trusted makers such as Antec, Corsair, Silverstone, Seasonic, or XFX is a minimum. This will be one less thing to worry about.

The good news is that if the video card upgrade turns out not to be enough, it can always transfer over to a new system. Something like a Core i3-2100, 8gb DDR3 ram, 64 bit Windows 7.