Buy or upgrade?

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
V

vespir

Honorable
Feb 18, 2012
42
0
10,530
Hi all,

I'm wondering if I should upgrade components of my computer, or if it would be smarter to just buy a new one. Right now I play Starcraft 2 and TF2, and I'm thinking about getting Skyrim and will most definitely be getting Diablo 3 when it comes out.

This is what I have, according to Speccy:

OS - Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
CPU - AMD Phenom II X4 810
RAM - 8 GB DDR3 @ 533MHz (7-7-7-20)
Motherboard - Foxconn Aloe, chipset vendor and model is AMD 785GSB700
Graphics - ATI Radeon HD 4200
Hard drive - 733GB Seagate ST3750528AS SCSI Disk Device (RAID)

I'm not very good with this hardware type stuff. What I think I need is a new graphics card, but if the rest of my setup isn't that good should I even bother upgrading graphics when the rest of it might need to be upgraded soon?
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
QuietPC

QuietPC

Distinguished
Feb 10, 2012
400
0
18,860


The system is ok and would benefit from an upgrade on the gpu side. The question is how much you want to spend. From a performance standpoint 6850->6870->6950->6970->7950->7970. Note that Keppler is expected to be out soon claiming even better performance. So, determine how much you want to spend and use that as the guide and get the best upgrade gpu for the money you can.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
QuietPC

QuietPC

Distinguished
Feb 10, 2012
400
0
18,860


Regarding RAM - anything beyond 8gb does little or nothing unless you are running some specialized software that would access it.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
V

vespir

Honorable
Feb 18, 2012
42
0
10,530
Thanks again to everyone, with your advice I am going to go ahead and upgrade my GPU. I have an update with request for more advice.

My PSU is 300W. I looked at the graphics hierarchy chart, and I think I found a good deal but want a savvy opinion before I make a decision.

The GeForce GTX 550 Ti SuperClocked Video Card - 1GB, GDDR5 is for $119.99 Cdn. after coupon and rebate ($149.99 before). http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=41126&sku=E145-0552

Will this work with my current setup? Is it worth it, or should I spend my money on another card for whatever reason? Is Nvidia good considering my setup was made integrated with Radeon?

I also found a link describing the specs of my computer for better details http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&docname=c01859871#N1170

Edit: after taxes and shipping, it actually costs $144.74
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
catatafish

catatafish

Distinguished
Feb 6, 2012
448
0
18,810
That card is good for the price, however it requires a minimum 400w power supply. So plan on another $80 for that. It will work fine with your setup. For a bit more you could get a better card....but then again you can say "for a bit more" all the way up to $500 :).
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
V

vespir

Honorable
Feb 18, 2012
42
0
10,530
Haha I know what you mean about the "a bit more" problem. I would be willing to spend maybe 30 more dollars if it meant getting a card that would definitely be better... I wonder if that is even an option though?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom