Hi there,
First time posting, although usually browse forums for advice. I have a almost 4 year old system, and although it can run newer games on low to medium settings, I'm looking to upgrade it or build a new computer for the release of newer games. I'll post my current system to see what people think of it, and my thoughts so far on new components for a new system, or whether or not its worth it to integrate it into my current system, especially where it is outdated.The system I have atm is as follows:
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.00 Ghz 6MB L2
Asus P5Q-E SLI S775 650i C2D DDRII GBLan 6-ch audio
OCZ Reaper4 GB (2x2GB) PC8500 DDR2-1066MHz RAM
Western Digital SATA2 750 GB hard drive, 7200 RPM 16MB Cache
BFG GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512 MB GDDR3 PCIe dual DVI
Pioneer DVR-216 20x +/- Dual Layer SATA DVD Burner
OCZ Stealthstream 500W /Active PFC Power Supply
Approximate Purchase Date: Looking to upgrade or build new system as soon as possible
Budget Range: ~1100-1300 preferred, as I could sell my old system for around 500 to help offset costs
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming mostly, internet/university work/movies
Are you buying a monitor: No, have a 19" widescreen, and will be buying a 24" led as soon as I can find a good one with an HDMI port for my PS3
Parts to Upgrade: Everything if needed, I don't think most of my parts are any good in future-proofing a computer for the next 4 years at least
Do you need to buy OS: No
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, Futureshop/Bestbuy, http://www.greenlyph.com/ (this is the company that built my last system for $1100)
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Parts Preferences: Am looking for quality companies that have good track records and warrenties, like EVGA's lifetime warrenties on graphics cards, even for OC'ing
Overclocking: Maybe, but not essential
SLI or Crossfire: Not atm, but would like my CPU/Mobo to be able to handle SLI if I find 2 GTX 560 ti's for cheap
Your Monitor Resolution: 1440x900, but looking for a 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 LED 24" if I can find a good one for cheap
Additional Comments: Just looking to future-proof my computer for the next couple of years and be able to run games on max settings again like I could when I first made my current build. Looking for some more cooling since lately my computer CPU has been overheating, as I didn't get extra cooling when I first built it as I didn't know much about computers then. Would like parts that can be upgraded, like a motherboard that will run the newer 3.0 PCIe (think I have that right, Z77 or something?) and an Ivy bridge processor for the next gen 3.0 GPU's (read about that somewhere, I could be mistaken) I play a lot of newer games like Skyrim, going to be buying the new Darksiders and Bioshock Infinite, and want to run new games coming out on max settings.
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Current computer is slow at times, and games crash occasionally when trying to play on higher settings
CPU: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504
Looking at the Ivy Bridge i5 3570, as I've read its all you need for gaming right now, and i7's are overkill. getting the Ivy Bridge since it's gonna support the PCIe 3.0
MoBo: I don't really know anything about motherboards, except that I read somewhere that you want to get a Z77 as its more future-proof? Have an ASUS one currently, and I've never had any problems with any ports on the mobo.
Memory: Looking at DDR3 8 Gb's of 1600 Mhz, don't know brands so was going to do some research on that part.
Hard Disk: Looking for a 1 TB HD or even 750 Gb is fine, as I'm going to buy a 3 TB external (Seagate most likely, as I heard they are good) to hold my media/games
Video Card: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007708%2050001402%20600094002%20600107147&IsNodeId=1&name=GeForce%20GTX%20560%20Ti%20%28Fermi%29
was looking at the GTX 560 ti's as I've heard good things about them, and don't want to pay for the GTX 600 series, trying to stick with nvidia as I've always had nvidia GPU's. I don't know what the difference in these cards is as they're all 560 ti's, but some just have different clocking speeds, although I can OC easily with a downloadable program.
DVD drive: I don't know anything about dvd drives, and whether or not its worth to get a blu-ray capable one, since I have a ps3, and whether a blu-ray burner is necessary.
Power Supply: Was looking at getting around a 750 or 850W PSU in case I get an extra 560 ti to SLI, and just to have extra power in case I upgrade any parts. Or is my 500W enough power, or even getting just a 550/650W PSU
Cooling: I've only ever had stock cooling fans that have come with the case. Is a heatsink better than liquid cooling, or will just an extra fan do the job?
Also, what is CPU cooling and why do I see so many people getting them with their computers? I thought the CPU internal fans did a good enough job of cooling?
Just wanted to say a huge thanks in advance to anyone who may read/comment on this, and forgive my lack of knowledge/forum etiquette if I did something I was not supposed to. I may have missed out on some crucial part perhaps too.
I'll probably end up looking for the parts on the greenlyph website that I specified as they're the local computer shop that builds the computers, as I don't know if I could built it myself without breaking anything on the mobo/CPU
Thanks, David
First time posting, although usually browse forums for advice. I have a almost 4 year old system, and although it can run newer games on low to medium settings, I'm looking to upgrade it or build a new computer for the release of newer games. I'll post my current system to see what people think of it, and my thoughts so far on new components for a new system, or whether or not its worth it to integrate it into my current system, especially where it is outdated.The system I have atm is as follows:
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.00 Ghz 6MB L2
Asus P5Q-E SLI S775 650i C2D DDRII GBLan 6-ch audio
OCZ Reaper4 GB (2x2GB) PC8500 DDR2-1066MHz RAM
Western Digital SATA2 750 GB hard drive, 7200 RPM 16MB Cache
BFG GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512 MB GDDR3 PCIe dual DVI
Pioneer DVR-216 20x +/- Dual Layer SATA DVD Burner
OCZ Stealthstream 500W /Active PFC Power Supply
Approximate Purchase Date: Looking to upgrade or build new system as soon as possible
Budget Range: ~1100-1300 preferred, as I could sell my old system for around 500 to help offset costs
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming mostly, internet/university work/movies
Are you buying a monitor: No, have a 19" widescreen, and will be buying a 24" led as soon as I can find a good one with an HDMI port for my PS3
Parts to Upgrade: Everything if needed, I don't think most of my parts are any good in future-proofing a computer for the next 4 years at least
Do you need to buy OS: No
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, Futureshop/Bestbuy, http://www.greenlyph.com/ (this is the company that built my last system for $1100)
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Parts Preferences: Am looking for quality companies that have good track records and warrenties, like EVGA's lifetime warrenties on graphics cards, even for OC'ing
Overclocking: Maybe, but not essential
SLI or Crossfire: Not atm, but would like my CPU/Mobo to be able to handle SLI if I find 2 GTX 560 ti's for cheap
Your Monitor Resolution: 1440x900, but looking for a 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 LED 24" if I can find a good one for cheap
Additional Comments: Just looking to future-proof my computer for the next couple of years and be able to run games on max settings again like I could when I first made my current build. Looking for some more cooling since lately my computer CPU has been overheating, as I didn't get extra cooling when I first built it as I didn't know much about computers then. Would like parts that can be upgraded, like a motherboard that will run the newer 3.0 PCIe (think I have that right, Z77 or something?) and an Ivy bridge processor for the next gen 3.0 GPU's (read about that somewhere, I could be mistaken) I play a lot of newer games like Skyrim, going to be buying the new Darksiders and Bioshock Infinite, and want to run new games coming out on max settings.
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Current computer is slow at times, and games crash occasionally when trying to play on higher settings
CPU: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504
Looking at the Ivy Bridge i5 3570, as I've read its all you need for gaming right now, and i7's are overkill. getting the Ivy Bridge since it's gonna support the PCIe 3.0
MoBo: I don't really know anything about motherboards, except that I read somewhere that you want to get a Z77 as its more future-proof? Have an ASUS one currently, and I've never had any problems with any ports on the mobo.
Memory: Looking at DDR3 8 Gb's of 1600 Mhz, don't know brands so was going to do some research on that part.
Hard Disk: Looking for a 1 TB HD or even 750 Gb is fine, as I'm going to buy a 3 TB external (Seagate most likely, as I heard they are good) to hold my media/games
Video Card: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007708%2050001402%20600094002%20600107147&IsNodeId=1&name=GeForce%20GTX%20560%20Ti%20%28Fermi%29
was looking at the GTX 560 ti's as I've heard good things about them, and don't want to pay for the GTX 600 series, trying to stick with nvidia as I've always had nvidia GPU's. I don't know what the difference in these cards is as they're all 560 ti's, but some just have different clocking speeds, although I can OC easily with a downloadable program.
DVD drive: I don't know anything about dvd drives, and whether or not its worth to get a blu-ray capable one, since I have a ps3, and whether a blu-ray burner is necessary.
Power Supply: Was looking at getting around a 750 or 850W PSU in case I get an extra 560 ti to SLI, and just to have extra power in case I upgrade any parts. Or is my 500W enough power, or even getting just a 550/650W PSU
Cooling: I've only ever had stock cooling fans that have come with the case. Is a heatsink better than liquid cooling, or will just an extra fan do the job?
Also, what is CPU cooling and why do I see so many people getting them with their computers? I thought the CPU internal fans did a good enough job of cooling?
Just wanted to say a huge thanks in advance to anyone who may read/comment on this, and forgive my lack of knowledge/forum etiquette if I did something I was not supposed to. I may have missed out on some crucial part perhaps too.
I'll probably end up looking for the parts on the greenlyph website that I specified as they're the local computer shop that builds the computers, as I don't know if I could built it myself without breaking anything on the mobo/CPU
Thanks, David
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram