Which parts would be best to upgrade?

[LuxMortis]

Hi guys, first post here so if it's in the wrong place or something, apologies!
I'm looking to upgrade my current pc in the near future, as I cannot afford a new full rig. These are my current specs:

System Manufacturer: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
System Model: GA-880GM-UD2H
BIOS: Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG
Processor: AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 955 Processor (4 CPUs), ~3.2GHz
Memory: 10240MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 10236MB RAM
Card name: ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series
Hard drive: 500gb (nothing special, can't remember the exact name)
PSU: 650W

I have 250-300 pounds to spend on upgrades, which parts should be the priority and what should I upgrade them to? I play a bit of everything really, MMO's, Starcraft, and a lot of single player RPG's.

Thank you

 

[tiny voices]

Get a better GPU.
Get a coolermaster hyper 212 evo and overclock the CPU.

 

[LuxMortis]

What sort of GPU would you recommend?
Should I stick with ATI or go for an nVidia?

 

[tiny voices]

How much are you looking to spend?

 

[LuxMortis]

Well, 250-300 in total, cooler is pretty cheap, and looking for a new case.
If i reserve 50 for a new case, that's 175-225 for a new GPU

 

[tiny voices]

Get an hd7870 or a gtx660. Both of these will serve you very well. What is your current PSU?

 

[LuxMortis]

650W I think, is there any way to check without opening it up?

 

[tiny voices]

No, open the case and have a look.

 

[LuxMortis]

Yes it is 650W

 

[tiny voices]

What is the brand? that is what is important. It should be fine, but lower end brands cannot deliver the stated wattage.

 

[LuxMortis]

650W POWERCOOL PC650UM MODULAR
That is what it is listed as in the scan.co.uk invoice, I couldn't see the label on the PSU itself.

 

[LuxMortis]

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/650w-powercool-pcpc650auba-80-plus-sli-crossfire-quiet-fan-atx-v22-psu
That is it.

 

[tiny voices]

Well, its not a very good unit. It only makes 30 apms on the 12v rail. A good 650w PSU would make 45 apms. Its not from a good company and will be unreliable if pushed. I would replace it with a 500-600 watt unit from Antec, XFX, Corsair, Seasonic.

 

[LuxMortis]

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/620w-antec-neo-eco-modular-psu-82eff-80-plus-bronze-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-quiet-fan-atx-scan-exclusi
What about that one? Just having a quick look on scan, have no idea about PSU's really.

 

[tiny voices]

That's a great PSU.

 

[LuxMortis]

hmmm, cuts my budget down a lot though.
25 for new cooler, 50 for new PSU, 50 for new case... 125-175 for a GPU then. Unless I can find a really good deal on some things and lower the cost of the other parts a little.

 

[tiny voices]

Get an hd7850. It will be a really great upgrade.

 

[LuxMortis]

Will do some more research, thank you, very helpful

 

[LuxMortis]

Could I do SLI/crossfire with my HD 5750 and the 7850? or is that a terrible idea

 

[completelyrandomname]

Not possible. It has to be from the same generation and then it has to be the same series. Last time I checked this is how it worked for AMD. You can crossfire a 6850 with a 6870 but not a 6950. Same for the 7xxx I think.

 

[DarkSable]

No, you can't crossfire two totally different cards like that. Even if you could, crossfire on low-end cards causes WAY more problems than it's worth.

 

[LuxMortis]

Hmmm okay
What about this PSU? it's a lot cheaper so it would be nice
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alpine-Quiet-Silent-Power-Supply/dp/7135799410/ref=pd_bxgy_ce_img_y

 

[tiny voices]

No, its crap.

Get Antec, XFX, Corsair, Seaosnic.