Official "Upgrade Help" Thread

[Sven]

If you're gonna overclock you shouldn't be worried about the tdp. You'll most gonna get an aftermarket cooler and raise the volts anyway.

The 955 and the 965 reach the raise speeds when overclocking. It's more dependant on the chip you get than the model.

Understood, however this review's conclusion sums up the reasons for my concern quite well.

Busy inquiring on the Prophecy forums as to the 965's availability. PC International's courier costs were a tad too much.

[Wesley]

Understood, however this review's conclusion sums up the reasons for my concern quite well.

Busy inquiring on the Prophecy forums as to the 965's availability. PC International's courier costs were a tad too much.

Oh, now I see what you mean, its the same 965 on a better stepping. If you want to overclock it, then you should definitely wait for the refreshed version.

[Chevron]

Right.

My friend after seeing my awesome new rig has decided he needs something to compete.
He can also only get everything from one place. Needs a whole PC from scratch, except m+kb.

This is something he built.

ASUS AMD Socket AM3, AMD 785G, 5200MT/s, 4xDual DDR3 1800(O.C), Onboard VGA (HDMI), 1xPCI-x16(Hybrid CrossFire), 1xPCIx1, 2xPCI, 1xATA133, 5xSATA (Raid 0,1,10), 1x eSATA, Gbe Lan, 8ch-Sound HD, Max 12xUSB, 2xIEEE1394, microATX R 1,073 incl

AMD Phenom II X4 945, 8MB, AM2+, 3GHZ L2 Cache Quad Core R 1,613 incl

Sapphire HD 5850 1GB R3000

2GB DDRIII-1800 Hyper X (Kingston) x2 R1478 incl.

500GB-7200RPM 16MB Cache SATA II (Seagate) R 473 incl.

DVD Writer 22/12x DL (SAMSUNG) SATA R 199 incl

24 WIDE TFT, 1920 X 1200, 5 Millisecond, 20000:1 Contrast Ratio, Analogue/DVI/HDMI, Swivel, Tilt Stand, MagicBright3 R 2,506 incl.

Raidmax Black Smilodon Full-Blk Case R 746 incl.

650W ATX Power Supply- Huntkey Titan R 796 incl.

Total: R11903

Opinions?


IMO, I think he should get a 22" screen, a 320GB HDD, spend a little bit more and gett a better CPU and Mobo?

I wouldn't change a thing. Especially the monitor. A monitor is one of the things that stay with you for numerous upgrades.

[bekim]

Anybody know of any retailers where I can get an ATI HD5850 (any brand). All online shops say unavailable, ETA unknown. I have phoned the ones that say they do have stock, only to be told, sorry, sold out - try 2010!

[Pshyco]

Hi Guys

I have a question and maybe you guys can help!

I want to upgrade my PC, I don't know which Cpu to take.
My choice is between the 3.ghz Core 2 Duo and the 3.ghz Quad core.
I know the quad will perform beter than the Duo but the Duo is incredibly cheaper.
And does someone know about the performance diffrence between the i7 920 and the 3.0Ghz Quad core.

I'm not planing on any other Cpu's because I got new hardware for my current Motherboard and everything works fine.

Here's my Pc specs (If it will help)
2.2Ghz Core 2 Duo(Standard)
2 X 2 GB DDR2 800 Transcend Ram
Intel G33 Motherboard
XfX HD 5870
OcZ Fatal1ty 700Watt PSU

Hope someone can help

[Pshyco]

Hey Bekim try these places

- Computers Only
- Titan-ice
- Rectron

There is a good change the have stock well they mostly do have stock.

[Wesley]

Anybody know of any retailers where I can get an ATI HD5850 (any brand). All online shops say unavailable, ETA unknown. I have phoned the ones that say they do have stock, only to be told, sorry, sold out - try 2010!

Try PCint, PCzone in Durban, Sybaritic.co.za, Kalahari.net, Amazon.com, a friend who has an account or knows someone with an account at Rectron. Otherwise, if you can't find anyone who has stock, then you'll have to wait like everyone else. AMD/ATi has been having some availability issues because they didn't order enough 40nm wafers, and availability will be better in a month or two. By then prices will have come down after the Christmas season as well, and the HD4000 series will be dirt-cheap.

Hi Guys

I have a question and maybe you guys can help!

I want to upgrade my PC, I don't know which Cpu to take.
My choice is between the 3.ghz Core 2 Duo and the 3.ghz Quad core.
I know the quad will perform beter than the Duo but the Duo is incredibly cheaper.
And does someone know about the performance diffrence between the i7 920 and the 3.0Ghz Quad core.

I'm not planing on any other Cpu's because I got new hardware for my current Motherboard and everything works fine.

Here's my Pc specs (If it will help)
2.2Ghz Core 2 Duo(Standard)
2 X 2 GB DDR2 800 Transcend Ram
Intel G33 Motherboard
XfX HD 5870
OcZ Fatal1ty 700Watt PSU

Hope someone can help

The quad-core is definitely the better choice, your 2.2Ghz dual-core is definitely bottlenecking your HD5870 somewhere along the line. If price is the deciding factor, set your sights lower on the Q9400. It can overclock well, and is probably the sweet-spot in the quad-core market where Intel is concerned.

[Pshyco]

Thanks for the help.

I Felt my cpu botelnecking my Pc thats why im planing on upgranding, I'll use my pc as is untill I have enough for the Cpu so there is no urge to get it asap. But thanks i'll have a look at the Cpu and make a choice.

What is the performance difrence between the Q9400 and the Q9650 if you know.

I'm also planning on going big now and upgrade only in the far future, You think it will last me if I buy the Q9400?

[Chevron]

Thanks for the help.

I Felt my cpu botelnecking my Pc thats why im planing on upgranding, I'll use my pc as is untill I have enough for the Cpu so there is no urge to get it asap. But thanks i'll have a look at the Cpu and make a choice.

What is the performance difrence between the Q9400 and the Q9650 if you know.

I'm also planning on going big now and upgrade only in the far future, You think it will last me if I buy the Q9400?

My advice is to take the Q9550. To me that's the sweet spot.

[Pshyco]

Hi Chevron

I had a look at the Q9550. I look at the prices and found the the Q9650 is only R400 more. Do you still think the Q9550 is the better buy. And which one overclocks the best and what will I be able to achieve.

I have a Cooler Master CM 690 with 5 fans but no aftermarket cooling, I know i'll have to get one but give your comment asif I have one because i will buy me an aftermarket cooler sometime after I get the cpu.

And how does the Q9650 compare to the i7 920?

[vanatic]

And how does the Q9650 compare to the i7 920?

Remember... The i7 has hyper threading, so that is in effect 8 cores of 2.66GhZ.
It also depends how long you plan to keep it before upgrading again. Once you have the Q9650, its pointless upgrading on the LGA 775 socket again so then the next step up is i5 or i7. If you go i7 now then when i9 comes out and the price drops a lot, then you can upgrade again. IMO, if you have the money, go i7 and get the ASUS P6T Deluxe V2, its the best value for money, again IMO!

Good luck!

[Pshyco]

Remember... The i7 has hyper threading, so that is in effect 8 cores of 2.66GhZ.
Once you have the Q9650, its pointless upgrading on the LGA 775 socket again so then the next step up is i5 or i7. If you go i7 now then when i9 comes out and the price drops a lot, then you can upgrade again.
Good luck!

I'm don't have the cash for i7, afterall i'm still in high school and my parents won't spend that amount on money on my pc. And I got 4 GB of RAM last week from my dad so i'ts pointless for me to upgrade to the i5,i7,i9 for now but as soon as I start making my own income its likely to happen :-)

Hyper threading. I read somewhere that you must enable it first or is it enabled out of box?

Okay lets leave the Q9650 Vs The i7 train. Can you tell me if i'll be able to run crysis on max with the following PC specs:

- The Q9650
- 2 X 2Gb DDR2 800Mhz (Dual)
- XfX HD 5870
- 20" Wide Samsung (P2050) I'ts on the small side yes but it kicks my 17"CRT but!!

[Chevron]

I'm don't have the cash for i7, afterall i'm still in high school and my parents won't spend that amount on money on my pc. And I got 4 GB of RAM last week from my dad so i'ts pointless for me to upgrade to the i5,i7,i9 for now but as soon as I start making my own income its likely to happen :-)

Hyper threading. I read somewhere that you must enable it first or is it enabled out of box?

Okay lets leave the Q9650 Vs The i7 train. Can you tell me if i'll be able to run crysis on max with the following PC specs:

- The Q9650
- 2 X 2Gb DDR2 800Mhz (Dual)
- XfX HD 5870
- 20" Wide Samsung (P2050) I'ts on the small side yes but it kicks my 17"CRT but!!

The Q9550 is a great chip. Rather save the cash and get a P2350.

[Sven]

Oh, now I see what you mean, its the same 965 on a better stepping. If you want to overclock it, then you should definitely wait for the refreshed version.

Right-oh, thanks a bunch. Now to watch and wait.

[Pshyco]

The Q9550 is a great chip. Rather save the cash and get a P2350.

I already bought the screen thanx, I bought the screen at a very great price. I had an old 17" CRT which was a bugger carying around to LANs so that why I got the P2050 (Great price and beter than an CRT).

So would I Run Crysis on max, If you can please just answer this question!!

[Wesley]

I'm don't have the cash for i7, afterall i'm still in high school and my parents won't spend that amount on money on my pc. And I got 4 GB of RAM last week from my dad so i'ts pointless for me to upgrade to the i5,i7,i9 for now but as soon as I start making my own income its likely to happen :-)

Hyper threading. I read somewhere that you must enable it first or is it enabled out of box?

Okay lets leave the Q9650 Vs The i7 train. Can you tell me if i'll be able to run crysis on max with the following PC specs:

- The Q9650
- 2 X 2Gb DDR2 800Mhz (Dual)
- XfX HD 5870
- 20" Wide Samsung (P2050) I'ts on the small side yes but it kicks my 17"CRT but!!

Crysis on Very High, 4x AA, 8 x AF, average framerate around 50fps, probably 35 minimum. You might even manage Ultra, who knows. Its a pity you bought the screen before consulting with us, because you could have a full HD 23" LCD. But otherwise its a good build, you'll get a lot of enjoyment out of it. Remember to post pics.

[Pshyco]

Crysis on Very High, 4x AA, 8 x AF, average framerate around 50fps, probably 35 minimum. You might even manage Ultra, who knows. Its a pity you bought the screen before consulting with us, because you could have a full HD 23" LCD. But otherwise its a good build, you'll get a lot of enjoyment out of it. Remember to post pics.

I had an look at the 23" HD LCD but could only afford the 20" by the way I got it for only R1200 Leka cheap hey.LOL

I'll post Pics as soon as I am able to do it, I only join the forum yesterday and still need to become a member. Just a quick idea of how I upgraded the past 2 months.

- 17" CRT -- 20" LCD
- 8600 Gt -- HD5870
- 450 Watt Gigabyte -- 700 Watt Ocz Fatal1ty
- 2 GB Ram -- 4GB Ram
- Plain no name chassis -- CM 690 (Red colour scheme)

I'm planning on buying the Cpu early next year because our school gives money to our top 5 academic achievers and I'm planning on comming second and getting leka cash.

[Obi Two Kenobi]

I need some input here folks-

I've had this system for about two years now

E2180 @ 2.22 GHz
512MB 9600 GT
2GB Generic RAM (2x 1GB)
160GB Sata

...And feel like it's time for a performance upgrade. I'd like to know which component(s) should I upgrade in order to give a noticeable performance boost. But, there are a few limitations:

My mobo (Foxconn 45GMX-V) only has two RAM slots, and in the manual, it says only up to 2GB RAM is supported.

And of course, I don't have quite a lot of funds. R1000 max

I fell like getting the E7500. Is this a wise choice? Might I be able to install more than 2 GB of RAM? Or should I just get a new mobo that has more RAM slots?

Oh and I'm running Windows 7 Pro 32bit at the moment.

So, what should should I upgrade and why. Thanx in advance

[Wesley]

I need some input here folks-

I've had this system for about two years now

E2180 @ 2.22 GHz
512MB 9600 GT
2GB Generic RAM (2x 1GB)
160GB Sata

...And feel like it's time for a performance upgrade. I'd like to know which component(s) should I upgrade in order to give a noticeable performance boost. But, there are a few limitations:

My mobo (Foxconn 45GMX-V) only has two RAM slots, and in the manual, it says only up to 2GB RAM is supported.

And of course, I don't have quite a lot of funds. R1000 max

I fell like getting the E7500. Is this a wise choice? Might I be able to install more than 2 GB of RAM? Or should I just get a new mobo that has more RAM slots?

Oh and I'm running Windows 7 Pro 32bit at the moment.

So, what should should I upgrade and why. Thanx in advance

A faster processor won't do that much for you, I'd advise you try overclocking that E2180, it should manage 3Ghz with some motherboards. If your games are already running well, then there's no real need to upgrade now. Maybe save up the cash to buy something really nice next year when prices come down.

You could get another hard drive, go the dual-screen route, get a better keyboard and mouse, buy a really comfy keyboard, or get an Xbox controller for your pc, whichever tickles your fancy. I don't think there's much more space for improvement on your rig without changing more than one thing.

[jasong]

Lol....a 5870 with a 20" LCD. Overkill much do you?