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upgrading my gaming rig

A

ab11

Member
my gaming rig is about 4 years old now and i've finally decided to upgrade. unfortunately, i haven't been keeping up with new hardware and could desperately use some guidance.

I need a new:

CPU
MOBO
GPU
4 gigs ram (maybe 8?)

i'm thinking about one of these for the cpu:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115037
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115036

but have no clue about mobo or gpu.

I would like to keep everything around $700-$800, but am willing to spend up to $1000 if it seems necessary.

any advice/guidance/input would be greatly appreciated

thanks

 
What games do you play and how big is your monitor? That will have a lot to do with the GPU question, and by extension possible the motherboard. Also, coming from a four-year-old computer you'll probably need to upgrade your power supply as well.

The cookie-cutter recommendation right now is E8400, P45 chipset motherboard, ATI HD4850 and 4GB of DDR2-800. (DDR2-1000 if you intend to overclock the E8400.)

There's a sticky at the top of the forum with suggested gaming parts, you should read through that.
 
For GPU the gold standard as of today where all other cards are compared are the ATI 4850 and the Nvidia 8800GT. these card run around the $150 range and can play just about every game out today at good-very good quality settings.
If you're looking to surpass those cards you can look at the ATI 4870 or Nvidia 280 or look at the different flavors of multi-GPU single cards that are available.

As for Multi Cards you can go with either SLI or Crossfire albeit for a steep price and with only about 10% improvement over the best single card solution. Also be aware the multi card solutions are more work to set up and more buggy if you choose to go that route. A terribly in efficient route if in my opinion.

As for CPU's, Intel is king of the Hill in performance especially with their lineup of 45nm Core2 Duo chips which tout the best overall performance per GHz. But AMD still has probably the best bang for the buck with there lineup of X2 chips priced under $100.

 
Originally posted by: DSF
What games do you play and how big is your monitor? That will have a lot to do with the GPU question, and by extension possible the motherboard. Also, coming from a four-year-old computer you'll probably need to upgrade your power supply as well.

The cookie-cutter recommendation right now is E8400, P45 chipset motherboard, ATI HD4850 and 4GB of DDR2-800. (DDR2-1000 if you intend to overclock the E8400.)

There's a sticky at the top of the forum with suggested gaming parts, you should read through that.
Click to expand...

i bought a new PS 1.5 years ago, i'll check when i get home, but i think its 550W.

why the p45 instead of something cheaper like:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128077

any reason to get 8 gigs?

thanks
 
p45 has some nice newer features like PCI-E 2.0 support and native 1600FSB support. They support the newest CPU's without BIOS updates. They tend to overclock well, are stable, and can be had for maybe 20-40 bucks more than the board you linked above.

No very good reason I know of to get 8 gigs of RAM.
 
Originally posted by: ab11
i bought a new PS 1.5 years ago, i'll check when i get home, but i think its 550W.
Click to expand...
What brand and model? Not all power supplies are created equal, and I wouldn't want to load a no-name PSU with a modern gaming card.

Originally posted by: ab11why the p45 instead of something cheaper like:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128077
Click to expand...
If you're not overclocking and you're only going to run a single graphics card, the P31 is likely all you'll need to pay for. It should be nice and stable and do you just fine.

The average person asking for advice around here commonly fits at least one of the following:
A) Wants to overclock.
B) Wants to run more than one graphics card.
C) Balks at using a budget chipset like the P31.

Originally posted by: ab11any reason to get 8 gigs?
Click to expand...
Not for gaming in my opinion.
 
Originally posted by: DSF
Originally posted by: ab11
i bought a new PS 1.5 years ago, i'll check when i get home, but i think its 550W.
Click to expand...
What brand and model? Not all power supplies are created equal, and I wouldn't want to load a no-name PSU with a modern gaming card.



The average person asking for advice around here commonly fits at least one of the following:
A) Wants to overclock.
B) Wants to run more than one graphics card.
C) Balks at using a budget chipset like the P31.
Click to expand...


I believe its an antec truepower, but i'll verify when i get home

I don't plan on overclocking or using more than one graphics card. any particular reason they balk? (other then lack of overclocking/sli abilities)
 
also, any input on the two cpus? things appear a little cheaper then i expected, i don't mind spending the extra $80, is it worth it?
 
Originally posted by: ab11
also, any input on the two cpus? things appear a little cheaper then i expected, i don't mind spending the extra $80, is it worth it?
Click to expand...

$80 is a pretty bug jump for an extra 0.5 on the multiplier (166MHz at stock) and a bundled game. Move that $80 of your budget to improve a different part of your build, because the E8400 is the standard "gamer" recommendation for price/performance.
 
so, i'm thinking

cpu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115037
$190

mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128077
$65

ram
$80

= $335

so, i have plenty of budget left for GPUs

what should i look at? i'm not willing to waste money on a GPU, but overall value (price: peformance ratio) is more important then price.

possibly one of the below, although spending 440 on a GTX 280 feels silly if the EAH4850 is a good buy at 195:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814121253
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102748
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814133217
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814130370
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814130365
 
What you posted is good, but if you have all that money left over, nothing wrong with spending $100 on a motherboard if it's a little better. I haven't kept up with the motherboard scene so I don't have any recommendations.

Stick with the E8400. I really see no need to go over 4gigs. The HD4850 will more than likely be more than you need. Just pocket the extra money. Or if you want, spend a few bucks more on the motherboard (like I've said above) and maybe get a new HDD if you need one.
 
turns out my current PSU is a Antec true power trio 430W

should i upgrade for the HD4850 (no plans to overclock)
 
With an E8400 and no plans to overclock, that PSU should be OK. If you expand in the future, you'll probably want/need to upgrade the PSU.
 
Originally posted by: ab11
turns out my current PSU is a Antec true power trio 430W

should i upgrade for the HD4850 (no plans to overclock)
Click to expand...

That PSU should be fine.
 
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