ThunderPeel2001 Posted August 3, 2011 Unfortunately, it's really only worth upgrading at this point if you're going to do the whole chipset at once (Mobo, CPU, RAM). I guess if you really wanted to squeeze as much out without doing that, you could get one of the Intel Core 2 Extreme processors and try them out. Not really a good long term choice, I have to stress. Ah, yes. I wonder what the cheapest band-for-buck chipset currently is, then? (I'll do some research.) (Oddly enough I asked this question on SuperUser.com and before it got closed for being too open-ended, everyone was focusing on my harddrives... Weird!) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
subbes Posted August 3, 2011 Was it SSDs? SU is in love with SSDs lately. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Patters Posted August 3, 2011 Hmph. Sorry to continue this, but I now I think my machine is being held back by the rest of its four year old components. I don't really want to spend a huge amount turning it into a beast of a machine, instead I'd rather just like to cheaply bring it up to date... if at all.Does anyone here have an idea of what the least amount of components I could replace to bring it closer to the level of my graphics card? Or to put it another way: Is there a bottleneck, and if so, how do I reduce it? PROC: Intel E6600 Core2Duo 2.40GHz RAM: 4GB (4x1GB) CorsairTwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800) MOBO: Gigabyte 965P-DS3P (1333MHz FSB) GFX: MSI R6870 Hawk (ATI Radeon HD 6870) 1GB HD: 2x 400 Gb Seagate ST3400620AS Barracuda 7200.10 (RAID 1) You could go for a Phenom II X4 processor on a AM2+ board, keeping your ram usable., or perhaps an Athlon II X4. It's the cheapest viable way to go for a quad core at this point (probably in the region of £130). The 955 I have is still going strong without me needing to overclock it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderPeel2001 Posted August 3, 2011 Was it SSDs? SU is in love with SSDs lately. Yes! Now you're making me thinking something suspicious is going on. Are SSD manufacturers trying to socially influence buying? :-/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
subbes Posted August 3, 2011 Nah, it's just a "brand new toy" thing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderPeel2001 Posted August 3, 2011 You could go for a Phenom II X4 processor on a AM2+ board, keeping your ram usable., or perhaps an Athlon II X4. It's the cheapest viable way to go for a quad core at this point (probably in the region of £130). The 955 I have is still going strong without me needing to overclock it. Yeah, I was looking at AMD Athlon II X3 460 Asus M4A87TD EVO 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3-1333 Based on Ars Technica's guide. Comes to £182 :-/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gwardinen Posted August 3, 2011 I would note you currently have DDR2 RAM, and it might well be fairly cheap to upgrade to a similar amount of DDR3 RAM. Chances are to see a real change you'd still have to also change your CPU, and if you're changing both memory and CPU it might be worth going all the way and changing your motherboard, as JonCole said. I doubt your hard drive is slowing anything down, except for the fact that after four years it's probably full of crap. An SSD would of course be faster, but they're still very expensive per MB by comparison to a standard hard drive. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Patters Posted August 3, 2011 Yeah, I was looking at AMD Athlon II X3 460 Asus M4A87TD EVO 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3-1333 Based on Ars Technica's guide. Comes to £182 :-/ From OC UK AMD Athlon II X4 Quad Core 640 3.00GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail Gigabyte GA-M68MT-S2 (AM3) Motherboard - Retail OCZ Gold 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Low-Voltage Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3G1333LV4GK) £147.37shipped. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JonCole Posted August 3, 2011 You could go for a Phenom II X4 processor on a AM2+ board, keeping your ram usable., or perhaps an Athlon II X4. It's the cheapest viable way to go for a quad core at this point (probably in the region of £130). The 955 I have is still going strong without me needing to overclock it. I concur, a Phenom II X4 is exactly what I did when I was doing a similar half-generational jump you were considering, TP. I also managed to snag a mobo for a pretty low price ($40 or something) and the upgrade slid just under $300. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Murdoc Posted October 25, 2011 Howdy all! So my graphics card decided to take a dump last night and wont work. The good thing about this was that was the one component in my computer that needed to be replaced the most. This thread is a couple months old, so I am sure the standards have already changed(maybe?) But could anyone recommend a good card these days for not a lot of cash. Looking to spend $250-$300(Canadian), but preferably under, don't mind going a little over. I just don't want to spend top dollar. Looking at the Geforce 570s, but there's few reviews on the site I usually buy from. Seems like everyone is recommending Radeons right now... is that right? I was never in the ATI camp, always went with Nvidia. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Patters Posted October 25, 2011 Howdy all! So my graphics card decided to take a dump last night and wont work.The good thing about this was that was the one component in my computer that needed to be replaced the most. This thread is a couple months old, so I am sure the standards have already changed(maybe?) But could anyone recommend a good card these days for not a lot of cash. Looking to spend $250-$300(Canadian), but preferably under, don't mind going a little over. I just don't want to spend top dollar. Looking at the Geforce 570s, but there's few reviews on the site I usually buy from. Seems like everyone is recommending Radeons right now... is that right? I was never in the ATI camp, always went with Nvidia. If you can get a 570 for that price go for it, it's a great card, if not then you are looking at either a 560ti or an AMD 6950, both are great cards. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Murdoc Posted October 25, 2011 Cool, thanks,Patters. I'm sure anything will be better then my old/fried 8800, but just wanted to raise the possibility there could be something better or this is just a dud in the line. On the plus side, I might be able to play Skryim on the PC now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Patters Posted October 25, 2011 Cool, thanks,Patters. I'm sure anything will be better then my old/fried 8800, but just wanted to raise the possibility there could be something better or this is just a dud in the line. On the plus side, I might be able to play Skryim on the PC now. The Skyrim requirements just came out and they are incredibly low. All 3 cards are well above recommended (will run the game well at high settings). From a few NA sources I've heard of the 570 being below $300 USD, maybe CAD too, but I cannot be sure. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Murdoc Posted October 25, 2011 Oh yeah it is, thats why I mentioned it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
miffy495 Posted October 26, 2011 Jesus, have all three of us had 8800s melt in the past few months? Wonder if there's something up there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gwardinen Posted October 26, 2011 I had an 8800 die too... not sure on the exact timing now, at least a few months ago, maybe as much as a year. Bought it in late 2006 or early 2007. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Patters Posted October 26, 2011 Jesus, have all three of us had 8800s melt in the past few months? Wonder if there's something up there. 8800s did this a surprising amount. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brannigan Posted October 26, 2011 I replaced my 8800 just in time actually, I built a PC for my mother and used my old 8800 instead of buying a new card, thing died within a week. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JonCole Posted October 26, 2011 My girlfriend has my old 8800gt and it seems to be going strong. Might start running a temperature monitor just to be safe after reading all this shit, though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brannigan Posted October 26, 2011 My girlfriend has my old 8800gt and it seems to be going strong. Might start running a temperature monitor just to be safe after reading all this shit, though. I had my 8800 for a good 3-4 years before it pooped, dunno if I'd worry that much Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderPeel2001 Posted October 26, 2011 I had my 8800 for a good 3-4 years before it pooped, dunno if I'd worry that much Same here. It lasted about as long as I imagined it would. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thompson Posted October 26, 2011 I bought an 8800gt in 2007, it's now in a second computer and still going strong. Believe me, it got USED. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderPeel2001 Posted October 26, 2011 I bought an 8800gt in 2007, it's now in a second computer and still going strong. Believe me, it got USED. I give it a week. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Murdoc Posted October 26, 2011 (edited) I had an 8800 die too... not sure on the exact timing now, at least a few months ago, maybe as much as a year. Bought it in late 2006 or early 2007. Yeah I had mine for what seems like forever, it was in two different builds of mine. So its not like this comes as a surprise. I even had a weird memory last night that I need to check up on, but I think the cpu fan made too much memory and I unplugged it at one point... that was over a year ago. hehe. *** I guess I got mixed up, a 570 was a bit more then I wanted to spend and the nerd in me always wants to just spend a lot more for a little better... which is why I hate upgrading these things because it just snow balls and I never get any use out of it. But ah well. Hopefully will be here next week. Edited October 26, 2011 by Murdoc Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elmuerte Posted October 26, 2011 Oo... I replaced a 8800GT earlier this year because it died. It was a little over 3 years old. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites