Final Inquiry ($800 budget)... Claptonman???

T

TJoshX

New Member
Hey guys,

So I made a post not too long ago about exploring upgrading my current desktop vs simply starting over... this is what I am currently running...

Mother Board: GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2H AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Black Edition Processor ADO5000DSWOF

Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GT

RAM: OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2RPR800C44GK

Cooling Fan: ZALMAN CNPS9500A-LED 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...k=ZALMAN CNPS9500A-LED 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler

Power Supply: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible ...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004

Hard Drive: SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD321KJ 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152054

Case: GIGABYTE 3D AURORA GZ-FSCA1-ANB Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811233002

At first I was considering simply upgrading my CPU and Graphics Card, but I've decided if I'm going to invest any kind of money I may as well just do it right and put it toward a rig that'll last me a considerable amount of time. I have attached links to the components in my current PC that I am assuming are still usable? Please if you would check them out and correct me if I am wrong on this...

From what I hear/read the clear choice of route for building a PC these days is the Intel Core i5 2500k? Oh I'm looking to use the computer for gaming... Mass Effect, Kingdoms of Amalur, Dragon Age, Diablo 3...

Claptonman... you recommended this to me about a month ago...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...na&AID=10521304&PID=4169961&SID=16rnq3azuj6vl

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...na&AID=10521304&PID=4169961&SID=1q9p0dt10cfuf

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-na&AID=10521304&PID=4169961&SID=rzyre8w632fu

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...na&AID=10521304&PID=4169961&SID=1qinzv3hhzvat

As of now though, that Graphics card is no longer in stock, and we had discussed I should probably jump to some RAM with a heat-sink but never decided upon which one to go with...

Again, my budget is in the 700.00-800.00 range. I will not need to purchase new operating system hardware.

Also, I am interested in these SSD's... I am very unfamiliar with them, but from what I am gathering I can install one along side my current Hard Drive, and just install my OS and perhaps the current game I am playing at that time on it so they run/load faster? That being said... how big of an SSD should I look to get? Should I even consider it at this point or hold off until later? I am the most interested in building a quality machine that will last me many years (5+ years) and be handle my games sufficiently as opposed to cramming the most parts I can into it for the least amount of money... so if the SSD will drastically take away from a better core component i'd rather pass I guess...

Please let me know your thoughts, I really appreciate it...

Oh Claptonman, I referenced you in the title because you were the first to offer a hand in my previous thread and offered me some great input. I was hoping to just send you a private message, but I can't seem to figure out how to do so here... is it even possible? Anyways, hoping you'll chime in again and all other obvious welcome as well... the more the merrier!

Cheers,

Josh
 
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1. None of your 4 links work that claptonman recommended you
2. You can't pm anyone until you have 100 posts.
 
johnb35 said:
1. None of your 4 links work that claptonman recommended you
Click to expand...

Thanks, I just fixed the links... should be all set now.

Oh, if I want to hook my computer up to a 32inch or perhaps bigger Flat Screen TV do I need anything specific to do so?

Cheers
 
I was very confused when I saw that... but I'm glad to help!

For the SSD, yes, you can use it for the OS and a couple of choice programs, and use the HDD for games and media.

You can get away with 32GB, but you have to be very careful what you put on it and keep track if it gets too full.

Right now for your budget, I wouldn't recommend it. That being said, when you do upgrade, you'll have to reinstall windows.

A couple of things. You can salvage some of the parts. The hard drive should still be good (Might wanna scan it with a diagnostic tool beforehand) and same with your power supply. (if its not too old) Same with your case. Its not the greatest (No cable management, but if you'd rather spend the money on the inside and upgrade later, that'd be an option.) You can reuse your CPU cooler, only if you find the bracket for intel 1155 as it says in the details on newegg. Is your DVD drive SATA?

So here's an updated list, going by the $700-800 range not including hard drive, PSU, Case, CPU cooler (Not needed unless overclocking) or DVD drive, if you have that still.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...na&AID=10521304&PID=4169961&SID=16rnq3azuj6vl
(I'm not too keen on motherboard, but my friend has this one and he hasn't had a problem.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231546
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127608
(2GB model, better than the one I had before, in stock)

Total is $655. That'll leave you $100 for either a new case, SSD, or a new power supply.

That's just one of the many thousands of combos of builds. Hope that helps!
 
Cool, thanks for the response...

My current power supply is 5 years old. I built my current PC in 2007... not sure if this might pose a problem. How can I run a diagnostic on it?

Second, if I were to pick up another case I am assuming there are some better than others? Are there a few that immediately come to mind?

Also what is the performance difference from a 2GB GTX 550 Ti vs a 2GB GTX 560Ti... considerable or just specs to brag about?

Cheers,

Josh
 
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560ti kills the 550ti, if you don't want to spend that much money then go for a HD6870.

For a case, the cooler master haf series are very popular and good, and start at 60, then the brands lian li, corsair, and nzxt are all great,
 
Thanks for the response...

I wasn't questioning the Graphics Card because I simply didn't want to spend that kind of money, rather I didn't want to spend 100.00 more on a card and get just marginal performance... I'll definitely go with the 560ti...

Further, what is the difference between the 1GB and 2GB cards performance wise?
 
It is not about how speed is video card by have a lot of vRAM (video card RAM) But the more vRAM memory the more graphics stored. Good for AutoCAD and dual monitor gaming. Plus, with 8 GB RAM, you might get about 4 to 6 GB for video card from dxdiag because of vRAM and RAM work together.

I have 9600 GT one GB vRAM and 8 GB RAM. I got 4 GB for my video card.
 
TJoshX said:
Thanks for the response...

I wasn't questioning the Graphics Card because I simply didn't want to spend that kind of money, rather I didn't want to spend 100.00 more on a card and get just marginal performance... I'll definitely go with the 560ti...

Further, what is the difference between the 1GB and 2GB cards performance wise?
Click to expand...

Right now a 1gb card works well, but games are starting to use more vram and you want 1.5gb+ to be ready for the next few years. But the vram stores all the info, and using a higher resolution (1920x1080 or higher) uses a lot of memory. A higher resolution means the image processed is bigger, so it also takes more memory.

And you might want to order the rest and wait a week or 2 for the graphics card, the HD7850 should be out very soon, and depending on the price, it would be well worth it if it costs within 30 of the 560ti 2gb, since it is 2gb, uses less power, creates less heat, and is more powerful

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/549?vs=547

and you could wait for the GTX600's, but those are anywhere from 2 weeks to a month or more away from now.
 
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