To buy a new Pc or upgrade?

T

tank

New Member
Hey, just simply what the title says... i need help on choosing to whether buy/build a new PC or just upgrade the current one.

Here are specs:

Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6002) Service Pack 2 (6002.vistasp2_gdr.120402-0336)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
System Model: Studio XPS 435MT
BIOS: Default System BIOS
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 920 @ 2.67GHz (8 CPUs), ~2.7GHz
Memory: 4086MB RAM

Card name: ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series
Manufacturer: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
Chip type: ATI display adapter (0x9442)
DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_9442&SUBSYS_05021028&REV_00
Display Memory: 2292 MB
Dedicated Memory: 504 MB
Shared Memory: 1787 MB
 
I would agree. It is not that bad as it is. Add some memory (it is running dual channel at best. It is capable of triple channel), a new power supply and a better graphics card and you would be set for a while.
 
Add another 4GB of RAM to get 8GB, then get yourself a better GPU and a better power supply and I reckon you'd be good to go for a little longer.
 
You are overlooking the fact that it is LGA1366. He can either add 1x2 for 6GB or get a 12GB kit for 3x4. That would preserve the triple channel of the board.
 
wolfeking said:
You are overlooking the fact that it is LGA1366. He can either add 1x2 for 6GB or get a 12GB kit for 3x4. That would preserve the triple channel of the board.
Click to expand...

Ah yeah, forgot 1366 was triple-channel. In that case, go 3x4 if you can or if you want to spend less 1x2 to get 6GB would be fine.
 
Ok so i should upgrade and assume it would last a good couple of years?
I dont quite understand whats with the different rams channel but which ones would you recommend? I think the computer has 6 slots and currently is filled with 4x1, if i go 3x4 would the 1gb rams still be usable? and which brand?

Also looking around these days quite a lot of computers and even laptops are on 8gb ram... would 6gb be enough for me? i use my computer for quite a lot of things (photoshop, gaming, music softwares). I mean should i might as well go 12gb? (as you guys mention something about 8gb not running well)
 
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okay, if it is 4x1GB (which does sound like something dell would do) you are in single channel mode. That means in laymans terms that you are getting 1/3 of your ram performance. The easiest thing to do would be to buy a 6GB kit that is 3x2GB and pull one of the 1GB DIMMs and you will end up with 9GB which is plenty for most current programs.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820139660 would be plenty.

You will be fine for a couple of years yes. You are not far behind current. The 900 series is plenty good for another ~3 years or so.

You may also want to update your graphics card and power supply. But again the 4850 should handle pretty much any game out at an acceptable resolution. 4870 will, 4850 should. So if you are happy with it, then it is fine.
 
should be about the same thing. Probably either a aus specific model, or maybe a revision of the same memory. Either way it will work fine.
 
as you mentioned that 4870 is good and i have 4800, would it be better just going to the 5000 series (even 6 or 7) as this computer still has a few years in it? or will there be compatibility issues..

After some searching aswell i see a big price between something like a 4870 and 5450? Or is it just a mistake.
 
No the 4870 is way faster than a 5450. The 5870 was the 4870's replacement and was/is a far superior card. I have a 5870 myself, nice card, you may be able to get one cheap. The 6870 is a newer card and probably the better option though, a 7850 even newer and even better.

It depends how much you want to spend. If you can get a 5870 second hand cheaply, go for it, it's a lot faster than a 4870, but if you want to buy new I'd say a 6870 or a 6950 or maybe a 7850 or a 7870 if you can afford one.

That is of course assuming you want to keep with ATI.
 
You need to determine which 4800 you have. There are only 3 that were made as far as I know. The 4850, 4870, and 4890. All are okay cards. They are about equal to the 5750, 5770, and 5770OC more or less. There is a big difference between the 4870 and the 5450. You are comparing the top of one line to the bottom of another.
If you want to update the card, then a 5850/5870 or 6850+ would be good, or a GTX460+ or GTX560+ would be fine too.
 
i kinda thought it was something like that, how it each series had different ranges in itself. thanks for that

how can i tell it will work on my motherboard though?

Manufacturer Dell Inc.
Model 0R849J (CPU 1)
Chipset Vendor Intel
Chipset Model X58
Chipset Revision 12
Southbridge Vendor Intel
Southbridge Model 82801JR (ICH10R)
Southbridge Revision 00
System Temperature 72 °C
BIOS
Brand Dell Inc.
Version 1.0.12
Date 03/12/2009
Voltage
CPU CORE 1.120 V
MEMORY CONTROLLER 1.040 V
+3.3V 1.104 V
+5V 5.134 V
+12V 13.376 V
-12V -12.288 V
-5V -11.968 V
+5V HIGH THRESHOLD 5.107 V
CMOS BATTERY 3.280 V
 
how would i check that? i thought speccy would at least show it... but is just mentions HD 4800 Series...
 
Best way is to pull off your side panel and see what it says on the card itself. Usually it says on the cooler in big letters.

Wolfe, GPU-Z will also tell him it's a 4800 series, it says my 5870 is just another '5800 series' card, it doesn't know it's a 5870. The only way you can tell is by looking at the number of shaders as that was the main difference betwen the 5830, 5850 and 5870.
 
Then run the graphics tab of CPUz.

Just find it useless to pull the side panel when the OS should be able to tell you.
 
ok il give it a look tomoro getting late here... but i dont think it will matter too much as im gonna upgrade either way. just another question, i notice when i searched up the gpu there were Asus Radeon 6850, XFX 6850 and so on... what does that mean and does it matter which one?
 
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