Upgrading my computer

blue02celi

New Member
I bought this computer from someone off of craigslist like 2 or so years ago, and now want to upgrade it but have no idea where to start. I saved the info from the ad, thankfully cause i would have gotten lost trying to figure out what everything was. Im not afraid of opening the case up and doing things myself its just been a really long time since I've actually worked on a computer. Its more for gaming than anything else, I've had microsoft flight simulator X ever since it came out and have never been able to play it so I'd like to get to that point before a new one comes out :)

thanks in advance for any suggestions



CPU- Phenom 9600 Agena 2.3ghz Quad Core (Stock heat sink, runs about 85F idle, Arctic Silver 5 compound applied)

Motherboard- Asus M4A78

Video- ATI Sapphire Radeon 4650 hd w/ (1) gig of onboard ram PCI-E 2.0 graphics card

RAM- Kingston HyperX 4g 800mhz DDR2 w/ heat spreaders (2x2gb)

HDD- Seagate Pipeline 500gb SATA 3.0 (Thermaltake HDD cooling fan included for optimal performance and reliability)

PSU- 500 watt Apevia

CD-RW/DVD- Liteon 20x speed SATA model

Operating System- Vista Home Premium 64-bit

Case- Includes digital readout of system temperature, two 80mm front intake fans, one 80mm exhaust top fan, one 80mm exhaust side fan. All green LED's with UV reactive green SATA cables for HDD and CD-RW/DVD
 

Resurrection

New Member
I'd say the first thing you should get upgraded is the graphics card.

Otherwise you could do a complete overhaul, although I would wait for Bulldozer so theres price pressure on the Sandy Bridge chips. The socket for Nehalem and Athlon/Phenom are a bit aged now.
 

daisymtc

Active Member
Budget?

PSU - Apevia is not really good brand. Upgrade it if you upgrade your video card.

Video card - Depends on your budget.

CPU - Phenom II x4 955 is a good buy. Or you can get Phenom II x6.
 

jamesd1981

Active Member
you processor, memory, psu, hard drive all looks, ok to upgrade your performance yes i agree change the gpu, but you might also consider an upgrade to windows 7 64 bit it is much smoother and more streamlined than vista.
 

blue02celi

New Member
as far as budget I'm lookin to spend about $500, for now anyway, then I can do about the same next month. Tax time seems to be when I get the bug in me to upgrade my computers, so when that comes In I'll have more money to spend, just wasnt sure if upgrading or just starting over was the best option.
 

Resurrection

New Member
as far as budget I'm lookin to spend about $500, for now anyway, then I can do about the same next month. Tax time seems to be when I get the bug in me to upgrade my computers, so when that comes In I'll have more money to spend, just wasnt sure if upgrading or just starting over was the best option.

Or you could dump the whole rig, could still be worth $300.

Then build yourself a spanking new rig with a bit of a top up.
 

blue02celi

New Member
w-2's done, finally came in lol
so I'm starting to make a list of what I want, then I'll start posting as I'm sure I'll have all kinda things not compatible

i WAS gonna just buy a prebuilt but after reading few posts decided to just do it myself
 
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blue02celi

New Member
quick rundown of items I just threw together to start out with. Think I got most of the major items in a cart just to see what this would run me so far, I know I have a few other things I'll have to throw in it but its my start...


CD/DVD- ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

Tower- Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

HDD- Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073

Video- EVGA 012-P3-1570-AR GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130593


RAM- CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8D
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145224


CPU-
Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070

Motherboard- ASUS P8P67 PRO LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131682

PSU- CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

OS- Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754

with what I have listed above so far, I'm at $1400
 
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Red Love X

New Member
Video- MSI N480GTX-M2D15-B GeForce GTX 480 (Fermi) 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127502

The new GTX 570 is as good or better than the old 480, consumes less power, gets WAY less hot, and can be found in a superclocked version from EVGA for $370 or standard for $350.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130593&cm_re=gtx_570-_-14-130-593-_-Product
 

blue02celi

New Member
yeah was inbetween the 480 and the 570/580, tho all of em seem to get up there with the heat, which I know I need to get some kinda cooling in there but thats something I've really never done, the comp I have now has all that cooling/heat sink stuff cause the person I bought it from. also didnt realize that 570 is cheaper
 

Red Love X

New Member
yeah was inbetween the 480 and the 570/580, tho all of em seem to get up there with the heat, which I know I need to get some kinda cooling in there but thats something I've really never done, the comp I have now has all that cooling/heat sink stuff cause the person I bought it from. also didnt realize that 570 is cheaper

I'm currently waiting on an answer to that very question, but with a solid case with good airflow, it shouldn't be a problem. The differences in heat are really astronomical from the benchmarks I've seen.
 

Benny Boy

Active Member
RAM- CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8D
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145224
HDD- Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073
Save about $65 on the RAM. The MB is dual channel. This ECO is very good-C8 as well. 4gb should be enough.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231320
HDD, Samsung F3 is fast and reliable, or the WDB w/ 32 mb cashe is good also. Blue's aren't as good for system partition as those 2.
 

blue02celi

New Member
I'm currently waiting on an answer to that very question, but with a solid case with good airflow, it shouldn't be a problem. The differences in heat are really astronomical from the benchmarks I've seen.

found this system at frozencpu.com
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...ter_Cooling_Kit_Hot_Item.html?tl=g30c321s1310

few vids on youtube that show it being installed, thinking of changing the case I have on the list to something that will hold the radiator on top.

Edit: and just realized it wont fit an LGA 1155... universal my butt
 
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