I Need Help Modifying My Computer

gunmetalTrevan

gunmetalTrevan

New Member
Hey everyone- This is my first post here, so forgive me for being oblivious to anything on this webiste;)

Okay, so I JUST turned 16 about a week ago (in other words, I'm a bit inexperienced) and I want to upgrade my computer. This is what I have currently:

CPU- Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.4GHz
GPU- (msi) ATi Radeon HD 5770 1gb
PSU- TR2 600 watt
RAM- 4GB DDR2
Mobo- p5kpl-cm
HDD- Two SATAs, 160gb & 1TB. (160gb has Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit)

And I want to replace most of the computer with this:

GPU- ATi HD7850 -- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102986
RAM- 8GB DDR3 1600MHz -- http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Venge...X3M2A1600C9/dp/B004CRSM4I/ref=pd_bxgy_e_img_b
CPU- Phenom II X4 965 -- http://www.amazon.com/Phenom-Black-...Q214/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334108268&sr=8-1
Motherboard- ASUS M5A99X Evo -- http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-M5A99X-Evo-6Gbps-Motherboards/dp/B0053YM70Y

Since this is a different chipset, will I need to format my hard drive? Also, since I'm getting over 4gb, I will need a 64bit OS, right?

So if I back up my main hdd to my TB hdd, format the 160gb, put in the new hardware, and then install windows 7 64bit on the 160gb, will it work and will I be able to put the games and files back?

I do HD video and photo editing occasionally and typically play games like BF3, GTA IV, and I suppose DiRT 3 since it comes free with this card I want to get:D. Also I'm not really into overclocking and don't have any special cooling, so keep that in mind.

So, for about $600 (Plus Windows 7) I can make my computer much faster:D (Also, what is the cheapest Windows 7 I can get? It doesn't have to be Ultimate or anything like that).
Any other tips and things I need to know to keep my computer from melting are accepted:)

Thanks.
 
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you need to upgrade to a 64 bit copy of windows. 32 bit can only do 3.5GB including the RAM on the GPU.

And a intel processor will do better.
 
Good. No 100 percent difference on CPU, but big enough. 64 bit win 7 is good. Look into a gtx 480, much bigger difference between 7850. 20 percent difference. Newegg for gtx 480 Evga
 
That's good advice, but it didn't really answer my question. I am going to stick with the 7850 because of the size (dimensions), the power it takes, and it is powerful enough for me. I was asking if my steps are correct. If I do what I wrote above (So if I back up my main hdd to my TB hdd, format the 160gb, put in the new hardware, and then install windows 7 64bit on the 160gb, will it work and will I be able to put the games and files back?) Will my computer be fine or will I have problems?
 
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Okay, thanks. Actually, one mord thing...
I looked into that gtx 480 some more and really considered it, but the minimum recommended power supply is 600 watts and my psu is 600 watts. With the hardware that I CURRENTLY have, could I swap my he 5770 for a gtx 480 without power problems? I have a TR2 600W PSU if you want to look into details.

CPU- Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.4GHz
GPU- (msi) ATi Radeon HD 5770 1gb
PSU- TR2 600 w
RAM- 4GB DDR2
Mobo- p5kpl-cm
HDD- Two SATAs, 160gb & 1TB. (160gb has Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit)
 
I don't think a GTX 480 is actually faster than a Radeon 7850. It's an old card now, two generations old, and the 7850 definitely beats a 470, see here so I have my doubts that a GTX 480 is going to be faster than a Radeon 7850. The 7850 is newer as well and runs much cooler (those 480s ran HOT) so it's the better choice. You want to be as up-to-date as possible - don't go for a two-generation old card.

You need a PSU that's at least 600W and can provide 42A to the +12V rail to run a GTX 480, so I think your current PSU may be pushing it. However, a Radeon 7850 requires much less, only 500W, so with a 7850 you should be OK with your current PSU. You may want to upgrade it to something a bit better though. Thermaltake are OK, but I'd recommend a Corsair, XFX, Seasonic, Antec or OCZ PSU personally. The Corsair TX650 would be a good choice for you.
 
Why the hell would you go from a Q6600 to a 965 and new mobo and a 7850? Total waste of money. The Q6600 was one of the best gaming CPUs and still owns, overclocks like all hell. Replace it with a 965 is retarded, and the 7850 is mediocre.

Spend your money on a GTX570, SSD and Win 64 bit and an extra 4GB DDR2 RAM. Much much bigger performance boost for about the same money.
 
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I say either leave the gpu for later and spend the $600 an a good intel cpu, mobo, and RAM, or only upgrade the gpu (and mabey power supply).
 
I was thinking of just swapping my 5770 for the 7850 and get the rest later. Thanks for the PSU info.

As for bigfella; asking "why the hell would I waste my money" was completely not needed. You didn't read that I don't want to overclock, which is why I want to swap out my q6600. Plus the socket 775 is old and I want to stay more updated. And I'm not a gamer who is greedy for FPS, once again, I said that already- in other words, the 7850 exceeds my needs. Having a constant 30fps in BF3 max is great and the 7850 does more than that (which, by the way, isn't much different from your recommended GTX 570). If I turn down the AA, then I should get well over 60 a lot of the time and average around 50 or more. There's AA deferred and AA post and if I just set it to ultra and the other on 0x, it doesn't look really any different from 4x and it's a hell of a lot faster. And one more thing that points out your lack of reading my conditions before posting, my motherboard doesn't support anything over 4GB DDR2, which is why I wanted a new one, and if I'm getting a new one, I might as well get a faster one. Now please, don't say something that somebody is doing is "retarded," especially when it is actually practical if you read that person's condition.

Also remember that I said I am inexperienced. Although you probably wouldn't know anything about that since it looks like you didn't read anything.
 
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Sorry if you took offense to my previous comments, I wasn't intending to offend.

But really apart from the graphics improvement, your proposed upgrade wont bring you any other real world benefits. Your call though.

The biggest improvement you will get is by installing a SSD. Currently your Q6600 is more than fine for any game and the 5770 will give you your minimum FPS even in BF3. So improving those with the 965 and 7850 is pointless.

An SSD will give you a massive performance boost in everyday computing and gaming, and the extra RAM will help too (BF3 loves around 5GB). Windows 7 64bit is much better and will allow full utilisation of the RAM. Even if you want some slightly more GPU horsepower, consider 5770 in CF. I used to have a 5770 CF rig and it would get 90FPS around about in most games in HD.

All in all the above upgrade would be half the price and more powerful. Spend the remainder on a bigger monitor or new case etc.
 
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While the 7850 and 570 are similar in performance, google AMD cards and BF3. AMD cards get killed with extra AA on, while Nvidia handles it better. Something to consider.

But then again, the extra .75 vRam would help at 1080. Not sure if the 7xxx series fixed the AA issues with BF3.
 
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Sorry to get mad; I was having a bad day hearing my stepdad calling us stupid and saying he was sick of looking at us while we were working outside.

Anyway, I was thinking of doing 5770 CF, but my motherboard doesn't support more than one GPU for PCI Express x16, which is what my 5770 is. If I get a new motherboard, I wanted to get a socket that doesn't limit me to expensive CPUs that don't noticeably change anything from my Q6600. I didn't want to get an Nvidia card because the ones that are par to the 7850 take much more power and I don't want to replace a power supply- that's quite a bit more money for a good one. The only overclocking I do is GPU and I don't do a whole lot of it. I turned my 5770 from 875 to 960 and BF3 kept crashing out of nowhere. Someone online said to underclock 10%, so I did, and I haven't had any problems except for when I turned textures to med and AA post to med just to make it look more decent. With all on low (Reso is 1680x1050, my monitor's max) my fps are all over the place. It ranges from 28 to 60+ depending on my area/ level- games tend to do this to me for some reason. I have a high framerate, but it lags into slower rates for a second every few seconds. BF3 on average I would say gets about 40, but it doesn't look very good. Turning up the graphics (besides shadows and AA def.) hardly affects my FPS but the game crashes.

Anyway, at this point I think I am just going to stick with all of my current hardware but get the 7850 and hold on to that until I get some extra money to get more with my other parts when necessary. A GTX 570 or 480 would be great, too, but they require more power.

I do have another question...
My mobo says it has one PCI Express x16 slot. My friend wants one and his says it has two PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots. My 5770 is 2.1, and the 7850 is 3.0. My mobo doesn't say what kind of x16 on sites, so I don't know if a 3.0 card will work on it. Is there a way to tell or will it work?

Sorry, again for overreacting... :)
 
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