next »

[Please Support Us!]

Please Support Us!

Please help keep (=WDG=) alive

• Server rules
• Forum rules
• Join us
  
• Clan members
• About the clan
• Server stats
• WDG YouTube Channel
• WDG Downloads
• IRC Webchat

Steam groups:

• WDG community
• WDG clan group
• WDG Battlelog Platoon

Our allies:

• [NuB] TF2 clan
• Velocity Gamers Hub
• Destination Gamer

GoG Links:

• Wix Discord
• Wix IRC channel

TF2 Links:

• Official TF2 Blog
• TF2 Steam Forum
• The Fort 2

October 2025

Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa	Su
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30	31
	Birthdays
Chaos (40)
	Upcoming Events
Upcoming Birthdays: Chaos (40)

[Hzza]

Seeing as my build me a PC thread was so damn popular *cough* I wanted your guys help in upgrading said system.

I'm looking to upgrade to i5 in the next 6-12 months but due to a shortage of cash need to go in stages; obviously, mobo/CPU/OS will need to be in one lump, then I'm looking at graphics card and (maybe) RAM for the other stage.
What would be the best way around of doing it? I was thinking up until this morning of getting the graphics card first and then putting up with a bottleneck for 6 months until I could afford the rest, but then it occured to me that I might be able to get a bit more milage out of my 4850 and upgrade mobo etc first. This way around would also allow me to wait and see a little bit longer on the graphics card front and maybe get something a bit cheaper/save more money and get something better . This would then shift the bottleneck to the graphics card and I'm not really sure which way around would be the bigger PITA tbh...

Current specs are -
Intel core 2 Duo E8400
Lanparty DK P45-T2RS+
Genero DDR2
ATI 4850 1024mb

Haven't really thought that much about components yet (except graphics card, looking at a 5850 or something thereabouts), but in theory, what would be the best way around of upgrading do you guys think? Also, bear in mind that this isn't going to be for at least 3-4 months which is why I haven't really looked at components yet but looking at around £600 total spend, all in. Don't need any other components, literally just looking at mobo, cpu, os and graphics card, maybe some RAM too, depending on how much I manage to get saved .

edit - I miss Chaos

[Ringelbeatz]

due to the 6-12 month deadline I will post my answer in 4-8 weeks.

[Nineblade]

[Millicent Bystander]

I have the same processor as you and I'm hoping it'll last another year at least

If you are going for an i3/i5/i7 system you'll need DDR3 RAM.

damn, customers, will edit later

[DeadlyAvenger]

Completely pointless giving you any kind of recommendation until you're ready to buy. 6-12 months is a long time and I'd expect large price fluctuations and new kit to be out by then.

*IF* on the other hand you were looking to make an upgrade now, you'd probably be looking at getting a new CPU/Mobo/RAM + OS as you'd need a new CPU, which has a different socket so you'd need a new motherboard and the new motherboards use DDR3 so you need those 3 as a combo for a decent upgrade.

Saw this deal which looks to be an absolute bargain:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/222520

(AMD Hex (6) Core CPU, Motherboard, 4Gb DDR3 RAM and Windows 7 for £430)

Leaves you with £170 for a new graphics card. You could get a 5830 for that, or wait until you've got an extra £50 for a 5850.

Simples.

[Hzza]

Didn't realise DDR3 was a requirement, which changes things quite a bit...

Like I said, the plan was to kind of do a 50/50 upgrade, but now more and more is falling on the mobo/cpu/os side it seems like its going to be easier just to wait and do it all in one crack next year. Cheers bitches <3.

Although that AMD bundle is mighty tempting...

[DeadlyAvenger]

Well I was looking at getting one of those CPU's and motherboards, which was going to be about £315, then about £90 or so for 4Gb DDR3 RAM, then you've pretty much got Windows 7 thrown in with that deal.

The AMD also does better than the i5 in benchmarks according to this:

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html
i7 920 - 5572 marks (for comparison)
1055 - 5150 marks
i5 750 - 4209 marks

You should be able to overclock whatever you get to about 3.8/4Ghz with a decent cooler as well.

[Zarf]

You're going to need to go DDR3 unfortunately, which is added expense.
Does that £600 total include the graphics card?

How about -
Gigabyte GA-P55-M-UD2 - £88  (or Asus P7P55D if you need more PCI-E slots)
Intel Core i5 750 2.66GHz - £150
Corsair XMS3 4GB - £82
Prolimatech Megahalems rev B cooler - £40
Akasa AK-FN059 120mm Ultra Quiet Viper Cool Fan - £15
Windows 7 Home Premium - £100
Total £475, which should leave just enough to get a GTX 460 in a few months time, or maybe a 5850 if the prices drop when the 6000 series starts launching.

ATi's next gen (6000 series) on 28nm should be putting out low end cards at the end of the year, and high end cards in the spring, which should be at least twice the performance of the high end 5800's.

You could save £30 by getting the OEM version of Win7, but it might cause you hassle when upgrading components in the future.

[Hzza]

Not really interested in specing for parts tbh, as I don't have the cash to build it yet and don't want blue eBalls . I just wanted to get an idea of which parts to upgrade in what order, but as changing chip = changing near enough everything I think I'm just going to get the 5850 when I can afford it, then do the i5 changeover at the arse end of next year when I've saved up some disposable monies.

[Zarf]

Not really interested in specing for parts tbh, as I don't have the cash to build it yet and don't want blue eBalls . I just wanted to get an idea of which parts to upgrade in what order, but as changing chip = changing near enough everything I think I'm just going to get the 5850 when I can afford it, then do the i5 changeover at the arse end of next year when I've saved up some disposable monies.

Why not drop in a second hand Core2Quad, you can get some good deals on eBay (~£70 for a q6600), and get almost all of that back when you sell the e8400.
With a decent overclock it'll be all the CPU you need for another 18+ months.

I'm running a 3Ghz Q6600, 8800GTX, 8GB RAM.  Even gaming at 1920x1200 I've not found any games making me feel I need to upgrade yet, Everything I throw at it runs on pretty settings with smooth framerates.

There's no call for the current gen on CPU's and Graphics cards unless you're playing with 3D and/or multi-monitor resolutions.

[Hzza]

That was going to be an option but I'm not sure I trust eBay. Most of the chips on there atm look like they've been OC'd/lapped and I don't really want to drop £70 on a borked chip. Unless you know of some reputable sellers I'll give it a miss I think .

[Millicent Bystander]

I don't think you'd get any noticable perfomance gain with a Q6600.  You'd probably do better overclocking your current chip and getting a new graphics card.  More RAM is always good too but if you are going to upgrade to a DDR3 system there is no point.

If you are running Vista Windows 7 will be noticably faster too (and I haven't noticed any probs with the OEM 64 bit version).  Sticking your OS on a SDD would speed things up too.

[Zarf]

I don't think you'd get any noticable perfomance gain with a Q6600.  You'd probably do better overclocking your current chip and getting a new graphics card.  More RAM is always good too but if you are going to upgrade to a DDR3 system there is no point.

Nah, that was the case 3-4 years ago, but the age of dual cores is over. I run a cpu monitor on my second screen, and almost all games nowadays put all four cores to use.

If you are running Vista Windows 7 will be noticably faster too (and I haven't noticed any probs with the OEM 64 bit version).  Sticking your OS on a SDD would speed things up too.

The license for an OEM version is to run windows on a specific PC, if you change motherboards you won't be allowed to reactivate it.
I don't know if this has been hacked or worked around, but if you're going to break the license anyway you may as well just pirate it to begin with.

[DeadlyAvenger]

If you are running Vista Windows 7 will be noticably faster too (and I haven't noticed any probs with the OEM 64 bit version).  Sticking your OS on a SDD would speed things up too.

The license for an OEM version is to run windows on a specific PC, if you change motherboards you won't be allowed to reactivate it.
I don't know if this has been hacked or worked around, but if you're going to break the license anyway you may as well just pirate it to begin with.

Lies. You just have to ring up the activation phone number and enter a code, it'll ask you how many computers you have installed it on, you press 1 and it gives you the activation code. I did this 5/6 times when I was using Vista and I did it yesterday when I got my new motherboard/CPU/RAM at the weekend.

Also...
Prolimatech Megahalems rev B cooler - £40
Akasa AK-FN059 120mm Ultra Quiet Viper Cool Fan - £15
Why drop £55 on that when you can get a Titan Fenrir for £35 which is one of the best aircoolers available on the market.

And hzza...
Don't buy stuff on eBay, I just bought my new bits and sold my CPU on the bit-tech forums - no problems and quicker than eBay.

[Zarf]

Lies. You just have to ring up the activation phone number and enter a code, it'll ask you how many computers you have installed it on, you press 1 and it gives you the activation code. I did this 5/6 times when I was using Vista and I did it yesterday when I got my new motherboard/CPU/RAM at the weekend.

Ah, so the phone system gets around it? Good to know. I've never had to buy a copy myself.

Also...
Prolimatech Megahalems rev B cooler - £40
Akasa AK-FN059 120mm Ultra Quiet Viper Cool Fan - £15
Why drop £55 on that when you can get a Titan Fenrir for £35 which is one of the best aircoolers available on the market.

I read the Fenrir isn't as efficient at cooling so you can't clock as high, and is relatively noisy under loads. Depends how much he wants to overclock really.
I'm a big fan of quiet systems.

And hzza...
Don't buy stuff on eBay, I just bought my new bits and sold my CPU on the bit-tech forums - no problems and quicker than eBay.

Forums are great, I usually use the OCUK system - you need to be an active poster for a few months before you can get access, but it means you can trust the people there.