Computer upgrade!

[Raistlin Majere]

Hey all, needing a little input on computer upgrading. I haven't been following the latest developments very actively, so would appreciate the feedback.

My current computer isn't bad by any means, but I'm feeling like beefing it up a little. Currently I believe it has an AMD 1.6(or 1.8)ghz dual core processor, Geforce 8800 graphics card, 4gbs of ram, etc. However, I find it still lags in some eye candy games, and now that I happen to have some excess cash(like thats possible ), i want to get rid of those lags!

So bottom line: It's going to be a gaming machine, all the way. I've been thinking I'd hop on the quad-core band wagon, so my first question is, should I go AMD or Intel for the purpose of gaming? I remember ages ago people saying that AMD goes with Geforce, while Intel goes better with the ATI Radeon cards. Seeing as my current graphics card is a Geforce 8800GTS, should I stick to AMD? Reason I wonder about this is the overclocking possibilities of the Intel Cards..

I suppose I would also have to update my motherboard to house the quad-core processor.

In terms of memory, I believe I have DDR2 ram at the moment, but I read atleast the AMD motherboard requires DDR3 ram, so I'm assuming I'd have to upgrade that as well?


On a final note, what is the actual difference between dual-core and quad-core? No overly technical stuff as that effort will no doubt be lost on me, but in terms of gaming, is there a noticeable improvement? Or should I just consider buying a better dual-core and more RAM, for example? While I'm in the mood for spending money now, if it turns out I waste a ton and end up with very little improvement, I doubt I'd feel very good about myself afterwards.

Thanks in advance people!

[SpiritWarrior]

Your bottleneck is indeed your core. A dual core has 2 cores working, and quad has 4 of them. Multitasking is better as they go up. Sometimes it is overkill though.

I would go with a good 3ghz or more Intel Core Duo (2 cores) and around 3 gigs ram atm (with slots to get more when needed). Then get a good fast video card with around 1gb (or more) onboard memory, and a nicely railed PSU to power the thing. SLI is nice but not essential and is used less than you'd think. Still, putting two last generation cards (say 2 9800gt's) in an SLI setup will have you set for quite sometime, even as new technology is released.

I would almost shy away from "upgrading" and consider just buying/building a brand new rig. With an SLI ready mobo, a set of two new video cards, and a new processor alongside some faster ram and a PSU that can power the beast...well, you're practically rebuilding the thing anyways. Either sell your current rig or sell the parts and build it yourself or buy direct from dell or something.

[Raistlin Majere]

Thing is, I bought a brand new box that I'm quite fond of, power supply is pretty state of the art(bought it since my old one couldnt handle the last upgrade). I might just go with a nice dual core then, and maybe upgrade ram a bit.

I'm also going for a widescreen Full HD monitor, since I can't really fit a TV into my room. I want to see games/movies/tv in HD, just my thing Does that mean I need a special graphics card for it?

[SpiritWarrior]

You'd need a card that can render HD and one that can render it well. Some on the low end do technically, but not very well and can result in a signifigant performance hit. Movies etc. aren't a big issue in this respect, but games are.

If you are attached to what you have now, upgrade the ram (the amount you have is fine), the mobo and the video card. Make sure your PSU can handle the new card. There are also low-power consumption cards out of current generation models, requiring less PSU leverage than normal. May be something to keep in mind. Again, if you're updating the mobo (to cater to your dual core switch), ram and card...and possibly the PSU, you're far better off just building a new one, and selling that for $$ as a second rig. This will, in turn, fun your new one. If all this is being changed there won't be much left to keep other than the casing and fans really. Just my thoughts on it.

[Raistlin Majere]

I'll definately keep it in mind then, I have 2 months to think about it before I return to finland Thanks for your input Spirit!

[ElfBane]

What you want will be easiest done with a new rig. But, if you don't want to go that way, it can be done. Some possible bumps;

1. Upgrading the mobo *without* doing a clean OS install will almost certainly cause a re-install of needed drivers and a re-activation of Windows(if you use windows).
2. If you hope to have more than 4GBs of RAM in the future, I believe you will need a 64 bit OS.
3. You will absolutely LOVE a widescreen monitor. BUT, if you play a lot of older games...they will look funny on the screen unless the game can be run in a window, or can be modded with a widescreen mod.

[Raistlin Majere]

Ok, would it be completely overkill to buy the following "bundle";

Intel Core i7 870, 2.93Ghz, LGA1156, 8MB, Boxed

2 x Asus GeForce GTX 275 896MB GDDR3, 2xDVI, HDCP

Asus P7P55D Pro, LGA1156, P55, DDR3, Crossfire X & SLI, ATX

The pricetag is a a bit steep: €1059. But I'm pretty sure that would cater to my gaming needs for a good while This option would require getting some older components sold first though, since the widescreen would set me back some more...There was also a tempting offer as follows;

BenQ 24" TFT G2420HD, Full HD, 2ms, HDMI/DVI/VGA, Musta

Logitech G15 Keyboard

Logitech G5 mouse

Windows 7 Premium 64bit OEM käyttöjärjestelmä

F-Secure Internet Scurity 2010, firewall / virus radar(translated from finnish) 1 year license.

Installation of operating system, anti virus and drivers(i could do all that myself, but i find it tedious, and since its included.. )

This would be for a price of €519, so all in all I would be set back €1578, if my mathematical skills still work properly. The prices may come down a bit during the next 2 months, but probably not much.

This would leave me with a EVGA Geforce 8800GTX, AMD Athlon X2(probably something like 1.8ghz) and a 19 inch flat screen monitor to sell off...that would maybe get me 400-500 if i got lucky. Not sure, never sold off used stuff before :p

I think if I bought these three components, then I could fairly easily pull off an old fashioned computer upgrade..

Of course I COULD just go ahead and by a ready made computer, but I get the feeling they're just not meeting my specific needs in the price range.

Edit: I should add that my main concern with this would be whether or not my cooling capabilities would be sufficient.

[SpiritWarrior]

Well for that pricetag yes, you could indeed buy yourself a nice new shiny gaming rig. Like a Dell XPS or Alienware or something. The added bonus is you'd get warranty, new batteries, new fans, new frames, new everything. You'd also get a case and aerodynamic frame that can ventilate properly. These are all the rage now. The downside is it might be a bit more expensive than "upgrading" but not by too much.

I would at least forget about the second bundle right now. Win 7 is still iffy - you'll hear much debate on this - but as a gamer, always wait a few months to a year before switching to a brand newly released OS. So your favourite games and their develepors can work out the bugs and patch their games to work.
Firewalls are usually more annoying than helpful while gaming and online gaming, and even more so when you have to buy them. The monitor, eh if you really want it. Personally, I think that second bundle consists more of things you don't need rather than things you do need to get your gaming on.

[Raistlin Majere]

Meh, now you guys have me all excited about building a rig from scratch And you aren't wrong, the second bundle is mostly just useless stuff with a high price tag..

I had a look at alienware desktops, but I don't think the performance quite correlates with the pricetags..

If I built a rig from scratch, it would probably look as follows;

CM Storm Sniper Black Edition ATX-Case, Black €163(there was also an alternative @€69 euros, but didnt look as cool )

AsRock P55-PRO(LGA1156 support) mobo €105

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHZ 1333MHz 6M S775 €152
OR
Intel CORE 2 QUAD Q9650, 3.0GHz, 12MB, S775 €286
-> since you guys seem to favor the Duo, I might just save a 120 on that and go with a duo

Chieftec 750W "Super Series" ATX-PSU / Cable management €79(same price as a 650W for some reason)

X2 Asus Ati Radeon HD 4890, 1GB, PCI-E, GDDR5 €358

Samsung SpinPoint 3.5" 750GB SATAII 32MB 7200rpm €67

Corsair 2x2GB, DDR2 1066MHz(since apparently DDR3 doesnt make a difference on a dualcore)

So all in all, this would amount to €1038, which I see as an acceptable price really. Considering I might get 300-500 covered from my old rig. I could install my old Vista on it, I think it's a 64-bit edition too. Throw in a fullhd widescreen monitor adding €160 and the total spending would still be around 600-800. I'm starting to find that the most attractive option.

If there's any major conflicts in the plan, please let me know

[Larry_OHF]

Originally Posted by Raistlin Majere I remember ages ago people saying that AMD goes with Geforce, while Intel goes better with the ATI Radeon cards.

You remember that opposite from what I remember. I remember reading that a GeForce is better with Intel and specifically I remember reading in the original Neverwinter Nights forum of an issue with the graphics if you were using an Intel machine with a Radeon card.

At the local Intrex PC store, the guys there have told me that ATI is the choice for gamers (take that for what you will), but I am a GeForce fan anyway. I think for a time, the Radeon was performing better than GeForce and the idea stuck long enough to get a reputation so that GeForce was supposedly only preferred in the professional or the typical home-use setting and ATI was for gaming. However, I believe things have changed despite that hype still lingering, and that GeForce is again on top for gamers.