GAH! i need help.... too many choices

[foREVer616uk]

okay so its upgrade time with my pc but i cant seem to finde a decent CPU and GFX Card, ive currently got the AMD 9600B quad core phenom. and i want to upgrade to Phenom II, i have the ATI Radeon HD5550, my cpu socket is AM2+ but i cannot for the life of me fond a Phenom II Cpu for that socket, im looking at upgrading the GFX card to the HD 5770 not a great diffrence but i dnt know if it is compatible :S, my Mobo is a saphire PE-AM2RS690V2 - PURE Element 690V, i have 4 gB of DDR2 any help or advice would be great

 

[Yami]

You can put AM3 CPUs in the AM2+ socket. This is why there no are no specific Phenom II CPUs for the AM2+ socket.
Socket AM3 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As AM3 processors also support DDR2, they are backwards-compatible with Socket AM2/AM2+, contingent upon a BIOS update for the motherboard.

What budget do you have for these upgrades?

Here's a CPU suggestion.
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition 3.4GHz Socket AM3.. | Ebuyer.com
There are slightly higher-clocked versions of it but they're not really worth the extra money. Same with the six-core versions.

What power supply do you have? The build quality, wattage and amperage of it will decide how good of a GPU upgrade you will be able to get.

 

[foREVer616uk]

OMG! Thank you i never knew that! well in that case i have the budget of £500.

 

[Yami]

If you have a £500 budget then you can go the Intel route, and get much better performance. You'd be much better off getting this, since while an AM3 CPU will function in an AM2 motherboard, it will be held back and you won't get the full performance.

CPU+RAM £177.59 https://secure.scan.co.uk/aspnet/Shop/AddToBasket.aspx?WebProductId=1568711
Mobo £113 https://secure.scan.co.uk/aspnet/shop/addtobasket.aspx?webproductid=1438872
GPU £120 https://secure.scan.co.uk/aspnet/Shop/AddToBasket.aspx?WebProductId=1568989

That's £411.17 in total (inc. VAT and shipping), plus you could probably sell your old CPU/RAM/Mobo/GPU.

If you think 4GB RAM isn't enough (it probably is though), you can get this CPU+RAM combo which has 8GB
CPU+RAM 2 £196.79 https://secure.scan.co.uk/aspnet/Shop/AddToBasket.aspx?WebProductId=1568712
That will up the total cost to £430.37

I still need to know what power supply you have, as the 6870 will need two PCI-E power connections which weaker and/or cheaper power supplies won't have.

If you don't end up needing a power supply then I can recommend how you can put the extra £90 to good use

 

[foREVer616uk]

I am not 100% on the make but i know its a 750w and that sounds pretty awsome .... also sorry to be a pain any ideas on how to do a flash bios up date?

 

[Yami]

I am not 100% on the make but i know its a 750w and that sounds pretty awsome ....

If you could open the case up (with the computer off) and find any details you can written on the power supply (I just need the brand and model since then I can just find the specs online). 750W is a good indicator but doesn't mean I can guarantee you that it will do everything you need.

also sorry to be a pain any ideas on how to do a flash bios up date?

How to Update Your BIOS | PCWorld

 

[foREVer616uk]

okay it was a 780 watt heres the LINK 780w G7 ATX PSU Free Delivery : ATX Power Supplies : Maplin still had it bookmarked

 

[Yami]

okay it was a 780 watt heres the LINK 780w G7 ATX PSU Free Delivery : ATX Power Supplies : Maplin still had it bookmarked

Looks pretty good; it will work fine.