A novice thinking of upgrading his PC

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Foffy

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Hey dere, first post! I hope this isn't the wrong place to ask, but lately I've been feeling like I want to upgrade my PC for gaming. I can run most games just fine, but that's the thing: most. Games like The Witcher 2 and ArmA II have issues running when I want to run them at beefier settings, and my most anticipated PC title this year is ArmA III. I want to run it on high/very high settings with no issues, and I assume my PC is not up to snuff. So perhaps you guys can help me, and I'll be frank: I've never bought individual parts, set up overclocking, or anything of the sort, so I am probably alien to all of that. My specs are as followes:

Resolution: 1360x768 @ 60Hz (My PC monitor is my HDTV)
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 @ 3.20 GHz
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-770T-USB3
Memory: 4096 MB DDR3
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT


I think that's all any of you guys would need. I recent bought a GeForce GTX 580, but I'd figure I'd actually ask you guys here in ideas on what I should get. I hope the card isn't outdated, as I literally ordered it yesterday...

I'm also sorry if this is the wrong place to post this! Please forgive me. ;_;
 
GTX 580 is still an awesome card, so no worries on that account.
However, you do want to make sure your power supply can handle it.
If you open your case there should be a sticker on the PSU that shows the Watts and AMPs.
Post up what wattage it has and the amps on the +12v rail(s).

The rest of your system doesn't look too bad, though it wouldn't hurt to overclock your CPU.
 
Thanks for the reply! I'll try and do that over the weekend. Now, about overclocking..how do I do that and what risks does it entail?
 
I honestly don't know the details to AMD overclocking, I would post in the Overclocking thread to get some help with that.
Also, if this is a pre-built computer by Dell, HP, Gateway, etc... they lock out the overclocking options.

I can tell you that if you are using the stock heatsink that came with the computer you will want to buy a new one.
 
Thanks for the reply! I'll try and do that over the weekend. Now, about overclocking..how do I do that and what risks does it entail?
With your monitor resolution a 580 is kind of a waste TBH. The resolution will make you more CPU bound but I think the 580 should be able to cover the slack with a slightly OCed CPU.

To OC that CPU all you need to do is raise the multiplier and core voltage.
 
Okay, I was able to open it up, so here are the stats of it.

AC IN 115V/230V 10.7A/6.2A 60/60 Hz
DC OUT +3.3 V +5V +12V1/+12V2/-12V2 + 5VSB
Max peak is at 700


The power supply seems to have a 4-prong cable, with the others being used. I believe this is a problem as my GPU came in today, and it seems to have one slot for 8 prongs, and another for 6. Do I have to buy a new power supply now, too? D:

EDIT: Okay, let my noobishness be shown here. When I try booting with the card, I hear three beeps and I get no sound. Unlike the card that came with my PC, this one requires some plugs to be put in. This is where I'm lost; the card came with one set of wires with 8 holes with 6 entry holes on the end, and the other has 6 holes with two sets of 4 entry holes on that end. I only have one available device with 4 holes, but only 3 of them have pins. I'm assuming I am missing something that's prevent me from getting video and I assume this is it. Does anyone has the easiest solution to fix this? I have no clue what these are called, and if I can can even use the card now...
 
Okay, I was able to open it up, so here are the stats of it.

AC IN 115V/230V 10.7A/6.2A 60/60 Hz
DC OUT +3.3 V +5V +12V1/+12V2/-12V2 + 5VSB
Max peak is at 700
not helpful. missed essential information.
either a picture or the model # for the unit would be better.
The power supply seems to have a 4-prong cable, with the others being used. I believe this is a problem as my GPU came in today, and it seems to have one slot for 8 prongs, and another for 6. Do I have to buy a new power supply now, too? D:

you might have to.

EDIT: Okay, let my noobishness be shown here. When I try booting with the card, I hear three beeps and I get no sound. Unlike the card that came with my PC, this one requires some plugs to be put in. This is where I'm lost; the card came with one set of wires with 8 holes with 6 entry holes on the end, and the other has 6 holes with two sets of 4 entry holes on that end. I only have one available device with 4 holes, but only 3 of them have pins. I'm assuming I am missing something that's prevent me from getting video and I assume this is it. Does anyone has the easiest solution to fix this? I have no clue what these are called, and if I can can even use the card now...

if possible don't use the adapter cables you got from the new video card. plug the cables from power supply unit into the new video card directly if possible.
 
I was able to get to a local shop to get what I needed, which were a few cables. The card works now, and runs at better performance than the older one. It just seems loading sometimes is still slow, but that's the CPU, no? I suppose I need to either deal with that, overclock, or upgrade? It's not a big deal, either way.
 
not helpful. missed essential information.
either a picture or the model # for the unit would be better.


you might have to.



if possible don't use the adapter cables you got from the new video card. plug the cables from power supply unit into the new video card directly if possible.
Says max peak is 700w on the bottom.

I was able to get to a local shop to get what I needed, which were a few cables. The card works now, and runs at better performance than the older one. It just seems loading sometimes is still slow, but that's the CPU, no? I suppose I need to either deal with that, overclock, or upgrade? It's not a big deal, either way.
Loading times could be drivers or your hard drive. Did you update to the newest drivers?
 
I did update. Could be my HDD, but I'm not sure. The game I'm testing is ArmA II, a game some say actually gets a better framerate on a SSD. Do I have to uninstall the old one card? It doesn't seem to show up after switching to the new card..
 
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