Christmas Present

Thresh25

Daemon Poster
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Okay so I keep getting asked what I want for Christmas, but I can't really think of anything... so I think I have decided to upgrade my PC


I will keep my video card, radeon 6870, psu tx750, and my hdd. I could keep my case as well although I guess it's probably slightly small, but workable.

I want to get a new mobo, processor, ram, and a SSD. I also am going to need windows 7 or 8.

What is my best option here for around 400-500? Is it even possible?

I unlocked the fourth core on my cpu and have it overclocked so I'm not sure if what I'm thinking would even be a considerable upgrade. My video card and hdd might be my biggest bottlenecks.

Thanks for all thoughts and opinions
 
Okay so I keep getting asked what I want for Christmas, but I can't really think of anything... so I think I have decided to upgrade my PC


I will keep my video card, radeon 6870, psu tx750, and my hdd. I could keep my case as well although I guess it's probably slightly small, but workable.

I want to get a new mobo, processor, ram, and a SSD. I also am going to need windows 7 or 8.

What is my best option here for around 400-500? Is it even possible?

I unlocked the fourth core on my cpu and have it overclocked so I'm not sure if what I'm thinking would even be a considerable upgrade. My video card and hdd might be my biggest bottlenecks.

Thanks for all thoughts and opinions
Unlocked 4th core I'm guessing Phenom 2 CPU by the sounds of it. If you don't have 8GB of RAM I would get that, new GPU, and SSD.
 
That would fit your budget nicely enough too. Upgrading the CPU would be a pain, as you'd have to get a new motherboard as well. You'd definitely be bottlenecked by your gfx card in that scenario.

8Gb 1600Mhz ripjaw set will be ~$25
120Gb agility 3 SSD ~$100
660 2Gb gfx card will run ~$220

Total: $345

You could probably sell your 6870 for a hundred or so, tack that plus the $155 you have spare onto a new cpu/mobo purchase if you really need it
 
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Sorry that I didn't post my specs, it appears my old sig with the specs got deleted.

But I've got an x2 720 black edition I believe it was, 2.8ghz OC'ed to 3.2 I just did it because I could, overclocking however isn't a big deal to me.

What's wrong with windows 8? And the only reason I wanted to keep the card is because it's less than a year old and I have a hard time upgrading cards that frequently lol.

But although my board can hold 8 gigs, my board can't run it at 1600 mhz I don't think. I've got 4 gigs currently that should be running at 1066mhz but for some reason I think they are only running at 800mhz.
 
Well if you want to game the biggest upgrade you could do is GPU. I know one doesn't want to spend more money over something they recently bought but really it's the best thing you can do.

Find an RTM download and try it. If you can get past using Metro and all the other stuff from 8 then fine. I simply prefer 7 and wont go into more detail due to the vast arguments that have occurred over the OS.

If you are looking at CPU-Z or AIDA64 800MHz would be 1600. DDR stands for double data rate after all. I know for a fact that the 720BE can handle up to 1866 while overclocked but can take some serious volts for little gains. You would also be better to have 2 4GB sticks rather than 4 2GB sticks due to AMDs weak IMC.
 
cpu-z says my ram is at 400mhz. It's not that my cpu can't handle faster memory, my motherboard only supports up to 1066mhz... So it says anyways... my memory should be running at that speed but for some reason I cannot get it to.

I don't really know anything about windows 8, haven't even seen it. I like 7 a lot tho so I'll probably just get a copy of that instead.

If I wanted to keep my gpu though and upgrade the mobo processor ram and get a ssd, what would be my best and cheapest combination? Cheapest quality parts however, I usually don't buy off-brand computer parts.
 
Depends on your budget. For gaming you could get an i3 3220, H77 ASRock board, and 8GB of 1600MHz RAM. Thing is, in gaming it wont be that much of a difference. GPU is where all the difference is as long as you have a decent CPU. Check my article to see this.

What is your current motherboard? I can't see a board capable of unlocking a chip not handle 1600 RAM.
 
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