Upgrading for decent gaming experience, need some opinions

[nate1232]

So my current specs are:

Intel Core2 Quad CPU Q8300 @ 2.50GHz
4GB ram
ATI Radeon HD 5450 1GB
I'm running windows 7 64bit


I'd like to be able to play a bunch of different games not on the highest settings or anything but reasonably high, from the medium-high range settings. Some of the games I'd like to be able to run well:

Fallout 3/New Vegas
The Witcher 2
Fable 3
Final Fantasy 14 online
Lego Pirates of the Caribbean
FEAR 3

I'm looking at the Radeon HD 6950, but I'm gonna have to upgrade my PSU as well because my current one can't support any decent graphics cards. Is this a decent choice? Also should I be upgrading my CPU?

Any suggestions would be nice, thanks!

 

[Yami]

The Q8300 will be enough for those games, if you only want medium or medium-high settings. Upgrading the GPU would be a good idea though; 6950 is a good choice.

 

[MindoverMaster]

Your CPU should be fine. A little overclock should give you a good lift.

What PSU do you currently have? I'd recommend the Corsair TX650.

I have the XFX Radeon HD5770. And I'm playing games at Ultimate, like MineCraft and SC2. That GFX card does sound like a good upgrade, though.

 

[nate1232]

I'm not sure what PSU I have exactly, but I believe its a 400W. I tried buying a graphics card a few months back to find out I didn't have the PSU for it lol. I'd have to get that professionally installed sadly because I don't quite know how its done.

I'm pretty darn close to making a decision. I'm going to get the PSU you suggested, thanks! Now I'm torn between the 6850 and 6950. Looking at some of the benchmark scores both do really well, but the 6950 outclasses the 6850, and its somewhere around $70 more expensive

 

[Trotter]

I'm not sure what PSU I have exactly, but I believe its a 400W. I tried buying a graphics card a few months back to find out I didn't have the PSU for it lol. I'd have to get that professionally installed sadly because I don't quite know how its done.

I'm pretty darn close to making a decision. I'm going to get the PSU you suggested, thanks! Now I'm torn between the 6850 and 6950. Looking at some of the benchmark scores both do really well, but the 6950 outclasses the 6850, and its somewhere around $70 more expensive

There's no need to shell out for someone else to do that as it is very easy.

A PSU requires removing four screws, unplugging the connections. Installing it is just in reverse. Yes, it is that simple.

A graphics card requires one or two screws. A 5450 shouldn't have a power connection, but a 6850 or 6950 will require two (I think). You will probably have to uninstall and then reinstall the driver for the card but that's about it.

 

[nate1232]

So I decided to go with the Corsair TX650 and 6850. The PSU came literally the day after I ordered it and I decided to give the installation a shot. It was surprisingly easy.

Just waiting on the card now. What sort of power connection does the 6850 need?

 

[Night Fox]

It looks like it just needs one 6-pin pci-e connector (in addition to the pci-e x16 slot of course)...

 

[Yami]

The 6-pin PCI-E will either look like this

or this

Images from All about the various PC power supply cables and connectors

 

[nate1232]

You guys are pretty thorough, thanks for the info and the pics! I know the ones, there were about 4 of them in the new PSU that I had no use for... Or at least no use until my new card comes in.

Now I know there's already a section specifically for overclocking, but I was hoping to not have to make a thread for one small question. If I were to bump up my CPU to say, 2.7 or 2.8 GHz from 2.5, would I need to install any additional fans? I already have 2, plus the one in the PSU if that counts for anything. I'll look up guides on the specifics of overclocking my system

 

[brinks]

Download hwmonitor to check out your current temps before overclocking, also get prime95 to stress test your cpu to check out your cpu temp. under load with hwmonitor open.
CPUID - System & hardware benchmark, monitoring, reporting
|MG| Prime95 26.6 Build 3 Download