Could use some help/thoughts with upgrades.

CrsJ · Sep 13, 2011, 04:21 AM

Hi, as the title suggests im looking for some opinions to help me decide on what is the best course of action.

Currently my system is

E4600 C2D
Asus P5G-MX (( ugh...))

4GBs pc6400
ATi 3750 512 silent (( is important ))
run on FujiSiemens Monitor @ 1680x1050
rest not all that important. hehe

basically i mainly WoW... i know, i know, but its what i do... and fraps wow for my guild, that said. with the New Deus Ex out (omg how long.. ) i got it and as usual went through the process of turning things down, till i got it playable, now in all fairness it wasnt too bad and looked reasonably pretty, (wasnt that important.)

but, it really hit me that my trusty ol PC is coming to the end of its cycle, but at least for the next 12months as i save up whatever i can spare.. it wont be alot, so choice buys are important.

so anyways, im hoping to spend approx £80-100 on it for somthing that would help in the interim.

My mobo is baaad.. and is really limiting my choices. this i know already, but it was a package deal which got me into the core2 series so ive been pleased with it for that reason.

the Cpu well its not getting overclocked as my mobo sucks :P

gfx card has done me proud too..

so the thing is whats best bank perbuck, noted that £100 isnt a great deal to do anything with.

i have sourced a E7300 cpu for £40 and an ati 5770 for £45, but everything i read that i can find tells me that i wont see much difference in either of these two upgrades, but well im not sure really. a new mobo is out as ill still be stuck with either the current cpu or gfx.

so im hoping yous out there can maybe glint some informations or thoughts my way as what would be the best course of action.

Thanks in advance.

Chris.

BlueMak · Sep 13, 2011, 05:04 AM

If you are going to buy the components in a year, wait till then. It would be pointless to discuss anything now when by next year both components and prices will be very different from what they are now.

CrsJ · Sep 13, 2011, 05:08 AM

sorry i think i didnt explain well, these cheapy upgrades are for now, to last me well into next year, when i have saved up for a total new build.

Tipstaff · Sep 13, 2011, 06:24 AM

Given what you have got to work with I'd say you've pretty much covered the basics.

The processor will give you an extra boost as you will be going to a processor that is faster (2.66ghz vs 2.4ghz), has more cache (3mb vs 2mb), and a higher bus speed (1066mhz vs 800mhz). It won't be drastic though.

The video card will be a huge improvement though, and you will notice the performance increase. Overall you would be nearly doubling the processing power of what you have now, and be able to play at much higher resolutions too without noticing a drop in performance. Most reviews you will see for the HD5770 will throw in the HD3850 for comparison (such as THIS review), so when you look at the reviews you can just imagine where the HD3750 would fall into that comparison.

Personally, though, given that the difference between the 2 processors isn't drastic (more of a bump up in speed) I would put my money into just the video card, maybe even go with something more powerful. For bit more you could get yourself a silent version of the HD6770, or for the amount you're talking you could even get an HD6850 (although I don't believe there are silent versions of those). Something to think about here would be that, of the 2 parts we're talking about, the video card is the ONLY part that you could transfer to a new system built on newer parts, and that card is a very good solid performer. For me, buying a better video card makes more sense in the long run.

Takaharu · Sep 13, 2011, 11:06 AM

I'm with Tipstaff, keep the CPU and get a better graphics card. For £100 you can nab yourself a factory-overclocked GTS 450 or for an extra £15 a GTX 550 ti.
Down the route of AMD you'd be looking at a 6770 or, for a little extra, a 6790. A 6850 is over £120.

By what I've found, the 6970 runs a little better than the 550 but don't forget to check if your PSU can handle a graphics card upgrade to any of these cards.

blibbax · Sep 13, 2011, 11:41 AM

Given that you will be buying a whole new rig in the near future, I'd strongly recommend against buying anything that you wouldn't be willing to put into the new PC. Which, in short, means that I, like the others, think you should be going for a GPU upgrade. A 5770 in as-new condition for £45 is quite a bargain.

CrsJ · Sep 13, 2011, 01:48 PM

thanks for the input guys, if as you say the 5770 is a decent enough upgrade from the 3750, at least for that price, great i think ill definatly do it.
/edit update, pc shop where the cpu is from just got in a 2nd hand q6600 for £60, so question is now, would that be worth it, hes going to keep it till friday when i get paid. /

and the pc wont goto waste, itll get passed on to a relative as per usual at some point.

thanks guys.

IvanV · Sep 13, 2011, 03:27 PM

Well, for the games that know how to use it, it will be a huge upgrade. Just take a look at how well Deus Ex scales with extra CPU cores (the second graph). For others not so much, but, in general, I'd go for it, it's certainly a better option than the E7300.

blibbax · Sep 13, 2011, 04:59 PM

You don't want to accidentally sink too much money into obsolete parts. I can remember quite a few threads like this in the past that end up 3 months down the line with a "I need to buy a whole new rig" thread, after the poster has already spent hundreds on older components.

That said, both the Q6600 and the 5770 represent good buys.

If it were me, I'd get just the 5770 and struggle on with the dual core until you can afford a whole new rig.

BlueMak · Sep 13, 2011, 05:24 PM

I am going to advice something completely different.

Do not get anything if the money is so tight. Keep all your money to get the next new PC whenever you do, a year or so from now.

CrsJ · Sep 13, 2011, 06:43 PM

ok guys thanks for the inputs. though there are still a few games to come out before i will get a chance to do a new build. so am going to grab the 5770 at least.

to be honest, i can justify paying these amount just now to tide me over, i didnt want to spend even 45 pounds on a card that wasnt really going to net me that much performance, has just been a tight 18months, hopefully this time next year ill have the spare cash to go a little more crazy

muchly appriciated everyone.
thanks
chris.

Tipstaff · Sep 13, 2011, 08:31 PM

Even though it's not on that site Takaharu posted, take a look around for a card in the HD5800 series, like the HD5830 or HD5850. The HD5830, for instance, usually runs a little over £100 from what I can tell (Amazon UK has it HERE for that amount). If you shop around you might find it a bit cheaper.

IvanV · Sep 13, 2011, 10:03 PM

I don't know, it's a decent card, but I don't think that 5830 is so much stronger than a 5770 to justify doubling the price. Here are a few comparison benches of the two: link.

Sep 13, 2011, 04:21 AM	#1
CrsJ HardwareHeaven Newbie Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 4 Rep Power: 0	Could use some help/thoughts with upgrades. Hi, as the title suggests im looking for some opinions to help me decide on what is the best course of action. Currently my system is E4600 C2D Asus P5G-MX (( ugh...)) 4GBs pc6400 ATi 3750 512 silent (( is important )) run on FujiSiemens Monitor @ 1680x1050 rest not all that important. hehe basically i mainly WoW... i know, i know, but its what i do... and fraps wow for my guild, that said. with the New Deus Ex out (omg how long.. ) i got it and as usual went through the process of turning things down, till i got it playable, now in all fairness it wasnt too bad and looked reasonably pretty, (wasnt that important.) but, it really hit me that my trusty ol PC is coming to the end of its cycle, but at least for the next 12months as i save up whatever i can spare.. it wont be alot, so choice buys are important. so anyways, im hoping to spend approx £80-100 on it for somthing that would help in the interim. My mobo is baaad.. and is really limiting my choices. this i know already, but it was a package deal which got me into the core2 series so ive been pleased with it for that reason. the Cpu well its not getting overclocked as my mobo sucks :P gfx card has done me proud too.. so the thing is whats best bank perbuck, noted that £100 isnt a great deal to do anything with. i have sourced a E7300 cpu for £40 and an ati 5770 for £45, but everything i read that i can find tells me that i wont see much difference in either of these two upgrades, but well im not sure really. a new mobo is out as ill still be stuck with either the current cpu or gfx. so im hoping yous out there can maybe glint some informations or thoughts my way as what would be the best course of action. Thanks in advance. Chris.

Sep 13, 2011, 05:04 AM	#2
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,465 Rep Power: 349 System Specs	Re: Could use some help/thoughts with upgrades. If you are going to buy the components in a year, wait till then. It would be pointless to discuss anything now when by next year both components and prices will be very different from what they are now. __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*

Sep 13, 2011, 05:08 AM	Thread Starter #3
CrsJ HardwareHeaven Newbie Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 4 Rep Power: 0	Re: Could use some help/thoughts with upgrades. sorry i think i didnt explain well, these cheapy upgrades are for now, to last me well into next year, when i have saved up for a total new build.

Sep 13, 2011, 06:24 AM	#4
Tipstaff HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Real capital of Canada: Torauna Posts: 6,773 Rep Power: 190 System Specs	Re: Could use some help/thoughts with upgrades. Given what you have got to work with I'd say you've pretty much covered the basics. The processor will give you an extra boost as you will be going to a processor that is faster (2.66ghz vs 2.4ghz), has more cache (3mb vs 2mb), and a higher bus speed (1066mhz vs 800mhz). It won't be drastic though. The video card will be a huge improvement though, and you will notice the performance increase. Overall you would be nearly doubling the processing power of what you have now, and be able to play at much higher resolutions too without noticing a drop in performance. Most reviews you will see for the HD5770 will throw in the HD3850 for comparison (such as THIS review), so when you look at the reviews you can just imagine where the HD3750 would fall into that comparison. Personally, though, given that the difference between the 2 processors isn't drastic (more of a bump up in speed) I would put my money into just the video card, maybe even go with something more powerful. For bit more you could get yourself a silent version of the HD6770, or for the amount you're talking you could even get an HD6850 (although I don't believe there are silent versions of those). Something to think about here would be that, of the 2 parts we're talking about, the video card is the ONLY part that you could transfer to a new system built on newer parts, and that card is a very good solid performer. For me, buying a better video card makes more sense in the long run. __________________ Portal: The Flash Version _________________________________ Brain: So, you sacked the cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker? Mr. Sackett: The second cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker I've sacked since the sixth sitting sheet slitter got sick. Last edited by Tipstaff; Sep 13, 2011 at 10:46 AM.

Sep 13, 2011, 11:06 AM	#5
Takaharu I can fart in 7 languages Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: England, UK Posts: 1,850 Rep Power: 113 System Specs	Re: Could use some help/thoughts with upgrades. I'm with Tipstaff, keep the CPU and get a better graphics card. For £100 you can nab yourself a factory-overclocked GTS 450 or for an extra £15 a GTX 550 ti. Down the route of AMD you'd be looking at a 6770 or, for a little extra, a 6790. A 6850 is over £120. By what I've found, the 6970 runs a little better than the 550 but don't forget to check if your PSU can handle a graphics card upgrade to any of these cards. __________________ I don't get paid to know the answer, therefore I'm far more likely to give you a straight and honest answer. Mods Rig, Box Mods Rig, Folding details

Sep 13, 2011, 11:41 AM	#6
blibbax What does this do? Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 4,231 Rep Power: 254 System Specs	Re: Could use some help/thoughts with upgrades. Given that you will be buying a whole new rig in the near future, I'd strongly recommend against buying anything that you wouldn't be willing to put into the new PC. Which, in short, means that I, like the others, think you should be going for a GPU upgrade. A 5770 in as-new condition for £45 is quite a bargain. __________________ Donate the spare computing power of your PC to help to cure Alzheimer's, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease and cancer: Fold for HH!

Sep 13, 2011, 01:48 PM	Thread Starter #7
CrsJ HardwareHeaven Newbie Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 4 Rep Power: 0	Re: Could use some help/thoughts with upgrades. thanks for the input guys, if as you say the 5770 is a decent enough upgrade from the 3750, at least for that price, great i think ill definatly do it. /edit update, pc shop where the cpu is from just got in a 2nd hand q6600 for £60, so question is now, would that be worth it, hes going to keep it till friday when i get paid. / and the pc wont goto waste, itll get passed on to a relative as per usual at some point. thanks guys.

Sep 13, 2011, 03:27 PM	#8
IvanV HH Assassin Guild Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 5,914 Rep Power: 333 System Specs	Re: Could use some help/thoughts with upgrades. Well, for the games that know how to use it, it will be a huge upgrade. Just take a look at how well Deus Ex scales with extra CPU cores (the second graph). For others not so much, but, in general, I'd go for it, it's certainly a better option than the E7300. __________________ If anyone has Portal 2 and hasn't played the co-op and wants to do me a favour, let me know (PM me or whatever).

Sep 13, 2011, 04:59 PM	#9
blibbax What does this do? Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 4,231 Rep Power: 254 System Specs	Re: Could use some help/thoughts with upgrades. You don't want to accidentally sink too much money into obsolete parts. I can remember quite a few threads like this in the past that end up 3 months down the line with a "I need to buy a whole new rig" thread, after the poster has already spent hundreds on older components. That said, both the Q6600 and the 5770 represent good buys. If it were me, I'd get just the 5770 and struggle on with the dual core until you can afford a whole new rig. __________________ Donate the spare computing power of your PC to help to cure Alzheimer's, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease and cancer: Fold for HH!

Sep 13, 2011, 05:24 PM	#10
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,465 Rep Power: 349 System Specs	Re: Could use some help/thoughts with upgrades. I am going to advice something completely different. Do not get anything if the money is so tight. Keep all your money to get the next new PC whenever you do, a year or so from now. __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*

Sep 13, 2011, 06:43 PM	Thread Starter #11
CrsJ HardwareHeaven Newbie Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 4 Rep Power: 0	Re: Could use some help/thoughts with upgrades. ok guys thanks for the inputs. though there are still a few games to come out before i will get a chance to do a new build. so am going to grab the 5770 at least. to be honest, i can justify paying these amount just now to tide me over, i didnt want to spend even 45 pounds on a card that wasnt really going to net me that much performance, has just been a tight 18months, hopefully this time next year ill have the spare cash to go a little more crazy muchly appriciated everyone. thanks chris. Last edited by CrsJ; Sep 13, 2011 at 06:46 PM. Reason: minor edit

Sep 13, 2011, 08:31 PM	#12
Tipstaff HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Real capital of Canada: Torauna Posts: 6,773 Rep Power: 190 System Specs	Re: Could use some help/thoughts with upgrades. Even though it's not on that site Takaharu posted, take a look around for a card in the HD5800 series, like the HD5830 or HD5850. The HD5830, for instance, usually runs a little over £100 from what I can tell (Amazon UK has it HERE for that amount). If you shop around you might find it a bit cheaper. __________________ Portal: The Flash Version _________________________________ Brain: So, you sacked the cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker? Mr. Sackett: The second cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker I've sacked since the sixth sitting sheet slitter got sick.

Sep 13, 2011, 10:03 PM	#13
IvanV HH Assassin Guild Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 5,914 Rep Power: 333 System Specs	Re: Could use some help/thoughts with upgrades. I don't know, it's a decent card, but I don't think that 5830 is so much stronger than a 5770 to justify doubling the price. Here are a few comparison benches of the two: link. __________________ If anyone has Portal 2 and hasn't played the co-op and wants to do me a favour, let me know (PM me or whatever).