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Thread: Upgrading efficiently ?

  1. #1
    Narakir's Avatar Decanus
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    Default Upgrading efficiently ?

    I have a rig some TWC people helped me to build a few years back, but recently I've been through a lot of hassle to make some games run in a satisfying way (aka stable 60 fps and sweet/reasonable graphics) on my computer, including Shogun TW and Farcry 3. Before you ask, I have all my drivers up to date and things are running smoothly, I'm just willing to actually upgrade my stuff efficiently.

    - OS : Win 7 64bit

    - Motherboard : Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. X58A-UD3R, It does its job no real need to change it I guess.

    - Hard drive : WD-WCATR1797244, good old caviar black , I have the impression I could change for something faster with more RPM.

    - Ram : 12go DD3, not really the thing that needs upgrading isn't it ?

    - Processor : Intel i7 930, quadcore 2.80ghz, I think its still quite solid.

    - Display : 1980x1080

    - Graphic card : GTX 650ti, probably the actual culprit, I went with it when it was cheap, I have to set shadows in most game to the minimum to get something reasonable. But what could do better instead ? I'm preferably not going to an AMD, I've the GTX 750 or 760 in mind and I'd prefer to avoid beastly stuff above 400 euros.

    - Power supply : Corsair TX 750 Pretty solid, I think just its fitting right now but it might need to be upgraded if I get another graphic card.
    "They do not possess the true fire. They speak of creation and they boast of their potential but they do not create anything beyond the mundane. Their imagination is poor, obsessed with the small details. A true Dreamer, I say, creates a grand scheme and then concentrates on the details. Starting with the details is for the ants of the imagination - the small insects who aspire only to be fed.”

    Nihl Xander, Godsmen Engineer - Planescape Torment

  2. #2
    Jakethe_Snake15's Avatar Ordinarius
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    Default Re: Upgrading efficiently ?

    If you can on that i7, get a good overclock going. You will want a decent heatsink though. Honestly not 100% sure of what would be a great heatsink for a decent OC on it though.

    I'd say your GPU is your next bottleneck to deal with. A GTX 750 likely wouldn't be a great upgrade, given what you already have. A GTX 760 would be a better option...though, with a decent overclock, a higher end card would work very well too.
    Your power supply shouldn't need to be replaced in this case, though I may be wrong here.
    Quote Originally Posted by James Spader/Alan Shore "Boston Legal"
    I've always been convinced that friends should encourage friends to have their heads examined.

  3. #3

    Default Re: Upgrading efficiently ?

    Which edition of Windows 7 64-bit do you have?

    What is the rpm of your current HDD?

    What is the speed of your RAM?

    You do not need to upgrade your PSU unless you plan on running SLI.
    Windows 7 Professional 64-bit SP1
    AMD Phenom II X4 970BE Deneb 3.5GHz CPU
    ASUS M5A88-V EVO Mother Board
    2 X 2GB CORSAIR XMS3 DDR3 1600 RAM
    XFX AMD RADEON HD 6770 1GB GDDR5 GPU
    Seagate Barracuda 160GB 7200rpm SATA3 HDD
    Seagate Barracuda 250GB 7200rpm SATA3 HDD
    Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200rpm SATA3 HDD
    Corsair GS500 Gaming Series 500w PSU
    CoolerMaster HAF 912 Case

  4. #4
    Narakir's Avatar Decanus
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    Default Re: Upgrading efficiently ?

    Windows is v6.1 SP1.

    Hard drive is : 7,200 RPM

    About the ram : I wasn't able to check what is the actual speed indicator.


    Are you sure I'm not going to need one with a GTX770 or a GTX780 ?
    "They do not possess the true fire. They speak of creation and they boast of their potential but they do not create anything beyond the mundane. Their imagination is poor, obsessed with the small details. A true Dreamer, I say, creates a grand scheme and then concentrates on the details. Starting with the details is for the ants of the imagination - the small insects who aspire only to be fed.”

    Nihl Xander, Godsmen Engineer - Planescape Torment

  5. #5

    Default Re: Upgrading efficiently ?

    I meant do you have Home Premium, Professional, or Ultimate.

    Unless you have the cash for an SSD or 10,000rpm HDD, you should be fine with the HDD you presently have; unless you're running out of space. I searched for the model# you provided but results were inconclusive. Are you sure you have model# WD-WCATR1797244?

    It seems that the RAM you have is 1600MHz, since you're running triple channel at 532.9MHz (3*532.9=1598.7). There's no need to worry about the amount of RAM you have or it's speed.

    If you want to be sure about how much power you need, try running this power calculator.
    Windows 7 Professional 64-bit SP1
    AMD Phenom II X4 970BE Deneb 3.5GHz CPU
    ASUS M5A88-V EVO Mother Board
    2 X 2GB CORSAIR XMS3 DDR3 1600 RAM
    XFX AMD RADEON HD 6770 1GB GDDR5 GPU
    Seagate Barracuda 160GB 7200rpm SATA3 HDD
    Seagate Barracuda 250GB 7200rpm SATA3 HDD
    Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200rpm SATA3 HDD
    Corsair GS500 Gaming Series 500w PSU
    CoolerMaster HAF 912 Case

  6. #6
    Narakir's Avatar Decanus
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    Default Re: Upgrading efficiently ?

    I've win7 pro. For the hard drive I've double checked its ID a WD1002FAEX-00Z3A0.
    "They do not possess the true fire. They speak of creation and they boast of their potential but they do not create anything beyond the mundane. Their imagination is poor, obsessed with the small details. A true Dreamer, I say, creates a grand scheme and then concentrates on the details. Starting with the details is for the ants of the imagination - the small insects who aspire only to be fed.”

    Nihl Xander, Godsmen Engineer - Planescape Torment

  7. #7

    Default Re: Upgrading efficiently ?

    I'd upgrade the GPU.

    The power supply is fine. It's running 60 amps off the 12V rail for a maximum wattage of 720 to your graphics card. You could run SLI or X-Fire on something of that caliber.
    Under the Patronage of Leonidas the Lion|Patron of Imperator of Rome - Dewy - Crazyeyesreaper|American and Proud

  8. #8
    Narakir's Avatar Decanus
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    Default Re: Upgrading efficiently ?

    Is SLI actually worth something ? I've red it that it requires two similar GPUs, which I don't have the budget for and the improvements are kinda meh.
    "They do not possess the true fire. They speak of creation and they boast of their potential but they do not create anything beyond the mundane. Their imagination is poor, obsessed with the small details. A true Dreamer, I say, creates a grand scheme and then concentrates on the details. Starting with the details is for the ants of the imagination - the small insects who aspire only to be fed.”

    Nihl Xander, Godsmen Engineer - Planescape Torment

  9. #9

    Default Re: Upgrading efficiently ?

    Not until you get into the top tier range. It's almost always cheaper to simply by a better card instead of running two mediocre ones.

    Basically unless you already have a 780 or a Titan and the only way to get more performance is to run two of them, I'd say no, just buy a better card.

    Some people run quad SLI and blah blah but honestly it's just something people think is cool. It's not efficient at all. You can max out 99% of games at 1080p with a 760.
    Under the Patronage of Leonidas the Lion|Patron of Imperator of Rome - Dewy - Crazyeyesreaper|American and Proud

  10. #10
    Narakir's Avatar Decanus
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    Default Re: Upgrading efficiently ?

    I've been playing a bit with the overclocking using EasyTune6 automatic/easy/newbiefriendly settings because trying the get how this works. I'm running now on 3.30GHz pretty much safely.

    Bclock freq goal : was 133, got it to 150. I tired to 160 but had a system freeze.
    Memory : base was 1066mhz, got up to 1200mhz, 1280 along the upper setting that made the freezing.

    I'd upgrade the GPU.
    Are you sure I'll not get bottlenecked with a GTX 780 at some point ?
    "They do not possess the true fire. They speak of creation and they boast of their potential but they do not create anything beyond the mundane. Their imagination is poor, obsessed with the small details. A true Dreamer, I say, creates a grand scheme and then concentrates on the details. Starting with the details is for the ants of the imagination - the small insects who aspire only to be fed.”

    Nihl Xander, Godsmen Engineer - Planescape Torment

  11. #11

    Default Re: Upgrading efficiently ?

    Years from now maybe. With the current consoles running low frequency high core CPUs, I seriously doubt that many modern games will have a high frequency for the next 4 years or so. By the time something like a 780 becomes the bottleneck, gaming as we know it will probably be totally different. You're looking at 4+ years with that card, unless Steam Machines radically draw people from current consoles.
    Last edited by Bolkonsky; June 16, 2014 at 07:09 PM.
    Under the Patronage of Leonidas the Lion|Patron of Imperator of Rome - Dewy - Crazyeyesreaper|American and Proud

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