Upgrading my PC (australia)

[Outlaw]

Hi peoples.

My Graphics card is on its last legs (thanks starcraft 2 uncapped frames) and I need new parts. I will list what I have currently and what parts I'm swapping out. Would like some feedback please.

Current

Cpu - Intel Core 2 Quad Core Q6600 (2.4 Ghz)

Gpu - 2x Geforce 9800 GTX in SLi

Mobo - Asus Stryker 2 Formula

Mem - 4g DDR2 dual channel

PSU - Antec 1000watt

HDD - 500 gig (not sure what brand, but I think its 7200rpm)

CD/DVD - plain (not sure)

No sound Card

19 inch lcd

Uhm I think that's about it.

I want to keep the PSU, HDD, DVD, Monitor and Case with the new parts as they will be sufficient for now also I have a budget.

Below is the new parts and all up it will be costing me just over $1000 including shipping.


OS - Windows 7 pro 64bit OEM - $150

CPU - Intel Core i5 2400 - $210

GPU - ASUS GTX 560 Ti Direct CU 2 OC'd 1gb - $300

MB - MSi H67MA-E45 B3 - $150

MEM - Corsair DDR3 8gb (4x2gb) 1600 Mhz - $125

Sound - Creative SB X-Fi Xtreme PCIe - $70

I use the PC for browsing youtube, photoshop7 (sometimes) editing Videos (sometimes) but Mainly for gaming. I want something that will play SC2 and Shogun 2. With DX11 and this new hardware it will last me a while.

So any feedback is great on price, parts or whatever.

Remember I'm in Australia so the $ is different to you.

[Devilmaypoop]

For the price of that 560 TI, you could get a AMD 6970 2GB wich would smoke it.

[mrcrusty]

What's your resolution btw?

If it's something low, you could drop down to an HD 6850/6870 or GTX 460 level graphics card, saving you $50-$100 without really compromising framerates.

But here's what I suggest:

Win7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM - $105

Corsair XMS3 1600 Mhz 2x2GB - $59

Thermaltake Frio CPU Cooler - $75

Asus P8P67 Pro Motherboard - $239

MSI HD 6850 Cyclone - $209

Intel i5 2500k - $269

The HD 6850 can be substituted for something more powerful if required, but a 19 inch monitor is mostly limited to 1280x1024 or 1440x900, neither of which requires more power than a GTX 460/6850.

There's also the off chance on the rarer 1600x1200 resolution and the even rarer 1680x1050 on a certain Viewsonic model, but it's unlikely. In any case, a HD 6870, GTX 560 or a 1GB HD 6950 would be more than adequate if you're talking about those resolutions.

As for the sound card, I'm not an audiophile myself so I get by with onboard sound, but if you want it, fair enough.

My total comes up to a tad under $1000 w/o a sound card, a tad over $1000 with a sound card and close to $1100 depending on a more expensive graphics card. However, dollar for dollar, it is a system that will provide more performance than what you listed, even more so should you decide to overclock since non k edition processors can barely overclock.

You could also grab a new monster graphics card, buy a new cooler for the CPU, overclock and save yourself a truckload of money. Unlockable HD 6950s (unlockable to HD 6970s) start at around $300.

[Outlaw]

I'm thinking about a custom cooler for the CPU thats about it, maybe 30 bucks or so.

btw, my resoloution is 1024x768 lol

The reason I want the 560Ti is because I have read atleast 2 reviews about its performance and I am happy with it.

[mrcrusty]

It sits inbetween the HD 6870 and HD 6950 in performance. Better than the HD 6870, worse than the HD 6950.

But for 1024x768, all three of those cards are beyond overkill. My suggestion of a HD 6850 is still overkill too, but it's the best choice imo price for performance wise. If you want an Nvidia equivalent, the GTX 460. Both are $100 less than the GTX 560 and at that resolution, it's not extra money worth spending.

$30 won't get you a decent CPU cooler except the CoolerMaster Hyper 212+. It will limit your overclocking ability compared to something like the Frio which I already linked, but it's an excellent cooler for the price.

[Outlaw]

It sits inbetween the HD 6870 and HD 6950 in performance. Better than the HD 6870, worse than the HD 6950.

But for 1024x768, all three of those cards are beyond overkill. My suggestion of a HD 6850 is still overkill too, but it's the best choice imo price for performance wise. If you want an Nvidia equivalent, the GTX 460. Both are $100 less than the GTX 560 and at that resolution, it's not extra money worth spending.

$30 won't get you a decent CPU cooler except the CoolerMaster Hyper 212+. It will limit your overclocking ability compared to something like the Frio which I already linked, but it's an excellent cooler for the price.

I disagree with overkill, alot of games still can't be played at max settings on some set ups and I doubt even at 1024x768 you still couldn't have everything maxed without a bit of lag atleast.

I agree about the cooler there is a few I'm looking at but I don't think I want to spend more than 50. Still researching this tbh.

[Devilmaypoop]

I'm thinking about a custom cooler for the CPU thats about it, maybe 30 bucks or so.

You wont need one unless you want to OC.

The reason I want the 560Ti is because I have read atleast 2 reviews about its performance and I am happy with it.

Then you should read a review of the equivalent priced 6970, wich would own the 560 TI.

On 1024x768 you could run any game maxed even on a AMD 5770...

[Outlaw]

You wont need one unless you want to OC.

Then you should read a review of the equivalent priced 6970, wich would own the 560 TI.

On 1024x768 you could run any game maxed even on a AMD 5770...

I want to keep the temp as low as possible because there isn't any good cool air here.

[mrcrusty]

On 1024x768? I can't think of any games that fail to be played with great framerates with an HD 6850/GTX 460 or better.

[Outlaw]

I'm talking about max AA and AF, try shogun 2 with those settings lol

even with my current system I can't run Rome TW with good settings, even the lowest settings it lags

[Outlaw]

I'm also looking at this, its 100 cheaper, also AMD cpu/mb

never gone with amd in my life..

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?..._cart&sort=20a

[mrcrusty]

You'll have to type it out since you can't link to shopping carts.

[Outlaw]

ahh ok

well scrap that because I don't wanna go with AMD

[Outlaw]

well, I'm look at ram to go with the i5

and this

Corsair TR3X6G1333C9 6GB (3x XMS3 2GB) PC-10600 (1333MHz) XMS DDR3 For X58 MB/i7 Core, 3x240-pin DIMMs, Triple Kit, 9-9-9-24, 1.50V.

why does it say for i7?

the board I'm gonna get with the i5 takes 1333 without overclocking, so will I have any dramas here?

[Outlaw]

here is another setup

[Outlaw]

I just dug up old 2 western digital WD 740 74gig 10,000 RPM hard drives I had in an older PC, can I use my slow 500gig for storage and my 2 raptors in raid 0 ?

How would I do this in bios and on the old MB?

[Outlaw]

picking up parts

1tb hdd
560ti 1gb
gigabyte mb sata 3 usb3
8 gig ram
creative xfi pcie sc
windows 7
intel core i5 2400

1000 exactly

[The300thSpartan]

I would downgrade the RAM to 2*2GB and upgrade CPU to the i5 2500k and the mobo to a basic p67 so that you can overclock. Otherwise getting a CPU cooler is a bit pointless. I would downgrade the GPU to a 460 aswell but you seem set on that 560. The 460 seems to be the best value for money card out atm. Anyway, tell us how your system turns out...

[Outlaw]

got everything up and running, loving windows 7 !!

need to test out the card with a dx 11 game, but broke till next week :/

[Outlaw]

I broke the default cpu cooler, so I bought another one, 25 nucks lol. Its 3 pin and the connector is 4 pin, working fine, but I can hear some squeeling comming from it, is this a problem you think?