Upgrade or start from scratch

domrush

Hey first time posting here,
I'm looking for advice on my computer and i'd really appreciate some help.
I have a Dell E521 and here are its specs:
AMD AThlon 64 X2 5600+
ATI HD 4670
4GB Ram
Creative Xfi sound card
Running Vista

Im basically wondering if I'd be better off upgrading this machine or buying a new one (obviously prefer to upgrade to save money). I was thinking of upgrading the GPU to a ATI 6850, would the psu be able to handle it? I'd like to be able to play Empire total war and elder scrolls skyrim on pretty high settings (full if possible).
Would appreciate your help guys cheers

Monotype

I think it's probably best off for a replacement now. A quick look around suggests that that board doesn't support more than dual cores. A 6850 would see an improvement but I think that a dual core isn't really enough for games now. You might get a bit of money towards a new build if you sell on what you have.
Skyrim isn't out for a while - although they have to make it run on consoles who knows you'd need for high settings.

domrush

OK don't really have the cash to pay for a complete new build now, would it be ok to use the 4870 in the new computer and upgrade that later to save a hundred quid?

Monotype

Is it a 4670 or 4870?

Unless you desperately need an upgrade, I would advise you to wait until you have a bit more money. AMD's new socket will be out in just over a month (hopefully) and there will be some movement in prices. We will know a bit more about the optimum system for Skyrim too.

Jonny7

Its the everlasting dilema

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/HD_5670_1_GB/30.html
Have a look at this..

The ATI 4770 (hardish to find, but sell for about 50/60 euros SHOULD run on your dell PSU and provide up to 50% more fps than your current card

However the beefier 4870 is much more power hungry and will need a new PSU - even then its just a stop gap, because your CPU (which can handle most games) will not be the best with really new stuff, unless you don't mind playing on medium

Replacing the CPU, you don;t have many options.. and the whole thing gets pretty messy.

You could hold on, sell current machine for up to 200ish, save 300 and get a great budget gamer for 500, prob 3 times faster than current setup bc prices so low right now

domrush

Ok I reckon I'll do a full upgrade, should I wait for and get the new AMD socket or will the current one do for a long time yet?

Jonny7

Well.. the best budget chip at the mo is the AMD x3 (tri core) 450 - 65 euros

The next step up is the AMD ex flagship model, the x4 955 (quad core) - 107 euros

They are oldish tech, but of course, can deal with todays games no prob, esp. that quad, very fast

However the latest tech is Intel Sandy bridge - more expensive, but lightning fast, for the 2500k - about 170ish euros BUT you are getting something like the third fastest desktop chip possible without spending a grand.. so a lot of people are managing to fit that into a budget build of about 600 euros from..

Then there is the unknown .. the new AMD chips, not gonna expect super high performance.. but they may be v good value, coming in a month or so..

www.hardwareversand.de, choose english, and the pc configurator and mess around.. good fun to see what you can get for what money
Recommendations for great parts here are:
4 gig ram - 35 euros
Super flower 550 watt 80+ PSU - 50ish euros
Samsung F1 1 tb harddrive - 50ish euros
Something like a Xigmatech or Thermaltake case - 40 euros

Then the chip/motherboard/graphics card is personal pref
Then build for 20 euros, ship for 30 euros.. and most people on this use em

If you want to compare the diff chips.. try www.anandtech.com and choose 'bench'

Graphics cards - the link above.. techpowerup.com.. I like it cos it gives an overall easy to compare graph of all cards

I just find the more you read and tinker and research a bit, the better the pc you get will be.. more fun too.

domrush

cheers lads, any idea of the max gpu i could run on the current dell now?
don't have the money to start a new build yet but would like at least some improvment now. Would anything better than a 4770 run on it?

domrush

Decided I'm just gonna upgrade the psu and gpu now and do a full build next year.
Gonna buy these tomorrow and fit them into the dell then. Should work fine yeah?

http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=24477&agid=1628&lb

http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=39504&agid=1004&lb

Jonny7

domrush wrote: »

Decided I'm just gonna upgrade the psu and gpu now and do a full build next year.
Gonna buy these tomorrow and fit them into the dell then. Should work fine yeah?

http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=24477&agid=1628&lb

http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=39504&agid=1004&lb

The PSU is a cheapie one, I know its super flower but its not one of their 80+ models

The graphics card is good, but I would strongly recommend the super flower 550 watt 80+ model its 50 euros.. only 20 more, and will be transferable to the new machine

People who scrimp on the power supplies are playing with fire.. literally.. boom tssss

edit - maybe just double check if the PSU will go into the dell, some dells have a funny setup.. I am fairly sure its okay, but try to double check

Monotype

http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=30069

Much better, or even the 450W version.

Edit: Just saw this on the bargain alerts thread.
http://www2.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=46261

It would be more powerful than the 6850 in most applications and is cheaper.