What upgrade(s) do I need?

Dave147

Hey guys need a bit of advice, have a PC with GTX 280, AMD Phenom II X4 955 3.2ghz and Gigabyte GA-MA-78G-UDH Mobo.

Machine won't run Skyrim well at all and BF3 runs quite poor also, would I get away with just upgrading my GFX or is the CPU outdated too?

daz801

what sort of budget do you have? Gpu would be the first on the list for upgrades then cpu and mobo if possible.

Eboggles

daz801 wrote: »

what sort of budget do you have? Gpu would be the first on the list for upgrades then cpu and mobo if possible.

Actually, the 955 isn't that bad, and I wouldn't see a real need to go and upgrade it right now. What I would do, however, Is get a good CPU cooler (€20-30) and get a nice overclock on it. 4ghz wouldn't be too hard.

I'd then just pour whatever your budget is (less €30) into the graphics card, and maybe the PSU if you need to.

M00lers

As above, overclock your CPU to 3.8-4.0ish with new cooler, add a new graphics card.....sorted. Should see you through another couple of years. SSDs are brilliant value at the moment if you really want to spoil yourself.

smileyj1987

What resolution is your monitor so we can pick up the perfect GPU for your budget ??

Also the 955 is a good CPU and i know because I have a 945 and its still very good for gaming . I think a whole rebuild would be a waste of money .

Dave147

Res of monitor is 1600x900 or 1440x900 depending on which one I'm using. I have a 1200w PSU which should be fine! Have €200 to spare at the moment so just one piece at a time. Thoughts on GTX 560 ti 1gb?

Eboggles

560ti has been outclassed by the HD7850. Spend a bit more and get the AMD offering. It consumes much less power and overclocks like a champ.

Hold on, 1200 watts!? Sell that and get a good quality 450 watt. There is no point at all in using it and you're losing a lot of money seeming as you're not going over 400 watts load, which is only 33% of it's capacity, which means very low effeciency. What model is it? You could get at least €100 to add onto your upgrades.

Dave147

Eboggles wrote: »

560ti has been outclassed by the HD7850. Spend a bit more and get the AMD offering. It consumes much less power and overclocks like a champ.

Hold on, 1200 watts!? Sell that and get a good quality 450 watt. There is no point at all in using it and you're losing a lot of money seeming as you're not going over 400 watts load, which is only 33% of it's capacity, which means very low effeciency. What model is it? You could get at least €100 to add onto your upgrades.

€200 is a bit of a push, don't have that kind of money to spend on hardware as I've two holidays to pay for and rent etc. The PSU is a toughpower thermaltake, bought it off Nordic Diver on adverts before, http://xsreviews.co.uk/reviews/power-supply-units/thermaltake-toughpower-1200w/1/ I'd rather not be bothered changing it if it's not necessary, but if it won't cost me anything I wouldn't mind.

GTX 560 ti would surely be powerful enough to run BF3 at a very acceptable level?

Eboggles

Dave147 wrote: »

€200 is a bit of a push, don't have that kind of money to spend on hardware as I've two holidays to pay for and rent etc. The PSU is a toughpower thermaltake, bought it off Nordic Diver on adverts before, http://xsreviews.co.uk/reviews/power-supply-units/thermaltake-toughpower-1200w/1/ I'd rather not be bothered changing it if it's not necessary, but if it won't cost me anything I wouldn't mind.

GTX 560 ti would surely be powerful enough to run BF3 at a very acceptable level?

I'd look at it like this: €200 + €100 for selling PSU = €300 to spend
Then:
Item|Price
Sapphire Technology ATI Radeon 7850 860MHz 2GB PCI-Express 3.0 HDMI|€229.66
OCZ Technology ZS Series 550W 80+ Bronze Power Supply|€61.22
Shipping|Free!
Total|€290.88

Whatever you think yourself though. The 7850 is a tank of a card which would mean you wouldn't have to upgrade for a while.

Dave147

Better deal here? http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/11984340/art/amd/radeon-hd-7850-2-gb-gddr5.html

I'd have to go to the bother of taking out the PSU wrapping it up and selling it etc. I could stretch to €230 if it isn't necessary to go to the bother of changing PSU. I work 50 hours a week, I want as little hassle as possible.

Eboggles

Yeah that's a grand one, I think it's actually a sapphire model, which comes with a great cooler.

Dave147

Bought the pixmania one for €220. Cleaned out my second account lol.