Wizlah
06-07-2011, 12:02 PM
So, I've got an ageing matx rig which I've done little with for some time now:
AMD 5000+ dual core black edition
DFI 790gx lanparty matx with crossfire (am2+ mobo)
4870 512mb (neat little palit 4870 card - shame they don't do stuff for amd anymore, but how n'ever)
4MB corsair ddr2 twinx 667 mhz memory
samsung spinpoint 160gb hard drive and dvd rw
450w corsair vx power supply unit
Now, I've got little money to spare on all things computerish, but I would like to spruce this up a bit. there are a couple of things that are limiting it, mind: I probably need a new psu at some point, as even with new more power efficient video cards and the like, it's a bit too much to ask both a card and a new cpu to run off that 450vx, as reliable as its been (really, very reliable). I've been on the psu calculator, and it looks that I should probably ramp up to a 750w at this point, to keep future upgrades happy. since this is all squished one of those aspire qpack cases, I may have to spend big on the psu at some point.
Anyhow, the graphics card is not first on my list - the 4870 remains serviceable, and realistically, if I make a jump to something like a 6950, it's only going to be bottlenecked by the cpu. Because amd have been fairly nice with the upgrade path, I should be okay to slot a quad core am3 into the mobo -obviously the 955 black edition makes most sense here, although there's an argument for just going with a triple core as well since outside of gtaiv and flight sims, most games don't really use more than the two cores, right? I think I can still squeeze either on the psu at the moment, but I may get a new psu now as well, since regardless of what I'm doing next, I need more headroom:
Some time round october I'll probably have to get a new psu if I want to get a graphics card. In terms of bang for buck, it seems sensible to go with a 6950, which is a fair amount, but works well in crossfire so gives me some upgrade wiggleroom there.
then sometime after christmas, I'm expecting that the new am3+ chipset and mobos will have bedded down enough that someone (I'm guessing msi, but maybe biostar or asrock will get adventurous) will have a decent matx with crossfire out as an option, so I can make the shift to ddr3 and the new socket. So that should leave me well enough positioned in terms of future upgrades, having finally shifted over to ddr3 and am3+:
First purchases - soonish:
455 triple core/955 black edition - £58/£89
750w modular psu (corsair hx) - £111
Second - around october:
a 6950 - £200
Third:
mobo+ 8 gb ddr3 memory? about £170 - depending on models
Or it may make more sense to just get the psu now and hangfire until october when things will change with the next generation of gpus and bulldozer, and make the jump to sandybridge then if bulldozer ain't up to it. Right now, not counting the psu (which I have to get regardless, so I may as well get now), the spend on upgrade is about £460. Wondered if anyone else had any feedback or could see extra factors I'm not considering.
AMD 5000+ dual core black edition
DFI 790gx lanparty matx with crossfire (am2+ mobo)
4870 512mb (neat little palit 4870 card - shame they don't do stuff for amd anymore, but how n'ever)
4MB corsair ddr2 twinx 667 mhz memory
samsung spinpoint 160gb hard drive and dvd rw
450w corsair vx power supply unit
Now, I've got little money to spare on all things computerish, but I would like to spruce this up a bit. there are a couple of things that are limiting it, mind: I probably need a new psu at some point, as even with new more power efficient video cards and the like, it's a bit too much to ask both a card and a new cpu to run off that 450vx, as reliable as its been (really, very reliable). I've been on the psu calculator, and it looks that I should probably ramp up to a 750w at this point, to keep future upgrades happy. since this is all squished one of those aspire qpack cases, I may have to spend big on the psu at some point.
Anyhow, the graphics card is not first on my list - the 4870 remains serviceable, and realistically, if I make a jump to something like a 6950, it's only going to be bottlenecked by the cpu. Because amd have been fairly nice with the upgrade path, I should be okay to slot a quad core am3 into the mobo -obviously the 955 black edition makes most sense here, although there's an argument for just going with a triple core as well since outside of gtaiv and flight sims, most games don't really use more than the two cores, right? I think I can still squeeze either on the psu at the moment, but I may get a new psu now as well, since regardless of what I'm doing next, I need more headroom:
Some time round october I'll probably have to get a new psu if I want to get a graphics card. In terms of bang for buck, it seems sensible to go with a 6950, which is a fair amount, but works well in crossfire so gives me some upgrade wiggleroom there.
then sometime after christmas, I'm expecting that the new am3+ chipset and mobos will have bedded down enough that someone (I'm guessing msi, but maybe biostar or asrock will get adventurous) will have a decent matx with crossfire out as an option, so I can make the shift to ddr3 and the new socket. So that should leave me well enough positioned in terms of future upgrades, having finally shifted over to ddr3 and am3+:
First purchases - soonish:
455 triple core/955 black edition - £58/£89
750w modular psu (corsair hx) - £111
Second - around october:
a 6950 - £200
Third:
mobo+ 8 gb ddr3 memory? about £170 - depending on models
Or it may make more sense to just get the psu now and hangfire until october when things will change with the next generation of gpus and bulldozer, and make the jump to sandybridge then if bulldozer ain't up to it. Right now, not counting the psu (which I have to get regardless, so I may as well get now), the spend on upgrade is about £460. Wondered if anyone else had any feedback or could see extra factors I'm not considering.