Please help me buy a new PC!

[SirKicksalot]

Two neat links to get you started.
Graphic cards
Cpus.

With a 900 pound budget, you actually can build a computer that is fairly cutting edge. Just get yourself a 670 and a i5, 8 GB DDR3 ram, and you are basically settled for a long time.

Thanks to your CPU link I decided to upgrade my rig. I had an overclocked Q6600 since 2008.
Now I bought an i5 3570K and an ASRock Z77 EXTREME4. This costs exactly 500 dollars. The rest comes from my old system - an EVGA GTX 470 (1.28Gb, bought in 2010) and 6 Gb DDR 3.

I had to install Windows from a USB stick because I forgot to buy an optical unit (old one is IDE lol). Protip: if during USB installation Windows asks you to load a driver, cancel, go back to the welcome screen, pull out the stick, insert it in a different USB slot and restart the process. Don't try to use your old Windows installation with a new motherboard.

Crysis 2 max settings, with all the DX11 stuff on at 1920x1080, floats around 30fps. Stuttering is gone. Far Cry 3 also runs A LOT better (according to this the jump from a Q6600 to a 3570k doubles performance). Haven't tried much else but I'm happy. The GPU will be the first thing to replace but right now it's enough for everything.

[Grizzly]

Thanks to your CPU link I decided to upgrade my rig. I had an overclocked Q6600 since 2008.
Now I bought an i5 3570K and an ASRock Z77 EXTREME4. This costs exactly 500 dollars. The rest comes from my old system - an EVGA GTX 470 (1.28Gb, bought in 2010) and 6 Gb DDR 3.

I had to install Windows from a USB stick because I forgot to buy an optical unit (old one is IDE lol). Protip: if during USB installation Windows asks you to load a driver, cancel, go back to the welcome screen, pull out the stick, insert it in a different USB slot and restart the process. Don't try to use your old Windows installation with a new motherboard.

Crysis 2 max settings, with all the DX11 stuff on at 1920x1080, floats around 30fps. Stuttering is gone. Far Cry 3 also runs A LOT better (according to this the jump from a Q6600 to a 3570k doubles performance). Haven't tried much else but I'm happy. The GPU will be the first thing to replace but right now it's enough for everything.

Hey! Thanks for the info. I have roughly the same system as you have (also a q6600, and a 5770 instead of a 460, but apperently they are similar in performance), so now I also know what to upgrade next :D. Good to see it worked out for you.

[Sakkura]

The 460 (especially the 1 GB 256-bit version) is somewhat faster than a 5770, and of course that 470 is faster still. It makes sense to keep the 470 for a while more, it's still going to do pretty well in most games.

[Grizzly]

Ah, I misread.

[Ezra]

I want share with you specification of my system. May you get better idea form it.
Acer Aspire V3-571-9890 15.6-Inch Laptop
Processor: 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7 (6MB Cache)
RAM: 6 GB SDRAM
Hard Drive:750 GB SATA
Graphics Coprocessor Intel HD Graphics 4000
Graphics Card Ram Size: 128 MB
Processor: Brand: Intel
Processor: Count: 4 (quad core)
Computer Memory Type: SDRAM
Hard Drive Interface: Serial ATA
Hard Drive Rotational Speed: 5400 RPM
gold coast computer repair

[Velko]

I want share with you specification of my system. May you get better idea form it.
Acer Aspire V3-571-9890 15.6-Inch Laptop
Processor: 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7 (6MB Cache)
RAM: 6 GB SDRAM
Hard Drive:750 GB SATA
Graphics Coprocessor Intel HD Graphics 4000
Graphics Card Ram Size: 128 MB
Processor: Brand: Intel
Processor: Count: 4 (quad core)
Computer Memory Type: SDRAM
Hard Drive Interface: Serial ATA
Hard Drive Rotational Speed: 5400 RPM

You are not a real person, are you?

[Ezra]

You are not a real person, are you?

Yes Dear, may I, know the reason to asking this question?

[Velko]

Yes Dear, may I, know the reason to asking this question?

Oh, nothing special. Carry on!

[Asokn]

So, after a long break I have come across this build:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=FS-247-OE

I've then upgraded to a 1TB hard disk and added Win 8. That takes me to £731.96. My budget is about £800.00 so I was thinking of getting one of the cheaper graphics card upgrades as well, thoughts?

Edit: I wonder whether, for gaming purposes, I'd be better off with Win 7 as it seems a lot of games aren't supported by 8. Any thoughts?

[Grizzly]

Edit: I wonder whether, for gaming purposes, I'd be better off with Win 7 as it seems a lot of games aren't supported by 8. Any thoughts?

All my games seem to work under Windows 8, so no worries there. It depends on what is cheaper for you IMO.


Seriously, you should get yourself a graphics card upgrade on that build. The 6450 really is not powerfull enough for anything that has come out recently. I highly recommeend that you get yourself a 7850 at minimum so the system will last you a while. If you are not into the latest games, a 7770 will do.

Also: usefull if you want to save a bit of money.

[Asokn]

Thanks for the helpful reply. Could anyone provide any guidance on what sort of games would run on the various graphics cards? I don't need my PC to be cutting edge but I would like to know its limits before I buy.

[Grizzly]

The best way to compare is to find benchamrks of recent games, such as this one.

[Sakkura]

The Radeon HD 6670 will run just about anything, BUT often at the lowest possible settings and/or lowered resolution (or at slideshow framerates). The HD 7770 is highly recommended, as it'll let you do most games at reasonable settings and a reasonable resolution. The HD 7850 and GTX 660 are definitely worth the extra money, but then it's almost entirely about upping the settings.

[Grizzly]

Here's another benchmark.And another one.

The HD 7850 and GTX 660 are definitely worth the extra money, but then it's almost entirely about upping the settings.

Or longetivity. I personally think that you will save money in the long run by going with those cards.
Although my 5770 still performs very decently in games.

[Asokn]

Thanks for the links, I will check them out and decide on an appropriate card.

On another note, I'm hoping to be able to upgrade this PC as the years go by, keeping it well specced rather than buying a new system every few years. I assume the main issue will be getting a case which allows me to get in and add things; based on the cases available in the link I've posted does anyone have any tips for a good choice?

[Sakkura]

Corsair are generally known for cases that are easy to work with, so one of their Carbide cases might be good. The Cooler Master Storm Enforcer is also pretty decent, and the NZXT Phantom 410 got good reviews (even if I personally don't like its looks).

But I actually don't think any of those cases would pose much of a problem. They're all midrange cases or above. It mostly comes down to what pleases your eye and your wallet.

[trjp]

On the upgrade thing - there are really only 2 approaches to PCs IMO

1 - buy newer motherboard with lower-end/older/cheaper CPU - with a view to replacing that with a higher-end model when they're cheaper in 1-2 years

2 - buy new everything and hope that standards don't change and even newer things will come long

2 doesn't really work that well anymore - we're seeing changes to chipsets which make throwing the motherboard worthwhile and that usually means a new CPU and even new memory.

I've bought 3 PCs with the intent of upgrading and never actually done it - first one because the higher-end chips never really got cheap enough, second one because the motherboard failed and current one because a new motherboard would gain me things like USB3, SATA3, DDR3 and so on.

I think what I'm saying is "buy the best PC you can afford and reckon on maybe changing the GPU or throwing in some RAM and that's it!" :)

[monk]

What I do is go online, look at sites that have PC builder web pages or that present set-ups for particular gaming needs, then copy the specs and ask technicians in a store to put the parts together for me.