Joined: May 25, 2011
Posts: 118
Location: Caemlyn, Andor
Joined: Apr 04, 2012
Posts: 118
Location: Divide, CO
Here is my opinion, your rig isn't bad. The cpu is fine but i understand wanting to jump up to almost 1 more Ghz speed. Your ram sounds like your using it in the new rig so it should be good. I can also understand wanting a cooler case, but i understand not everyone knows how to install computer parts into a new case. I don't know why you want to switch from an Ati card to GeForce, I personally am an Ati guy. I run a 7770 Radeon HD XFX core edition and I love it. If your willing to spend 300 bucks on a GeForce I would look at the XFX 7770, 7850 or 7870. The 7900 series just dropped but those are over 400 bucks.
Most importantly though I would suggest that you either get an SSD drive or a WD VelociRaptor drive. If you want to notice an upgrade difference then upgrade the speed of your drives. I went with an SSD drive for my operating system and main games I play and I have another standard drive for storage and other programs. I have noticed a big difference in several aspects of my computer operations since upgrading my main drive speed.
So that's my opinion. Also I love micro center because i live half a block away from one, and this semester I have a classmate who works there and can hook me up with his employee discount.
To bad I had already did the only upgrade left for my rig before we meet, lol.
Joined: May 31, 2011
Posts: 2631
Location: Fort McMurray, AB
I can never really suggest AMD or Nvidia, or vise-versa. Both are great. The only real difference is that AMD is further ahead when it comes to multi-monitor support, Nvidia is further ahead in 3D support, if wither of those are a concern. But far bang/buck goes, they yo-yo back and forth all the time. Just get something with at least 2gb VRAM.
Other than your current GPU - which is very outdated - you already have a decent system. The CPU you're looking at will be about 40% faster at stock speeds. Other than that, GET A CPU COOLER. those I7 chips overclock like mad, and it's super-simple. Of course Id' suggest a beefy cooler, but even a cheaper, $25 dollar dollar will be better than the stock.
Maybe a slightly bigger PSU if you're to get another GPU in the future, though 750w is certainly enough for that setup.
TSCorp burners are awesome. I have two (one DVD, one Blu-Ray) and they are the fastest optical drives I've had.
Personally, I didn't care for SSD. an extra 10 seconds boot-time is fine with me, they don't help framerates, and any program i run that takes any time always pulls data from my platter drives. Tough if you DO go SSD, get Intel. They cost a bit more, but have proven to be the most reliable consumer SSDs around. Or ya, get a 10k rpm mechanical.
-- Of all the soles I've ever tasted, his had the most ....cumin. --
Joined: May 25, 2011
Posts: 118
Location: Caemlyn, Andor
Here is my opinion, your rig isn't bad. The cpu is fine but i understand wanting to jump up to almost 1 more Ghz speed. Your ram sounds like your using it in the new rig so it should be good. I can also understand wanting a cooler case, but i understand not everyone knows how to install computer parts into a new case. I don't know why you want to switch from an Ati card to GeForce, I personally am an Ati guy. I run a 7770 Radeon HD XFX core edition and I love it. If your willing to spend 300 bucks on a GeForce I would look at the XFX 7770, 7850 or 7870. The 7900 series just dropped but those are over 400 bucks.
Most importantly though I would suggest that you either get an SSD drive or a WD VelociRaptor drive. If you want to notice an upgrade difference then upgrade the speed of your drives. I went with an SSD drive for my operating system and main games I play and I have another standard drive for storage and other programs. I have noticed a big difference in several aspects of my computer operations since upgrading my main drive speed.
So that's my opinion. Also I love micro center because i live half a block away from one, and this semester I have a classmate who works there and can hook me up with his employee discount.
To bad I had already did the only upgrade left for my rig before we meet, lol.
Thanks for the info.
The reason for the case is due to the current small size i have. Since new graphics cars would cause problems room wise with my hard drive. I know this since i once did try just upgrade my card once. As for the ATI to GeForce. I prefer how the updates for the GeForce are done better. Really anons me that you have to totally uninstall it just to update the drivers.
As for the hard drive. The reason for this is im not getting a new copy of windows 8. The plan right now is to take the new drive and hook it up to the current system and copy the c: to it. The curent drive is 2TB and is used as both programs and files. I can understand the advantage toe SSD since waiting for the drive to spin up some times is a pain in itself.
I can never really suggest AMD or Nvidia, or vise-versa. Both are great. The only real difference is that AMD is further ahead when it comes to multi-monitor support, Nvidia is further ahead in 3D support, if wither of those are a concern. But far bang/buck goes, they yo-yo back and forth all the time. Just get something with at least 2gb VRAM.
Other than your current GPU - which is very outdated - you already have a decent system. The CPU you're looking at will be about 40% faster at stock speeds. Other than that, GET A CPU COOLER. those I7 chips overclock like mad, and it's super-simple. Of course Id' suggest a beefy cooler, but even a cheaper, $25 dollar dollar will be better than the stock.
Maybe a slightly bigger PSU if you're to get another GPU in the future, though 750w is certainly enough for that setup.
TSCorp burners are awesome. I have two (one DVD, one Blu-Ray) and they are the fastest optical drives I've had.
Personally, I didn't care for SSD. an extra 10 seconds boot-time is fine with me, they don't help framerates, and any program i run that takes any time always pulls data from my platter drives. Tough if you DO go SSD, get Intel. They cost a bit more, but have proven to be the most reliable consumer SSDs around. Or ya, get a 10k rpm mechanical.
Thanks for the info.
In this case ill stick with Nvidia since i only use one monitor and will never have or need a second little less more.
As for the fan. I think ill leave it as is since it seem to be working well.
The PSU currently is a 330w so im going to have to upgrade it anyway
the dvd im just keep the one i have.
Knowledge is power.
Power corrupts.
Study Hard.
Be evil.
Last edited by Aliceter on Wed Mar 27, 2013 10:02 pm; edited 1 time in total
Joined: Feb 09, 2013
Posts: 212
Location: Union, Missouri
Dude upgrade your video card like sinicide sugests. I run two of them in crossfire. Your ATA Hard Drive could be updated. But is your mainboard able to use sata? Your proc. seems plenty good.
If your mainboard is good enough, then buy a new case if you want and transfer some old parts with some new ones to save cash. You have to play on it, do what you can afford. Personally I like cool cases too. But get you a full tower or a big mid sized one. I'm a coolermaster type of guy. Also consider which card uses most power and how they hook up. My two cards use less power than the 470gt they replaced with twice fps and less cost. POWER SUPPLY is critical in all builds, don't overlook this.
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Joined: May 25, 2011
Posts: 118
Location: Caemlyn, Andor
Thanks for the info
Is there any real difference between XFX 7770, 7850 or 7870?
I dont know how to find out the info on my mother board. Do you know any way to find out? The current system is a Studio XPS 435MT
Don't much care if the case is cool or not. The main reason for the new one is for the space inside.
Knowledge is power.
Power corrupts.
Study Hard.
Be evil.
Joined: May 31, 2011
Posts: 2631
Location: Fort McMurray, AB
The difference between the 7770 and 7850 is pretty nigh. Not so much the 7850 and 7870. I'm sure one could OC the 7850 to 7870 specs easily. If you want a big case at a good price, check the Coolermaster 'HAF' cases.
PS - having additional displays is very handy. Even a little one.
-- Of all the soles I've ever tasted, his had the most ....cumin. --
Joined: Jul 20, 2012
Posts: 365
Location: Cincinnati
Joined: May 25, 2011
Posts: 118
Location: Caemlyn, Andor
Watjalukinat wrote (View Post):
Whats the difference between this and the xfx 7870?
Knowledge is power.
Power corrupts.
Study Hard.
Be evil.
Joined: May 31, 2011
Posts: 2631
Location: Fort McMurray, AB
Without going into the numbers, the 7870 is faster, but the 7850 is about the same. The more you pay (regular prices), you better performance you get, generally. Get a budget, looks for a sale. Oh I should also add that Nvidia is a bit better if you wish to connect to an AVR or television. Barring a sale price, I wouldn't bother with those Superclock card - you just pay for a factory overclock that is tiny, and easily achievable at home.
As to additional monitors, it's just handy to have more desktop space. Keep a reference window up, or TS/Badkon/etc up while gaming. Or slap a video on there while doing other stuff. They are easy to set up, and have no real impact on performance.
-- Of all the soles I've ever tasted, his had the most ....cumin. --
Joined: May 25, 2011
Posts: 118
Location: Caemlyn, Andor
Without going into the numbers, the 7870 is faster, but the 7850 is about the same. The more you pay (regular prices), you better performance you get, generally. Get a budget, looks for a sale. Oh I should also add that Nvidia is a bit better if you wish to connect to an AVR or television. Barring a sale price, I wouldn't bother with those Superclock card - you just pay for a factory overclock that is tiny, and easily achievable at home.
As to additional monitors, it's just handy to have more desktop space. Keep a reference window up, or TS/Badkon/etc up while gaming. Or slap a video on there while doing other stuff. They are easy to set up, and have no real impact on performance.
Since im now not buying a hole new computer. What would you recommend for between about $4-500 range? This includes warranty and tax. If at all possible i would prefer it to be from microcenter or some other company with a store front as i hate having to call up people.
Knowledge is power.
Power corrupts.
Study Hard.
Be evil.
Joined: May 31, 2011
Posts: 2631
Location: Fort McMurray, AB
You AMD 7970 or Nvidia 680. Pretty much equal in terms of performance, but the 7970 is generally cheaper, as its' been out longer. And a get a CPU cooler and overclock that CPU a bit. :)
What do you currently (get it?) have for a PSU? I think 600w is 'recommended' as a minimum both both cards, but a quality 700w or higher would be better
-- Of all the soles I've ever tasted, his had the most ....cumin. --
Joined: May 25, 2011
Posts: 118
Location: Caemlyn, Andor
You AMD 7970 or Nvidia 680. Pretty much equal in terms of performance, but the 7970 is generally cheaper, as its' been out longer. And a get a CPU cooler and overclock that CPU a bit. :)
What do you currently (get it?) have for a PSU? I think 600w is 'recommended' as a minimum both both cards, but a quality 700w or higher would be better
I know how to change the cpu fan and psu but i have no idea how to over clock the cpu. is there any program i can get to do this and would i really get much more performance to for making it worth it?
Knowledge is power.
Power corrupts.
Study Hard.
Be evil.
Joined: May 31, 2011
Posts: 2631
Location: Fort McMurray, AB
Proper overclocking is done in the BIOS. How you go about it depends on your motherboard. Every chip - even identical ones - have different overclocking abilities. It can get pretty complex with altering voltages, timings, multipliers, etc. But simply raising your CPU clock (RAM speed x base multiplier), without changing advanced settings is a nice, easy place to start. That way, the only thing that you have to worry about is your temps. Anything under 80c at load is acceptable.
Yes, overclocking can help a lot, prticularly with games that depending heavily on CPU power. You wont; really see a differnce in boottimes or anything, but games, encoding, image edits, etc. will see a nice boost. A quick seach for i7 920 overlcoking talks of goign to .0 ghz on air coolers. Of course, that's with in-depth OC-ing, but I'd expect you can easily get to 3.4 to higher.
However, all of this depends on your motherbaord. What motherboard model do you have?
-- Of all the soles I've ever tasted, his had the most ....cumin. --
