PC Gaming Hardware Help

[Zing]

Okay so I'm looking to do some upgrades to my computer, I'm still rocking XP, never got Vista ever, but I'm grabbing Windows 7 and I'm also upgrading my hard drive which is still an 80gig.

I figured since I'll be starting over with the hard drive I should do an upgrade across the board.

Firstly Video cards, I'm currently using 1x XFX Radeon 4870 1gig. From what I've been reading my best, and probably cheapest max upgrade would be to grab a second one of these and crossfire them. Would you guys concur?

Alright so CPU is definitely the worst part of my computer, currently I'm running an AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core. I really know shit all about CPU's, so this is where I need the most help. I want something pretty good.

I'm also going to need another 2 gig of DDR2, or 1 gig at least, because I'll be grabbing Windows 7 64-bit.

The last component being the motherboard I'm a little shady on, currently I am using an ASUS M3A. I'm quite sure I'll need to upgrade this for sure to get a much better CPU. How vital is a good motherboard toward performance? The motherboard will need to support DDR2 ram and 2 PCI-Express cards, if I should indeed go with the crossfire'd 4780's.

Thanks for any help.

edit: To clarify, I'm only needing to upgrade:

Motherboard
Video Card
CPU

I already have a very nice mouse/keyboard/monitor/speakers/case etc. And RAM/HDD/OS are pretty straightforward.

 

[Zing]

well if you getting a new mobo and cpu you may as well upgrade ram, id recommend getting either an i5 or i7 , and intern DDR3 RAM

But whats you budget?

It's hard to say, I'll be getting back a tax return of about 600 dollars Australian, and I'll be working a lot over Christmas including three public holidays. And I don't really have anything else other then hardware to spend money on as I live at home still. I don't want to go around grabbing very top of the range stuff obviously, I'd say mid-high range.

I must admit I hadn't really considered upgrading RAM, if I did do that though I'd have to buy at least 3 gig of ram to push W7 64-bit, I haven't really looked into the pricing of DDR3. From what I'm reading DDR3 doesn't really make much of a difference especially for gaming.

edit: Also can probably squeeze one part out of my parents for Christmas

 

[Zing]

Also I'll have to go look at the i7, I haven't used an Intel processor in around 5 years.

Am I to assume that the Xfire'd 4870s is a good set-up?

 

[Zing]

So, from what I see, you're in a situation somewhat similar to mine, except that I can't afford to upgrade the motherboard that I've got. I have an AM2 motherboard with no support for AM2+ or AM3 processors.

Anyway, it would be possible for you to get a decently-priced CPU for your current model of motherboard, which would be the best option, as the newer AM3 motherboards typically only support DDR3 RAM. If you can find one, the Phenom II X4 940 offers good value for money without you having to upgrade the motherboard. It's very overclockable, being a Black Edition processor, so you wouldn't have to worry there.

This, on the other hand, would somewhat limit your graphics card selection, as the M3A can't use Crossfire, AFAIK. However, there is a decent single-GPU option which would fit well with the overclocked Phenom II - the ATI Radeon HD 5850. The performance wouldn't be as powerful as having a Crossfire selection with your 4870s, but the power consumption would be lower, you wouldn't have to upgrade your motherboard to something requiring DDR3 RAM and you'd get DirectX 11 support with that as well. They're currently quite expensive because of demand, but it does save the extra expense of RAM.

So, you have two options: Buy a new AM3 motherboard and something like the Phenom II X4 955, which necessitates new RAM, but which allows you to use your old GPU in Crossfire, or else buy the older AM2+ Phenom II X4 940 BE and an HD 5850.

The situation using my old GPU sounds like the best option on principal, I've only had this graphics card I think I around 3-4 months now, I stupidly just bought it, I should've just saved and done this, but with the exception of a 5850 or Xfire'd 5850, I have the best graphics card set up, If I were going to get the 5850 I'd also have to wait until January at least because the prices right now are a little too high, and they should go down.

well if you getting a new mobo and cpu you may as well upgrade ram, id recommend getting either an i5 or i7 , and intern DDR3 RAM

But whats you budget?

It's hard to say, I'll be getting back a tax return of about 600 dollars Australian, and I'll be working a lot over Christmas including three public holidays. And I don't really have anything else other then hardware to spend money on as I live at home still. I don't want to go around grabbing very top of the range stuff obviously, I'd say mid-high range.

I must admit I hadn't really considered upgrading RAM, if I did do that though I'd have to buy at least 3 gig of ram to push W7 64-bit, I haven't really looked into the pricing of DDR3.

edit: Also can probably squeeze one part out of my parents for Christmas

How does $577(plus shipping) sound
Linky: http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=shopping_cart&product_id=12495

Your Shopping Cart is empty.

Make sure your case and power supply are big enough to handle the upgrades.

Hehe, funnily enough they are, when I first bought the 4870 I was still using a stock 350w PSU and I couldn't run L4D, WoW or COD4. Apparently the PSU wasn't providing enough power to run games. So long story short I now have a 650W PSU, in a Thermaltake Soprano case. So the answer is yeah, I do.

 

[hotdogoctopus]

Okay so I'm looking to do some upgrades to my computer, I'm still rocking XP, never got Vista ever, but I'm grabbing Windows 7 and I'm also upgrading my hard drive which is still an 80gig.

I figured since I'll be starting over with the hard drive I should do an upgrade across the board.

Firstly Video cards, I'm currently using 1x XFX Radeon 4870 1gig. From what I've been reading my best, and probably cheapest max upgrade would be to grab a second one of these and crossfire them. Would you guys concur?

Alright so CPU is definitely the worst part of my computer, currently I'm running an AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core. I really know shit all about CPU's, so this is where I need the most help. I want something pretty good.

I'm also going to need another 2 gig of DDR2, or 1 gig at least, because I'll be grabbing Windows 7 64-bit.

The last component being the motherboard I'm a little shady on, currently I am using an ASUS M3A. I'm quite sure I'll need to upgrade this for sure to get a much better CPU. How vital is a good motherboard toward performance? The motherboard will need to support DDR2 ram and 2 PCI-Express cards, if I should indeed go with the crossfire'd 4780's.

Thanks for any help.

edit: To clarify, I'm only needing to upgrade:

Motherboard
Video Card
CPU

I already have a very nice mouse/keyboard/monitor/speakers/case etc. And RAM/HDD/OS are pretty straightforward.

First of all, kill yourself for even grabbing a computer that doesn't run on XP, or just building your own. But, if I had to suggest, I'd go with the desktop I have the HP M9520F, if you can't afford it, get a job, do something, suck dick for nickels, I care not, just get a comp that won't kill your soul (completely)

 

[Zing]

Also I'll have to go look at the i7, I haven't used an Intel processor in around 5 years.

Am I to assume that the Xfire'd 4870s is a good set-up?

wellll... its not too bad you could get a second and crossfire it or you could get a higher up model but really it comes down to your budget once again ,an extra 4870 will cost around $200 but wont give a huge frame rate improvement decent but not huge, and if you get a higher model it will cost $500+, for a decent one

Well it's hard to tell, mostly because my CPU, and to a lesser extent my ram are being a bit of a drag on my FPS, being as bad as they are. Maybe I'll just bite the bullet and get a mobo for 5850 and DDR3, then grab a second 5850 to Crossfire later.

 

[Zing]

Okay so I'm looking to do some upgrades to my computer, I'm still rocking XP, never got Vista ever, but I'm grabbing Windows 7 and I'm also upgrading my hard drive which is still an 80gig.

I figured since I'll be starting over with the hard drive I should do an upgrade across the board.

Firstly Video cards, I'm currently using 1x XFX Radeon 4870 1gig. From what I've been reading my best, and probably cheapest max upgrade would be to grab a second one of these and crossfire them. Would you guys concur?

Alright so CPU is definitely the worst part of my computer, currently I'm running an AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core. I really know shit all about CPU's, so this is where I need the most help. I want something pretty good.

I'm also going to need another 2 gig of DDR2, or 1 gig at least, because I'll be grabbing Windows 7 64-bit.

The last component being the motherboard I'm a little shady on, currently I am using an ASUS M3A. I'm quite sure I'll need to upgrade this for sure to get a much better CPU. How vital is a good motherboard toward performance? The motherboard will need to support DDR2 ram and 2 PCI-Express cards, if I should indeed go with the crossfire'd 4780's.

Thanks for any help.

edit: To clarify, I'm only needing to upgrade:

Motherboard
Video Card
CPU

I already have a very nice mouse/keyboard/monitor/speakers/case etc. And RAM/HDD/OS are pretty straightforward.

First of all, kill yourself for even grabbing a computer that doesn't run on XP, or just building your own. But, if I had to suggest, I'd go with the desktop I have the HP M9520F, if you can't afford it, get a job, do something, suck dick for nickels, I care not, just get a comp that won't kill your soul (completely)

I think you misunderstood. XP is what I run my computer on now, it could run Vista if I had wanted that shit. And I would much rather build my own again.

 

[AhumbleKnight]

I have an i7 in my gaming comp. I did this with the intention of having a CPU that is nothing special now (most programs dont know how to use that many cores). I recently advised a mate to go with a older CPU that has more grunt; it was a Duel core I think, but the fastest they had (which is better for gaming). So, my advice for your CPU is a Duel or Quad Core, but as fast as you can get.

RAM = VERY important for gaming. Get as much as you can. I have 3Gig now(DDR3), I will be upgrading it to 6Gig as soon as I can. DDR3 is alot more expensive than DDR2 is but it is getting better and I think it is worth it. Considering how easy it is to upgrade RAM I would highly recomend DDR3

Graphics Card: Can't really help you on this one, havn't looked at them for a while.

Motherboard: If your buying a new motherboard, get high quality, DDR3 DIMs. The rest of a motherboard is personal preferance and as far as I am concerned, mostly fluff.

Since your an aussie, I recommend checking out http://www.umart.com.au/
It is the Queensland based one and it will cost a little for shipping but it is worth it because they are alot cheaper than their counterparts in other states. I baught two i7 gaming machines (built with the intention of upgrades to RAM and graphics card) for under two grand (last years prices, that was good value).

 

[Zing]

I have an i7 in my gaming comp. I did this with the intention of having a CPU that is nothing special now (most programs dont know how to use that many cores). I recently advised a mate to go with a older CPU that has more grunt; it was a Duel core I think, but the fastest they had (which is better for gaming). So, my advice for your CPU is a Duel or Quad Core, but as fast as you can get.

RAM = VERY important for gaming. Get as much as you can. I have 3Gig now(DDR3), I will be upgrading it to 6Gig as soon as I can. DDR3 is alot more expensive than DDR2 is but it is getting better and I think it is worth it. Considering how easy it is to upgrade RAM I would highly recomend DDR3

Graphics Card: Can't really help you on this one, havn't looked at them for a while.

Motherboard: If your buying a new motherboard, get high quality, DDR3 DIMs. The rest of a motherboard is personal preferance and as far as I am concerned, mostly fluff.

Since your an aussie, I recommend checking out http://www.umart.com.au/
It is the Queensland based one and it will cost a little for shipping but it is worth it because they are alot cheaper than their counterparts in other states. I baught two i7 gaming machines (built with the intention of upgrades to RAM and graphics card) for under two grand.

Yeah umart is where I get all my parts, have to drive to Milton (I live about 20 minutes north of the CBD), but the prices are good, generally on the same level as gamedude who are at springwood(and their customer service sucks).

I think that the impact of RAM depends on the game. For example WoW uses a ton of ram and you get a lot of use out of a large amount, some games are less dependent.

 

[hotdogoctopus]

Okay so I'm looking to do some upgrades to my computer, I'm still rocking XP, never got Vista ever, but I'm grabbing Windows 7 and I'm also upgrading my hard drive which is still an 80gig.

I figured since I'll be starting over with the hard drive I should do an upgrade across the board.

Firstly Video cards, I'm currently using 1x XFX Radeon 4870 1gig. From what I've been reading my best, and probably cheapest max upgrade would be to grab a second one of these and crossfire them. Would you guys concur?

Alright so CPU is definitely the worst part of my computer, currently I'm running an AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core. I really know shit all about CPU's, so this is where I need the most help. I want something pretty good.

I'm also going to need another 2 gig of DDR2, or 1 gig at least, because I'll be grabbing Windows 7 64-bit.

The last component being the motherboard I'm a little shady on, currently I am using an ASUS M3A. I'm quite sure I'll need to upgrade this for sure to get a much better CPU. How vital is a good motherboard toward performance? The motherboard will need to support DDR2 ram and 2 PCI-Express cards, if I should indeed go with the crossfire'd 4780's.

Thanks for any help.

edit: To clarify, I'm only needing to upgrade:

Motherboard
Video Card
CPU

I already have a very nice mouse/keyboard/monitor/speakers/case etc. And RAM/HDD/OS are pretty straightforward.

First of all, kill yourself for even grabbing a computer that doesn't run on XP, or just building your own. But, if I had to suggest, I'd go with the desktop I have the HP M9520F, if you can't afford it, get a job, do something, suck dick for nickels, I care not, just get a comp that won't kill your soul (completely)

I think you misunderstood. XP is what I run my computer on now, it could run Vista if I had wanted that shit. And I would much rather build my own again.

To clarify, Windows 7 = *insert the sound of blowing* worse than vista. I know you have XP now, And out of my three comps, two are xp, and the scary strong one is vista. It's just a little gay sometimes. 7 I can't even deal with it's issues. It has made me a very angry hobbyist.

 

[AhumbleKnight]

Yeah umart is where I get all my parts, have to drive to Milton (I live about 20 minutes north of the CBD), but the prices are good, generally on the same level as gamedude who are at springwood(and their customer service sucks).

I think that the impact of RAM depends on the game. For example WoW uses a ton of ram and you get a lot of use out of a large amount, some games are less dependent.

That is true, some games are less dependant, but this is becoming a smaller group. I would say that any would benifit from more ram more than extra cpu power. Graphics Card and RAM make a gaming machine. The CPU just needs to be good, as long as the others are great then your laughing your way to performance heaven.

 

[Zing]

To clarify, Windows 7 = *insert the sound of blowing* worse than vista. I know you have XP now, And out of my three comps, two are xp, and the scary strong one is vista. It's just a little gay sometimes. 7 I can't even deal with it's issues. It has made me a very angry hobbyist.

You'd be the first person I've heard that from, I've heard pretty rave impressions of it from friends and family. I'm sick of looking at XP, and its pretty dated, I'm definitely getting Windows 7 and I don't feel bad about it.

 

[hotdogoctopus]

Okay so I'm looking to do some upgrades to my computer, I'm still rocking XP, never got Vista ever, but I'm grabbing Windows 7 and I'm also upgrading my hard drive which is still an 80gig.

I figured since I'll be starting over with the hard drive I should do an upgrade across the board.

Firstly Video cards, I'm currently using 1x XFX Radeon 4870 1gig. From what I've been reading my best, and probably cheapest max upgrade would be to grab a second one of these and crossfire them. Would you guys concur?

Alright so CPU is definitely the worst part of my computer, currently I'm running an AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core. I really know shit all about CPU's, so this is where I need the most help. I want something pretty good.

I'm also going to need another 2 gig of DDR2, or 1 gig at least, because I'll be grabbing Windows 7 64-bit.

The last component being the motherboard I'm a little shady on, currently I am using an ASUS M3A. I'm quite sure I'll need to upgrade this for sure to get a much better CPU. How vital is a good motherboard toward performance? The motherboard will need to support DDR2 ram and 2 PCI-Express cards, if I should indeed go with the crossfire'd 4780's.

Thanks for any help.

edit: To clarify, I'm only needing to upgrade:

Motherboard
Video Card
CPU

I already have a very nice mouse/keyboard/monitor/speakers/case etc. And RAM/HDD/OS are pretty straightforward.

First of all, kill yourself for even grabbing a computer that doesn't run on XP, or just building your own. But, if I had to suggest, I'd go with the desktop I have the HP M9520F, if you can't afford it, get a job, do something, suck dick for nickels, I care not, just get a comp that won't kill your soul (completely)

I think you misunderstood. XP is what I run my computer on now, it could run Vista if I had wanted that shit. And I would much rather build my own again.

To clarify, Windows 7 = *insert the sound of blowing* worse than vista. I know you have XP now, And out of my three comps, two are xp, and the scary strong one is vista. It's just a little gay sometimes. 7 I can't even deal with it's issues. It has made me a very angry hobbyist.

I wish Windows 98 was still supported.

98 was fun, I have a soft spot for ME, that was what MY first comp. had.

 

[Zing]

Okay so I'm looking to do some upgrades to my computer, I'm still rocking XP, never got Vista ever, but I'm grabbing Windows 7 and I'm also upgrading my hard drive which is still an 80gig.

I figured since I'll be starting over with the hard drive I should do an upgrade across the board.

Firstly Video cards, I'm currently using 1x XFX Radeon 4870 1gig. From what I've been reading my best, and probably cheapest max upgrade would be to grab a second one of these and crossfire them. Would you guys concur?

Alright so CPU is definitely the worst part of my computer, currently I'm running an AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core. I really know shit all about CPU's, so this is where I need the most help. I want something pretty good.

I'm also going to need another 2 gig of DDR2, or 1 gig at least, because I'll be grabbing Windows 7 64-bit.

The last component being the motherboard I'm a little shady on, currently I am using an ASUS M3A. I'm quite sure I'll need to upgrade this for sure to get a much better CPU. How vital is a good motherboard toward performance? The motherboard will need to support DDR2 ram and 2 PCI-Express cards, if I should indeed go with the crossfire'd 4780's.

Thanks for any help.

edit: To clarify, I'm only needing to upgrade:

Motherboard
Video Card
CPU

I already have a very nice mouse/keyboard/monitor/speakers/case etc. And RAM/HDD/OS are pretty straightforward.

First of all, kill yourself for even grabbing a computer that doesn't run on XP, or just building your own. But, if I had to suggest, I'd go with the desktop I have the HP M9520F, if you can't afford it, get a job, do something, suck dick for nickels, I care not, just get a comp that won't kill your soul (completely)

I think you misunderstood. XP is what I run my computer on now, it could run Vista if I had wanted that shit. And I would much rather build my own again.

To clarify, Windows 7 = *insert the sound of blowing* worse than vista. I know you have XP now, And out of my three comps, two are xp, and the scary strong one is vista. It's just a little gay sometimes. 7 I can't even deal with it's issues. It has made me a very angry hobbyist.

I wish Windows 98 was still supported.

98 was fun, I have a soft spot for ME, that was what MY first comp. had.

Hehe same. Playing WoW on ME and 56k was pretty funny.

 

[hotdogoctopus]

Okay so I'm looking to do some upgrades to my computer, I'm still rocking XP, never got Vista ever, but I'm grabbing Windows 7 and I'm also upgrading my hard drive which is still an 80gig.

I figured since I'll be starting over with the hard drive I should do an upgrade across the board.

Firstly Video cards, I'm currently using 1x XFX Radeon 4870 1gig. From what I've been reading my best, and probably cheapest max upgrade would be to grab a second one of these and crossfire them. Would you guys concur?

Alright so CPU is definitely the worst part of my computer, currently I'm running an AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core. I really know shit all about CPU's, so this is where I need the most help. I want something pretty good.

I'm also going to need another 2 gig of DDR2, or 1 gig at least, because I'll be grabbing Windows 7 64-bit.

The last component being the motherboard I'm a little shady on, currently I am using an ASUS M3A. I'm quite sure I'll need to upgrade this for sure to get a much better CPU. How vital is a good motherboard toward performance? The motherboard will need to support DDR2 ram and 2 PCI-Express cards, if I should indeed go with the crossfire'd 4780's.

Thanks for any help.

edit: To clarify, I'm only needing to upgrade:

Motherboard
Video Card
CPU

I already have a very nice mouse/keyboard/monitor/speakers/case etc. And RAM/HDD/OS are pretty straightforward.

First of all, kill yourself for even grabbing a computer that doesn't run on XP, or just building your own. But, if I had to suggest, I'd go with the desktop I have the HP M9520F, if you can't afford it, get a job, do something, suck dick for nickels, I care not, just get a comp that won't kill your soul (completely)

I think you misunderstood. XP is what I run my computer on now, it could run Vista if I had wanted that shit. And I would much rather build my own again.

To clarify, Windows 7 = *insert the sound of blowing* worse than vista. I know you have XP now, And out of my three comps, two are xp, and the scary strong one is vista. It's just a little gay sometimes. 7 I can't even deal with it's issues. It has made me a very angry hobbyist.

I wish Windows 98 was still supported.

98 was fun, I have a soft spot for ME, that was what MY first comp. had.

Hehe same. Playing WoW on ME and 56k was pretty funny.

Yeah, WoW was years away when I got my first comp. I was still playing Team Fortress Classic.

 

[Zing]

Yeah, WoW was years away when I got my first comp. I was still playing Team Fortress Classic.

I didn't start PC gaming until WoW, except for the occasional game of CS on my friends computer.