WTB new computer parts

[Satiata]

:P

sooo... as you guys know I originally wanted to buy some new card and stuff after my birthday back in February, but since my PSU exploded on me back in January I had to first get a new PSU, Mainboard and processor


either way, now I'm trying to upgrade bit by bit, but am not entirely sure what exactly I should get that would also provide me with the money's worth, not forgetting to mention I never know whether I should wait a little longer to get something cheaper (because new models get released or whatever)




anyway, my current components:

CoolerMaster GX450 PSU ATX23 (450 Watt)
GigaByte GA-Z68AP-D3 Mainboard 1155 (ATX Intel Z68, 4x DDR3, 2x USB 3.0)
Intel Pentium G840 1155 Core-i3 (2800MHz, L2/L3-Cache)
HDD HITACHI HDP72505GLA380 (listed as 250GB, has 287GB though. lol@this one)
Radeon HD 5770
4 GB Ram

windows 7 64bit

sooo... as you can see, pretty much everything can be upgraded here, and I was thinking for now it's probably best to get me a new video card and maybe invest in an i5 or even i7, however, money's still tight since I'm still planning to move

it doesn't have to be within the next month or anything, I will probably only start upgrading my system once my move is final, especially since I will probably get me a new case aswell (mine is already a bit damaged and I don't think it's going to survive a move. LOL)

current budged is about 200€ so please no card for 1000€ or something ;D

[Miraluka Soran]

Keep in mind with this post that I am an AMD fan.

The new AMD Bulldozer FX-Series CPUs were released a little while ago and are very powerful while remaining affordable, especially when coupled with a 900 series Northbridge and a ATI card. Follows is a cheap build that will still give you the power you need to do most anything, while allowing space for adding in another vid card in crossfire later on.

GIGABYTE GA-970A-DS3 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard - 79.99 (64EU) - Solid board with 6 x SATA 6Gb/s, USB 3.0, 2000(o.c) RAM support, and a 970 Northbridge(not 990X but more affordable)

XFX Double D HD-687A-ZDFC Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity - 189.99 (153EU) I have the Asus brand of this card series (Asus 1GB 6870) and love it, the only reason I didn't buy this one was to so I could support local business by buying the one I have from the local shop ($100more locally, ouch).

AMD FX-8120 Zambezi 3.1GHz Socket AM3+ 125W Eight-Core Desktop Processor FD8120FRGUBOX - 179.99 (145EU) - 3.1GHZ, a little slower than the FX-8150 but cheaper. The 4000 and 6000 series are also available a little cheaper yet.

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL - 50.99 (41EU)

Rosewill Xtreme Series RX750-S-B 750W Continuous @40°C ,80 PLUS Certified, ATX12V v2.2 & EPS12V v2.91, SLI Ready CrossFire Ready, Active PFC Compatible with Core i7, i5 Power Supply - 89.99 (73EU)

Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - 99.99 (81EU) lots of flexibility here with what size you'd like, but I wouldn't go lower than 7200rpm, SSD is nice but costs a lot more. Just make sure it's 6GB/s whatever you get.

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM - 109.99 - OEM version may require you to re-register if you change too many hardware components in the future, adding or switching a vid crad or RAM likely won't break it, swapping a hard drive and CPU/Mobo combo may. I had it happen on a system years ago (likely win 95/98) and I just had to call Microsoft to get a new code.

Total in Cart: 710.94 (573EU)

While this is more than you wanted to spend I listed all components under 200EU. This is a balance between performance and affordability. Newegg has some good upgrade kits as well, but I find they usually contain components I don't necessarily want or that are more money than the cheaper alternatives. This is gaming on a budget after all. If you are looking for a quick boost in performance to start with you could just grab the vid card and PSU (Need minimum of 650 for that card, 750 would be better to allow for a new CPU later on)

The 7000 series GPUs are out and as far as they go it's a matter of what you want to spend. Juding by your statement about waiting a little longer I'd gather you are like myself, prefer to buy things just behind the tech-curve once the newer thing is out, to get the slightly outdated one at a better price.

Hope this helps some, I've been shopping for a while now trying to make the best choice to get the most performance for my dollar while maintaining a modest budget.

[P-Rife]

I'd say if your desktop runs okay upgrade the laptop, just enough to run vent during the ops

[Satiata]

PolishRifle wrote:

I'd say if your desktop runs okay upgrade the laptop, just enough to run vent during the ops

lawl. yeah I was actually thinking about that one aswell, but I figured since I will either move to Berlin in a few month - which means I'll be on my own and can use my desktop in the middle of the night - or if I stay here I will just get me one of those thingies Huvey is always advertising (lol) upgrading the laptop is really just money wasted. (plus the problem with vent is not really the laptop itself but the internet stick. it actually blocks VOIP completely)