Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 11:58 pm Post subject:
Looking to Upgrade PC - DaFool Edition
So recently my computer has been turning off when under alot of stress. It began with S.T.A.L.K.E.R, and I assumed that it was faulty coding on the games part, but I was running another game while doing a virus scan, and the game began to lag, and the comp eventually shutoff. So I have determined my PSU sucks, and needs to be replaced with something more powerful. And since I'll have the comp open, why not upgrade it a bit?
MoBo: ATI Radeon Xpress 1250
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+
RAM: 3gb (I'll get it up to 4)
PSU: Anzac(?) 500w (this was added)
GPU: Geforce 8600 GT (this was added)
I usually have headphones, speakers, a flashdrive, my ipod, and a wireless network thing plugged in.
My biggest desires are 1) a quieter computer. The fan is very loud, whether it's the PSU or GPU, I don't know. I am open to spending some cash on a cooling thing. 2)I defiantly need a new Power Supply, but I'm not really a hardware guy, so I don't know exactly which one to get, although I assume they are somewhat universal. 3) I'll max out the ram, because, why not? 4) Since my comp is getting kinda old, I think that maybe I could get a new CPU. Perhaps a new video card, although the GPU is not a priority.
All in all, I'm thinking about a budget of around 500 bucks. Any suggestions? I'm not entirely sure about what is compatible with what, but I kinda assume most stuff is universal nowadays.
First,
If you are to keep your current motherboard, you cant get a intel CPU, since it cannot support it.
Second,
i run a GTX 275, EVGA790i SLI FTW, quad core 9550 with a 750W PSU. (which means that you probably wont need a PSU that strong)
Third,
Im not sure if ut motherboard even supports quad core, couldnt find so much information about it.
Fourth,
the issue with your computer turing off might just be that it gets overheated. _________________ Dont look in his eyes! QUICK_EDIT
Joined: 05 Mar 2007 Location: Less than 10 minutes from the internet
Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2010 1:57 am Post subject:
At the end of last year, my parents let me build my own desktop, and I went with the Phenom II x5 965 rev 3, and boy, is that one HELL of a processor! Building a computer around the AMD option will generally put you ahead of he game in terms of price and power. Despite what my Intel fanboy's of computer science professors say, and in accordance with a friend of mine in real world high performance computing, AMD seems to work out to be a better option.
Now, that's just my opinion. Just make sure that you have a motherboard that has the right BIOS to support the CPU you choose, or else you'll get into the same problem I encountered, which involved a week waiting for ASUS to give send me the updated BIOS for the CPU revision I choose... what a nightmare.
Anyway, enough of my rambling... Im gonna go play Red Alert 2 or 3... _________________ QUICK_EDIT
Also Known As: banshee_revora (Steam) Joined: 15 Aug 2002 Location: Brazil
Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2010 2:43 am Post subject:
Quote:
So recently my computer has been turning off when under alot of stress. It began with S.T.A.L.K.E.R, and I assumed that it was faulty coding on the games part, but I was running another game while doing a virus scan, and the game began to lag, and the comp eventually shutoff.
Remove the dust from your CPU cooler, GPU cooler and motherboard and your computer will accept stress again. I do it here every couple of months and it solves my problem.
By the way, as a bonus, this action will reduce the noise generated by your CPU cooler.
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If you are to keep your current motherboard, you cant get a intel CPU, since it cannot support it.
As far as I'm aware (and I'm not very up to date in this subject), Intel processors with similar frequencies and cores than AMD ones are faster, but, for the same money from an Intel processor, you can buy a much better AMD processor.
All my computers have AMD processors and they are awesome. The cooler that comes with non-OEM AMD processor works much better than one that comes with a non-OEM Intel one. I've never needed to buy a separate cooler and, man... I live in a tremendously hot place.
Regarding the noise, I agree that it does some noise, which is sorta inevitable.
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My biggest desires are 1) a quieter computer. The fan is very loud, whether it's the PSU or GPU, I don't know.
In your case, it is CPU, since your graphics adapter is onboard and definitelly requires a change to run decent games.
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2)I defiantly need a new Power Supply, but I'm not really a hardware guy, so I don't know exactly which one to get, although I assume they are somewhat universal.
500w? If these 500w are really 500w, then it is more than enough to run your computer with the current settings and possibly hold the ground if you add a stronger video card.
Your processor alone uses 89w. If you change it to a Phenom, its usage ranges between 65w to 140w, although most of them are on 95w, which is not a greater difference. So, the bigger power hog would be a new video card. Depending on what you get and if you update the cpu, motherboard, etc.... you'll need a new power supply.
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3) I'll max out the ram, because, why not?
That's interesting if you intend to keep the current motherboard.
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4) Since my comp is getting kinda old, I think that maybe I could get a new CPU. Perhaps a new video card, although the GPU is not a priority.
A new video card will do a much greater difference in the performance than a new CPU, specially if you test it with games. QUICK_EDIT
Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2010 3:08 am Post subject:
Re: Looking to Upgrade PC - DaFool Edition
DaFool wrote:
All in all, I'm thinking about a budget of around 500 bucks. Any suggestions? I'm not entirely sure about what is compatible with what, but I kinda assume most stuff is universal nowadays.
It's not. Don't even be close to assuming that. Being that this system is discontinued, I would seriously doubt any modern CPU you look at would be compatible. You might brick your hardware if you put an unsupported CPU in your board.
If I knew the exact model, I could probably dig up a compatible CPU, but it might end up costing more than you'd want.
To be honest, the only thing I can recommend is a bigger case to make room for fans. Sounds like things are just overheating.
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AMD seems to work out to be a better option.
For price, maybe. But in terms of raw muscle, not by a long shot. Intel processors, by and large, outperform AMDs quite readily. _________________ Because Banshee saw fit to ban my other account for no reason, this is my new one. QUICK_EDIT
Trust me, if it's performance and graphics you're looking for, then the GPU will be the one to eat most of your cash. You could save up by keeping the PSU, it's 500watts so it should still be able to do good on your next rig, just keep it clean though, dust is annoying as hell.
Also, Phenom 2 X4 > Core 2 Quad. The Phenom series is AMD's best out there right now. Though of course, if you're up to spend some more, you might as well get an I7 and another mobo. AMD has also released their six core processor the Phenom II X6, it's quite good, it costs around 300 dollars though, amazingly, it still uses Socket AM3, So I guess you could still use the Mobos with that socket. _________________ Please, I DON'T read the signature rules of the forum. QUICK_EDIT
ok, thanks for the advice. I guess I know less about hardware than I thought, but this is good.
My goals are, and in this order:
Stop computer from shutting down under stress
Reduce it's noise
Enjoy the excesses of wealth (IE, purchase a few upgrades)
Well, I got to go to work now, I'll clear the dust from my computer later todau and report back. _________________ Please, read the signature rules of the forum. QUICK_EDIT
Joined: 05 Mar 2007 Location: Less than 10 minutes from the internet
Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2010 5:29 pm Post subject:
inzane krazy wrote:
AMD has also released their six core processor the Phenom II X6, it's quite good, it costs around 300 dollars though, amazingly, it still uses Socket AM3
When I heard about the x6 version, I was like "Oh Snap! DO WANT!"
DaFool, just grab some canned air, and clean the dust out of everything, and sometimes that's just the pick-me-up your computer needs to keep cooler, and run better. _________________ QUICK_EDIT
Ok, so I cleaned the dust out of it, and the thing is alot quiter (on a whole there was only a light covering of dust, but in the fan over the cpu I pulled out chunks from between each blade of the fan). So everything's quieter also!
But just because I have some money to throw around, and it doesn't seem that expensive/hard to do, I think I'll buy another gig of ram to max out what my mobo can hold. the specs say ddr2, 240 pin, so I'm guessing this is the thing to get:
Also Known As: banshee_revora (Steam) Joined: 15 Aug 2002 Location: Brazil
Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2010 9:50 pm Post subject:
Between more RAM, new video card and processor, your computer will get a much better performance with a new video card. Your current one is horrible and causes tremendous delays to the rest of the system. 3Gb of RAM is acceptable and your processor has a strong frequency. It is quick with most applications. The only problem is lack of cores, but it will only suffer with recent hardcore 3D games. QUICK_EDIT
Thanks for the advice. I was looking at video cards on new eggs, and I noticed most, if not all, of them look to be twice as tall as the single slot in the back. Right now theres an open slot above and below my card, so would this be alright for a double sized card?
The GeForce GTX 460 seems to be about the right price that I want to pay, would this be recommended? _________________ Please, read the signature rules of the forum. QUICK_EDIT
You'd need a new power supply for sure, but if you have a cramped space, it may not fit. Being that you have a prebuilt, their cases generally are not near large enough to accommodate big cards.
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your computer will get a much better performance with a new video card.
For games, not system performance. _________________ Because Banshee saw fit to ban my other account for no reason, this is my new one. QUICK_EDIT
I got a Geforce 465 GTX and installed it myself today. It was alot easier than I thought it was gonna be, and I'm real excited to try out some games _________________ Please, read the signature rules of the forum. QUICK_EDIT
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Looking to Upgrade PC - DaFool Edition
