upgrade time :)

[richwarf]

ok it comming near my birthday, i asking for money so i can get a upgrade for my computer, so i have about £100 to play with, maybe more or less.

Here my computer spec
Manufacturer:
DIXONSXP
Processor:
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6300 @ 1.86GHz (2 CPUs)
Memory:
2046MB RAM
Hard Drive:
62 GB times 4 Drives
Video Card:
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 SE/7200 GS
Monitor:
19" widescrean
Sound Card:
USB PnP Sound Device (emulated) and on monitor
Speakers/Headphones:
Headphones and on monitor
Keyboard:
G15 and n52te
Mouse:
dell mouse with 4 buttons (left, right,MB4 MB5+scroll)
Mouse Surface:
old mouse gel pad (needs cleaning)
Operating System:
Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3 (2600.xpsp_sp3_gdr.090206-1234)
Motherboard:
Unknowen
Computer Case:
Unknowen

What shold i upgrade frist?
Video Card for better FPS
Memory/Ram?
Hard Drive for more storage space, it is 250GB but i cut it up so if somthing goes wrong i dont loose all my data.
C is programs
D is raw vids (vai xfire)
E is conpress vids (for storage intill needed)
F is docs, mouic and WoW :P

But what shold i upgrade frist?
*opens a poll*

and TY for any info you can give

Before you ask i gettting about 10 FPS in raids and when i record 5 FPS...

[Seer]

In your case I would say GFX card.

CPU is good, enough ram for the OS and WoW. No idea how full your drives are but if you don't download to much that shouldn't be a problem.

Hard Drive for more storage space, it is 250GB but i cut it up so if somthing goes wrong i dont loose all my data.

This however is not really the best way to ensure data safety. Either a second HD or burn the most important stuff to a dvd is a better way to ensure data safety. If the drive fails it has a high chance it will take all partitions with it.

/edit

Not so sure about the USB sound device, if it uses the CPU then that can be a big performance hit.

[Xrystal]

Yeah, I have a separate partition for data so that when I ever reinstall windows for one reason or another my data is untouched. But, I do keep DVD backups usually every 6 months and my really important stuff I upload to our webserver.

[us2006027321]

You're on a dual core processor. You could make better use of that if your system had another 2 GBs of ram. An upgrade to your video card also would be a good idea. If you have £100 working for you, and you shop well, you could probably get both.

[richwarf]

hehe i starting to look about for a new card, but i have noidear how you rate then, i thinking of staying with nvidia since i know it works, but i have no idear

Any one know of a good place to look up this data and what kind of data i looking for?

i need some thing that will give me 60+ FPS since when i press record on xfire or any other program like that it cuts my FPS down by about 50%. I like to rec and upload things to youtube (http://www.youtube.com/user/Richwarf)

[Petrah]

You're only running on a 1.86GHz processor, which means you are going to be very limited on the graphics card update. If you go too high end with the vid card then you're going to be stuck with FPS issues due to a bottleneck. Personally I would not go any higher than a GeForce 8800GT (the 9800GT is the exact same card as the 8800GT... it's just rebranded).

The 8800GT's are powerful and tough little cards... as long as you take good care of them. They come out of the package with their fan settings at 30%. I recommend RivaTuner to adjust the fan and keep it running at about 60% speed. The reason that the vid card companies sell their cards with such low fan speeds is because when you set the fans at higher RPM speeds they become extremely noisy. Personally I don't care about the noise as long as my card is being kept cool so it runs at optimal performance and will last longer.

[Cralor]

I agree with Silenia. I think you should actually upgrade your CPU first. You will have to figure out the type of Motherboard you have and what it supports to find a CPU that fits with your computer. Download CPU-Z. It will help you find information about your computer (such as the Motherboard).

I don't really know how high you can go with Video Cards fitting your CPU. If you can get up to a 9800GT with your CPU like Silenia said, then you could go that route as well.

Overall: I'd replace both the CPU and GPU if you can. If you can't, then I would definitely recommend the 9800GT (if it will indeed function well as said).

[Sepioth]

I would definitely say a better GPU myself. Same suggestion as Silenia said.

Not to sure about adding another 2gb of ram. Unless you are running a 64bit OS then you will never be able to use anything above the 3.5gb mark (give or take) so you would just be better off getting 1gb and saving a few dollars.

I never used a USB sound card I have been using the same Creative Audigy for quite a few years now and it has yet to fail me ever. So I do not know the performance hit USB sound does to a system.

Also a new mouse pad is in order .. it might not give you more FPS but it sure beats cleaning it Kinda like underwear


If a HD fails it fails. Chances are any and ALL partitions are going to be lost. It is highly recommended getting another HD as a backup drive OR burning to DVD as needed.

I also kinda do what Xrystal does. I have 3 HD's. My Windows drive is a 500gb drive. I have a second 500gb that has all my Docs, Music, Videos, Pictures and stuff on it. I have a 1TB drive that contains my games like WoW and Fallout 3 as well as my programs.

I do not install anything onto my Windows drive (the reason for the 500gb is because that's all I have. As I upgrade to bigger HD's I move older drives out and move the other drives down a letter ) this way if I need to reinstall I don't have to worry about backing stuff up right away.

[Petrah]

He can actually get away with simply upgrading that video card to the 8800GT/9800GT. He doesn't really need a new CPU unless it's failing, and with XP he really doesn't need more than 2GB of RAM. Upgrading the CPU may require a new motherboard, which in turn may require new RAM. That's a lot of money for just a few more FPS numbers.

With the suggested video card, at most he might need to upgrade his PSU.

[neuralassassin]

I d have to agree the video cards gotta go thats where you ll get the most FPS out of for now here is a list of neweggs 9800 gts. There are a couple of cards there with 1 gb for around 100 to 110 otherwise a couple with 512 mb for under a hundred. They seem to have stopped stocking the 8800's could be temporary but I kind of doubt it, all they had was some 8400's left and maybe 1 or 2 8600's

[richwarf]

ok i just did somthing silly...

I just hit my computer with my head since it above my screan, wen i headbutted it, the dam thing fell off it mounts on the wall and well landed on the Gcard...

The output waw just holding the whole wight of the PC for about 30 secs...
it now been bent at about 30% (was 45%) from the case...

Seams to still be working just, my FPS have taken a hit mind... (now 10 at most, raid unknowen)...

That going to be fun replacing...

Anyways...
About my data, all the data i need to keep safe is CD backed up weekly (if it changed). Most of hwat my PC is wholding is raw or compress recourding for my to edit at a later date. If i loose it i loose it.

I also keep a backup of my interface and wtf files weekly as well (mostly for auctioneer).

If my PC (or laptop) goes down the thing that will take the longest getting back is WoW itself... I just do a overnight download :P

Other that that my PC looks after it self, each morning (about 6AM) it boots itself up, does a AV scan, defrags each drive all from 6AM to 10AM when i wake up to go online. I even set it up to give a ring tone at about 10AM to make sure i wake up thinking my mobile going off :P

I know i dont need more ram as i have a g15 and it routes it self from vent to system info, WoW and back to vent. I never seen (other that when i downloading a big patch) my ram go over 75% used, i also never see my CPU go over 50% on CPU 1, but it quite offent goes to 70% on CPU 2 (cos i set 1 jsut for WoW and 2 for all other things)

The main thing i do NOT understand about gcards are what the numbers mean? I know they must mean somthign but i never worked it out...

[Seer]

Originally Posted by richwarf The main thing i do NOT understand about gcards are what the numbers mean? I know they must mean somthign but i never worked it out...

If you're looking at ATI cards the higher the number the better. The current range is 4x00 where the 4800 is the fastest serie available

4850 > 4870 > 4890
There's an 4870x2 that can be faster then the 4890 as it is a dual chip card but AFAIK, WoW does not take advantage of it and some report it's even a FPS loss if you use it.

For ATI I wouldn't go for antything lower then the 4850, tho I haven't kept up lately on pricing, the 4770 however might be a nice offering, again not to sure really, think it performs the same as the 4850.

The 3x00 range, if those are still in the store are "last years models".

Now.. nvidia is a bit of a problem I think,

The latest cards are the GT 200 series, where they use a mixing/confusing numbering scheme. You have GTX GTS GT cards following with a number. GTX are the fastest cards usually. The higher the number the faster the card should be in the GT/GTS/GTX serie.

The "bad thing" is that some of these cards are just older cards re branded.

You'll fing cards 8x00 -> 9x00 -> GTx200

Logically you would asume that every card in the GTx200 serie to be some form of an upgrade but certain models are the same as the older names. Think a 8800GTS or GTX is still a good card to get (I'm sure someone will correct me if needed)

(Just to notice, I have no idea what the prices are for these cards in your region)

(Also, there are other gfx cards makers out there, tho good cards, they usually are not as fast as the ATI and nVidia offerings)

[Petrah]

One thing I wanna toss in here real quick is being sure you look at the Warranties on vid cards and what is offered. Think of it like health insurance for your video card. If it gets sick, what company will give you the best offer to fix it and/or replace the card? For example, last December when I purchased my Radeon 4870, Saphire had the best offer on Warranties (and also had been making the most solid fans for the cards). So my card is essentially a Saphire Radeon 4870.

There are different companies that make the cards, but it will normally always be either nVIDIA or Radeon that makes the chip that goes on the card. I cannot stress enough how important it is to do your research before purchasing computer hardware. There are tons of reviews to read... you just have to read as many as you can and then make your own informed decision on the best card for you. I wouldn't go by customer reviews. Check out the reviews written by places like Tom's Hardware. Remember to read more than one review.

http://www.tomshardware.com/us/

http://www.extremetech.com/

[richwarf]

Ok, i have going window shopping, well webshopping :P

I will be getting (well hopping) to get
a new 500W[£60] (maybe 600W[£70]) PSU,
since i did the maths and well, my PC does NOT have the power needed to run it (or so says pcworld, and my local PC shop)

Nvidia 9500GT 512MB[£65]

Total of £125 (or £135)

Does that fit the bill?
Also where can i go to work out for myself how much wats i need?

Thanks for anyinfo :P

[Xrystal]

Read up on the graphics card. Most PSU requirements are based on the output requirement of the graphics card. 600W is just about the minimum but you may find you need to get a higher one.

This site may help you as well :

http://support.asus.com/PowerSupplyC...Language=en-us