Hey guys! Im new to the forums, but did read the "read me" details...
So maybe you can help me a bit. First the important questions and then im adding my spec & some questions i do have...
Budget
- as stated above im going for max. 350€, the lower the better, cost effectiveness is the number 1 priority
Resolution
- 1920*1080p Fujitsu siemens 23 inch display
Games / Settings Desired
- most played games: Diablo 3, WoW at 25 person man with playable fps +40 fps at least, Starcraft II, League of Legens, DayZ, sometimes shooter (i'd like to have a good resolution there), Skyrim
- got an SSD already (Crucial M3) so SATA 6 gb/s would be good
- also USB 3.0 is highly preferred, due to some external harddrives
Any other intensive software or special things you do (Frequent video encoding, 3D modeling, etc)
Watching films in HD/Blueray resolution, using winrar and from time to time some video editing
Country
Germany
Parts that can be reused
- everything except Motherboard (stucks at loading Bios, already tried to reset & exchange RAM)
Do you need an OS?
- No i do have a viable win 7 license
Do you need peripherals (e.g. monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, etc)?
- No i do have everything i need there
CPU: Intel q8200
Heatsink: intel Heatsink came with the CPU
Power supply: RUSH POWER C 600W
MoBo: IPIBL-LB Benicia
Memory: Noname DDR2 i guess 800 mhz but can't check, since pc doesnt start for a check -> 3 * 2 GB
HD: Crucial M3 SSD 128 gb (plus a 1 tb harddrive)
Graphics Card: HD 4890 Vapor-X Edition
Case: NZXT Lexa S Midi Tower with 5 fans
DVD: usual DVD-Burner nothing special
Im looking for: the biggest upgrade, since my motherboard broke down
-> Keep in mind that i want my pc to be upgradeable at least for 3-4 years, so i can maybe buy a new cpu or graphics card without going through much problems
My thoughts so far:
1) Is a Graphics Card upgrade really a viable option or is i5 + DDR3 + 1155 MoBo the better choice?
2) How much performance would an update of the HD4890 bring? -> didnt find the best cost effectiveness
3) Is for the games in 3-4 years a i3 a viable option, or would i loose power when choosing an i3 instead of my q8200
4) Is overclocking the q8200 with a working 775 motherboard possible? If yes would i need a new heatsink or new ddr2 ram?
5) Since i got an SSD would the upgrade of new cpu/mobo bring a better writing speed? (last time i checked it was around 180 mb/sec -> Yes i did read some manuals about that topic and installed it correctly!)
6) Would 5 result in higher gaming performance?
7) Viable option? Crossfire a HD 4890/4870 setup? (Yes i know that would cost me few more bucks (around 50€), because i would need to replace the motherboard then -> Actual mobo just has 1 pcie 16 lane, the other two being 4 lane)
8) Replace the HD4890 with a cheaper dual card setting, like for example 2 x 4870?
I really hope you can help me out here I would really appreciate any useful answer on my thread
While the q8200 isn't a bad CPU it really doesn't feel like a good solution to buy a new motherboard for such an old socket. It would leave you with pretty much no options for an upgrade later on. The Radeon 4890 should be able to push decent fps in some of the games you mentioned but that is also getting pretty old.
Since 350€ really isn't enough for a proper upgrade I would advise you to get a new CPU, motherboard and RAM combo and later on get a new GPU.
I think you will get the most bang for the buck by simply buy a new gpu. I don't know about prices in the US but i think you can afford a nvidia 670. It's a really good card. I think you psu can handle it. I have a 670 and a 500W psu. Most games are capped by the gpu and not the cpu.
Hey guys =) Thanks for the first ideas on my thread
ive been looking after an i5 3450 with asrock z77 pro 3 motherboard some cheap ddr3 ram and maybe a good heatsink, i would be around 330€. Is it worth the money? Also in terms of upgrading later on?
I know my system sucks kind of, but im quite short on money i can invest in
blupparen your idea is good, but i think a nvidia 670 should cost about 350€ and i dont like the fact, that i buy a graphics card for that much, just to see it dropping in price like hell after 2 years or so. My upper limit in terms of graphic card would be around 200€, but im unsure if theres even an upgrade possible there, because i have enough power to run my hd4890...
if that's your budget then get a amd 7850, it wins no contest. low power/heat consumption allows for crazy overclocking that can reach 7950 speeds. will easily max out games you were talking about. if you have any money left after that you can squeeze in a i5. i'd personally go for an unlocked processor as it allows you to lengthen the life of your PC when it's about to die. also i'd get an extreme4 motherboard instead of pro3.
The video card can be added at a later date if you can't stretch to 370 euros (when it comes to computer parts, you can generally say that $1 USD and €1 are the same thing). The motherboard will also allow for upgrades to quadcore ivy bridge processors if that dualcore isn't enough in a few years time. Without the graphics card you'll be at around 250 euros.
Last edited by Butler to Baby Sloths; 2012-07-09 at 10:03 PM.
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I would really appreciate any useful answer on my thread
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