Time for an upgrade

[Deleted]

I've finally decided that it is time to splash some cash on new parts for my PC. I'm able to spend 400-500 euro (3000-4000 DKK). After this upgrade I will not be able to do any upgrades the next year, year and a half. I live in Denmark, which means that I'm not able to grab any overseas items.

Current setup:
CPU - AMD Phenom II X4 945
CPU cooler - stock
GPU - ATI Radeon HD 5750
PSU - Zalman 1000W
Mobo - ASRock M3A790GMH
HDD - 500gb Fujitsu
RAM - 4gb dual-channel DDR3 at 665MHz
Case - Stock midi tower

Let me know if you need more information

Thanks in advance

[Tanthalus]

whislt others will shout ` get an i5` , the best upgrades really would be a new video card - 200 euro would get you a 7750 and an SSD (crucial m4 or samsung 830)

not having sata 2 for `ultimate` speed wont actualy hinder you as much as the numbers show , adding any SSD is a huge speed boost (and an addon card using the marvell 9128 or similar controller are pants as well).

what ram do you have?

[Deleted]

I've got Kingston value ram 2 x 2gb DDR3 at 665 MHz

[Tanthalus]

hmmm 665 ram? doesnt sound right - as my DDR3 is 1600mhz

[Deleted]

Using Piriforms Speccy and selecting ram I get the following: Type: DDR3 - Size : 4096MBytes - Channels: Dual - DRAM frequency: 665

[Tanthalus]

meh im tired - thats fine its 1333 ram....so you could add another 2x2 to give 8gb which will give your system plenty of room to ` breathe` , a 120/128gb SSD will breing back the snapiness (do you have the windows disk?) and changing the video card to something like an AMD 7850 will be a boost from the 5750

[Deleted]

I got the windows disk. So an gfx update should get rid of my lag spikes in crowded raid environments?

[Tanthalus]

lag is packet loss from internet - but if it gets `framey` , what settings do you play at? have you checked how much ram is in use when you play? wow can use over 1 gb nowdays and creep up to more. An ssd would give near instant zoning , but a new gfx card would give better fps

[Deleted]

Hmm.. It's been a while since I have been in a raid environment or played wow at all, but I remember having all setting on high, using the slider and then lowering shadows. I can't remember the ram details, on that note would it be an idea to spend 70 euro on 8gigs - 1333hz rams or is that just a waste?

I can use Diablo as a benchmark for the current setup, where it "stalls" during spell heavy fights and I'm running that at 1680x1050 with High - Medium - High - Medium settings (if that helps)

[Tanthalus]

you`ve got 4gb of ram allready - so just add another 2x2 to make 8... look at an AMD 7750 gfx card (really good bang for your buck) and consider either a samsung 830 or crucial m4 ssd; even with sata 2 its a huge speed boost , everything just feels `nippy`

[Deleted]

I ended up taking the following components

Samsung 830 128gb
ASROCK Z77 Extreme4
Intel I5 3570K
8gb GEIL 1600MHz ram

I still have money to spare and I'm looking for a graphic card at approx $150, preferably a somewhat silent card

Besides that I'm looking for an upgrade to my case, which should be in the $100 range

Any help is highly appreciated

[Tanthalus]

get a 77xx or maybe can stretch to a 78xx?

[Deleted]

7850 is a bit of a stretch, but 7750 is within budget. Now I just need to figure out which 7750 manufacturer is best at handling cooling

---------- Post added 2012-07-22 at 07:06 PM ----------

Actually 7770 is cheaper than the 7750, so I'll be looking at one of those instead

[Nips]

You should look into a HD 6870 instead of 7770 or even 7750. It's a much stronger card at the same price point.

6870 vs 7770

My recommendation would be this one.

[Deleted]

Do you have any experience with that card Nips? Thinking about how noisy it is.

And do you have any input for the other parts that I've selected?

[Deleted]

Do you have any experience with that card Nips? Thinking about how noisy it is.

And do you have any input for the other parts that I've selected?

The rest of your parts are fine. 6870 is better than 77xx. Can't tell you anything about the one posted.

Edit: Read some user comments about the XFX 900Mhz Dual Fan 6870 and most of them say it runs quietly.

[Deleted]

I got my parts and my new computer is now build and running. Enjoying a nice cool 29° cpu and a very silent pc all in all.

I ended up taking the following parts

Samsung 830 128gb
ASROCK Z77 Extreme4
Intel I5 3570K
8gb GEIL 1600MHz ram
XFX HD 6870
HAF 912 plus

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions and thoughts