Upgrading my box; looking for suggestions!
By
Catministrator,
Posted on: 2009-08-03 13:23 in ALL ACCESS Gameplay Technical Issues Bugs
Well, assuming you're happy with your nForce, there's not much need to upgrade. You would only need to change it if you upgraded your CPU, and as you have a 2.6GHz Core 2 Duo, you'd only bother with that if you wanted a quad-core.
That GPU is quite beefy. Look at getting a GTX 285 if you're comfortable with that money, it's a newer, slightly cooler and faster version.
The RAM is a point of concern. 3GB of RAM? That's an uneven figure. You must be running unmatched memory modules, either three 1GB sticks or a 2GB + 1GB setup. Neither are ideal. Ditch the RAM, and get yourself a 2x 2GB dual-channel kit from Corsair. Some will tell you that low-latency RAM is worth more money, but the Core 2 simply doesn't care; you'll get top speed from any good brand DDR2-800. The extra 1GB will also help CoH out quite a bit.
Necrobond - 50 BS/Inv Scrapper made in I1
Rickar - 50 Bots/FF Mastermind
Anti-Muon - 42 Warshade
Ivory Sicarius - 45 Crab Spider
Aber ja, nat�rlich Hans nass ist, er steht unter einem Wasserfall.
Well, if you're going to upgrade to a new, more powerful graphics card, you're definitely going to need a better power supply. I'd probably recommend this Corsair 750. Not only does it have sufficient power for the graphics card, it already has the required power connections.
As for the case, I'll leave that up to you, but unless there is something specifically wrong with your current case, it should get the least consideration towards upgrading.
-Wolf sends
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I'm assuming that it's 2x1GB plus 2x512MB. A perfectly legit combo while still getting dual channel memory operation. Unless the OP is running a 64-bit OS very little of that 4th GB will be of any use due to 32-bit memory usage for memory mapped devices, including the memory on the video card.
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Originally Posted by Necrotron
The RAM is a point of concern. 3GB of RAM? That's an uneven figure. You must be running unmatched memory modules, either three 1GB sticks or a 2GB + 1GB setup. Neither are ideal. Ditch the RAM, and get yourself a 2x 2GB dual-channel kit from Corsair. Some will tell you that low-latency RAM is worth more money, but the Core 2 simply doesn't care; you'll get top speed from any good brand DDR2-800. The extra 1GB will also help CoH out quite a bit.
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Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
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Actually, it's 3x 1 Gig. As far as the case goes, I've seen people complain about the size of the graphics card. So I thought I might need more space.
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In that case you are getting sub par memory performance.
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Originally Posted by Serevus
Actually, it's 3x 1 Gig. As far as the case goes, I've seen people complain about the size of the graphics card. So I thought I might need more space.
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Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
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Quote:
What would you recommend? I'm running on Windows 7 64-bit, by the way.|
Originally Posted by FatherXmas
In that case you are getting sub par memory performance.
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Also, another concern I was looking at a case for was cooling issues. I've been told that my current setup would need additional cooling (I have one processor fan, two case fans - one front, one back - and the Video Card fan running) for a beefier card.
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Two 2GB sticks, DDR2-800. RAM is best in matched pairs. You can upgrade to 8GB later if your motherboard can take it.|
Originally Posted by Serevus
What would you recommend? I'm running on Windows 7 64-bit, by the way.
Also, another concern I was looking at a case for was cooling issues. I've been told that my current setup would need additional cooling (I have one processor fan, two case fans - one front, one back - and the Video Card fan running) for a beefier card. |
You'd be surprised how much punishment a modern graphics card can take. The silicon is rated to a hundred-odd celcius. That said, cooling it will increase the lifespan. Look at a coolermaster 530, that's good value.
Necrobond - 50 BS/Inv Scrapper made in I1
Rickar - 50 Bots/FF Mastermind
Anti-Muon - 42 Warshade
Ivory Sicarius - 45 Crab Spider
Aber ja, nat�rlich Hans nass ist, er steht unter einem Wasserfall.
All right, so here's what I'm looking at now:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145176
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119129 OR http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811103011
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139006
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130493
Do we see anything unnecessary or questionable? This fits just below budget; I'm wondering if I'll see much of an increase coming up from an 8800 GT in CoX - though I also use this PC for Fallout 3, Team Fortress 2; and, soon, Champions Online. So any increases there would be stellar. It's awfully pricey.. but if it's worth the bite...
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The memory controller in most modern systems prefer memory in "matched pairs" (same size, speed and timings) so instead of fetching memory 8 bytes per access from a single stick of memory, it can fetch 16 bytes of memory per access in what is called "dual channel mode". If all the memory isn't set up as matched pairs then you only accessing memory at "half" speed.|
Originally Posted by Serevus
What would you recommend? I'm running on Windows 7 64-bit, by the way.
Also, another concern I was looking at a case for was cooling issues. I've been told that my current setup would need additional cooling (I have one processor fan, two case fans - one front, one back - and the Video Card fan running) for a beefier card. |
However, going from 3GB in single channel mode to 2GB in dual channel mode may not be the move to make either. Reason is as your system runs out of actual memory, less frequently used code and data in memory is shuffled off to the page file on your hard disk. Hard disk data access is at least a factor of 100x slower than actual memory.
So it really depends on how often you use more than 2GB of memory whether or not it's a good idea to pull out one of your memory sticks.
Ideal solution is adding a fourth 1GB stick of the same speed and timings, even though the OS may only see a fraction of 1GB so the memory controler is running in dual channel mode or replace your memory with two matched 2GB sticks.
Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
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Well the GTX280 is roughly twice as fast as a 8800GT, how much that translates into performance you see will depends on to many variables to adequately guess. Note that your video card choice is out of stock and likely not to come back into stock. The GTX280 was replaced with the more expensive GTX285 and nVidia introduced the GTX275 which is nearly as powerful but a bit less expensive.|
Originally Posted by Serevus
All right, so here's what I'm looking at now:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145176 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119129 OR http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811103011 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139006 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130493 Do we see anything unnecessary or questionable? This fits just below budget; I'm wondering if I'll see much of an increase coming up from an 8800 GT in CoX - though I also use this PC for Fallout 3, Team Fortress 2; and, soon, Champions Online. So any increases there would be stellar. It's awfully pricey.. but if it's worth the bite... |
Don't have a preference for the case. The PSU is very good. The memory is fine as long as their tall cooling fins don't interfere with anything. These have the same timings and voltage but $20 cheaper. But I can understand why people prefer brands that are familiar.
Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
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Quote:
All true, but the man is running Windows 7 64-bit. He could throw in 128GB if he had a big enough motherboard. |
Originally Posted by FatherXmas
Ideal solution is adding a fourth 1GB stick of the same speed and timings, even though the OS may only see a fraction of 1GB so the memory controler is running in dual channel mode or replace your memory with two matched 2GB sticks.
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Necrobond - 50 BS/Inv Scrapper made in I1
Rickar - 50 Bots/FF Mastermind
Anti-Muon - 42 Warshade
Ivory Sicarius - 45 Crab Spider
Aber ja, nat�rlich Hans nass ist, er steht unter einem Wasserfall.
I wouldn't be running 64-bit windows without one of the more modern boards that allows you to use 6GB+ of RAM (current Intel boards allowing triple-channel DDR3 6GB is nice)
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Not quite. Motherboards for the current crop of Core i7 cpus can use triple channel memory. Actually the memory controller on the Core i7 is part of the CPU, like in Athlon 64s and Phenoms. Core 2 cpus use a memory controller on the motherboard's Northbridge chip and they are dual channel.
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Originally Posted by daves
I wouldn't be running 64-bit windows without one of the more modern boards that allows you to use 6GB+ of RAM (current Intel boards allowing triple-channel DDR3 6GB is nice)
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Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
Tempus unum hominem manet
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Didn't even notice that he said he's now running Win 7 64-bit.
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Originally Posted by Necrotron
All true, but the man is running Windows 7 64-bit. He could throw in 128GB if he had a big enough motherboard.
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Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
Tempus unum hominem manet
for cases,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129021
or if you go full size
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129043
I would slap in 8 gigs of RAM, and go with a 275gtx, but thats just me.
also, if your CPU is the one I think it is, which would be the E6750, if you get a very good HSF, one of the bigger Zalman ones, you can safely OC the living crap out of that processor. On air cooling people have got it stable up around 3.7ghz. I personally have pushed mine to 3.2ghz stable, using the stock HSF, but I wasn't comfortable with how hot it was getting.
Dark Armor is like that kid you knew in school that didn't know when to shut up, and no matter how bad he got beaten down, he got right back up again and kept on talking.
Bah. Wish I'd seen that a bit earlier. Order placed, foiks - I'm thankful for all of your input with this. We'll see how this puppy works out in a few days. (Good, I'm hoping.)
All right. I'll have a bit of spare money soon, and I'm considering investing some of this in an upgrade to my PC. I'll have around $600 or so to work with.
Currently, I'm running on the following setup:
Rosewill R230 Mid-tower Case (Considering upgrading this to Full Tower)
Nvidia NForce 6501 Ultra ATX Motherboard (May have to upgrade this.)
Coolmax M-500 500W ATX 12V Power Supply (Happy with this. May need more)
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66 GHZ Processor (I might leave this as is for now.)
Western Digital Vaviar 160GB 7200 RPM SATA HD (Pretty happy with this.)
3GB Kingston 240-pin DDR2 SDRAM (Happy with this.)
Nvidia 8800GT 1791MB PCI-E Video Card (This is the main point of the upgrade.)
I'm thinking about moving up to a Full-size tower... considering this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811103011
I'm also looking at upgrading the video card. This is the main thing I want to upgrade.. but, somehow, I'm fairly certain I'll need more than just the card itself in order to use it properly. I'm looking at this one here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130493
Any suggestions? The main thing I'm trying to do is upgrade to a substantially better gaming setup while striking a balance between a performance upgrade (I don't want to go too much more beefy than what I'll need) and the cost (I am only working with about $600, after all; and I'd prefer not to spend all of that if at all possible.)
Thanks for your input!