Dear Fellow Bit-tech members, I am looking for advice as to what component to upgrade in my pc this christmas as I am utterly clueless. Any advice would be much appreciated. Specs are as detailed below: Budget: 200-300 Main uses of intended build: playing lots of games Parts required: unknon Previous build information (list details of parts): Core i5 2500k 8gb 1666mhz ram 2 ocz vertex 3 60gb ssd's 7200 rpm 1tb hard drive msi gtx 560 ti Monitor resolution: 1920x1200 Storage requirements: want speed and storage Will you be overclocking: yes Any motherboard requirements (no. of USB, Xfire/SLI, fan headers): open to recommendations, not specifics Extra information about desired system: Look forward to hearing anyones suggestions Matt
Unless you're struggilng in games I'd stick with your current graphics card until the next round of cards is released from AMD/Nvidia, I don't think the 6XX series would be a significant enough upgrade for you. If you haven't overclocked yet you could always go for the cheap option and buy a £30 cooler and do some clocking. Maybe some gaming peripherals if you only have a standard mouse/keyboard? mechanical keyboards are supposed to be nice.
I have overclocked the CPU to 4.2Ghz and have also overclocked the GPU. I have an apple keyboard which I really like, a cheap mouse that does the job and a great screen/speaker set-up. Do you have any idea when the next series is likely to be released form Nvidia/AMD
I see nothing that needs to be upgraded. Exactly for 1 thing. You don't have a dedicated sound card. I would invest in that, especially if you listen to music, or tend to listen to audio in gamers, and not muted. Get that with a nice pair of speakers or headphones. It will boost your computer experience.
There doesn't see to be any real holes with your setup aside from the mentioned sound card. Only other options I'd consider replacing or adding would be a new case / fans for a quieter experience if noise is an issue, or a larger SSD, crucial m4's and samsung 830's get a lot of praise on the forums. There are always new peripherals, headphones, mechanical keyboards, new desk or chair, etc.
thanks for the advice, I actually have an xonar sound card in another computer so can move that across. I recently bought a samsung 830 256gb for my macbook and it is insanely fast so i think might be the most likely purchase. purchasing a new desk is always an option as well (always wanted an L shaped desk but never got round to buying one)
You might think your current mouse "does the job" but if you're into gaming and you switch to a decent mouse by logitech (or one of the others) then I'm sure you'll notice a big difference.
Why wired? I have an awesome Logitech MX620 but sadly it's out of production. I also have a couple of Logitech M705 in other systems, but that might be a bit too small. If you're worried about battery life, I can tell you that the batteries last for about a year in all my mice in heavy usage.
Sadly that is not true. Logitech latest wireless mouse are a disapointement in term of battery life: -> The Performance MX uses a standard, single AA rechargeable battery, it's a 1000DPI mouse and only has 3-4 days of usage, with some light gaming. -> Same applies for the G700. And to enjoy 5600DPI, you need to plug the USB cable, else it's 1000DPI. This is unlike Logitech older mouses which features Lithium-ion battery built-in and gave you over a month of gaming with the mouse.
MX620 and M705 both have 2x AA batteries, and not kidding, they do last for a year. No idea about other models though.