Hello Bit-Tech Forum Helper Monkey's (and People)! I have a little question to ask you all, involving my current computer and wether I sohuld replace it entirely or just upgrade parts of it. Basically, budget is 600 quid, and I am a student but also a avid gamer so I want good value for money, but also a PC that will be quite good in gaming. So I have two options, either upgrade certain parts of my current computer, or just replace most of it with new tech (i7, ddr3, and a different pin motherboard) This is my current computer specs: Q6600 - Not OC'd and its the version just before G0 appeared XFX 680i LT - Loud motherboard, and annoys me, OCZ Gold 2gig DDR2 Ram - I cannot remember what make it is, but its got 5-5-5-12 timings I think.. Case - Some crappy £10 case I found on ebuyer.. (it gets moved back and to from Uni) PSU, Graphics Card, Monitor, and all that are fine as they are all pretty decent components (Samsung 226BW, 8800GTX, and BeQuiet Pro 850W) and have no need in upgrading. So Any ideas? Should I upgrade or replace? Please give a nice little reason to why as well Cheers! -Forgot to mention, ideally I want it resonbly quiet.. I know the 8800GTX is loud, but it should be quiet at idle..
Based on your specs there, you don't need a full upgrade. If your graphics card fits your needs now, then I would say without a doubt that upgrading to an i7 is not necessary (considering the card you have right now won't be bottlenecked by the CPU). I would personally pick out a nice P45 based board (I would highly recommend the UD3P in my signature, or the UD3R if your budget can't afford for former), and pick up a 4GB 1066MHz DDR2 set of RAM. The case you can choose based on your preferences, though I would recommend one of the better known brands for the quality. Better quality cases have less chance of something breaking during frequent moving, which may be an issue for you. The Q6600 is still a nice processor, and if you give it even a modest overclock it will be beneficial. I will suggest a new cooler if you do overclock, though pick one that won't damage the system when moving (something like the Noctua NH-C12P that will sit close to the CPU, unlike the TRUE 120 or the Noctua NH-U12P). Aside from the above, it looks like a decent enough setup for your needs without building a whole new system.
I would probably change to a newer 'P' series motherboard, and upgrade your ram to 4gb, also, you could potentially upgrade your gpu to something like a gtx260 or the ati equivalent. Sam
I would go with the new mobo jared reccomended 4G of ram and a better cooler so you can overclock. Also remember better case=better cooling, giving you more overclocking headroom. Also you say you are a student? By any chance computing (most students on this board seem to be doing that)? If you are, you may want to think about a second monitor it is hugely useful when programming. I couldn't do without nowadays.
No I don't do computing I do Biochemistry.. Strangely enough, that stuff BitTech does on Protein Folding will help my future career..
Biochem eh? I was going for Biochemical Engineering before switching to a Chem major. Of course that was before the economy hit bottom and I couldn't afford to go back to school... :/ Anyway, back on topic, your current graphics card should be fine at 1680 x 1050. I still stand with my first post.
Hehe thanks.. Looking at scan, and all the 775 UD3R are all on pre-order with i7 ones there.. Dammit... But then again there are other places to find them. Is your motherboard reasonbly quiet?
No fans on it (all passive with heatpipes), so I would have to say... Yep, dead quiet. http://www.ebuyer.com/product/151050
