Hi guys, I bought and built my pc christmas time based on reading a lot of the suggestions on the forums, I have made a few changes since then but my current setup is as follows: Intel Q6600 @ 2.7Ghz Asus P5K Premium Black 3GB Crucial DDR2 Ballistix PC6400 EVGA GeForce 8800GT Superclocked (650Mhz) 512Mb GDDR3 2 x Western Digital 160GB Raptor - Raid 0 Samsung HD103UJ 1TB - Storage Swiftech H20-120 water cooler Corsair HX620W I want to upgrade a little without spending too much money but I don't want to change the processor or motherboard really. I was thinking of replacing the Ballistix memory with OCZ Reaper PC8500 memory, the board can natively handle 1066mhz and then maybe change the graphics card for a 9-series because I play a fair few games but I don't know if the 9600 would be worth it performance wise. I am also considering replacing the PSU for a Be Quiet DarkPower 850W? Any suggestions? Thanks Justin
you wont see much of a difference if you replace the memory. I could downclock my 1066 mushkin mem and I wouldn't see much of a difference. But ram is pretty cheap so if you want to spend for a little bit more speed then go for it. Guess it depends on how fat your wallet is getting. off the top of my head the 9600 wont be any better than the 8800gt. the 9800gtx or when it comes out the 9800gtx + will be better but not a lot better. the 4870 is due out soon and the 4850 is out right now. the 4850 (I have) is a good little card. no complaints with the exception of the poor stock cooler. its not loud but the card gets really hot. As for a psu, I have the 620 and I see no reason to upgrade that unless you plan to sli or crossfire in the future. Honestly I wouldn't upgrade anything. its still a good pc but if you do upgrade anything go for the video. you could always overclock your cpu a little more too. is the Swiftech H20-120 water cooler just for your video or your cpu? if its the cpu you should be able to get 3.2 out of your cpu.
A fast 4GB kit and Vista x64 with SP1 will give you a better performance than 3GB (is that a 2 and a 1?), but it might not be that noticeable. A 9600 is slower than an 8800, and unless you're aiming for 9800 GTX+ or greater I doubt you'll see any significant increase. Certainly don't bother with a new PSU until you overhaul it all. You should be able to get a little more out of that CPU with a watercooling kit, that's for sure. 3GHz *should* be fairly easy. If anything, I'd recommend a 24" or above TFT - make sure it's an 8-bit S-PVA and get some nice keyboard, mice and speaker/headphone set to really round it off. What you've got there is a great PC already imo. What case are you using?
Thanks for the advice. The water cooler is only for the CPU, I haven't overclocked it much higher than 2.7ghz for everyday use, I mainly installed the water cooling for the quiet. The memory is 3x1GB sticks. I've got a Samsung 20inch widescreen monitor at the moment which is great for watching films, with a Saitek Eclipse keyboard and MX-518 mouse. The case is an Antec P182 which is the best case I have ever had, just so damn big and heavy though. I guess I will stick with my psu at the moment unless I start looking at SLI, and leave my graphics card until the 9800gtx come down in price. But I maybe will change my memory, perhaps OCZ Reaper or the Corsair Dominator, don't think theres much between them in price or performance except , but I read that the 800mhz memory has a lower latency than the 1066 memory so they may be closer than I thought. Thats the only place where my 'windows experience index' drops to a 5.4, although I'm not sure if anyone takes any notice of these! Cheers
I've been doing memory testing this last week and found that higher density 2GB sticks will actually out perform several lower density ones, so a pair of 2GB high performance DIMMs might suit you well. 800MHz DIMMs at VERY low latency will generally out perform 1066 at CAS-5, however 1066 gives you more FSB overhead for overclocking. As for SLI - you'll need a new motherboard to start with. Windows Experience Index is about as useful as a snail with wings. 20" is tiny, you need one of these Honestly, save the money, stick with what you've got and invest in some good games to pass the time.
cas 3 @ 800, now that would be low latency. Mine run at 850, cas4, which I think is pretty low. I cannot go any higher mhz wise at cas4, I can with only 2 sticks in (either OCZ or corsair) so I feel its my nb struggling a little. Anyway enough about me. A chum of mine has his q6600 @ 3ghz with an AC7 pro, so I imagine you could push your cpu atleast as high as that. Your system is pretty swish as it is now. Vista 64 and 4gb of ram would be nice. Basically I am being bindi's parrot, but I figure more than one person saying it will make you beleive us more . I seriously might aswell qoute bindi, because he has it spot on. Maybe if you really want to spend some cash, upgrade your watercooling loop and get a block for that 8800GT. And bindi 24"+ on an 8800GT, even if it is overclocked...seriously? I have that saitek keyboard, as do a few other people on here, its a damn nice keyboard for the price, but after a few months of heavy use, occasionally the keys don't respond as they should, so I have to give it a good clean out and shake which usually works for a few days. So maybe look at a nice gaming keyboard. Also a nice pair of slacks and a hat would be lovely.
So... My Ballistix 800mhz memory is currently cas 4, the Reaper and Dominator 1066mhz memory is cas 5, I haven't seen any lower latency 1066mhz memory around, is that where it starts getting a lot more expensive? Do you have any memory that you can suggest and am I really going to notice much difference? Although my mobo and cpu can take 64bit Vista, I haven't read the best reviews regarding drivers and compatiblity. I hadn't considered putting adding a waterblock on the 8800gt but I am now, trouble is I will probably need to upgrade to a twin radiator which is going to be a struggle to fit internally.
