Hardware What Hardware Should I Buy? - February 2010

The new year is well under way and for Feb we've re-evaluated our choices again having looked at H55 and H57 motherboards, new coolers and cases, and ATI budget graphics cards. Has it all made a difference? Check in to find out.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/buyers-guide/2010/02/03/what-hardware-should-i-buy-february-2010/1

 

No monitor section? I always liked that bit...

 

We haven't had one for a year.

 

hmmm... i5-750 looking more and more tempting to replace the Q6600 but I think an SSD may come first...

 

funny you should say that....

 

I agree that we should have a monitor included and that it has been long neglected, perhaps a summary or a "What Monitor Should I Buy" over in the Monitors section?

Overall though, a good and refreshing look at the current hardware out there and it was a pleasure to see some new recommendations put forward.

 

Nothing to be proud about

 

Still no room for a Corsair H50-1 for a CPU cooling solution. Its a few quid more but leagues ahead of any air cooler.

 

It was a statement, not a brag.

I've said it many-a-time before, we simply don't do enough monitor reviews.

It's good, but it's not leagues ahead and it has case dependent performance.

 

great to see the fractal case in the mix, no aditional fans though - would that not negate the non stock cooling on the cpu?

on the monitor side - i'm looking for a new one and would like a review of the various 120htz models - the GD235HZ seems worth the wait.... though I understand that these are not as good as other non 3d monitors however it'll be a second monitor and is there only for the gaming...

prices seem quite high this month and they're feeling a bit cut and paste... not enough new tech out, or price changes I guess. Could do with a bit of spicing up somehow though - include a dremel?

 

I've got a ati 4870 1gb is it worth upgrading to a ati 5870?

 

I have the same question Or, to put it in another context, I have problems running Stalker clear sky at good resolution with dx10 high, and need advice Heres my rig: Q6600, 2x2GB kingston 6400, Abit IP35pro, 4870 512mb. Monitor is 1680x1050 resolution. My mate have a 3.5ghz q9550 or something, and 4870 1gb, he runs it quite fine actually. So, do I need more MHZ, or 1GB gpu? Or maybee Intel SSD ?

It would also be nice to see a monitor roundup. Thanks

 

I see you have a U.S. price for the Titan Fenrir. Could you link the retailer?

 

Only if your 4870 isn't giving you the high framerates you need.

 

Or, to put it in another context, I have problems running Stalker clear sky at good resolution with dx10 high, and need advice Heres my rig: Q6600, 2x2GB kingston 6400, Abit IP35pro, 4870 512mb. Monitor is 1680x1050 resolution. My mate have a 3.5ghz q9550 or something, and 4870 1gb, he runs it quite fine actually. So, do I need more MHZ, or 1GB gpu? Or maybee Intel SSD ?

It would also be nice to see a monitor roundup. Thanks [/QUOTE]

OC your Q6600, add 2GB RAM and upgrade to 5850/5870 and you should be fine.

 

He has 4GB of memory already, but I agree, the Q6600 needs an overclock, but his greatest limitation will be the 512MB of graphics memory.

 

Then how do you see our posts?

You can get one hereor here

 

*badum tish*

 

was more expecting a "wah wah waaaaahhhhh"

 

Thanks for replies guys, problem is, my q6600 started running hot a few weeks ago, and now I have it running stock and the temps are still in the 90's on load, any more OC'ing and it'll burn :/ And yes I did re-apply arctic silver goop! I guess I'll go for a gpu when that time comes.