Yet another gaming rig advice thread

Technology and Gaming
#1

Hello!

My current cheap-o custom built computer system:
32 bit motherboard + 32 bit Windows 7 OS
450PSU
AMD Athlon X2 3.2GHz CPU (I think it is X2… but google tells me this is 64 bit and idk because I am not near this rig atm)
Nvidia 220 GT GPU (1GB )
4 GBs (3.1GB 32bit) of RAM DDR3
500GB Hard-drive 7200rpm(I think) - SATA
No rewritable drive… to write disc’s! This would be nice…

I was thinking, first I will buy a good gaming rig, then attempt to sell any un-useful (to me) hardware.

Budget £400-450!

I am thinking of getting 64 bit motherboard and 6-8GB RAM…

The thing is, iv’e been playing a lot of DayZ recently, and I can only play on the lowest graphics setting. I think it is because of bad programming, and it doesn’t use your RAM, but uses hard drive instead (which is much slower!). I would also like to be able to have reasonably high video settings for source games WITH very good performance. Maybe 400-450 is not enough, I do not mind making compromises.

I’m thinking I need a more powerful PSU to be safe. Could I keep the CPU, would it be compatible with the new system… I think I need a new GPU, a little better… 6 - 8GB RAM atleast DDR3 on a 64bit system. As for the hard-drive, I expect faster ones will cost a lot… any ideas? Possibly a new chassis - mine is pretty crap (the bottom front fan is very loud and is breaking, this chassis is the oldest part of this computer).

tl;dr: Budget £400, Fast hard-drive atleast 500GB, 64 bit motherboard, good but cheap GPU better than NVIDIA GT 220. Cheap but well ventilated (good airflow) chassis. What PSU power do you recommend?

Thanks.

#2

Your problem is not hard drive but your GPU and the fact that your OS is 32 bit so it can’t fully utilize those 4 GB of RAM.My current GPU Radeon 6770 1 GB DDR5 (which is considered to be a low-mid range card these days)is 3 times better than that 220 GT which I think tells you just how bad that card of yours is.I would strongly advise you to get Seasonic 520 W PSU which is not expensive and will provide opportunity to upgrade GPU some more in the future.

#3

Thanks.

Would you think A NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 460 could cope well with the current, 450W PSU?
Or would I need to upgrade the PSU?

There are two choice of GTX 460, one is £8 more than the other but… has HIGHER NUMBERS (It has been overclocked) xD

[b]Option A - 1GB EVGA GTX 460 FPB, 4008MHz GDDR5, GPU 823MHz, Shader Clock 1646MHz, 336 Cores, 2x Dual Link DVI-I/ mini HDMI

Option B - 1GB EVGA GTX 460 Superclocked, 4050MHz GDDR5, GPU 867MHz, Shader Clock 1734MHz, 336 Cores, 2x DL DVI-I/mini HDMI[/b]

again, I assume this would affect what PSU I need…
I would also have to check if it would fit my tiny motherboard…

Either way, in the end im gonna have to go 64 bit so I can use more RAM, right?

#4

450 W is minimum for that card https://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-460/specifications so it is up to you ,but if it was me I would buy that PSU I recommend Seasonic 520 W https://www.amazon.com/Seasonic-S12II-520-BRONZE-Supply/dp/B003M2YQYO currently 95 $ at Amazon(which is around 60 £).And yes,if you will continue to play games you will need more RAM but before anything you need to tell me more details about your motherboard.

#5

I get back to my main computer tomorow or late this evening.
However, I think my motherboard is this little thing:
ASUS M4A78LT-M LE

That is what google found and the specifications are right… however I did not realise it was a 64bit OS, so… I could just buy a 64bit OS… I will confirm if that is the motherboard tonight/tomorrow…

Alright, il buy the 520W PSU when I have decided on all the other hardware to get… if I need a new motherboard then im pretty stuffed right?

#6

Motherboard ASUS M5A99X Evo 130 $(80 £)
https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-M5A99X-Evo-6Gbps-Motherboards/dp/B0053YM70Y/ref=sr_1_18?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1351166625&sr=1-18
CPU AMD Phenom II X4 965 AM3 3.4Ghz 90 $(57 £)
https://www.amazon.com/AMD-Phenom-3-4Ghz-512KB-4000MHZ/dp/B002SRQ214/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1351166522&sr=1-2
GPU EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Superclocked 1024 MB GDDR5 170 $ (105 £)
https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Superclocked-Mini-HDMI-Graphics-01G-P3-1461-KR/dp/B0050I1PH4/ref=sr_1_32?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1351168034&sr=1-32
PSU Seasonic 520 W 95 $(60 £)
https://www.amazon.com/Seasonic-S12II-520-BRONZE-Supply/dp/B003M2YQYO
Everything is around 300 £(plus shipping).I can’t recommend you good RAM and hard drive since I need to now details about your current ones(it’s speed)but I am pretty sure you can get both of them for 100-125 £ tops(I am thinking additional 8 GB of RAM and 1 TB hard drive)and with this you will be set for life.Now I see why no one else was replying to this thread.

#7

Alright I know you’re gonna complain about necroposting but I feel this thread needs closure.

Here is what I bought:
Asus M5A97 R2.0 Motherboard

LiteOn IHAS122-18 22x Internal SATA DVD-RW Black

SAPPHIRE TECHNOLOGY Radeon HD 7850 Dual-X - 1 GB GDDR5 - PCI-Express 3.0

Western Digital 500GB Hard Drive - Caviar Black

AMD FX4300 Black Edition 4 Core (3.8/4.0GHz, 8MB Level 3 Cache, 4MB Level 2 Cache, Socket AM3+)

CiT 2206 MIDI Case with No Power Supply Unit - Black (I do not recommend this case, instead spend a little more instead of getting the cheapest case you can find).

Corsair CML8GX3M2A1600C9 LP Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB ) 1600MHz CL9 DDR3 Memory Module Kit

Seasonic S12II-520 520W ATX12V Standard Power Supply Unit - Bronze

With a total of about £500 - however, I sold my old computer for £200 :wink:

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