Advices on current hardware...

Post by **tandino** » March 6th, 2010, 20:26

Right oh. I've finally accepted (thanks to STALKER, Metro 2033, Beef: Bacon 2 et al) that the time has come for a rebuild, but have no clue what's current - I'm slightly out of the loop I feel, and really want to get back into gaming with 5punkers. So...

What is current in PC hardware? Are processors i3, i5, i7? AMD Phenom? Graphics ma bobs? GeForce still current?

At a push, I think I could get away with keeping my Core 2 Duo E6600, it's 2.4ghz, but overclocks to 2.8, possibly more with a more supporting motherboard. I'd also keep my X-Fi Xtreme, as it's infinitely superior to on-board sound. No need for new monitors, nor keyboards etc.

Basically, I don't need a spec as such (unless you want to do one, I definitely wouldn't object), but would like to know what you fine folks are currently rocking under your monitors so I can get a good basis for comparison.

Cheers!

Post by **Dr. kitteny berk** » March 6th, 2010, 20:57

post your spec?

then magic happen

Post by **deject** » March 6th, 2010, 21:12

Core i7 9xx: latest and greatest desktop CPUs, expensive to match.
Core i5 750: best balance of speed & price at the moment
Core i3: If you really want dual core, probably your best choice

Phenom II X4: Not bad, but avoid unless you just cannot afford a Core i5 750. Better than similar price Core 2 Quads.

Radeon HD 58xx are the best single GPU cards out there. 5770 nearly the speed of a 4870, and comes with DX11 and lower power consumption.

GeForce is old and moldy right now, there are new chips coming in May IIRC, hopefully will drop prices on the 58xx cards, as those are more expensive than they would be if they had competitors.

If you want a decent gaming rig, I'd aim for a Core i5 750 with 4GB or 8GB of DDR3 and a good P55 motherboard.

Still a budget target would help narrow it down.

Post by **FatherJack** » March 7th, 2010, 2:06

Check the system specs thread for what people have, there's a fair bit of i7 uptake but quite a few baulk at shelling out for the highest-level graphics cards.

I currently run a Q6600 with a 280GTX and 4GB and while I'm starting to notice I'm appearing later than others in multiplayer maps, I haven't had troubles running any games on their highest settings.

I know it's the end of the line for my socket 775 mobo, but the reason I've been holding off changing it is my uncertainty about which of the socket 1156 or socket 1366 boards have the longest future. I built this PC to the highest possible spec in January 2007 and am delighted it's serviced me so well for so long with only half a handful of upgrades, but it's almost made me expect the same sort of longevity with anything new I might build.

Post by **deject** » March 7th, 2010, 3:32

FatherJack wrote:I know it's the end of the line for my socket 775 mobo, but the reason I've been holding off changing it is my uncertainty about which of the socket 1156 or socket 1366 boards have the longest future. I built this PC to the highest possible spec in January 2007 and am delighted it's serviced me so well for so long with only half a handful of upgrades, but it's almost made me expect the same sort of longevity with anything new I might build.

You're better off with 1366, it's more future proof than 1156 is.

Post by **tandino** » March 7th, 2010, 12:06

FatherJack wrote:Check the system specs thread for what people have, there's a fair bit of i7 uptake but quite a few baulk at shelling out for the highest-level graphics cards.

I currently run a Q6600 with a 280GTX and 4GB and while I'm starting to notice I'm appearing later than others in multiplayer maps, I haven't had troubles running any games on their highest settings.

I know it's the end of the line for my socket 775 mobo, but the reason I've been holding off changing it is my uncertainty about which of the socket 1156 or socket 1366 boards have the longest future. I built this PC to the highest possible spec in January 2007 and am delighted it's serviced me so well for so long with only half a handful of upgrades, but it's almost made me expect the same sort of longevity with anything new I might build.

Good responses, thanks folks!

This is my problem so far. I'm on a socket 775 myself and am hearing that it's pretty much the end of the line for these now.

As far as budget goes, I'd like to keep it cheapish, say 300 - 400 of your English pounds. I'd keep my case and power supply (Thermaltake Soprano, Akasa Ultra Quiet 500W PSU respectively). This is assuming my power supply is still viable with current gen hardware - I reckon it should be. No point in new monitor or keyboard just yet either.

Current spec smells like:

Code: Select all

CPU: Socket 775LGA Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4Ghz overclocked to 2.5Ghz at the moment, safely up to 2.8Ghz in XP, 2.6 in Win 7

Ram: Corsair 2GB DDR2

Graphics: Geforce 7800gs AGP

Mobo: Asrock 4core Dual VSTA

PSU:  Akasa Ultra Quiet 500W Paxpower Active PFC ATX2.2

If it is indeed the end of the line for socket 775 CPUs, then I'd get rid of mine in favour of one of the new ones recommended above.

I think for the most part - as this will be paid for by a loan from the bank of Ma and Pa Tandino - It doesn't necessarily <i>have</i> to be the most high end PC known to man. So long as it handles current gen games well and can support the masses of Adobe CS4 applications I have going at any one time and can deal with 3ds Max (as it'll primarily be a work PC). Although my current PC handles work things pretty well.

Anyway, thank you all for your continued help

Post by **HereComesPete** » March 7th, 2010, 15:11

tandino wrote:Graphics: Geforce 7800gs AGP

The horror.

I was going to suggest a bridging step of a spanky new card that would survive into the next build as everything else is ageing but still capable. But don't do that with agp, it needs to get gone really.

I can't honestly see anything other than a bit more ram as helping that system without being a waste, you can get faster gpu's for agp sure, but that'd just be wasted money imo.

Double your money and you'll get into i5 with 6gb of ram, a spanky graphics card and a beefy power supply. And that'll last quite some time.

Post by **tandino** » March 7th, 2010, 16:21

HereComesPete wrote:
The horror.

I was going to suggest a bridging step of a spanky new card that would survive into the next build as everything else is ageing but still capable. But don't do that with agp, it needs to get gone really.

I can't honestly see anything other than a bit more ram as helping that system without being a waste, you can get faster gpu's for agp sure, but that'd just be wasted money imo.

Double your money and you'll get into i5 with 6gb of ram, a spanky graphics card and a beefy power supply. And that'll last quite some time.

I know, it's truly terrible nowadays, but was a pretty capable card back in its day. The plan is to fuck the AGP off altogether, as it's pretty outdated and would be pointless throwing money at it. My board does also have a PCI-E x4 slot, but as x16 seems to be the standard, I don't see the point. Not to mention the MoBo only has 2 SATA slots on it and I have 3 SATA drives...

As far as doubling my money goes, I could weigh up my options, but I don't see why I couldn't get a pretty capable system for that amount of money. The more I look, however, the more I learn. DDR3 boards seem to be standard for your iX CPUs and my current RAMs are DDR2. Cost is slowly creeping up...

buzzmong · Post by **buzzmong** » March 7th, 2010, 16:38

You know how it works though with PC's, either you buy to upgrade and spend money long term (aka, the "buy the best mobo" approach and everything else is the budget version) or you slap down a load of wonga now and don't touch it for 3 or 4 years.

Post by **Dr. kitteny berk** » March 7th, 2010, 16:38

Right, now I'm not utterly off my tits...

As far as your machine goes, not worth upgrading the innards, unless you find someone moving to an ix setup flogging stuff off cheap.

What's your case? if it's good, and large, it's a good place to save, transplanting the old machine into a tenner ebuyer special.

Your current PSU is maybe up to the job of a new system, but I bet it'd be close.

Anyway, on your budget, I'd personally be inclined to build something lowish-end, with a view to upgrading as pennies become available.

Ram and CPUs will get cheaper as time goes on, so are good candidates for upgrades.

http://www.5punk.co.uk/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=39898 is possibly handy

Post by **Dr. kitteny berk** » March 7th, 2010, 16:53

As far as what most 5punkers are currently running, it's something like this(ish)

CPU: Q6600
Ram: 4GB DDR2, cheapish
GPU: 8800GT/S, or 4800 series ATI.
PSU: 650w, decent, probably corsair.

Basically, 1 step away from your current setup, but it's now at a point that they're capable and solid, but not great, Not worth the upgrade for you, as it'd eat as nearly much money as a better setup.

If I was on a super tight budget with your machine, I'd wait a few weeks, and drop hints at chicken that his machine's shit, then buy his old stuff.

Post by **tandino** » March 7th, 2010, 18:22

Dr. kitteny berk wrote:Right, now I'm not utterly off my tits...

As far as your machine goes, not worth upgrading the innards, unless you find someone moving to an ix setup flogging stuff off cheap.

What's your case? if it's good, and large, it's a good place to save, transplanting the old machine into a tenner ebuyer special.

Your current PSU is maybe up to the job of a new system, but I bet it'd be close.

Anyway, on your budget, I'd personally be inclined to build something lowish-end, with a view to upgrading as pennies become available.

Ram and CPUs will get cheaper as time goes on, so are good candidates for upgrades.

http://www.5punk.co.uk/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=39898 is possibly handy

Current case is <a href="http://uk.thermaltake.eu/product_info.a ... 2">this</a>. It keeps all my temperatures really low and allows room for Micro ATX and ATX.

You think it's worth transplanting the current system then? I'm more leaning towards a low end machine, but with lots of scope for expansion - future proof is very important to me. Either way, I'll need a new board, which means I'll need a new processor and RAM...

Also, Chickenz - you're stuff is shit. I'll buy it off you.

Fred Woogle · Post by **Fred Woogle** » March 8th, 2010, 0:12

tandino wrote:Also, Chickenz

I love chicken pieces... or whole roast chickens!!!!

Post by **Dog Pants** » March 8th, 2010, 8:35

Ty aka Sir Die Aloty wrote:roast chickens!!!!

Good luck finding another person to help you with that Ty

Post by **Dr. kitteny berk** » March 8th, 2010, 16:20

tandino wrote:You think it's worth transplanting the current system then?

Well, a decent case is £50-100+ so salvaging what you can is probably a good bet, and a shitty case won't cost you much, especially given it'll just be holding old hardware as a backup machine.

Post by **tandino** » March 9th, 2010, 22:01

Dr. kitteny berk wrote:
Well, a decent case is £50-100+ so salvaging what you can is probably a good bet, and a shitty case won't cost you much, especially given it'll just be holding old hardware as a backup machine.

Thanks Berk! And thanks to all of you for your inputs - this is what makes our community great, and what makes me love you all, hard, in the mouth.

I reckon I'll go for the low end one, with scope for expansion. When I've decided on pricing etc. I'll likely post a spec up for your consideration/judgement/laughter

friznit · Post by **friznit** » March 10th, 2010, 1:03

I want to be loved hard, in the mouth

mrbobbins · Post by **mrbobbins** » March 10th, 2010, 10:51

friznit wrote:I want to be loved hard, in the mouth

Have a word with Sheriff, reasonable rates I'm told.

Post by **Dr. kitteny berk** » March 10th, 2010, 10:54

Children get in free, too.

Sheriff Fatman · Post by **Sheriff Fatman** » March 10th, 2010, 10:57

Dr. kitteny berk wrote:Children get in free, too.

They have to pay to get out though.