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 Thinking about Upgrading, need Opinions

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Toeol Leonheart




Joined : 2010-05-05
Posts : 121

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PostSubject: Thinking about Upgrading, need Opinions   Thinking about Upgrading, need Opinions Icon_minitimeSat Aug 28, 2010 12:22 pm

OK, so with the Impending Release of FFXIV I Looked at when my Computer was last updated.

Aside from the GPU, the majority of the Components are now 2 years old (The GPU is 7 Months Old)I'm wondering if I should Upgrade any aspects, and what you guys think.

Current Build:

Asus P5Q PRO
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 Stepping (2.4GHz 1066MHz
4 x Corsair 2GB DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2 Memory
HIS HD 5770 1GB GDDR5 DVI HDMI DisplayPort PCI-E Graphics Card
Samsung SpinPoint F1 HD103UJ 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache


Obviously I Generally try to keep costs to a minimum, but if Parts of myRig are worth Saving I amy be convinced to spend more on other parts (was pricing up a 5870 etc)

Any Thoughts/Advice?
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Corday Rynir

Corday Rynir


Joined : 2010-07-20
Posts : 255

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PostSubject: Re: Thinking about Upgrading, need Opinions   Thinking about Upgrading, need Opinions Icon_minitimeSat Aug 28, 2010 1:03 pm

How much do you wanna spend?

The CHEAPEST way to go that'll be a meaningful upgrade would be an AMD 965 Black Edition CPU... it's like $165 at Newegg right now and will trounce any Intel at its price point.

You'll also need a new motherboard for the AMD... Asus makes a good AMD motherboard that uses the Nvidia 980a Nforce design, which not only offers two PCI-e 2.0 slots that run in x16, it can also use both DDR2 or DDR3 memory, so you can save money by using your existing DDR2 RAM. This board is about $139 at newegg.

For about $80 less than the price of a single 5870 ATI, you can get two GTX 460s and run them in SLI, and that setup will kill the single 5870. I just picked up a single Gigabyte GTX 460 and it is killer. I believe it's $229 right now.

Keep your hard drive and your DVD-rom drive. If it's a good case, re-use it. If your power supply isn't 750 watts, upgrade to at least 750 watts.
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Roan Varuna

Roan Varuna


Joined : 2010-07-18
Posts : 557

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PostSubject: Re: Thinking about Upgrading, need Opinions   Thinking about Upgrading, need Opinions Icon_minitimeSat Aug 28, 2010 5:44 pm

He's got an intel Quad core... an AMD quad core would be a downgrade. The best AMD quad is weaker than my q9550.


You're just about at the point I'm at with my q9550. Short of getting a new system, I'd recommend you:

1- Overclock your CPU to 3.0 ghz (you'll need an after market cooler)

2- Add another 4 gb of ram

3- Upgrade to a 5850 or better if your wallet allows, though you could tough out that 5770 for a while longer ( I actually recommend you do granted the 6xxx series is coming out in November. Expect 5800 series prices to drop, a lot).

The 460 is nice, but not all that impressive an upgrade from a 5770 to warrant 250$.






Last edited by Roan Varuna on Sat Aug 28, 2010 6:40 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Avgustin Narion

Avgustin Narion


Joined : 2010-07-02
Posts : 129

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PostSubject: Re: Thinking about Upgrading, need Opinions   Thinking about Upgrading, need Opinions Icon_minitimeSat Aug 28, 2010 6:16 pm

Roan Varuna wrote:
It's also worth noting that SLI/Crossfire is not supported by FFXIV. Go for a strong single GPU (470,480, 5850, 5870).

I'm not sure that's the case anymore. ATI just released the Catalyst 10.8 drivers, which include a Crossfire profile for the FFXIV benchmark. I can only assume that means they'll also be adding a profile for the retail client when it's released.
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Roan Varuna

Roan Varuna


Joined : 2010-07-18
Posts : 557

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PostSubject: Re: Thinking about Upgrading, need Opinions   Thinking about Upgrading, need Opinions Icon_minitimeSat Aug 28, 2010 6:29 pm

Avgustin wrote:
Roan Varuna wrote:
It's also worth noting that SLI/Crossfire is not supported by FFXIV. Go for a strong single GPU (470,480, 5850, 5870).

I'm not sure that's the case anymore. ATI just released the Catalyst 10.8 drivers, which include a Crossfire profile for the FFXIV benchmark. I can only assume that means they'll also be adding a profile for the retail client when it's released.

Thanks for that. Time to install it. Read the release notes... very nice. I may just decide to splurge on another 5850.

That also opens up the possibility of getting another 5770.
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Soten Enki

Soten Enki


Joined : 2009-06-18
Posts : 478

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PostSubject: Re: Thinking about Upgrading, need Opinions   Thinking about Upgrading, need Opinions Icon_minitimeSat Aug 28, 2010 6:47 pm

I would go the overclock CPU and grab better cooling route to keep costs down. But if you have the money there are a ton of better CPU's you can grab.
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Roan Varuna

Roan Varuna


Joined : 2010-07-18
Posts : 557

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PostSubject: Re: Thinking about Upgrading, need Opinions   Thinking about Upgrading, need Opinions Icon_minitimeSat Aug 28, 2010 6:59 pm

A venture into entry level i5 or i7 is a 500-900$ ordeal, even with good deals. Don't know if he wants to be spending that much.

Let us know what kind of $$$ you're working with. It'll make this a little easier.
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Toeol Leonheart




Joined : 2010-05-05
Posts : 121

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PostSubject: Re: Thinking about Upgrading, need Opinions   Thinking about Upgrading, need Opinions Icon_minitimeSun Aug 29, 2010 7:52 am

I'm thinking of spending around £600-£700,
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Roan Varuna

Roan Varuna


Joined : 2010-07-18
Posts : 557

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PostSubject: Re: Thinking about Upgrading, need Opinions   Thinking about Upgrading, need Opinions Icon_minitimeSun Aug 29, 2010 8:10 am

GTX 480 £449.99

4 gb DDR2 800 £ 74.99

Jumping from Core 2 quad to anything currently on the market will not net awe inspiring improvements, especially for gaming (trust me, I've been fighting myself to hold off ).

P.S: I truly feel for you all in the UK. Computer component prices are jacked up quite a fair bit higher than in North America.
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Toeol Leonheart




Joined : 2010-05-05
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PostSubject: Re: Thinking about Upgrading, need Opinions   Thinking about Upgrading, need Opinions Icon_minitimeSun Aug 29, 2010 8:16 am

Is a GTX480 truely worth ~£110 more than a 5870?

where is the benefits from switching from 4x2 to 2( or more) x4 other than the obvious?

and your saying its NOT worth upping the CPU at this time?
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Roan Varuna

Roan Varuna


Joined : 2010-07-18
Posts : 557

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PostSubject: Re: Thinking about Upgrading, need Opinions   Thinking about Upgrading, need Opinions Icon_minitimeSun Aug 29, 2010 8:27 am

£110? Wow...

I chose the 480 based on price difference in NA. No, it isn't worth £110 more (unless you're adamant about PhysX support).

Not sure I follow you on the switch from 4x2. I suggested 2 x 2 gb Dimms to bring you up to 8gb of Ram.

Upgrading your CPU at this time will not exactly give you the boost you require with gaming. The £700 budget you have will be totally blown on a new motherboard, CPU and ram (DDR2 and DDR3 are not compatible). In the end you will still be left with a lower end Video card, a component that is THE key to nicely rendering modern games.

If you had a few hundred more pounds to work with, I'd recommend an i5 750 or i7 930.


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Toeol Leonheart




Joined : 2010-05-05
Posts : 121

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PostSubject: Re: Thinking about Upgrading, need Opinions   Thinking about Upgrading, need Opinions Icon_minitimeSun Aug 29, 2010 8:32 am

I'm already at 8gig of RAM on my Current Spec.

Currently ont he website I shop at, you can get yourself a 5870 for £315, and a 480 at £400 so its actually £85 difference

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Roan Varuna

Roan Varuna


Joined : 2010-07-18
Posts : 557

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PostSubject: Re: Thinking about Upgrading, need Opinions   Thinking about Upgrading, need Opinions Icon_minitimeSun Aug 29, 2010 8:40 am

Toeol Leonheart wrote:
I'm already at 8gig of RAM on my Current Spec.

Currently ont he website I shop at, you can get yourself a 5870 for £315, and a 480 at £400 so its actually £85 difference


I apologize; thought you had only 4gb for some reason... (it's still early here).

As for the 480 over the 5870, the 480 does sport a higher bandwidth (312 over 256) and more DDR5 (1.5gb over 1). If the £85 doesn't phase you too much, then go for it. FFXIV was created around the nVidia chipset, so that card would tear through it.
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Toeol Leonheart




Joined : 2010-05-05
Posts : 121

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PostSubject: Re: Thinking about Upgrading, need Opinions   Thinking about Upgrading, need Opinions Icon_minitimeSun Aug 29, 2010 9:42 am

Si it litterally is just a Graphics Card atm until I can splurge on one of the new cpu chipsets,ok, thats good to know :)
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