# It's upgrade time



## todothis (Aug 26, 2008)

I'm a gamer. I play anything from indie games to AAA releases. I'm tired of playing everything on low-medium settings and am looking to upgrade. I would like to get high-ultra settings and 45-60 FPS on most games. 

I bought and built my current PC about five years ago, and have helped friends and family build a few others since then. I am by no means experienced however, and that's why I'm here.

So, here is my current build, sorry that I can't put it into a wishlist:

[8800gts 320mb] Newegg.com - EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

[mobo] Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-N650SLI-DS4 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard

[intel CPU core 2 duo 2.13ghz] Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 Conroe 2.13GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor BX80557E6420

[4gb ddr2 ram] Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ

[700W psu] Newegg.com - OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI 700W ATX12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply

[150gb 10k rpm HDD] Newegg.com - Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFD 150GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 1.5Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive -Bare Drive

[case] Newegg.com - Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

I also have a fan controller, HP optical drive, and a Zalman CPU heatsink.

Here is what I would be replacing:
Newegg.com - Once You Know, You Newegg

The ~600 is roughly my budget. I can go over a little, depending on why that would be necessary. 

For the SSD, I was wondering if I could RAID my current HDD with it? I don't know anything about raid. If I can't, then just the 128gb is fine. I've only had to go through my current 150gb drive twice in five years to make room for other things. I'm a habitual cleaner and have external drives.

I like the thought of overclocking, but have never done it. I'm not sure I want to buy another CPU heatsink. 

If I were to go through with this upgrade, what would be next on the list, and how far out would I have to upgrade that? Just for my personal future reference. 

I live in America and am quite partial to Newegg (as you might've guessed) and Amazon, although I've used Tigerdirect in the past. 

If you need anything else, please let me know.

Thank you for your time.


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

We don't like to recommend SSD's as they are not cost effective yet and they only offer quicker boot times.

Your mobo is lower quality and I would recommend going with Asus or Gigabyte as they are top quality.

Having a Sandy Bridge i3 won't offer much more then what you have now...OCing isn't really needed on new CPU's as they run fairly well now and it will VOID the warrenty. Plus it saves you the price of the fan.

What is your plan for RAM? Stick with G.Skill or Cosair.

You will also need to replace your PSU. A 550W will work fine. XFX or Seasonic are the top brands.

To make your life a little easier take a look here: http://www.techsupportforum.com/for...ams-recommended-new-builds-2012-a-668661.html


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

If you want to play modern game seriously, with the best graphical experiences, you need a new build. You can reuse the case, hdd and optical drive to save some money.
SSD's are not a good value and certainly not a good option for your budget when that money could be put to better use.
OC'ing is good for benchmarks and bragging but little else with the new very capable CPU's.
Look over our suggested build list that Masterchiefxx17 linked to for ideas.


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## todothis (Aug 26, 2008)

Masterchief,

I thought they affected load times as well. I have many games that are plagued by lengthy load times. 

Unfortunately my current gigabyte mobo has treated me awfully and there are no budget asus ones in the link you provided. Do you know of any cheaper asus ones?

Alright. So would you recommend an i5? I thought quad core offered little to gaming at the moment. 

That depends. How better is DDR3 over 2? And, say, 1600 vs my 800. I'm not very familiar with ram. 

Do I need to replace it because it's running out of life? 

Thank you.
---

Tyree,

Thank you for the input.


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

To answer all of you questions you can look here: http://www.techsupportforum.com/for...ams-recommended-new-builds-2012-a-668661.html

That is our TSF Recommened build list. Go in the list and pick out a build you like. Then just subtract the HDD, Case, and CD Drive.

The $800 build would be great start. Should get it around $600 since there are Black Friday sales and you already have a few parts.


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## todothis (Aug 26, 2008)

Alright, I did that and came up with a feasible build that I'm fairly happy with. I'm still not sure why I need to change my power supply, though. Is mine too old? Is it a bad brand?


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Your PSU was decent quality but any 5 yr. old PSU is subject to problems/failure/damage to other components. Not much point in investing money for new components and risking damage.


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## todothis (Aug 26, 2008)

Ah, I see. Thanks for all of the help everyone.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

You're welcome and best of luck.


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

Could you post your final buy so we can take one last look?


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## todothis (Aug 26, 2008)

This build has a Nvidia card:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

*CPU:* Intel Core i5-3550 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.99 @ Amazon) 
*Motherboard:* Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($126.98 @ NCIX US) 
*Memory:* G.Skill Sniper Low Voltage Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($34.99 @ Newegg) 
*Video Card:* EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card ($299.99 @ Amazon) 
*Power Supply:* XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($53.99 @ NCIX US) 
*Total:* $735.94
_(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)_
_(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-15 17:57 EST-0500)_

This one has a radeon card:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

*CPU:* Intel Core i5-3550 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.99 @ Amazon) 
*Motherboard:* Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($126.98 @ NCIX US) 
*Memory:* G.Skill Sniper Low Voltage Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($34.99 @ Newegg) 
*Video Card:* Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($289.99 @ NCIX US) 
*Power Supply:* XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($53.99 @ NCIX US) 
*Total:* $725.94
_(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)_
_(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-15 17:59 EST-0500)_

I figured I would pick a 7950 and a 660TI simply for the sake of checking prices on both over the coming weeks. I'm interested in your thoughts over which is better. 

I also noticed you only had the 660TI and 7870 in your recommended build list. Do you consider the 7870 better than the 7950 price/performance-wise?


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Tye build looks like a keeper.
Either of the GPU's you list will be fine and are on basically equal in performance.
The 7870's were "probably" selected to fit into the price bracket for the particular build but I'm not positive about that.


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## todothis (Aug 26, 2008)

I'm sorry, what did you mean by "tye build"?


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## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

think typo. "the"


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## todothis (Aug 26, 2008)

Ah. That makes more sense than "top".


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## todothis (Aug 26, 2008)

One last thing (I think). I changed the 3550 to a 2500k for the OC capabilities (later on, after the warranty probably). Thoughts?


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Personally, I'd go with the 3550 Ivy Bridge. OC'ing new CPU's only yields better benchmarks and bragging rights.


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## todothis (Aug 26, 2008)

Oh, I didn't even see they were ivy and sandy. Oops. Also, when it says 3.7ghz turbo, what is that? I thought the 3550 was locked out of OCing.


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

You can always OC the CPU. But the 3.7GHz Turbo is the speed you would reach when OCing.


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## todothis (Aug 26, 2008)

Oh. I did some research, and I think I understand now. I'm back on the two other builds. 

Everyone, thank you very much for your help. Here's to some good sales over the next few weeks.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Turbo Boost is a "built in" OC. Turbo Boost is activated, as required, when the demand on the CPU is high.
When the parts arrive, read the Mobo manually thoroughly to familiarize your self with it's layout and connections. It will also guide you through the installation of components and the power connections required.
Test on the bench, precisely as below, before installing in the case and you should have no problems.
If any problems arise, post them here and we'll help you out.

Set the motherboard on a non conductive surface. The motherboard box is perfect for this. DO NOT PLACE THE MOTHERBOARD ON THE STATIC BAG! It can actually conduct electricity! 
Install the CPU and heat sink. 
Install 1 stick of RAM.
Install the video card and attach the power supply connection(s) to the card if your card needs it.
Connect the monitor to the video card.
Connect the power supply to the motherboard with both the 24pin main ATX Power connection and the separate 4 pin (Dual Core CPU) or 8 pin (Quad Core CPU) power connection.
Connect power to the power supply.
Do NOT connect ANYTHING else. Make sure you have the power connector on the CPU fan connected.
Use a small screwdriver to momentarily short the power switch connector on the motherboard. Consult your motherboard manual to find which two pins connect to your case's power switch. Then touch both pins with a screwdriver to complete the circuit and boot the system.

If all is well, it should power up and you should get a display. Then assemble the parts into the case and try again. If the system now fails to boot, you have a short in the case and need to recheck your motherboard standoffs.

If the system does not boot after this process, then you most likely have a faulty component. You'll need to swap parts, start with the power supply, until you determine what is defective.


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## todothis (Aug 26, 2008)

Well, everything finally came in and I had time to finish it all up. Everything works splendidly. The only problem is that something in my build emits a high pitched whine that sounds like tinnitus or something. It's very discernible; you can tell it is coming from the computer soon after it starts up. It sounds like it is coming from the CPU maybe. I don't think its the cooler.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

What components (Brand & Model of Mobo-CPU-RAM-Graphics-PSU) are in the final build?


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## todothis (Aug 26, 2008)

CPU: Intel Core i5-3550 3.3GHz Quad-Core 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H ATX LGA1155 
Memory: GSKILL DDR3 1600 PC3-12800 8GB
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB 
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

cpu's do not make a noise fans and graphics cards can. Bearings can go in fans or need oiling. Graphics cards can emit coil whine as can power supplies.


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

You may wish to go with a 650W XFX PSU with that 660 Ti. It will provide a more reliable system.


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