• What could I upgrade on this rig?
    18 replies, posted
This is just some parts I'm looking at getting, and I'm on a budget. What could be replaced with something better, if it costs roughly the same? AMD Athlon II X4 620 Gigabyte GA-MA74GM-S2 Patriot 4GB DDR2/800 Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 Cooler Master RS-460 And Windows 7 OEM. Also, could you recommend a case? [editline]16th October 2010[/editline] Oh, and I was thinking the Soundblaster X-Fi 7.1 as a sound card, unless someone else has a different recommendation.
Well you could always upgrade the MoBo for CrossFire and get another 5770 and get a x6:[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103849&cm_re=x6-_-19-103-849-_-Product[/url]
[QUOTE=Nsybouts;25449051]Well you could always upgrade the MoBo for CrossFire and get another 5770 and get a x6:[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103849&cm_re=x6-_-19-103-849-_-Product[/url][/QUOTE] That's a little overkill for any games I would be playing.
I would say processor, but you'd need to change motherboard as well, maybe another 2gb ram? I think the sound card is your best bet, nice build!
What's the difference between these two cards? [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102873&cm_re=Sapphire_Radeon_HD_5770-_-14-102-873-_-Product[/url] [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102858&cm_re=Sapphire_Radeon_HD_5770-_-14-102-858-_-Product[/url] I honestly can't tell the difference, so it would be great if someone could help me.
Different cooling. The one with the bigger fan doesn't expel hot air out of the back of the case, since you can see that the cover doesn't go back all the way. The other one's shroud does go all the way back, but whether that's functional or just for looks I can't tell.
And how about this case? Will it be enough to house everything with extra room for possible use later? [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119227[/url] [editline]16th October 2010[/editline] [QUOTE=cecilbdemodded;25452224]Different cooling. The one with the bigger fan doesn't expel hot air out of the back of the case, since you can see that the cover doesn't go back all the way. The other one's shroud does go all the way back, but whether that's functional or just for looks I can't tell.[/QUOTE] So it would be perfectly okay to go with either? [editline]16th October 2010[/editline] Also, the DVI cable I have looks like the image I'm about to post, would it be compatible with either of the video cards? Sorry for asking so many questions, first computer I've been left to my own devices on. [editline]16th October 2010[/editline] [url]http://www.jdr.com/interact/..%5Cimages%5Cproducts%5CC%5Ccbl-hdmi-dvi.jpg[/url] [editline]16th October 2010[/editline] Oh, and it doesn't have the HDMI on the other end, obviously. [editline]16th October 2010[/editline] Do I even need a Sound card? Will I notice a huge difference between an integrated card and say, a soundblaster X-FI 7.1? I'm pretty certain I would, but it doesn't say it supports Windows 7, which worries me.
From what I can tell, a big fan in the middle seems to be the default cooling design for a 5770. Therefore you can conclude that the one with the smaller fan on the end is some kind of third party upgrade. Otherwise go with either, maybe the rebates mean something to you, personally I never count on them. DVI should work fine. I noticed less background noise going with a dedicated soundcard. If I plug in my speakers with onboard sound and crank the volume with nothing playing, I can hear noise. With a soundcard I hear nothing. I think everything sounds clearer and sharper with a lower background noise level. I guess what I'm saying is you need to ask yourself what you hope to gain with a soundcard, only then can you figure out if it is worth it to you.
[QUOTE=cecilbdemodded;25454027]From what I can tell, a big fan in the middle seems to be the default cooling design for a 5770. Therefore you can conclude that the one with the smaller fan on the end is some kind of third party upgrade. Otherwise go with either, maybe the rebates mean something to you, personally I never count on them. DVI should work fine. I noticed less background noise going with a dedicated soundcard. If I plug in my speakers with onboard sound and crank the volume with nothing playing, I can hear noise. With a soundcard I hear nothing. I think everything sounds clearer and sharper with a lower background noise level. I guess what I'm saying is you need to ask yourself what you hope to gain with a soundcard, only then can you figure out if it is worth it to you.[/QUOTE] I don't ever use speakers, just headphones, and I rarely crank the volume up, so I guess I don't really need one.
I think you're right, a soundcard like that really only comes into its own when run through speakers or maybe a nice set of headphones. Otherwise, for the money involved, you aren't going to get enough value out of it.
do soundcards allow greater sound output, I like extremely loud music on the occasion.
One last question: Will this be able to run newer games like Dead Rising 2, Black Ops, New Vegas, etc. on high setting with good FPS?
Consider this CPU: [url]http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103846&cm_re=phenom_ii_x2-_-19-103-846-_-Product[/url] Or this one: [url]http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808&cm_re=phenom_ii_x4-_-19-103-808-_-Product[/url] Doesn't matter honestly.
[QUOTE=Axiom :D;25474251]Consider this CPU: [url]http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103846&cm_re=phenom_ii_x2-_-19-103-846-_-Product[/url] Or this one: [url]http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808&cm_re=phenom_ii_x4-_-19-103-808-_-Product[/url] Doesn't matter honestly.[/QUOTE] Those would both be compatible with the motherboard I picked out, right? [editline]17th October 2010[/editline] Also, is the motherboard compatible with more than 2 sticks of ram? I was thinking of getting 2x3 instead of 2x2 since it's roughly the same price. Ram in question: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220503&cm_re=desktop_memory_2_x_3-_-20-220-503-_-Product[/url]
No, triple channel will not work on your motherboard. Looks like it only has 2 slots for RAM anyways
[QUOTE=Jaehead;25475610]No, triple channel will not work on your motherboard. Looks like it only has 2 slots for RAM anyways[/QUOTE] So if I want more Ram, my only options are 2x4 or a MoBo with more ram slots? [editline]17th October 2010[/editline] Okay screw this, can someone recommend me a MoBo that supports triple channel and (optional) more RAM slots?
unless you're doing higher end workstation stuff, 4GB will be fine for a good while yet
[QUOTE=Jaehead;25475610]No, triple channel will not work on your motherboard. Looks like it only has 2 slots for RAM anyways[/QUOTE] they're just marketed that way, it has nothing to do with the RAM itself any three matching DDR3 RAM DIMMs will work in triple channel [editline]17th October 2010[/editline] [QUOTE=Big Ben;25475865]So if I want more Ram, my only options are 2x4 or a MoBo with more ram slots? [editline]17th October 2010[/editline] Okay screw this, can someone recommend me a MoBo that supports triple channel and (optional) more RAM slots?[/QUOTE] the only motherboards that support triple channel RAM use the X58 chipset which is way out of your budget
[QUOTE=Odellus;25476010]they're just marketed that way, it has nothing to do with the RAM itself any three matching DDR3 RAM DIMMs will work in triple channel [editline]17th October 2010[/editline] the only motherboards that support triple channel RAM use the X58 chipset which is way out of your budget[/QUOTE] Poo, guess I have to go back to my other Processor. [editline]17th October 2010[/editline] [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103704&cm_re=AMD_Athlon_II_X4-_-19-103-704-_-Product[/url] That one would work with my MoBo, right?
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.