• Advice for an upgrade
    19 replies, posted
I've been looking at improving my system a little bit and I was wondering where would be the best place to spend the money, bang for buck and all that. It's been some time since I've upgraded anything, I think the last thing was my processor. Here's a pic from Speccy to give you an idea. [IMG]http://puu.sh/6vY8N.png[/IMG] I don't really want to spend more than $600AUD, I was thinking a new graphics card and more RAM, any ideas? Oh, I also need a new case as my current one is ancient and a little cramped. I appreciate any input on this, cheers.
What is the brand and wattage of your power supply? If it's a decent one, [url]http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/2GMFs[/url] would be a good upgrade. 8gb RAM, a 760, and a good case.
My PSU is an Antec Earthwatts EA500. I have had it for a while aswell so it might be needing a replacement too. I'll raise the bar a little to $700, bearing that in mind,I know a place I can get this [url]http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=193_1486&products_id=23601[/url] for $429, would it be worth spending the extra money in getting this 770 and just holding off on buying a new case in favour of getting a PSU?
[url=http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/2H6Wi]PCPartPicker part list[/url] / [url=http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/2H6Wi/by_merchant/]Price breakdown by merchant[/url] / [url=http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/2H6Wi/benchmarks/]Benchmarks[/url] [b]Memory:[/b] [url=http://au.pcpartpicker.com/part/geil-memory-gd34gb1333c9sc]GeIL DRAGON 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory[/url] ($49.00 @ PLE Computers) [b]Video Card:[/b] [url=http://au.pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-video-card-r9280xtdfd]XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card[/url] ($379.00 @ PCCaseGear) [b]Case:[/b] [url=http://au.pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-case-200r]Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case[/url] ($85.00 @ PCCaseGear) [b]Total:[/b] $513.00 [i](Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)[/i] [i](Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-25 14:54 EST+1100)[/i] Anything more is overkill Chose a 4gb stick to upgrade to 8gb [editline]25th January 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=Levelog;43654845]What is the brand and wattage of your power supply? If it's a decent one, [url]http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/2GMFs[/url] would be a good upgrade. 8gb RAM, a 760, and a good case.[/QUOTE] 12gb is overkill(better have chosen the cheapest kit!) and you can do better than a 760 [editline]25th January 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=Linkage;43660434]My PSU is an Antec Earthwatts EA500. I have had it for a while aswell so it might be needing a replacement too. I'll raise the bar a little to $700, bearing that in mind,I know a place I can get this [url]http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=193_1486&products_id=23601[/url] for $429, would it be worth spending the extra money in getting this 770 and just holding off on buying a new case in favour of getting a PSU?[/QUOTE] That 770 is too expensive
[QUOTE=Kevin3212;43661674][url] http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/2H6Wi]PCPartPicker part list[/url] / [url=http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/2H6Wi/by_merchant/]Price breakdown by merchant[/url] / [url=http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/2H6Wi/benchmarks/]Benchmarks[/url] [b]Memory:[/b] [url=http://au.pcpartpicker.com/part/geil-memory-gd34gb1333c9sc]GeIL DRAGON 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory[/url] ($49.00 @ PLE Computers) [b]Video Card:[/b] [url=http://au.pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-video-card-r9280xtdfd]XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card[/url] ($379.00 @ PCCaseGear) [b]Case:[/b] [url=http://au.pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-case-200r]Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case[/url] ($85.00 @ PCCaseGear) [b]Total:[/b] $513.00 [i](Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)[/i] [i](Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-25 14:54 EST+1100)[/i] Anything more is overkill [editline]25th January 2014[/editline] 12gb is overkill(better have chosen the cheapest kit!) and you can do better than a 760[/QUOTE] If he has 4gb in dual channel, he has 2 2 gig sticks. Why kill the dual channel? Plus, it's almost always better to get a whole new kit than mix and match.
[QUOTE=Levelog;43661730]If he has 4gb in dual channel, he has 2 2 gig sticks. Why kill the dual channel? Plus, it's almost always better to get a whole new kit than mix and match.[/QUOTE] Ram bandwidth makes 0 difference Getting a new kit would be a waste Theres plenty of slots
Can you find a better priced 770 in Australia? If you haven't lived here I'll explain. When things get sent to Australia, the price automatically goes up, video games are $20 more, computer parts, ammuntion, clothing. It's known as the Australia tax.
I would have suggested the 770 but they're about $400+ AUD The 280X will serve fine for $370 AUD, but I'd suggest getting the much better Twin Frozr card for $10 AUD more [url]http://au.pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-r9280xgaming3g[/url]
[QUOTE=Linkage;43662177]Can you find a better priced 770 in Australia? If you haven't lived here I'll explain. When things get sent to Australia, the price automatically goes up, video games are $20 more, computer parts, ammuntion, clothing. It's known as the Australia tax.[/QUOTE] This is what you got to choose from [url]http://au.pcpartpicker.com/parts/video-card/#c=137,148&sort=a6[/url] How do i unrate posts?
Alright, setting the graphics card aside for the moment, as it seems we're settling on this R9 280X, will my current PSU be enough for it, or do I need to up the wattage?
All you'll need is a 500-600w PSU
Alright sweet. Basically what I'm getting from these responses it that the 770 is a better card but you all feel the extra price isn't worth the increase in performance between this R9 280X? Is that about right?
[QUOTE=Linkage;43662241]Alright, setting the graphics card aside for the moment, as it seems we're settling on this R9 280X, will my current PSU be enough for it, or do I need to up the wattage?[/QUOTE] Your current psu is fine Are you gonna go with my upgrades? <3
770 and 280X are pretty similar performing cards, the only time you need to worry about them is with price, the 280x is cheaper and will serve you pretty well. The 770 in the US is about 30-40 bucks cheaper, which is probably why they said it's better.
[QUOTE=Kevin3212;43662267]Your current psu is fine Are you gonna go with my upgrades? <3[/QUOTE] I think I'm going to go with the Twin Frozr 280x that Death_God suggested with the case that both you and Levelog suggested. As for RAM I'm visiting a PC fair in a week or two so I'll figure that out then. Thanks a bunch for your help guys. Just as an update, the Twin Frozr that was suggested comes to $425 AUD after shipping, I can buy a GTX770 2gb OC edition in person for $429. Is it still worth ordering the Twin Frozr to save $4?
[QUOTE=Linkage;43662432]I think I'm going to go with the Twin Frozr 280x that Death_God suggested with the case that both you and Levelog suggested. As for RAM I'm visiting a PC fair in a week or two so I'll figure that out then. Thanks a bunch for your help guys.[/QUOTE] RAM is RAM just get the 4gb stick i suggested [editline]25th January 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=Linkage;43662432]I think I'm going to go with the Twin Frozr 280x that Death_God suggested with the case that both you and Levelog suggested. As for RAM I'm visiting a PC fair in a week or two so I'll figure that out then. Thanks a bunch for your help guys. Just as an update, the Twin Frozr that was suggested comes to $425 AUD after shipping, I can buy a GTX770 2gb OC edition in person for $429. Is it still worth ordering the Twin Frozr to save $4?[/QUOTE] [url]http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1041?vs=1037[/url] You decide What 770? Check the price of the xfx 280x i suggested Actually it's put of stock from both vendors [url]http://www.mwave.com.au/product/gigabyte-geforce-gtx-770-2gb-oc-edition-video-card-ab49591[/url] Beast cooler and only $420
That 770 is the exact one I know I can get for $429, or maybe even less, I haggle and it generally works out for me. After shipping from that site it comes to $428.
You can't mix RAM with different kinds.of frequencies and timings and expect it to work. Get the 8GB pack that's from the same batch The Twin Frozr cooler is better, so another card being overclocked by default won't matter as you can just manually OC the twin frozr higher
[QUOTE=RandomGamer342;43663938]You can't mix RAM with different kinds.of frequencies and timings and expect it to work. Get the 8GB pack that's from the same batch [/QUOTE] That's why you lower the speed in the bios
[QUOTE=Kevin3212;43665415]That's why you lower the speed in the bios[/QUOTE] You seem to have this issue where everything you say is right and 100% fact even though it's clear you have no idea what you're talking about. You shouldn't mix different RAM at all, it's like mixing 2 different AA batteries. Yeah, it could work, but it's not wise.
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