So after a 4 month battle with HP, I've decided to fuck all and either upgrade my current rig, or build a new one (as I am sick and tired of prebuilt ones)
Anyhow, I am computer illiterate to one extent or another, but I am surrounded by people who are well versed in the building of computers (both on and offline, mind you).
I have a $500 limit on this project, a little more if necessary. I intend to use this PC as a gaming PC (something that can run ARMA II on moderately high settings or better) and as a platform for photo editing and such.
Current Specs:
[IMG]http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff226/Tfarnham849/specs.jpg[/IMG]
I'm also looking for advice on an OS. Should I stick to Vista or go for Windows 7 or downgrade to XP?
[editline]01:42PM[/editline]
What I'm thinking is getting 4 more gigabytes of RAM, a new video card, and a better cooling system.
Maybe even a better sound card and a 5.1 sound system if I have leftover cash. Any preferences on those would be great too.
start anew, but reuse optical drives
Any specific parts you can recommend?
[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.321317[/url]
[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115222[/url]
[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171031[/url]
[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102859[/url]
reuse everything else if possible. I don't know if your case is ATX or BTX, so you may end up needing a new case too.
Thomas your computer is fine. Just like you said all you really need is some new ddr2 800 and a graphics card. You don't even need to spend more than 300.
ati 5770 - [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127484&cm_re=5770-_-14-127-484-_-Product[/url]
4gb ddr2 800 - [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231207[/url]
I wouldn't worry about cooling too much cuz that particular 5770 blows all the air from the case out the back.
Also you should get a new psu. I recommend the same as what the guy above posted
[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171031[/url]
[QUOTE=drummerundrcovr;20091664]Thomas your computer is fine. Just like you said all you really need is some new ddr2 800 and a graphics card. You don't even need to spend more than 300.
ati 5770 - [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127484&cm_re=5770-_-14-127-484-_-Product[/url]
4gb ddr2 800 - [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231207[/url]
I wouldn't worry about cooling too much cuz that particular 5770 blows all the air from the case out the back.
Also you should get a new psu. I recommend the same as what the guy above posted
[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171031[/url][/QUOTE]God no.
DDR2 is not even worth buying.
Also, XFX > MSI
[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150447[/url]
And get what Buttsex posted, just add the 5770.
DDR2 [I]is [/I] worth buying under certain circumstances, circumstances such as this where he already has a perfectly usable DDR2 motherboard. The CPU is fine (overclock it though), but the graphics card is definitely not fine. Get a new GPU, and maybe PSU and RAM.
[QUOTE=ferrus;20091741]DDR2 [I]is [/I] worth buying under certain circumstances, circumstances such as this where he already has a perfectly usable DDR2 motherboard. The CPU is fine (overclock it though), but the graphics card is definitely not fine. Get a new GPU, and maybe PSU and RAM.[/QUOTE]For $513 he can get this.
[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.321317[/url]
[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115222[/url]
[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171031[/url]
[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150447[/url]
Its in his budget and he gets a new Mobo,CPU,RAM,PSU and GPU. Good deal to me.
I'm sure wasting money isn't one of his priorities.. He could get a Hyper 212, new PSU and a 5850. Then overclock the CPU.
$380 to get a Hyper 212 plus, a 5850 and an Antec 550 W PSU
Depends on how much he wants to spend. My friend has a gateway with an e6400 and 4gb ddr667, tied with 9800gt. With it he plays his games (including the new Bad Company 2 beta) all highest (besides arma 2 and crysis) at 1440x900. He could still do fine with his e6750 and ddr2.
He'll certainly get more FPS with a 5850 than with a 5770 and new CPU.
The E6750 at stock speeds is roughly 7 FPS behind the i3 530, which means if he overclocks it it may even yield the same or higher FPS.
[QUOTE=ferrus;20091741]DDR2 [I]is [/I] worth buying under certain circumstances, circumstances such as this where he already has a perfectly usable DDR2 motherboard. The CPU is fine (overclock it though), but the graphics card is definitely not fine. Get a new GPU, and maybe PSU and RAM.[/QUOTE]
DDR3 and a new motherboard isn't wasting money.
He has the money, why not give him better stuff for the money?
[editline]01:26AM[/editline]
He'll do fine with Arma II on a 5770.
You're not listening. Technically it is better parts, but the end result is less FPS for considerably more money.
In this case DDR3 and a new mobo is wasting money because it does not justify its cost.
[editline]01:30AM[/editline]
I have a 4870 (5770 perf) and it doesn't do fine on Arma (laggy).
That's gotta be your cpu then... arma 2 runs ok for me on medium/high at 1920x1080 on my 4770
So what's your CPU?
[editline]02:01AM[/editline]
specs:
4870 512mb
q6600 @ 3.6
4GB RAM
Win7 x64
Then again I did only play the demo.
ahh sorry. its only a mere amd 240 but overclocked to 3.5 from 2.8
My system did terrible on ARMA II demo, but does alright on the full version.
[QUOTE=ButtsexV2;20092887]My system did terrible on ARMA II demo, but does alright on the full version.[/QUOTE]
What's your specs?
[B]$483.95[/B] build /w
OPEN BOX Asus AM3 790X - motherboard
Phenom II X4 2.6Ghz - processor
2 x 2GB DDR3 1333 - memory
Geforce 8800GT 512MB - graphics card
Cooler Master HAF 922 Mid-tower ATX - case
Those were listed in the same order as the following links:
[URL]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131402R[/URL]
[URL]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103650[/URL]
[URL]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220468[/URL]
[URL]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143118[/URL]
[URL]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197[/URL]
This computer will not be an ultimate gaming machine, but will run most games on highest settings. This computer will multitask very well, considering the quad core processor and DDR3 memory. As long as your current power supply is at least 466 watts, you should not need a new one. The motherboard is 'open box'. Buying open box items will save you a lot of money. Motherboards have the most open box listings. What that means is, there is a possibility that some of the materials that comes with it may be missing. You shouldn't need any of these things if you use the old stuff from your old motherboard. These things may include mounting hardware(screws and stuff to mount the motherboard in the case, you can use the old ones) SATA and IDE cables(cables that are used to plug in hard drives and CD/DVD drives) and other various things that aren't completely necessary.
This computer will run games and programs fast for a few years. Some time you may want to get a better video card, but that's if you want higher performance in the near future. The rest of the computer will perform above average for about three years.
GUYS I just remembered and checked: His hard drive AND cd drive both run on IDE. The new gen motherboards only have one IDE slot and I'm pretty sure IDE cables wont stretch far enough to connect the hard drive and dvd drive... Maybe they make special IDE cables?
[QUOTE=Zoo;20094087][B]$483.95[/B] build /w
OPEN BOX Asus AM3 790X - motherboard
Phenom II X4 2.6Ghz - processor
2 x 2GB DDR3 1333 - memory
Geforce 8800GT 512MB - graphics card
Cooler Master HAF 922 Mid-tower ATX - case
Those were listed in the same order as the following links:
[URL]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131402R[/URL]
[URL]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103650[/URL]
[URL]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220468[/URL]
[URL]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143118[/URL]
[URL]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197[/URL]
This computer will not be an ultimate gaming machine, but will run most games on highest settings. This computer will multitask very well, considering the quad core processor and DDR3 memory. As long as your current power supply is at least 466 watts, you should not need a new one. The motherboard is 'open box'. Buying open box items will save you a lot of money. Motherboards have the most open box listings. What that means is, there is a possibility that some of the materials that comes with it may be missing. You shouldn't need any of these things if you use the old stuff from your old motherboard. These things may include mounting hardware(screws and stuff to mount the motherboard in the case, you can use the old ones) SATA and IDE cables(cables that are used to plug in hard drives and CD/DVD drives) and other various things that aren't completely necessary.
This computer will run games and programs fast for a few years. Some time you may want to get a better video card, but that's if you want higher performance in the near future. The rest of the computer will perform above average for about three years.[/QUOTE]Get out.
[QUOTE=ClaBrendon;20094999]Get out.[/QUOTE]
Please explain what is so bad about this build.
[editline]11:32PM[/editline]
[QUOTE=drummerundrcovr;20094360]GUYS I just remembered and checked: His hard drive AND cd drive both run on IDE. The new gen motherboards only have one IDE slot and I'm pretty sure IDE cables wont stretch far enough to connect the hard drive and dvd drive... Maybe they make special IDE cables?[/QUOTE]
Well, he is better to just get a cheap $20 SATA DVD burner than buying an older motherboard just to support both IDE slots.
[editline]11:35PM[/editline]
[QUOTE=drummerundrcovr;20091664]Thomas your computer is fine. Just like you said all you really need is some new ddr2 800 and a graphics card. You don't even need to spend more than 300.
ati 5770 - [URL]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127484&cm_re=5770-_-14-127-484-_-Product[/URL]
4gb ddr2 800 - [URL]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231207[/URL]
I wouldn't worry about cooling too much cuz that particular 5770 blows all the air from the case out the back.
Also you should get a new psu. I recommend the same as what the guy above posted
[URL]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171031[/URL][/QUOTE]
He isn't going to be able to fit that card in his case. Most HP's are ATX mini.
True that the case could be a mini or micro ATX... I don't think a majority are though compared to normal ATX size.
OP can we have the model number of your HP? If you do have a small form factor pc then forget about upgrading it with a new motherboard and such, you'd have to get a new case.
[QUOTE=drummerundrcovr;20095538]True that the case could be a mini or micro ATX... I don't think a majority are though compared to normal ATX size.
OP can we have the model number of your HP? If you do have a small form factor pc then forget about upgrading it with a new motherboard and such, you'd have to get a new case.[/QUOTE]
You could at least fit an 8800GT in a mini ATX. My friend has an HP ATX mini with an 8800GT and it fits fine. But I don't think anything past that will fit. Gosh, video cards just keep getting bigger and bigger. They really can't make them any bigger and expect them to fit in cases.
No point in getting a 8800 now as it is old as fuck that's why it is a bad build. And open box may or may not be good. Ive gotten 6 open box items and all 6 failed within 4-5 months. Including a mobo,GPU and a couple HDDs and CD drives.
They are cheaper but it is worth it to buy certain things new.
Zoo are you talking about half-height cards or length? If length, I'm almost positive the 5770 would fit. It's vastly shorter than the 5800 series cards. In fact it doesn't even go over the edge of the motherboard.
[QUOTE=drummerundrcovr;20097203]Zoo are you talking about half-height cards or length? If length, I'm almost positive the 5770 would fit. It's vastly shorter than the 5800 series cards. In fact it doesn't even go over the edge of the motherboard.[/QUOTE]
I'm talking about length. Alright, I wasn't sure about it's length, so if it works, that's great.
Model Number is: M8277C.
I tried looking for the info you guys are looking for on the case, but no dice. I assume it's a mini of some sort.
And I talked to a few friends of mine and they are going on about me needed no less than $900 to make a decent computer.
[editline]04:39PM[/editline]
Dimensions are about 6 1/2" wide, 15" tall, and 15 1/2" inches deep.
[QUOTE=drummerundrcovr;20094360]GUYS I just remembered and checked: His hard drive AND cd drive both run on IDE. The new gen motherboards only have one IDE slot and I'm pretty sure IDE cables wont stretch far enough to connect the hard drive and dvd drive... Maybe they make special IDE cables?[/QUOTE]
One ide port allows two devices.
[editline]01:58AM[/editline]
[QUOTE=Thomas849;20109117]And I talked to a few friends of mine and they are going on about me needed no less than $900 to make a decent computer..[/QUOTE]
do any of these guys own an alienware, HP, dell, compaq, or ibuypower?
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