What to upgrade first?

[Mt5_Roie]

So to start I have:

Gigabyte EP43-DSL3 Motherboard

Intel E7200 2.6GHZ

4 GB of DR2 RAM

ATI Radeon HD 4530 with 512 video ram

Logitech Extreme Pro joystick

Windows 7 64-bit

25M/25M network connection

 

So game play is pretty good and I"ve been having fun with the game. Most settings are at medium some high. But I"m looking to expand a bit and upgrade. So here's what I'm thinking:

 

-SSD drive

-G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ (times 2 to get 8 GB total)

-SAPPHIRE Flex 100328FLEX Radeon HD 6770 1GB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

-Intel Core i7-2600 Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600

 

Now I'm on a budget having a wife and two daughters. So initially I'm looking to spend around 300 dollar for the first wave of updates. I was thinking of going with the ram and video card first, and do CPU and SSD later.

 

Also debating right now between the X52 Pro, X65, And thrustmaster HOTAS. Right now X65 is slightly winning.

 

Any thoughts?

[EtherealN]

Well, of the things you've got right there, I'd say you really want to do something about that graphics card. (Of course, you really would benefit a lot from doing something about the processor as well, but note points below.)

 

Also, note tyhat you are right there looking at DDR2 RAM, but also looking at an Intel i7-2600K. To use either of those, you will have to replace your motherboard - no way around it, an i7 will not physically fit on your current motherboard, and even if it did the chipset on the motherboard wouldn't know what to do with an i7. And i7's do not use DDR2 memory. Ever. (They have a DDR3 controller internally, the motherboard just offers some connections.)

 

So essentially, if you want to do anything about the processor, you will also have to replace motherboard and RAM. At that point, I'd recommend doing that in a "package" - I'd recommend i5 2500K, a good P67 or Z67 motherboard, and a kit of two 4GB DDR3 1600MHz sticks.

 

Graphics card... Depends on your budget. I'm not so sure about a 6770 though, it feels like a card that is sort of below the sweet spot. Depends on budget of course. Do definitely make sure to check that your PSU has the required power cabling and wattage to support it as well.

[cichlidfan]

IMO, The ram upgrade will be wasted when you upgrade the CPU, which is going to require a new mobo.

 

EDIT: Should have seen it coming.:D

[sobek]

Now I'm on a budget having a wife and two daughters. So initially I'm looking to spend around 300 dollar for the first wave of updates. I was thinking of going with the ram and video card first, and do CPU and SSD later.

 

The additional RAM will probably not do a lot for you. Also bear in mind that with a LGA1155 processor, you will need a new mainboard and RAM as well. If you don't want to shell out too much, go for the GFX card now and save for the new CPU, that would be my advice.

 

In the meantime, if your mainboard and PSU properly support it (don't know about your type), you could look into a slight overclock of your CPU. For example, i run a e8400 at 3,6GHz (3,0 is stock speed) with stock cooling, but it does give a noticeable increase in performance.

 

Edit: Sniped. :)

Edited September 26, 2011 by sobek

[Mt5_Roie]

Ok So sticking with the motherboard I got. What the best CPU I can put into it?

 

Any recommendations of a graphics card in the 100-150 range. I might be able to a little higher depends on nice I can hide it from the wife.

 

EDIT: If I don't get any RAM updates, then video card range can go around 200-250...but ideally I'd like to keep it in the 150-200 range so I can get TRackIR or new Joystick

[cichlidfan]

Again, IMVHO, a CPU upgrade is not going to get you enough to justify the expense. But I would bow to EherealN's expertise.;)

 

EDIT: I might consider the TIR first, depending on how happy you are with current performance. It will be like a new sim!

Edited September 26, 2011 by cichlidfan

[Mt5_Roie]

Again, IMVHO, a CPU upgrade is not going to get you enough to justify the expense. But I would bow to EherealN's expertise.;)

 

Gotcha...trying to keep it as lean as possible since I have a wife and two daughters who require a bit of money themselves. I don't get to spend too much money on myself these days so I have to stick with what I can and upgrade to it's potential in budget.

[EtherealN]

Sticking with the motherboard you have, I'm not sure there's even anything you can purchase outside of the used parts market... It's an LGA775 socket mobo, and those processors aren't being produced anymore. (Indeed, even their successor socket, the LGA1366 is being phased out.)

 

You could probably run an E8600 or Q9xxx on it, but it's not worth it. Save the money for when you can replace mobo as well.

 

I'd say wait with CPU/mobo/RAM upgrades, and spend the ~200 dollars on something like a GTX560Ti (note: not GTX560 sans the "Ti"). For Radeon equivs you'd probably do pretty well with a 6850, 6870 or 6950. I'm a bit fuzzy with the Radeons and would have to dig deeper into them. (So damn many of them. :P )

 

EDIT:

Regarding TrackIR, if you have a webcam (or can pick up a quality but cheap one), there is a free software program called FreeTrackNOIR that should be able to give you similar function at the price of a webcam. Worth testing. :)

 

Though yes, facetracking really is absolutely awesome and I only fly without my TrackIR unit when I am either just doing a quick 30-second flight to test something out or watch a track.

Edited September 26, 2011 by EtherealN

[sobek]

Sticking with the motherboard you have, I'm not sure there's even anything you can purchase outside of the used parts market... It's an LGA775 socket mobo, and those processors aren't being produced anymore. (Indeed, even their successor socket, the LGA1366 is being phased out.)

You could probably run an E8600 or Q9xxx on it, but it's not worth it. Save the money for when you can replace mobo as well.

 

Full Ack. You will get MUCH more bang for your buck, albeit at a higher expense.

 

I'd say wait with CPU/mobo/RAM upgrades, and spend the ~200 dollars on something like a GTX560Ti (note: not GTX560 sans the "Ti"). For Radeon equivs you'd probably do pretty well with a 6850, 6870 or 6950. I'm a bit fuzzy with the Radeons and would have to dig deeper into them. (So damn many of them. :P )

 

I would say (for red team, i dunno about the nVidias :)) the 6870 with a good (meaning non-stock) cooler will hit the sweet spot. Those go at around 140-200€, depending on overclock, cooler and accessories in the package.

[Mt5_Roie]

I'd say wait with CPU/mobo/RAM upgrades, and spend the ~200 dollars on something like a GTX560Ti (note: not GTX560 sans the "Ti"). For Radeon equivs you'd probably do pretty well with a 6850, 6870 or 6950. I'm a bit fuzzy with the Radeons and would have to dig deeper into them. (So damn many of them. :P )/QUOTE]

 

How's this for the graphics card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133380

 

And I don't have a webcam on the PC. Plus, I heard great things about the trackIR that I don't mind getting it.

[EtherealN]

sobek, we should be the red/green tag-team for GPU advice. :D

[sobek]

sobek, we should be the red/green tag-team for GPU advice. :D

 

Nah, usually i don't keep close track, it's just because i fancy an upgrade myself ATM. Wanted to post a list for ppl to look at one of these days. :)

[EtherealN]

How's this for the graphics card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133380

 

Pretty good.

You could also consider this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121424

 

That one is slightly longer, and slightly slower (830MHz instead of the 900MHz of the one you linked), but runs very very cool. (I seldom see mine above 55 degrees C even during full load.)

 

Either will work quite fine though. Just make sure you have the required two six-pin PCI-e power connectors available, and an appropriate wattage PSU (I'd say you want 500 watt as a minimum for CPU+GPU - less might work, but I wouldn't guarantee good results, especially on PSU's of unknown age and wear status.)

[cichlidfan]

I prefer the ASUS.

 

http://www.amazon.com/ENGTX560-TI-DCII-2DI-1GD5/dp/B004KLY9UW/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1317066703&sr=8-13

[Mt5_Roie]

I'll check my connectors and PSU wattage when I get home. Leaving soon from work.

[EtherealN]

That's the same card I linked! :D

(And the same card I have use. Love it. Kid brother is getting the 900MHz TOP version at my advice though, so I guess it's finally time to overclock this puppy. :P There's a matter of pride through having the most potent machine in the family.)

[cichlidfan]

I have the 900mHz and am happy as well. Great minds!!:D

 

My kid brother thinks a good gaming upgrade would be a PS4 (sigh).

[Ramstein]

I like the idea of a new video card, for you... I like my new Nvidia

PNY-460GTX and they can be had new for about $150 USD shipped..

get the 1 gb , 256 bit version, they try to sell a cheaper version but it's been nuetered...

 

if you try to get new cpu, video card, etc.. then you might as well go whole hog and replace everything,, where as the new video card should hold you happy for now and you should be able to run everything on high..

 

plus, it will leave you with money for anew HOTAS joystick, if you need a new stick... rudder pedals.... etc..

 

and don't buy a used stick...

better off with a warranty..

 

IMHO

[aaron886]

TrackIR is huge. I have never heard of a TIR customer who doesn't recommend it.

[Mt5_Roie]

Ok so got home and checked...my PSU is only rated to 300w. So is there any way to determine how much power is actually being used? I figure I could always disconnect the DVD drive, and go to one drive vs two that I have now. Plus I might be able to get an SSD drive which uses less power as well. This 300W can handle it? If not, how hard is it to install a bigger PSU?

 

As long as the system lets me play A-10C for another year or two I'll be ok and get a brand new system then. With wife and kids its not easy to save up for a brand new system.

 

Found this on ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/600w-POWER-SUPPLY-4-Intel-AMD-PC-Desktop-Computer-/220837823298?pt=PCA_UPS&hash=item336af5c342

 

Seems cheap...but will it do?

Edited September 26, 2011 by roiegat

[EtherealN]

Hm. 300 watts would most likely not work with the 560's and similar cards, and if it were to work it would be right on the margins - any kind of aging of the PSU would then put you at risk of getting a catastrophic failure - ranging from just blowing the PSU, to frying components and potentially even causing a fire. Don't risk it.

 

That PSU unfortunately only has a single 6-pin PCI-e, which would not be enough. It is theoretically possible to use adaptors with the MOLEX cables. It's not a solution I'm very fond of, but the wattage itself should be fine. So as long as your computer case will accept it it should work with the mentioned adaptors. Not sure I'd do it though, I'm sort of paranoid about PSU's ever since I caused one of mine to blow up. :P

[Ramstein]

300 watt is not worth messing with I say a mnimum of 600 with high quality psu is good... a little less might work.. but the quality is very important. You usally need to spend at least $75.00 usd for a psu that I would trust... and that is the absolute minimum cost for a psu that I would probably be able to find that would be ok. Lots of good brands... get recommendations from people here in these forums, places like newegg, etc.. don't get a crap psu... even high wattage does not mean it's good, it's the compnenets,... not t say a brick would work, but a decent psu weighs a lot.. (just a little info to toss in..)..

 

a decent warranty is also important..

 

IMHO

[cichlidfan]

I am afraid that I am in EtherealN's camp when it comes to PSUs. I would be hesistant to buy anything that was not new, from a solid vendor, and with a comfortable margin wattage wise.

 

One of my 'non-game' machines draws about 220w at idle, including monitor, but it has an 850w power supply from Corsair ( paranoia is not always a bad thing).

[Mt5_Roie]

So now it gets more complicated. Lets say new PSU is 100 to be safe. Video card is 240. 340 total...not too bad. But complicating the fact that now the power requirement is over my UPS thresehold and I need to update the UPS so I"d need to spend another 100-150 on that (I"m paranoid about frying things too)...so that brings the total around 500. A bit more then I wanted to spend on this update.

 

So here's what I'm thinking. Since I can get my hand on a SSD drivef for super cheap I'll do that as far as updates. With my 300 dollar budget for this time Ill go with either the X65 or the X52 PRo and trackIR 5. I'm leaning more towards the X65. I can always ask for the TRackIR for the holidays as a gift from my kids.

 

This way I can save up for a bit and invest in a good gaming system. Any ball park amount I should save up for for a decent system that will last me 2-4 years?

[EtherealN]

Aye, if it's escalating like that, and you're fine with sticking with the old machine for a little while longer, that sounds like a good deal. A proper HOTAS and an then coercing the kids to get you a TrackIR will go quite far towards lifting your experience quite a ways. Especially true of the TrackIR unit.

 

Regarding a full system replacement, assuming that you can re-use a screen you should be okey at somewhere around 1000 dollars. (I'm not from the US though so I'm sort of foggy on the specifics, conversions get wonky.)

 

http://techreport.com/articles.x/21462/6

 

This machine would land at $881 (or at least, it did when the article was published), and should be "good" for one to two years, and then mediocre for two. I'd personally probably shell out for a much more expensive but top-line PSU though - good ones can last several machines so that way you wouldn't end up needing a new one when you end up replacing the machine a couple years down the line. You can browse through the full guide they have there for some general overview of the options that exist and what you can do with different budgets.