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I've been contemplating an upgrade for some time now. I brought this PC approx 8 months ago for £400 and so far it's done me proud, however games have advanced significantly faster than I had expected and it looks as if I'm in need of an upgrade soon.
At the moment, it doesn't look as if I need to upgrade my RAM or processor. Every game I've seen released so far has a recommended RAM requirement of 2GB, and the highest processor requirement I've seen so far has been a Duo 3.3GHz.
The graphics card and power supply on the other hand are probably the components I need replacing. A while back I posted on a tech website asking for suggestions for a new card and they suggested the HD Radeon 5770, however I'm hesitant to buy it as A) It's about £100+ and B) It may not be good enough for what I want it for. The power supply I've already looked into and don't need suggestions for.
With the above in mind, do you have any suggestions as to what I should do, in particularly which graphics card to purchase? Preferably I want to buy the best card available, which is compatible with my PC.
I'm not expecting many people to reply but I know that Michael and a few others know a bit about PC's so hence why I'm posting it up. Thanks in advance.
Looking at your specs the only things I would upgrade are the two parts you said, the PSU and the graphics card. How much is your budget for a graphics card? The rest of the computer seems fine, motherboards tend to have almost no effect on gaming performance as far as I am aware. Do you know what make your memory is and the timings for it too? I suppose you could upgrade those too if youre splashing out but personally I wouldnt bother with replacing it.
Looking at your specs the only things I would upgrade are the two parts you said, the PSU and the graphics card. How much is your budget for a graphics card? The rest of the computer seems fine, motherboards tend to have almost no effect on gaming performance as far as I am aware. Do you know what make your memory is and the timings for it too? I suppose you could upgrade those too if youre splashing out but personally I wouldnt bother with replacing it.
I can't upgrade the RAM anyway because I think the motherboard only allows a maximum of 4GB. I know the motherboard has no effect on gaming, however it has an effect on the components I can buy.
Provided that this program (CPU-Z) I have is telling the correct information, my RAM is DDR2 and the frequency (timing?) is roughly 400 MHz.
I don't really have a budget on the card. I want see what's available first before I consider the price. I haven't ruled out the HD Radeon 5770 yet, however if there's a better card I'd preferably purchase that.
I can't upgrade the RAM anyway because I think the motherboard only allows a maximum of 4GB. I know the motherboard has no effect on gaming, however it has an effect on the components I can buy.
Provided that this program (CPU-Z) I have is telling the correct information, my RAM is DDR2 and the frequency (timing?) is roughly 400 MHz.
I don't really have a budget on the card. I want see what's available first before I consider the price. I haven't ruled out the HD Radeon 5770 yet, however if there's a better card I'd preferably purchase that.
That is the same card I am meant to be getting soon and also is the one my friend recommends for me to get.
CPU-Z is a great program and I have never seen anything incorrect myself when using it. If I were you I would just upgrade the card. Its the best card you can get at around that price at the moment.
You could go for a cheaper card but it really depends on your screen resolution, what is your screen res? If its large I would go with the HD5770.
That is the same card I am meant to be getting soon and also is the one my friend recommends for me to get.
CPU-Z is a great program and I have never seen anything incorrect myself when using it. If I were you I would just upgrade the card. Its the best card you can get at around that price at the moment.
You could go for a cheaper card but it really depends on your screen resolution, what is your screen res? If its large I would go with the HD5770.
Let me know what the card is like (and what cards you playing + settings) when you get it. I dare say you'll get it before I do.
1920 x 1080 is my monitors native resolution, and I like to play more games in that res too if possible.
Hopefully I'll get better performance and graphics when playing games like Splinter Cell: Conviction now. Though, strangely enough, I have above the recommended requirements for that game and can barely play it on medium settings. =/
You reckon the HD Radeon 5770 can play most (if not, all) current games at highest settings?
According to my friend whos worked with computers for around 30 years now the 5770 will play every game out today and will play Crysis on high but not maximum settings with a decent CPU and 4gb of RAM, it will play most other games at their highest. Im expecting to play Crysis 2 on it at medium myself, I wont be too happy if im stuck on low when its out.
I hope I get the card soon, I havent played a PC game in ages, all I can play onboard is Stronghold and Civilisation lol Im looking forward to playing Crysis again and Alan Wake on it.
You could try overclocking your CPU, that will give you a performance boost, I really should overclock my Q6600 but I just havent bothered yet.
My monitor is the same res as yours, yours doesnt happen to be a Dell 22" too does it?
According to my friend whos worked with computers for around 30 years now the 5770 will play every game out today and will play Crysis on high but not maximum settings with a decent CPU and 4gb of RAM, it will play most other games at their highest. Im expecting to play Crysis 2 on it at medium myself, I wont be too happy if im stuck on low when its out.
I hope I get the card soon, I havent played a PC game in ages, all I can play onboard is Stronghold and Civilisation lol Im looking forward to playing Crysis again and Alan Wake on it.
You could try overclocking your CPU, that will give you a performance boost, I really should overclock my Q6600 but I just havent bothered yet.
My monitor is the same res as yours, yours doesnt happen to be a Dell 22" too does it?
Yeah, I'll probably just play around with the settings on Crysis so I get high textures etc, but maybe drop anti-aliasing and some other minor settings.
I may overclock my CPU eventually, but seeing as how games don't even require Quad cores yet I think I'm safe for the moment.
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