Upgrading my Gaming PC

[JBGFX]

Hi, i am wanting to upgrade my current PC so that i can play some more recent games, like BF3. i am looking for a socket AM3+ motherbored, with PCI-E2.0 slot (For a GTX Graphics card (Nvidia GeForce GTX 560ti)). i was wandering if you can reccoment me some cheaper alternatives? the processor that i was looking at is an AMD Bulldozer FX-6100 Socket AM3+ 6 Core Processor - 3.30GHz, 3.90GHz Turbo. i haven found a cheap motherbored that will fit the spec that i need yet. can you reccoment one?
thanks
-Jack

PS: current specs:
processor: intel core 2 quad q8300 2.5GHZ ea. its socket 775 (same as my mobo)
graphics: Nvidia GeForce GT 230 1.5GB
PSU: 400W

my budget is £450

EDIT
Just got my christmas money i got £400 so far, maybe some more soon, i was wandering if i could get some opinions on these:
http://www.dabs.com/products/asus-am...SY6.html?src=2
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-GeForce...4836168&sr=8-1
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/xfx-pr...41834-pdt.html

Please reply soon
PS: Got BF3 for christmas ready!!!!! its so fun on lowest settings... >.<

BIG EDIT

Just googled the nam of my PC, using cpuZ thing, i found this. http://www.uktsupport.co.uk/advent/pc/CQ9204.htm
That has the EXACT same spec as my PC, and is the same thing that CPUZ said.
when i google the motherboard of that PC, it says that it IS PCI-E 2.0 - http://www.foxconnchannel.com/product/Motherboards/detail_overview.aspx?ID=en-us0000449 - 1* PCIe2.0 x16, 2* PCIe2.0 x1, 3* PCI

I would like to ask everyone, is this what it means?

THAKNYOU

 

[fourdegrees11]

Is there a reason you want an FX cpu? The price/performance value is pretty bad on those right now. Anyway, this is the cheapest full featured AM3+ mobo I would consider

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128521

 

[JBGFX]

Is there a reason you want an FX cpu? The price/performance value is pretty bad on those right now. Anyway, this is the cheapest full featured AM3+ mobo I would consider

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128521

im not sure, i was looking around, and that one seemed good, its only £103... can you reccomend me a better one please?
i dont really want to spend more than 200 on new cpu and mobo...
needs to be PCI-E 2.0 though, for my card

 

[lehtv]

Answer the sticky so we can help you better

 

[fourdegrees11]

Yeah, pretty much every mobo is pci-e 2.0. You wont have much luck getting an upgrade for $200...

 

[JBGFX]

Answer the sticky so we can help you better

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

Gaming PC, would like to play games like BF3 and Crysis 2 on high settings, eg ultra @ 1680 x 1050

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

£450

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

Uk

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.

Nvidia fanboy :3

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

HDD, Disk drive, case etc. basically, new processor (if nececary, my mobo is PCI-E, need PCI-E 2.0), new gpu, new psu

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

yes, got some answers, asking different quewstions here all together

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

either, depends if its secure or not, ill use it how i buy it.

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.

1680 x 1050

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

just after christmas

10. Don't ask for a build configuration critique or rating if you are thin skinned.

what is thin skinned? XD

 

[fourdegrees11]

It might seem like it's not an upgrade, but I would go with an i3-2120 and z68 mobo. This will outperform your current chip for gaming, and give you the option to upgrade to an unlocked next gen intel cpu over the next couple years

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157270

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115077

 

[JBGFX]

It might seem like it's not an upgrade, but I would go with an i3-2120 and z68 mobo. This will outperform your current chip for gaming, and give you the option to upgrade to an unlocked next gen intel cpu over the next couple years

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157270

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115077

so if i was to buy these off amazon, it would be this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-lis...&amp;condition=new
and this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/ASRock-Z68M-...4498373&amp;sr=1-3

i only want to buy of trusted .co.uk sites, like amazon, Pcworld etc

 

[lehtv]

I'd just go with maximum CPU power now, and forget about upgrading it to Ivy Bridge. The CPU will last pretty long anyway, until Intel Haswell in 2013 at the very least. And at that point it makes more sense to upgrade to Haswell because it should be quite a bit faster than Ivy (new architecture).

CPU i5-2500K &#163;167
Mobo Asrock Z68M/USB3 &#163;80
RAM 2x4GB DDR3 &#163;32
PSU E.g. CX500 V2 &#163;45, you can also try to search for XFX Core 550W-650W, Antec Neo Eco, Earthwatts, High Current Gamer lines,
GPU XFX 6870 &#163;140 or wait for 7850 to be released

Total &#163;464. If that's too much then downgrade to i5-2400 (-&#163;15) and Gigabyte H61 (-&#163;35).

 

[JBGFX]

I'd just go with maximum CPU power now, and forget about upgrading it to Ivy Bridge. The CPU will last pretty long anyway, until Intel Haswell in 2013 at the very least. And at that point it makes more sense to upgrade to Haswell because it should be quite a bit faster than Ivy (new architecture).

CPU i5-2400 &#163;135 (2 left, probably limited price... or &#163;150 in scan.co.uk)
Mobo Gigabyte H61M/USB3 &#163;45
RAM 2x4GB DDR3 &#163;32
PSU E.g. CX500 V2 &#163;45, you can also try to search for XFX Core 550W-650W, Antec Neo Eco, Earthwatts, High Current Gamer lines,
GPU Probably the best idea to not build before HD 7000 series is released. A 7850 2GB would be about the right price for your budget and would last very long, and you wouldn't be VRAM limited when you upgrade your monitor to 1080p.

thanks for this! i will ask my parents to order for me now thankyou

 

[lehtv]

Sorry, had to edit that abit . 2500K + Z68 would allow you to OC for the price of an aftermarket cooler which you can buy later. That's +20-30&#37; free performance which will increase the longevity of the setup

 

[JBGFX]

Sorry, had to edit that abit . 2500K + Z68 would allow you to OC for the price of an aftermarket cooler which you can buy later. That's +20-30% free performance which will increase the longevity of the setup

ah k, so if i get all of those components, then it will run games like battlefield 3 and crysis 2 at ultra?

just turned on my dads laptop now so its not too late to change.

also, are you sure that that graphics card is level with the GTX 560ti, or would a 560ti be less power to price ratio? because the price on that one that you went me is good, so i think i might get that one isntead.

again, thanks so much for this, your the only one that has explained it in a way that i can understand so yeh, thanks for that!!

i was also thinking, that for the psu, i could get one thats somewhere like 700W, so that i have some room for upgrades.
Thankyou!! ill let you know if i orded it or not
-Jack

 

[lehtv]

6870 won't run crysis 2 or bf3 on ultra very well, but on high it will run them decent. If you want Ultra, then probably get the i5-2400+H61 so you can afford a 7850 when it's released.

 

[JBGFX]

6870 won't run crysis 2 or bf3 on ultra very well, but on high it will run them decent. If you want Ultra, then probably get the i5-2400+H61 so you can afford a 7850 when it's released.

i have been looking at the GTX 560ti, i think that that card wopuld run it on ultra okay? i have 6GB of ram so that isnt a problem, and im sure that the porocessor would hold up, what do you think?

 

[lehtv]

i have been looking at the GTX 560ti, i think that that card wopuld run it on ultra okay?

Not really. I've played BF3 and Crysis 2 on ultra with a 560 Ti, overclocked near GTX 570 speed no less, and it's not smooth enough for me. I ended up running both games on high settings. Besides, you'd want 2GB of VRAM for ultra. 7850 will have 2GB of VRAM and most likely perform somewhat better than a 6950.

i have 6GB of ram so that isnt a problem

Is it DDR3 and 1.5V? Is it 3x2GB or 2x2GB + 2x1GB?

and im sure that the porocessor would hold up

What processor? The AMD FX? No, don't go with that. i5-2400 is a lot better.

 

[JBGFX]

Not really. I've played BF3 and Crysis 2 on ultra with a 560 Ti, it's not smooth. Besides, you'd want 2GB of VRAM for ultra. 7850 will have 2GB of VRAM and most likely perform somewhat better than a 6950.

what about if i get a 550ti w/ 2GB of vram?

 

[lehtv]

You mean GTX 560 Ti 2GB? 6950 2GB would be better. I stand by my recommendations - get a 6870 now for high settings (or medium, depending on your framerate requirements), or wait for 7850 which is an "upgraded version" of 6950.

 

[JBGFX]

Even worse.

ah k, so would the 560ti run bf3 on high then? minimal AA, what fps do you get then? sorry for all the questions btw

 

[lehtv]

Damn you reply fast.

560 Ti is worse bang for buck than 6870. But it would run BF3 on high, it does for me. High settings don't use MSAA, only FXAA which is a post processing effect with a low performance cost.

 

[JBGFX]

Damn you reply fast.

560 Ti is worse bang for buck than 6870. But it would run BF3 on high, it does for me. High settings don't use MSAA, only FXAA which is a post processing effect with a low performance cost.

xD so if i get the 6870, is that like the AMD equivelent of the 560ti?

 

[lehtv]

Yes. In BF3 you'll see identical performance without MSAA (NVIDIA handles MSAA better in that game). See here: http://www.techspot.com/review/458-battlefield-3-performance/page4.html

 

[JBGFX]

Yes. In BF3 you'll see identical performance without MSAA (NVIDIA handles MSAA better in that game). See here: http://www.techspot.com/review/458-battlefield-3-performance/page4.html

thanks for that link, so you would reccoemnt the AMd one over the nvidia one?

 

[lehtv]

I stand by my recommendations- get a 6870 now for high settings (or medium, depending on your framerate requirements), or wait for 7850 which is an "upgraded version" of 6950.

Pay attention please...

 

[JBGFX]

Pay attention please...

aak okay, sorry ill get the 6870 then thankyou very much for helping me

PS: what do you class as 'good' framerate?

 

[lehtv]

For most games, like FPS games, Skyrim, Mass Effect and such, 45+. Less than that and I start to be distracted by the lack of smoothness... I can tolerate occasional 35-40fps dips though. For slow paced games like Civilization V, 30 fps is still OK.