Budget Future Upgrades - HDD, RAM, GPU, PSU

[Ulti]

Hi, I was wondering what future upgrades should I get for my budget pc.

These are what I WANT to upgrade in the future (not until may/june at least though):

-HDD: Currently only got 250GB WD 8MB Cache one. Budget: £40-50. It's almost filling up after 3 years so I'll get a 500GB which should "thereotically" last 6 years but I think it'll only last 3 seeing as technology advances, file sizes for everything becomes larger and larger. I only really wanna get the WD 500GB SATA drives as I like the WD brand and stuff like SSD and Velociraptors (Sp?) are out of my budget. I've noticed that there's the WD 500GB Blue, Green and Black editions. I was thinking that when I get a new HDD it would be ideal to install a fresh copy of the OS on it so I was perhaps thinking of getting the black edition one. But then the green one is pretty cheap and can save me a few £s and is silent and draws less power from what I've seen which can be a plus.

-RAM: Currently I have 800Mhz 2GB (2x1GB)Corsair XMS2 RAM (CL5) which is overclocked to 847Mhz. I was thinking of maybe adding another 2GB (2x1GB) of 800Mhz of the same RAM. I am only using XP 32 bit and don't want to switch to another OS so would I benefit? Or should I just ditch the RAM and buy like 4GB of Corsair 1066Mhz RAM (2x2GB) ? It's cheaper atm to just add another 1x1GB and I'd prefer that as I don't really see myself switching to OS anytime soon.

GPU: Budget: £70-80. Currently I have an 8600GT which is good for the games that I play mostly. However sometimes I do like to test demos of new games and although it's playable I'd prefer having eye candy, i.e. having higher settings than just normal or low. This is the least of my concerns at the moment though as I don't really actively play new games, I stick to the old games haha. I only have a 17" monitor so I was thinking I'd just get 512MB version of the graphics cards. I hear good things about the 4670 (no PCI-E plug needed and my PSU doesn't have one) but for only a little bit more I can get the 4830 which is also priced the same as a 9600GT. I don't have 2 PCI-E x16 slots so I definitely won't be running SLI or CrossFire. If I use the Molex to PCI-E adapter does it hinder the voltage supply to the Graphics card by any chance though? I might upgrade my PSU too if I get a 4830/9600GT as mine doesnt have a PCI-E connector (6pin). I've heard the 4830 is able to match the 9800GT... 4830, 4870 and 9800GT are too expensive for me though. I've also heard that the 4800 series might fall in price when new graphics cards comes out (when?) but haven't heard much more than that. GTX250 etc is also too expensive.

PSU: Budget £40-50... What can I get? lol. As some of you may know, I just have a Z-Power 550W PSU (http://www.compucase-hec.co.uk/psu_zpower.htm) It has enough output power for my current needs (it claims to have 395W on the combined 12V rails). I'm only using 235W according to the eXtreme Power Supply Calculator which I "guess" is accurate. If I get the things listed above, it comes out to 314W. With less than 100W leeway without a big brand PSU I'd be worried for my hardware so I would need to upgrade. Also as the PSU only has 3 Molex connectors and 1 SATA, it's not gonna last long unless I want to use tons of splitters. The only thing I like about it is that it's really really quiet. I'm not really bothered about modular PSUs as my case doesn't have a side panel so I don't really care about the wires flying around xD But if I could get a decent modular PSU for under £50 then I'd jump on it (I checked Ebuyer and Scan, there aren't any of course lol Well there is one: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/161726 Eye-T.. haven't heard of them and nothing much comes up on google)

Well yeah, I would like to upgrade these. HDD and RAM especially at the moment. If I upgrade GPU then the PSU would also be needed. Hope someone can help me a bit in my decision xD

Thanks in advance as usual!

[Will404]

-HDD: Currently only got 250GB WD 8MB Cache one. Budget: £40-50. It's almost filling up after 3 years so I'll get a 500GB which should "thereotically" last 6 years but I think it'll only last 3 seeing as technology advances, file sizes for everything becomes larger and larger. I only really wanna get the WD 500GB SATA drives as I like the WD brand and stuff like SSD and Velociraptors (Sp?) are out of my budget. I've noticed that there's the WD 500GB Blue, Green and Black editions. I was thinking that when I get a new HDD it would be ideal to install a fresh copy of the OS on it so I was perhaps thinking of getting the black edition one. But then the green one is pretty cheap and can save me a few £s and is silent and draws less power from what I've seen which can be a plus.

Wow, only 250GB in three years, I had a fresh install of Vista at x-mas, and only 80GB left now (320GB drive)
But you may want to consider something like the 6400AAKS, or 6400AAVS, from WD. At scan they are £53 and £49 respectivly, and should be faster than the 500GB one which AFANK is on 2*250GB platter, while the 6400AA*S's are on 2*320GB platters which means that there is more data in less space, so although they both spin at 7200RPM, the data transfur rates of the 6400AA*S's will be faster. And they have 640GB, so an extra year or so .

-RAM: Currently I have 800Mhz 2GB (2x1GB)Corsair XMS2 RAM (CL5) which is overclocked to 847Mhz. I was thinking of maybe adding another 2GB (2x1GB) of 800Mhz of the same RAM. I am only using XP 32 bit and don't want to switch to another OS so would I benefit? Or should I just ditch the RAM and buy like 4GB of Corsair 1066Mhz RAM (2x2GB) ? It's cheaper atm to just add another 1x1GB and I'd prefer that as I don't really see myself switching to OS anytime soon.

RAM you will see a differance increasing the ammount of RAM, especially if you are a heavy user, but increasing to PC2 8500 (1066)memory will give you little benifit, unless you are doing lots of overclocking. With your CPU, E5300, with a multiplier of 13, theoretically if you set the RAM to 1:1 (same FSB as RAM speed, remembering that FSB is often quad pumped (800MHz acctually 200MHz) and RAM DDR (800MHz is 400MHz)), you could double the speed of the CPU (800MHz (200) FSB-->1600MHz (400) FSB), giving speeds of 5.2GHz without acctually overclocking the RAM.
Equally if set to 1:1.5 (the RAM runs at 1.5 times the FSB), you could raise the FSB to 1200 (300), meaning that the CPU runs at 3.9GHz without the RAM being overclocked.

However if you just buy another two 1GB sticks, using all the 4 RAM slots, this will put extra strain on the northbridge, making it harder to overclock, so it may still be worth getting a 4GB (2*2GB) set, of PC2 6400 (800MHz) RAM, such as http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/4GB-(...d-CAS-5-5-5-18, which is only £39 ATM.

GPU: Budget: £70-80. Currently I have an 8600GT which is good for the games that I play mostly. However sometimes I do like to test demos of new games and although it's playable I'd prefer having eye candy, i.e. having higher settings than just normal or low. This is the least of my concerns at the moment though as I don't really actively play new games, I stick to the old games haha. I only have a 17" monitor so I was thinking I'd just get 512MB version of the graphics cards. I hear good things about the 4670 (no PCI-E plug needed and my PSU doesn't have one) but for only a little bit more I can get the 4830 which is also priced the same as a 9600GT. I don't have 2 PCI-E x16 slots so I definitely won't be running SLI or CrossFire. If I use the Molex to PCI-E adapter does it hinder the voltage supply to the Graphics card by any chance though? I might upgrade my PSU too if I get a 4830/9600GT as mine doesnt have a PCI-E connector (6pin). I've heard the 4830 is able to match the 9800GT... 48[b]5[/b0, 4870 and 9800GT are too expensive for me though. I've also heard that the 4800 series might fall in price when new graphics cards comes out (when?) but haven't heard much more than that. GTX250 etc is also too expensive.

GTX250 is a rebranded 9800GTX, with different power management, that is all really. (The 9800GTX is also a rebranded, overclocked 8800, but we wont go into that)

On a 17" monitor, the 4830(may) be an overkill, I have the 4850 for a 22" monitor, and it gives decent frame rates on games like GTA IV, so a 4670 should be ample. Also ATI are doing very well on the drivers for these series (a bonus) as there has been a new one each month since release, a great improvement. At £60ish they are well within your budget as well http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512MB...-DL-DVI-I-HDMI

[u][b]As your PSU is a "Z-power" unit, (never heard of them) you defo dont want to buy a new GPU before upgrading the PSU. Dont know anything about them, but dont believe there website, and would worry about it going pop[u] See below\/

PSU: Budget £40-50... What can I get? lol. As some of you may know, I just have a Z-Power 550W PSU (http://www.compucase-hec.co.uk/psu_zpower.htm) It has enough output power for my current needs (it claims to have 395W on the combined 12V rails). I'm only using 235W according to the eXtreme Power Supply Calculator which I "guess" is accurate. If I get the things listed above, it comes out to 314W. With less than 100W leeway without a big brand PSU I'd be worried for my hardware so I would need to upgrade. Also as the PSU only has 3 Molex connectors and 1 SATA, it's not gonna last long unless I want to use tons of splitters. The only thing I like about it is that it's really really quiet. I'm not really bothered about modular PSUs as my case doesn't have a side panel so I don't really care about the wires flying around xD But if I could get a decent modular PSU for under £50 then I'd jump on it (I checked Ebuyer and Scan, there aren't any of course lol Well there is one: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/161726 Eye-T.. haven't heard of them and nothing much comes up on google)

I dont know anything about z-power, and they dont sound great. Sorry. I would defo upgrade to a decent manufacturer, such as corsair, enermax, Be Quiet, Targen, Seasonic...

They are all more expensive than your budget, but they are decent, and unlikley to go pop.
This would be ample for your computer, with the upgrades above, or this to give a little more wattage and upgradability.

If modular is not neccary (I assumed it was from current PSU), the you could look at this or this, but it is not the number of watts which is neccacarrly the most improtant factor, but the quality of the watts provided, and you could always put some of the money saved on the GPU in to get a better PSU.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would get one of the 640gb Samsung or WD hard drives:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/640GB...16MB-Cache-NCQ

The Samsung 640gb is out of stock at Ebuyer at the moment.

For RAM I would get 4gb of 1066mhz DDR2 ram as it costs under £50:

http://www.ebuyer.com/search?page=1&...2053&ca630=4GB

It will mean that your RAM will not be overclocked which is a good thing IMHO.

Adding another 1gb dimm will mean the RAM will not run in dual channel mode. Also make sure that your motherboard can run 1066mhz DDR2.

Edit!!

Your motherboard supports only upto 800mhz DDR2 officially:

http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p...Neo-F&class=mb

I would get 4gb of Geil Black Dragon 800mhz RAM:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/161773

Using only two dimms will put less stress on your RAM controller. I use the Geil RAM in my computer and it is great stuff.It does run at only 1.8v though.

For the graphics card I would get an XFX HD4830 which has a custom dual slot cooler for £75:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/159719

I have an HD4830 and it is a great card. They also tend to be good overclockers too. My one can reach 650mhz to 700mhz easily from an initial core speed of 575mhz!! I would get it over an HD4670 since it will last you much longer for future games. You should be able to run Crysis and Crysis Warhead on a mixture of high and medium settings at the native resolution of your monitor which I assume is probably 1280x1024 or 1440x900.

I had an HD3870 before(I broke this) which was faster than an HD4670 and even at 1280x800 and 1440x900 the HD4830 is noticeably faster.

I would definitely change your PSU first at it looks like some el cheapo one!!

I would consider the 500W Silverstone Strider ST50F ,the 500w Silverpower SP-SS-500 or the OCZ Stealth Xtream 500W. Silverpower is part of the same company which owns Tagan.


They cost around £51,£46 and £47 respectively:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/500W-...n-Dual-plus12V

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/500w-...2V-6Serial-ATA

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135159

Here is a review for the Silverstone:

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/548/10

Here are some reviews for the Silverpower:

http://www.cpu3d.com/review/5949-8/s...onclusion.html

http://www.modreactor.com/english/Re...onclusion.html

Here is a review for the OCZ:

http://www.techaddicts.net/reviews/s...tealth500.html

[Ulti]

Wow, only 250GB in three years, I had a fresh install of Vista at x-mas, and only 80GB left now (320GB drive)
But you may want to consider something like the 6400AAKS, or 6400AAVS, from WD. At scan they are £53 and £49 respectivly, and should be faster than the 500GB one which AFANK is on 2*250GB platter, while the 6400AA*S's are on 2*320GB platters which means that there is more data in less space, so although they both spin at 7200RPM, the data transfur rates of the 6400AA*S's will be faster. And they have 640GB, so an extra year or so .

Well the only things I download really is anime which only comes out once a week with a file size of about 200mb. (Nowadays they come as HD 350mb version) and I watch like 3-5 series usually so that's only like 91GB a at max really (350*5*52). I don't really store other things that take up much space. Games don't really add that much I reckon. A few gigs each game but when I don't play them I uninstall them for space. Basically I like to delete things after I'm done with them xD If it spins at 6400 then that would mean it's also more silent too right? Well that's a bonus! I guess I'll stick that on the "wishlist" for now until I have the cash. I'm a poor student that's not even in Uni yet haha.

RAM you will see a differance increasing the ammount of RAM, especially if you are a heavy user, but increasing to PC2 8500 (1066)memory will give you little benifit, unless you are doing lots of overclocking. With your CPU, E5300, with a multiplier of 13, theoretically if you set the RAM to 1:1 (same FSB as RAM speed, remembering that FSB is often quad pumped (800MHz acctually 200MHz) and RAM DDR (800MHz is 400MHz)), you could double the speed of the CPU (800MHz (200) FSB-->1600MHz (400) FSB), giving speeds of 5.2GHz without acctually overclocking the RAM.
Equally if set to 1:1.5 (the RAM runs at 1.5 times the FSB), you could raise the FSB to 1200 (300), meaning that the CPU runs at 3.9GHz without the RAM being overclocked.

However if you just buy another two 1GB sticks, using all the 4 RAM slots, this will put extra strain on the northbridge, making it harder to overclock, so it may still be worth getting a 4GB (2*2GB) set, of PC2 6400 (800MHz) RAM, such as http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/4GB-(...d-CAS-5-5-5-18, which is only £39 ATM.

I try not to overclock my RAM as I feel it is the one thing that goes really unstable but I put it just above the manufacturers specs. I.e. my current RAM is running 47mhz above 800mhz. That's mainly because the dividers were kinda dodgy on my board, there's 1:1.25 and 1:1.5 and others outside those boundaries but nothing within them and 1:1.25 would mean my RAM is underclocked by quite a bit.

I'll get a 4GB (2x2GB) set then rather than a 4x1GB set as I'm quite concerned with stability. Especially when it comes to RAM as when RAM is unstable the whole machine gets stuck there for ages and the motherboard takes a while to reset too.

On a 17" monitor, the 4830(may) be an overkill, I have the 4850 for a 22" monitor, and it gives decent frame rates on games like GTA IV, so a 4670 should be ample. Also ATI are doing very well on the drivers for these series (a bonus) as there has been a new one each month since release, a great improvement. At £60ish they are well within your budget as well http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512MB...-DL-DVI-I-HDMI

I thought when it came to a graphics card that the screen sized only determined which memory size to take. E.g. with a 22" monitor at 2048*1680 or whatever resolution it was it would be better to get 1GB memory card where as with 17" 512MB would be enough. I've heard that the 4830 is quite a bit better than the 4670 and as it's only £15 more I'd be willing to spend that much extra.

[u][b]As your PSU is a "Z-power" unit, (never heard of them) you defo dont want to buy a new GPU before upgrading the PSU. Dont know anything about them, but dont believe there website, and would worry about it going pop[u] See below\/

I dont know anything about z-power, and they dont sound great. Sorry. I would defo upgrade to a decent manufacturer, such as corsair, enermax, Be Quiet, Targen, Seasonic...

They are all more expensive than your budget, but they are decent, and unlikley to go pop.
This would be ample for your computer, with the upgrades above, or this to give a little more wattage and upgradability.

If modular is not neccary (I assumed it was from current PSU), the you could look at this or this, but it is not the number of watts which is neccacarrly the most improtant factor, but the quality of the watts provided, and you could always put some of the money saved on the GPU in to get a better PSU.

I think I'll take a 4830 so I can't really folk out as much for the PSU and CAT has some cheaper ones below. *See below*

I would get one of the 640gb Samsung or WD hard drives:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/640GB...16MB-Cache-NCQ

The Samsung 640gb is out of stock at Ebuyer at the moment.

Which would be better? Samsung or WD? I've heard some nice things about Samsung but can't really see 640GB Samsung drives o r 500GB to compare prices. Which is better and which is cheaper?

For RAM I would get 4gb of 1066mhz DDR2 ram as it costs under £50:

http://www.ebuyer.com/search?page=1&...2053&ca630=4GB

It will mean that your RAM will not be overclocked which is a good thing IMHO.

Adding another 1gb dimm will mean the RAM will not run in dual channel mode. Also make sure that your motherboard can run 1066mhz DDR2.

Edit!!

Your motherboard supports only upto 800mhz DDR2 officially:

http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p...Neo-F&class=mb

I would get 4gb of Geil Black Dragon 800mhz RAM:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/161773

Using only two dimms will put less stress on your RAM controller. I use the Geil RAM in my computer and it is great stuff.It does run at only 1.8v though.

Well I meant I would be getting an extra 2x1GB which would still mean that I'm running it in dual channel mode. I think I'll get 4GB RAM (2x2GB) but it's just that it's almost £15 would could go towards the PSU...

I've tried searching for Geil vs Corsair but people say both are good.. Think I'll stick with the Corsair as it has heatspreaders whereas Geil RAM doesn't.

For the graphics card I would get an XFX HD4830 which has a custom dual slot cooler for £75:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/159719

I have an HD4830 and it is a great card. They also tend to be good overclockers too. My one can reach 650mhz to 700mhz easily from an initial core speed of 575mhz!! I would get it over an HD4670 since it will last you much longer for future games. You should be able to run Crysis and Crysis Warhead on a mixture of high and medium settings at the native resolution of your monitor which I assume is probably 1280x1024 or 1440x900.

I had an HD3870 before(I broke this) which was faster than an HD4670 and even at 1280x800 and 1440x900 the HD4830 is noticeably faster.

Yeah I think I'll get the 4830 then as then it'll last longer than the 4670. I won't be able to upgrade in the Uni as there'll be lots of fees to pay for so better to upgrade now.

I would definitely change your PSU first at it looks like some el cheapo one!!

I would consider the 500W Silverstone Strider ST50F ,the 500w Silverpower SP-SS-500 or the OCZ Stealth Xtream 500W. Silverpower is part of the same company which owns Tagan.


They cost around £51,£46 and £47 respectively:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/500W-...n-Dual-plus12V

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/500w-...2V-6Serial-ATA

I like the look of the Silverpower with the braded cables and stuff. Weird how one review says it's really good whereas the other one shows that it ain't as good. Maybe the build quality varies a lot? :/

I don't want (and can't really) spend more than £180 on the PSU, HDD and GPU combined. RAM I'll exclude from that as I'll get that separately first.

I'll get either 4GB Geil RAM or Corsair RAM (Geil is only on special offer on ebuyer though and that probably won't last too long) I think I'll get it at the beginning of May.

Then I'll be getting the Silverpower, a 640GB Samsung or WD and a 4830 all at once later on then. perhaps after my exams which would be june I guess.

Thanks for the replies!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I try not to overclock my RAM as I feel it is the one thing that goes really unstable but I put it just above the manufacturers specs. I.e. my current RAM is running 47mhz above 800mhz. That's mainly because the dividers were kinda dodgy on my board, there's 1:1.25 and 1:1.5 and others outside those boundaries but nothing within them and 1:1.25 would mean my RAM is underclocked by quite a bit.

Perhaps there is a newer BIOS available for your motherboard?? The dividers seem slightly weird!!

Which would be better? Samsung or WD? I've heard some nice things about Samsung but can't really see 640GB Samsung drives o r 500GB to compare prices. Which is better and which is cheaper?

They are both equally good. IMHO the Samsung hard drives are quieter than other hard disks.

I've tried searching for Geil vs Corsair but people say both are good.. Think I'll stick with the Corsair as it has heatspreaders whereas Geil RAM doesn't.

The Geil dimms do run cooler(and they run at lower voltages) but again both Corsair and Geil are both good makes and it is down to personal preference.

Well I'll be getting the Silverpower, a 640GB Samsung or WD and a 4830 all at once later on then. perhaps after my exams which would be june I guess.

The HD4830 will be EOL from next month onwards. It is being replaced by the RV770 GDDR5(HD4770) which should be faster and have lower power consumption. The HD4770 is being launched in he first week of May. There is a chance that the HD4830 may drop a bit more in price. The RV740 GDDR5 hopefully will be under £100!!

RV740 GDDR5 additional details:

http://forums.hexus.net/graphics-car...ol-soon-2.html

Review of RV740 GDDR5 engineering sample:

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon...-preview-test/

[Ulti]

Perhaps there is a newer BIOS available for your motherboard?? The dividers seem slightly weird!!

Well the board is quite old now so no new BIOS update for a few months now. I find it weird too how there are no options between 1.25 and 1.50. A rather large jump if you ask me.

They are both equally good. IMHO the Samsung hard drives are quieter than other hard disks.

Which one's "faster" in general? If there's not much difference then I'll try to get a Samsung one if I can afford it as there'll be little difference between the Samsung and WD I assume.

The Geil dimms do run cooler(and they run at lower voltages) but again both Corsair and Geil are both good makes and it is down to personal preference.

Well the XMS2 Corsairs run at 1.8V to 1.9V and Geil runs at 1.8V. Corsair has a heatspreader but Geil has the cool Black Dragon thing... Makes me wanna get Geil but it doesn't have heatspreaders... I wonder if the heatspreaders actually help that much. But then again I'm not really gonna be overclocking RAM so it won't really overheat. Hard choice. Heatspreaders vs Cool Red LED Black Dragon.

The HD4830 will be EOL from next month onwards. It is being replaced by the RV770 GDDR5(HD4770) which should be faster and have lower power consumption. The HD4770 is being launched in he first week of May. There is a chance that the HD4830 may drop a bit more in price. The RV740 GDDR5 hopefully will be under £100!!

Seems the RV740 has a price tag of $99. If only I could get it for that price haha. I'll wait to see what happens. Maybe I'll end up going for it instead as it has lower power consumption and beats the 4830 by a bit. However it all comes down to price.