CPU/GPU Upgrade advice please

[sp3n]

Im looking to upgrade my current system:

Intel core2duo e6600 + ac freezer 7 cooler
gigabyte ds3p motherboard
OCZ 4x1GB PC2-6400 Platinum XTC DDR2
evga geforce 8800gts
bluegears b-enspirer soundcard
4x various hdd total of 730gb
antec sonata II case
dell 2407 monitor
vista home premium

Im mainly looking for a new processor (and motherboard if required), a new gfx card and a new hdd - also i would like a new SILENT case.

I haven't been keeping upto date with the hardward trends since i built this system so im not sure what processor and gfx cards are recommended these days.

So some advice on a good cpu and gpu would be great!
With regards to the hdd - i already have my eyes on the 1tb samsung spinpoint f1.

I mainly use my pc for gaming and would really like it to play crysis/warhead and farcry2 at a decent resolution (720p+) without breaking into a sweat.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[staffsMike]

Nothing wrong with that CPU. If it's stock then consider overclocking it a bit but quite honestly 2.4GHz is more than enough for high res gaming, you will get next to no benefit from anything more.

Graphics is where you should be concentrating although the GTS is still quite happy at 1680 x 1050 or below (I have the same setup CPU/GPU wise ).
If you do feel you need an upgrade though, stick your money into a decent GPU not CPU.

[Webby]

What is your budget without that I will feel the need to recommend componets at huge prices

Seriously though CPU wise are you overclocked at all? I can not really see a lot of point in upgrading to another duel core really so unless you want to make the jump to quad I would stick with what you have.

GPU wise which GTS do you have? 320MB, 640Mb or 512MB? I ask so we can make choices based on your current graphics level.

But if you want to spend
£110 HD4850
£130 9800 GTX+ (probably not worth the extra £20 and then if you can find one at this price)
£170-200 GTX260 or HD4870
£220 HD4850 CF (will need new motherboard)
£240 GTX280
£330 HD4870 X2

All these cards are better performers than the GTSs but by how much price really does dictate! Oh and Crysis is appalling for multi gpu scaling so if it a game you really want to play then don't bother with cross fired cards.

[sp3n]

yep its currently running at stock speeds - so yes i suppose i could overclock.
the gts really isnt good enough anymore, i use my hd projector to game at 720p (even higher when using my monitor) and when turning all the nice stuff - crysis/bioshock really chugs in some scenes.

so ok, lets forget the cpu for now and just focus on the gpu - also hdd and case.

Thanks staffsMike

[ionicle]

ATi 4870 is my recomendation to compliment the rest of your system

[sp3n]

What is your budget without that I will feel the need to recommend componets at huge prices

Seriously though CPU wise are you overclocked at all?
GPU wise which GTS do you have? 320MB, 640Mb or 512MB? I ask so we can make choices based on your current graphics level.

But if you want to spend
£110 HD4850
£130 9800 GTX+ (probably not worth the extra £20 and then if you can find one at this price)
£170-200 GTX260 or HD4870
£220 HD4850 CF (will need new motherboard)
£240 GTX280
£330 HD4870 X2

Nope, as i just mentioned - my cpu is not overclocked at all - i will look into that.

The GTS is the 640MB.

I dont have a budget, i will spend as much as is required i guess - but not on things that i wont get any benefit from

[Webby]

Well if you want to play on your projector then the 4850 will be fine if you want to use your monitor then I would probably move up to the 4870/GTX260 the GTX280 doesnt offer enough more for the extra money really and the 4870X2 is really only worth it for resolutions above 1920*1200.

[sp3n]

ok thanks, i think i will go for GTX260 as i am quite used to nvidia - i will probably go for evga as they have a great warrenty unless anybody can suggest a different brand?
thanks webby

any recommendations for a nice silent case?

also i just realised that my PSU may not be powerful enough for a gtx260.. its an antec smartpower 450w (that came with my antec case)
so i would be greatful for any case + psu suggestions

[acrobat]

I have that exact same CPU but with an 8800GTX. I could run Crysis at 1680x1050 with everything set to maximum (And in XP I even used the hack to make it look liked DX10 or "Very High"). It was only around 25fps or so average, but that was smooth enough for me to play, and I could increase that to 40fps or more if I just lowered a couple of things.

So in other words, you aren't far already. I think it is your graphics card holding you back now. I'm not up to date with new graphics cards either so I'll let others suggest that, but I know that mine is enough for 99% of games at my native resolution and maximum settings. So if you can get something like my 8800GTX or faster, then you know you are set. And overclocking the CPU is worth doing because although it's good already, they are very good for overclocking (just like the Q6600). If your temperatures are good now, then it will give you an indication of how far you can get with it. I know someone who ran it at 3ghz without having to change the voltage, and I think that might have even been with the stock heatsink and fan :O

For hard disk, they all have pros and cons. I just bought a 1TB WD disk which was the type that is very quiet and runs cool and uses very little power. It's amazing. It isn't very quick compared to the other ones though (which doesn't matter to me because it's just a storage disk). So you can basically pick one depending on what you want to do with it.

As for the case I would be very wary of anything silent. I'm not sure what that would even be. What I can tell you is that I made my PC specifically to be as quiet as possible. It has two 120mm fans and they are the way to go if you want quietness because they are so big, they only need to spin slowly. And then as for the fans, I have tried lots and my favourite by far was the 120mm Sharkoon Golf Ball fans. There may be one or two better choices now, but either way, you would probably be very happy with the way they sound. You can barely hear them. And then as for the PSU, I got a Corsair 620 which is extremely quiet too and that helps. For the CPU I used a Thermalright Ultra 120 Dlx and I put a yate loon on that so that is quiet too. The entire PC sounds like an HTPC.. and yet it is for gaming. The only thing that gets loud is the fan on the graphics card goes faster when I run games and that gets much faster and louder. But when I'm playing games, I turn my volume up anyway so it's not a big deal.

[crazyfool]

4870 would be the best performance and price wise for gaming on your projector or monitor... the gtx260 would be the same really just depends on who you prefer, ati or nvidia

[sp3n]

great advice about the case/fans acrobat - the only reason that i said 'silent case' is because my current case was advertised as that and is pretty damn silent apart that my hard drives rattle and i accidently broke the front door so i need to replace it.

and thanks crazyfool, i am going to go for the gtx260

[staffsMike]

It depends how much you have for the case, but The coolermaster CM-690 is really good for noise (once you get the fan arrangement right), cable management which goes behind the mobo tray P182 style, great air flow and space for everything too

If noise is the major concern the antec solo is awesome around the same price.

[crazyfool]

yeh staffsmike is right about the case... cm690 with decent fans and a fan controller is a very silent case and easy to build in etc... i have 5 120mm fans in mine all of which are running at their lowest speeds and my q6600 idles around 35 in a room or 20 degrees and my 8800gt at 40 degrees
the stock fans aren't noisy but dont shift alot of air...great case tho

[acrobat]

great advice about the case/fans acrobat - the only reason that i said 'silent case' is because my current case was advertised as that and is pretty damn silent apart that my hard drives rattle and i accidently broke the front door so i need to replace it.

Thanks =)

And yeah, I was gunna say, I would guess that a "silent" case would probably just be quiet rather than completely noise free. And quiet is something you can make from any good case really, as long as you pick the right fan size slots, and then the right fans.

Also, as good (and expensive) as my case is, one thing that really annoyed me was that the hard disks vibrate a lot, and so the cage they are screwed in to, starts rattling and ends up sounding really noisy. So I ended up having to remove that cage and leave it standing on a piece of foam in the bottom of my PC. It works great but it's not ideal considering the case was like £80 or something stupid like that. (When I bought it anyway).

[Pob255]

Overclocking your e6600 is a good start and it pritty easy to do. you should be able to hit 3ghz to 3.2ghz without breaking a sweat.

I'm surrprised you're saying you want a quieter case as the antec sonata II is pritty good for low noise.
I'd advise you go through and check your fans, fans are the cause of most noise, just replaceing the worst offenders should bring the sound level down quite a bit.

Which leads onto the artic cooling freezer 7 pro, while a good cooler for the money a decent 120mm fan based cooler will be better.

Upgradeing the graphics card is the main thing I'd advise here, the old 8800gts 640mb is really starting to show it's age now (although not as badly as the 320mb version)
Top single card performance is currently going to the ATi 4870x2 but that is far from cheap. (around £350)
The nvidia 280gtx is not far behind it, and prices vary greatly, (avarage around £300) although Scan have currently got a Leadtek one for £244 http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=849681

720p is only 1280×720 at 60 Hz so you shouldn't need anything "That" powerfull
However the moement you throw in Crysis it all falls apart,
Crysis is an utter graphical pig
Sorry for the bold but this is a point that really needs to be got across to many people, if you did a comparison like most reviews do of graphics cards, but instead lined up games side by side instead of cards, if you took a 9800gtx+ and ran at full settings at 1280x720 (includeing FSAA and AS) almost every game will happly ran 60fps+ execpt crysis where you probably be scrapeing 20fps.

720p is a fairly low resolution these days (that 24" monitor is much higher res) any of the higher end cards these days will be more than happy on that with everything turned up to max (again execpt crysis)

If you want to play crysis with every thing turn on and up to max, then get the best graphics you can and remember that it's going to be wasted on every other game.
Don't think I hate crysis, I don't I think it looks bloody amazing, even without all the settings at max, that still doesn;t change the fact that it's a real pig for graphics requirements.

[acrobat]

Some of that isn't really true. Crysis is demanding because it is extremely advanced and stunning looking, not because it's a graphical pig. And you can still play Crysis on lower end PC's just fine if you just lower the settings. It's sad because people wouldn't criticise Crysis at all, if they just released it without a "high" setting, and yet that is the best bit to most of us.

Also, a good graphics card won't be wasted on all other games. There are plenty of games as demanding as Crysis, or even more so, so it's not just Crysis. In fact I can run Crysis on absolute cranked settings and it is OK. Not fast, but OK and playable. Other games though, actually take my PC to single digits. Games like Two Worlds with graphics tweaks were very sluggish. Supreme Commander Forged Alliance runs like crap when the action builds up, and Flight Sim X barely runs at all unless I lower all kinds of things. And that's on an 8800GTX. There are probably others I'm forgetting too. Stalker Clear Sky I noticed was sluggish without lowering a few things, same went for Age of Conan I think.