Mehbeh I should make some upgrades....

GnomeQueenGnomeQueen The Lulz QueenMountain Dew Mouth Icrontian
edited May 2012 in Hardware
Hey guys,

I think it's time for some upgrades to my PC. I effed my permissions, so I need to do a reformat anyways, so I figured I might as well get a better hard drive to do it with. Mine is about five or six years old, so I think it's time to upgrade things. Feel free to disagree with me. Also; should I get an SSD and a hard drive? Or is that not necessary at this point?

I also need a new PSU.

I'm considering other upgrades, but I figured I'd see what you guys thought. I'm a grad student, so I'm kind of low on funds. I'd prefer not to upgrade things unless I have to (which I guess I don't have to get a new hard drive at present, but maybe I just kind of want one? heh)

Here's what's in my PC:

ATI Radeon 5870
4 gb DDR2-1066 @ 500MHz
DFI LanParty DK P35-T2R/S
Core 2 Duo E6400 @ 3GHz

(Also, thanks to @thracks for giving me well...all of the above. Heh.)

I know it would be easiest for all of you if I gave you a budget...let's say under $300? But it's a little flexible.

Thanks guys, you're all the best.

Comments

  • TushonTushon I'm scared, Coach Alexandria, VA Icrontian
    edited May 2012
    Everything you have is fine to keep for now, and here is a great combo for well under your budget.
    PCP&C Silencer Mk II $90 after rebate
    OCZ Vertex 4 $140

    I can get closer to $300 with faster/better parts, but that PSU gets you a lot of future headroom and a good quality product and the Vertex 4 is insanely fast.
    SSD info
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    You definitely don't need a CPU, Motherboard, or GPU upgrade. Maybe you could get another 4gb of RAM, an SSD, and a PSU. Perhaps:

    Thermaltake TR2 700w PSU
    OCZ Vertex 4 SSD

    If you really want a lot of capacity, I still highly recommend the Seagate Momentus XT 750gb hybrid SSD. It gives you the SSD speed for a lot of the important things (like booting and program launches) and 750gb space, way more than a normal SSD. It's only $155.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    Better than both the above PSUs, cheaper than one of them with no rebate (even cheaper after rebate).

    You could also do with an SSD, and the Vertex 4 Brian linked is the best for the job.

    You don't need to upgrade the rest.
  • fatcatfatcat Mizzou Icrontian
    is it just me, or are the Vertex4's slower than the 3's?

    535/200 vs 550/500 ?

    also, Jackie's mobo doesn't support SATAIII, so just get an Vertex Plus 120GB for $79
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    The Vertex 4 is more future-proof
  • CBCB Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Der Millionendorf- Icrontian
    But DDR2 RAM is so expensive. I'm in the same boat: where the only update that I really need is more RAM, but I need DDR2, and it feels like a waste to buy any.
  • TushonTushon I'm scared, Coach Alexandria, VA Icrontian
    is it just me, or are the Vertex4's slower than the 3's?

    535/200 vs 550/500 ?

    also, Jackie's mobo doesn't support SATAIII, so just get an Vertex Plus 120GB for $79
    That's a bad future-proofing call. She'll upgrade mobo eventually which will have SATA III capable chipset, but the tom's hardware link I had shows almost no differences still on access times even with SATA III vs II but that may be on a better chipset.

    I would say just go PSU and SSD for now. The one Thrax recommended is excellent as well, but the one I recommended comes from personal experience plus a seven year warranty.

  • MrTRiotMrTRiot Northern Ontario Icrontian
    This is my PSU. It works wonders.
  • fatcatfatcat Mizzou Icrontian
    is it just me, or are the Vertex4's slower than the 3's?

    535/200 vs 550/500 ?

    also, Jackie's mobo doesn't support SATAIII, so just get an Vertex Plus 120GB for $79
    That's a bad future-proofing call. She'll upgrade mobo eventually which will have SATA III capable chipset, but the tom's hardware link I had shows almost no differences still on access times even with SATA III vs II but that may be on a better chipset.

    I would say just go PSU and SSD for now. The one Thrax recommended is excellent as well, but the one I recommended comes from personal experience plus a seven year warranty.

    by the time she updates her mobo, the Vertex 6/7/8 will be out :)
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    btw, the PSU I recommended has a 9.5 rating on JonnyGURU, one of the highest awards on the site.
  • fatcatfatcat Mizzou Icrontian
    personally, I would set that $300 aside and save until you have enough for a cpu-mobo-gpu-ssd-ram-psu upgrade
  • brightbright Icrontian
    I know some of these words. Well gnome you're far ahead of me. I need to learn how to build a tower and then.. buy the things after finding the best prices.. yay
  • AnnesAnnes Tripped Up by Libidos and Hubris Alexandria, VA Icrontian
    @bright, if you are serious about building a computer, make a thread. These guys are fantastic with helping.
  • TushonTushon I'm scared, Coach Alexandria, VA Icrontian
    edited May 2012
    I know some of these words. Well gnome you're far ahead of me. I need to learn how to build a tower and then.. buy the things after finding the best prices.. yay
    Like Annes said, just make a thread here with a budget and what you want to do and we'll do you right from budgeting and selecting parts to putting it all together.
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