# Upgrading a month old PC?



## WaXT (Aug 29, 2010)

Is it necessary?  I just bought this thing and it is a Li'l beast indeed. Everygame I slap on it can run smooth @high settings (some can run @maxed). And I'm not quite contented with my mid-range card(well, maybe 97% contented).

BUT....if you would suggest me to upgrade ANYTHING in my rig, what would it be? (and what would I upgrade it to) 

See my specs.
Card OCed to 930MHz / 1330MHz
CPU not OCed (but as soon as I get my h70 I will overclock it to 4.2GHz)


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## IINexusII (Aug 29, 2010)

nothing needed yet if all your games are working fine


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## WaXT (Aug 29, 2010)

Fast reply. But it takes like 7 seconds to start a game and load some software. While it takes less than a second after I bought it that night.


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## JrRacinFan (Aug 29, 2010)

Pickup an ssd maybe? A dedicated sound card? Blu ray burner? I see you are on a 15" Lcd, so new monitor maybe?


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## Mussels (Aug 29, 2010)

i would suggest monitor and the second 5770, for potential upgrades.


as for game loading times, that stuff varies so much... could just be extra programs running, fragmentation, etc.

I run all my games off a dedicated hard drive, so i rarely have loading issues.


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## WaXT (Aug 29, 2010)

JrRacinFan said:


> Pickup an ssd maybe? A dedicated sound card? Blu ray burner? I see you are on a 15" Lcd, so new monitor maybe?



What is a solid state drive? and what does it do? (lol sorry:shadedshu)

What sound card do you recommend? (I also have been wanting a good sound card)

for what is the blu ray burner?

And yes, I was planning for a monitor upgrade, but I don't think it is going to work out with the card. as I have said, I can run all smooth @high settings, by that, I get 40+fps. So I thought if I upgrade my monitor to let's say a 20" , it would increase the games resolution, which then also increases the activity of the card. and I bet it would be 30fps+ if I switch to 20. So I would upgrade card first, then monitor.


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## WaXT (Aug 29, 2010)

Mussels said:


> i would suggest monitor and the second 5770, for potential upgrades.
> 
> 
> as for game loading times, that stuff varies so much... could just be extra programs running, fragmentation, etc.
> ...



Fargmentation, maybe. but extra programs running, idk. I mean I have 6GB RAM and should be fast enough. How do you defrag a disk? Besides Window's defragment tool.


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## Mussels (Aug 29, 2010)

WaXT said:


> Fargmentation, maybe. but extra programs running, idk. I mean I have 6GB RAM and should be fast enough. How do you defrag a disk? Besides Window's defragment tool.



by using third party defrag programs.

6GB of ram means squat, if the programs are accesing your HD.

Hard drives can only really do one thing at a time (they just do them relatively fast), so multiple programs doing multiple things at once is bound to slow things down.


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## WaXT (Aug 29, 2010)

Mussels said:


> by using third party defrag programs.
> 
> 6GB of ram means squat, if the programs are accesing your HD.
> 
> Hard drives can only really do one thing at a time (they just do them relatively fast), so multiple programs doing multiple things at once is bound to slow things down.



Well I am not a multitasker, I only always run 2 programs at a time. A browser and a game. Except now, I'm not playing a game.


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## WaXT (Aug 29, 2010)

What does an SSD do ??


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## mosheen (Aug 29, 2010)

i wouldnt do crossfire on that gd55


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## ComradeSader (Aug 29, 2010)

WaXT said:


> What does an SSD do ??



It's a hard drive, just with no moving parts. They're noticeably faster and run much cooler, but have crappy capacity (atm) and are expensive.

OT: Get a new monitor, 15" makes me sadface.


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## WaXT (Aug 29, 2010)

mosheen said:


> i wouldnt do crossfire on that gd55



Why not?


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## mosheen (Aug 29, 2010)

pcie 2.0 16x and pcie 1.0 4x

Edit : http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=proddesc&maincat_no=1&cat2_no=170&prod_no=1936


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## WaXT (Aug 29, 2010)

Crusader said:


> OT: Get a new monitor, 15" makes me sadface.



I think so too. If I get more room space here, I would buy atleast a 20"


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## WaXT (Aug 29, 2010)

mosheen said:


> pcie 2.0 16x and pcie 1.0 4x



it has 2 x PCIex16 slots
wait, I'm sorry what does that mean then? (2.0 16 & 1.0 4)


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## Mussels (Aug 29, 2010)

WaXT said:


> it has 2 x PCIex16 slots
> wait, I'm sorry what does that mean then? (2.0 16 & 1.0 4)



that they arent 16x slots, ones 16x and ones 4x


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## stefanels (Aug 29, 2010)

I think a SSD would be a nice upgrade, and definitely a new & bigger LCD (at least a 22")... Cheers


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## WaXT (Aug 29, 2010)

Mussels said:


> that they arent 16x slots, ones 16x and ones 4x



but it says in the box it has 2 x PCI E 16x slots

and on the brochure i bought it can crossfire (sorry guys but i don't get it.. :/) what's the diff?


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## Mussels (Aug 29, 2010)

WaXT said:


> but it says in the box it has 2 x PCI E 16x slots
> 
> and on the brochure i bought it can crossfire (sorry guys but i don't get it.. :/) what's the diff?



they fit a 16x card, but they arent wired up electrically for 16x worth of badnwdith.

it can do crossfire, but as stated, that second slot has 1/4 the bandwidth it should, for full performance.


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## WaXT (Aug 29, 2010)

the second slot perform 1/4 of the bandwidth? So it is a fail?


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## WaXT (Aug 29, 2010)

So doing a crossfire would be senseless on my board?


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## Mussels (Aug 29, 2010)

please use the edit button, instead of making more posts.

and yes, 4 is a quarter of 16, so its got less bandwidth. crossfire will work, just not to its maximum benefit.

While conventional wisdom says its a bad idea to run crossfire in such a situation, i've done it before and will say that you WILL be fine with 5770's - anything faster however, would not be worth it.


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## WaXT (Aug 29, 2010)

Thanks! So I would not crossfire it, but I would upgrade my card to something better. Another question, can I use NVIDIA card for this board? Because I currently am using ATI. Just wondering.


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## Mussels (Aug 29, 2010)

WaXT said:


> Thanks! So I would not crossfire it, but I would upgrade my card to something better. Another question, can I use NVIDIA card for this board? Because I currently am using ATI. Just wondering.



yes. nvidia cards will run fine (just not in SLI)


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## JrRacinFan (Aug 29, 2010)

WaXT said:


> What is a solid state drive? and what does it do? (lol sorry:shadedshu)


A solid state drive will help with file loading times and general web browsing. That's the most common way to explain what it does.



WaXT said:


> What sound card do you recommend? (I also have been wanting a good sound card)


I myself like the Auzentech Prelude.



WaXT said:


> for what is the blu ray burner?


It's an optical disc drive that you can write your own files to a multitude of blank media types, CD/DVD & Blu Ray discs. Best way I can describe it. Can also play Blu Ray movies in the drive.



WaXT said:


> And yes, I was planning for a monitor upgrade, but I don't think it is going to work out with the card. as I have said, I can run all smooth @high settings, by that, I get 40+fps. So I thought if I upgrade my monitor to let's say a 20" , it would increase the games resolution, which then also increases the activity of the card. and I bet it would be 30fps+ if I switch to 20. So I would upgrade card first, then monitor.



You are totally wrong there. You shouldn't experience ANY downgrade of FPS because if your going higher resolution, the gpu will start doing "more work".  Go up to a 20" 1600x900 panel like myself, at this resolution i have even found myself that a 4870 was a perfect match. In comparison to my own rig, I only upgraded gpu recently to accomodate the 1080p aspect of the 42".


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## WaXT (Aug 29, 2010)

@Mussels (mooderator) That's great! I am having troubles with my card. It could be very unstable.



JrRacinFan said:


> You are totally wrong there. You shouldn't experience ANY downgrade of FPS because if your going higher resolution, the gpu will start doing "more work".  Go up to a 20" 1600x900 panel like myself, at this resolution i have even found myself that a 4870 was a perfect match. In comparison to my own rig, I only upgraded gpu recently to accomodate the 1080p aspect of the 42".



My bad. Because I feel like my card is doing that "more work" right now (especially when playing gta iv) I will be glad(to try) if I uppy to 20" or 19".  Thank you


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## Mussels (Aug 29, 2010)

JrRacinFan said:


> You are totally wrong there. You shouldn't experience ANY downgrade of FPS because if your going higher resolution, the gpu will start doing "more work".  Go up to a 20" 1600x900 panel like myself, at this resolution i have even found myself that a 4870 was a perfect match. In comparison to my own rig, I only upgraded gpu recently to accomodate the 1080p aspect of the 42".



actually, you're kinda wrong there yourself.

Yes, a GPU has more work to do at higher resolutions - so it will possibly lower his FPS. It just likely wont lower it all that much, since 5770's are good to 1680x1050 or so. (or even 1080p, as long as you dont run AA)


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## WaXT (Aug 29, 2010)

Mussels said:


> as long as you dont run AA



I run AA 8x. Is it really bad for a 20" ?


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## JrRacinFan (Aug 29, 2010)

Mussels said:


> actually, you're kinda wrong there yourself.
> 
> Yes, a GPU has more work to do at higher resolutions - so it will possibly lower his FPS. It just likely wont lower it all that much, since 5770's are good to 1680x1050 or so. (or even 1080p, as long as you dont run AA)



How am I wrong?! I am wrong in saying that the gpu will have more work to do and offload more work from the cpu?

Im done helping anyone on these forums THANX BYE!


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## Mussels (Aug 29, 2010)

WaXT said:


> I run AA 8x. Is it really bad for a 20" ?



no... its just more stress on your video card.

Its the resolution that matters btw, NOT the size of the screen.



JrRacinFan said:


> How am I wrong?! I am wrong in saying that the gpu will have more work to do and offload more work from the cpu?
> 
> Im done helping anyone on these forums THANX BYE!



GPU doesnt offload anything from the CPU for gaming. the amount of CPU power required stays exactly the same no matter the resolution you're at.
One thing is going to bottleneck you in gaming, be it the CPU or GPU - at lower resolutions its likely to be the CPU, at higher, the GPU. That doesnt mean that the load gets LOWER on the CPU at higher resolutions, by any stretch of logic.


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## erixx (Aug 29, 2010)

hollyfrekkinggosphel! a 15" monitor????????????????? hahaha (sorry just enjoying 

Please give your amazing system a 22" LCD, it's not that expensive.


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## WaXT (Aug 29, 2010)

erixx said:


> hollyfrekkinggosphel! a 15" monitor????????????????? hahaha (sorry just enjoying
> 
> Please give your amazing system a 22" LCD, it's not that expensive.



LOL.  Everytime I tell that I use a 15" for my rig you all have that same reaction.


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## Mussels (Aug 29, 2010)

WaXT said:


> LOL.  Everytime I tell that I use a 15" for my rig you all have that same reaction.



i use a 24" and a 40", just to put it in perspective... 

my first PC was a 90Mhz pentium with 16MB of ram, and it had a 15" screen.


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## stefanels (Aug 29, 2010)

The framedrop from an 17"-19" LCD to an 20"-22" LCD isn't that much of a difference...

*DiRT2*


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## WaXT (Aug 29, 2010)

IDK if a 20" would fit this pc room without taking up much space tho:


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## WaXT (Aug 29, 2010)

stefanels said:


> The framedrop from an 17"-19" LCD to an 20"-22" LCD isn't that much of a difference...
> 
> *DiRT2*
> http://a.imageshack.us/img230/4796/dirt2.jpg



Wow that's a good info. Damn, I want to upgrade to 20" if only I had more room space and money..


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## WaXT (Aug 29, 2010)

I need another $300 for an upgrade.  (h70, HDD's, and monitor) 


"With a little patience, everything will pay off"


P.S. my monitor wasn't new it was waaaaaaaaaaay back when I bought my first PC (2005-2006). Same with keyboard, mouse, and speakers.


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## stefanels (Aug 29, 2010)

24" vs 17" in size (it's like a 22" vs a 15")


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## WaXT (Aug 29, 2010)

Can you tell me the common height and width of a 22"?


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## Mussels (Aug 29, 2010)

WaXT said:


> Can you tell me the common height and width of a 22"?



nope, cause screens are measured diagonally 

the actual dimensions can vary a bit between screens, so you'd have to google some.


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## TheMailMan78 (Aug 29, 2010)

I say SSD and pick up a 460 or 5850.


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## WaXT (Aug 29, 2010)

Let's say my space can go up to 16" width and 13" height. If I were to buy a 20" , what would be the perfect brand w/model?


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## stefanels (Aug 29, 2010)

22" - aprox. 22.0 x 16.0 x 5.0 inches

20' - aprox. 18.8 x 15.5 x 5.0 inches

15" - aprox. 15.8 x 12.6 x 5.5 inches



WaXT said:


> Can you tell me the common height and width of a 22"?


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## Delta6326 (Aug 29, 2010)

a yummy lcd ASUS VH242H Black 23.6" 5ms HDMI Full 1080P Widesc... 
Dimensions
    22.13" x 16.38" x 8.66"

pic of it on the wall


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## Mussels (Aug 29, 2010)

Delta6326 said:


> a yummy lcd ASUS VH242H Black 23.6" 5ms HDMI Full 1080P Widesc...
> Dimensions
> 22.13" x 16.38" x 8.66"



^ good screen, its got the same tech as mine (just the asus variant)


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## WaXT (Aug 29, 2010)

TheMailMan78 said:


> I say SSD and pick up a 460 or 5850.



+1 for 460

SSD, I guess


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## TheMailMan78 (Aug 29, 2010)

I use this one.

ASUS VW246H Glossy Black 24" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescr...

I fucking love this screen.


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## WaXT (Aug 29, 2010)

Delta6326 said:


> a yummy lcd ASUS VH242H Black 23.6" 5ms HDMI Full 1080P Widesc...
> Dimensions
> 22.13" x 16.38" x 8.66"
> 
> pic of it on the wall http://img.techpowerup.org/100829/Capture086388.jpg



good thing it can be hang on the wall. I'll just have to remove this picture frame to make it available for that lcd. ^_^


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## stefanels (Aug 29, 2010)

Just get this 21.5" LED monitor...


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## JrRacinFan (Aug 29, 2010)

I still do agree though that you need to upgrade the monitor. Partially agree on video card just as long as you know you are getting the new monitor within a month's time frame if you have to budget.

@Mussels

Sorry, it's been a bad week you were just at the blunt end of it. For that I am sorry. Also I do understand what you're saying but the GPU would just have "more work" to accomplish. Wasn't implying the cpu wasn't important. One of those cases people read too much into context.


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## WaXT (Aug 29, 2010)

TheMailMan78 said:


> I use this one.
> 
> ASUS VW246H Glossy Black 24" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescr...
> 
> ...



hnnggggmmmnnhhhh..... a bit pricy tho.  I love the gloss finish


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## WaXT (Aug 29, 2010)

What about this one? 

Hanns·G HH-231HPB Black 23" 5ms HDMI Widescreen Fu...

or

HP 2210m Black 21.5" 2.5ms Widescreen Full HD LCD ...


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## JrRacinFan (Aug 29, 2010)

SAMSUNG EX2220X Glossy Black 21.5" 5ms  LED Backli...

Use the promo code to your advantage.


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## WaXT (Aug 29, 2010)

JrRacinFan said:


> SAMSUNG EX2220X Glossy Black 21.5" 5ms  LED Backli...
> 
> Use the promo code to your advantage.



That's good. But I would love it even more if it had a thicker neck..


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## MT Alex (Aug 29, 2010)

Delta6326 said:


> a yummy lcd ASUS VH242H Black 23.6" 5ms HDMI Full 1080P Widesc...
> Dimensions
> 22.13" x 16.38" x 8.66"
> 
> pic of it on the wall http://img.techpowerup.org/100829/Capture086388.jpg



I have this monitor, and it has performed flawlessly.  I moved up from a 15" Sylvania, it was a bigger "yahoo!!" moment than most of my upgrades.  You'll flip out.  I'd MAKE room for a bigger screen.  Let nothing stand in your way


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## WaXT (Aug 29, 2010)

MT Alex said:


> I have this monitor, and it has performed flawlessly.  I moved up from a 15" Sylvania, it was a bigger "yahoo!!" moment than most of my upgrades.  You'll flip out.  I'd MAKE room for a bigger screen.  Let nothing stand in your way



I love the way you said that lololol  BUT.. have you seen my space? Would it fit?


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## JrRacinFan (Aug 29, 2010)

WaXT said:


> I love the way you said that lololol  BUT.. have you seen my space? Would it fit?



Make it fit  hacksaw your desk ... something ...

</joke>


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## WaXT (Aug 29, 2010)

JrRacinFan said:


> Make it fit  hacksaw your desk ... something ...
> 
> </joke>



LOL. 21.5" would fit PERFECTLY tho. Was searching for smaller screens so I would be comfty with the space. Dang, I feel like my PC is @ the 1990's or something (now that mussels said that he had a 90mhz pentium w/ 16mb ram on 15") lol.


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## erixx (Aug 29, 2010)

space problems?, get yourself a flexible monitor:


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## WaXT (Aug 30, 2010)

erixx said:


> space problems?, get yourself a flexible monitor:
> http://www.techmez.com/wp-content/uploads/Ciencia/12-8-08-flexible-display.jpg



rofl. Is that real? Maybe I'm just going to put the case below the desk


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## Millennium (Sep 1, 2010)

Do it. Having a bigger monitor is a great way to upgrade your PC and your gfx card is just calling out for a better monitor!


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