Looking to upgrade, seeking imput beforehand

October 12, 2008

I bought this PC last year around the same time for $1,600 CDN. It's not the PC I chose, but once I went to Audiotronic, the person I talked with before told me they couldn't get me half of the specific parts I wanted for my dream-PC at the time and convinced me to buy one they had there ready to go. I was just tired of waiting so I went for it. Overall it's a good machine, but I specifically told him I wanted to play Crysis maxed out and asked if this PC could do that, without hesitation, he agreed. I brought it home, tried Crysis and I could just barely play it on Medium settings without any AA, etc.

Sorry to babble on there, point is, I'm looking for a faster, better machine. I would say my budget at the moment is $1000 CDN, but I could probably go up to $2000 CDN before I know it.

My current specs are:

ASUS P5K Mobo with Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40 GHz

MSI NX8600GT

2GB RAM (Not even sure which type or brand)

500GB HDD (Unsure of brand of detailed specs other than size)

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel

No idea what the power supply is either. Serial on it is CACT05UWC0072800224 and searching that brings no results. I was also given no booklet either, so I've no clue at this point. Serial is similar to the tower itself, so... Yeah.

I was also looking for another monitor and had my eye on the Acer G24, but I can't get over the orange color. Are there any other monitors with the same performance/price but don't look like a pumpkin?

I'm not really a hardcore PC gamer, but I like knowing if a game comes out that I'd like to play, I want to play it maxed out without much worry. I know all hardware becomes old quickly, so I suppose just the games that are currently released I'd like to be able to play on maximum settings.

I also am beginning to work with graphic design programs such as Photoshop CS3 at the moment and will be upgrading to CS4 upon release.

Look forward to any input on this.

October 12, 2008

quick question before i newegg it for you... are you looking to just buy a new PC or build it. usually the answer is yes when you are on this forum but can never know.

if you are building it, then we can give you specific parts, if you just want to buy one then we can tell you what specs to look for.

October 12, 2008

If I can upgrade it, I'd like to, but I'm aware that the parts in my PC right now probably will completely need to be replaced. So I suppose I could just use an entirely new PC.

I may build it myself, but I'm pretty sure the guys over at Audiotronic will do it for me. If I give them a list of parts they will order them for me and most likely build it for me if I asked.

October 12, 2008

newegg shopping cart

look at these as a guide line.... you don't want to go anywhere higher or lower than these parts for what you want. you are still not going to be able to play crysis on max but should be able to have a high quality experience with it. since you do graphics work and might have a big screen upto 30inch i guess, I suggested a mobo with plenty of room to upgrade the graphics or just put in another card for SLI if you decide to go 30+.

btw, i have a nice cheap hard drive on there as well. but you can keep the old one if you like and just put in something smaller in the old machine.

October 12, 2008

When I click the link it gives me the error: "Your shopping cart is empty."

By the way, I don't plan on going higher or even as high as 30" for a monitor. I'm currently using a 20" and would probably only go to 24".

October 12, 2008

Why are u going to Audiotronic? Local PC stores may be able to provide better options of what you're looking for, but anyhow. Any game will run on the 8600GT, it all depends on what resolution and quality of graphics you want.

Your video card is the most hindering aspect in terms of gaming. Just upgrade this, and the PSU too and you should be fine for gaming on a 24". I'm currently playing most games at 1920x1200 on a 9600GT and Q6600 @ stock. Performance is not great though, so I would recommend getting a 9800GT/9800GTX/9800GTX+/260/4850/4870 (in no particular order). I would get a 500W PSU, though I won't recommend a specific model. Only one I'll mention is the Antec Earthwatt 500W as that will be the "cheapest" decent PSU (although a GTX260 may require a little more juice).

I probably wouldn't bother building a new PC at this point with your current config. If you want a new PC, and you have a good budget, you might as well wait another 2 months for the newer Intel systems.

Thanks for the monitor tip. I'd love an orange LCD actually :) As for your options on a 24" monitor, I think anything on the market will do. I'm pretty sure the G24 uses a TN panel, which is usually what you'll find at the lower end of prices. So a Samsung 24" you find at Futureshop will be about the same. For monitor, I generally stick with Samsung or Dell. Acer or LG if I wanna go value.

October 12, 2008

Why are u going to Audiotronic? Local PC stores may be able to provide better options of what you're looking for, but anyhow. Any game will run on the 8600GT, it all depends on what resolution and quality of graphics you want.
Your video card is the most hindering aspect in terms of gaming. Just upgrade this, and the PSU too and you should be fine for gaming on a 24". I'm currently playing most games at 1920x1200 on a 9600GT and Q6600 @ stock. Performance is not great though, so I would recommend getting a 9800GT/9800GTX/9800GTX+/260/4850/4870 (in no particular order). I would get a 500W PSU, though I won't recommend a specific model. Only one I'll mention is the Antec Earthwatt 500W as that will be the "cheapest" decent PSU (although a GTX260 may require a little more juice).

I probably wouldn't bother building a new PC at this point with your current config. If you want a new PC, and you have a good budget, you might as well wait another 2 months for the newer Intel systems.

Thanks for the monitor tip. I'd love an orange LCD actually :) As for your options on a 24" monitor, I think anything on the market will do. I'm pretty sure the G24 uses a TN panel, which is usually what you'll find at the lower end of prices. So a Samsung 24" you find at Futureshop will be about the same. For monitor, I generally stick with Samsung or Dell. Acer or LG if I wanna go value.

I forgot to mention I will be buying all the parts to upgrade or for an entirely new PC during the next 3 months.

I live in a really small town in Ontario, Canada and have to drive out of town to Timmins in order to even shop for PC parts, etc. The only stores there are Staples, Audiotronic, Wal-Mart, EB Games and a Future Shop that's currently being built. As far as I know anyways. I can just walk intro Audiotronic and ask for this-that and they will give you a lower price if I show them Staples has the same thing for cheaper.

Thanks for your input, I'll definitely consider what you've mentioned. :)