My system Case: XION Vantage AXP100-001B CPU: AMD Phenom II x3 710 Mobo: Biostar TA790GXE 128M HDD: x2 Maxtor 6Y080M0 GFX: Powercolor HD4870 512MB RAM: 4GB DDR2 6400 Sound: Realtek ALC888 onboard PSU: FSP FX700-GLN 700W Help I can't decide which is worth upgrading for $100 that would show the most performance benefit? PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102024 OCZ Blade Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 1066 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227419 Patriot PS-100 32GB SATA I/II MLC Internal Solid State Drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220455
None, probably. As far as I can tell the SSD you've selected doesn't support TRIM. The memory is going to get you literally no benefit. And the Titanium is way too expensive for what it does. And it's really no benefit unless you have decent speakers.
personally i would say none of them would do sod all. the memory is the worst as you are effectly using the same speed memory and size unless you over clock, but the differece is like 2-3 fps if you are lucky sound card wont really help but will give better sound quality. SSD waste of money atm, the benefits are completely out weighted by the costs and loss of space. quicker loading times, wow? if i am correct,i take it your hard drives are 80gb each? you would be far better off in genearl by getting a 1TB samsung spin point F3 and have change from $100 compared to the other options. however,, if by the memory option you mean to increase to 8gb from 4gb, by adding rather than replace. Which i think is what you actually mean? then do that. The memory in this case is the best all round option. 8gb > 4gb in all cases FACT but whether or not you will notice the difference depends how you use it, i find that all computers i use that have 8gb are faster than 4gb but only when i have a few things open.
Thanks. My situation with RAM is that I have 4 1gb 800 sticks and only 4 ram slots.So if I want to upgrade I need to get a whole new kit and it seems most 8gb kit prices are kinda steep. So, I figured I could start with a 4gb kit with 2x2gb and work my way up and might as well get 1066 speed while I'm at it if it would make any difference. I only have $100 also which limits what I can choose from.I guess maybe I should wait till I have more money to spend.
sounds logical, i had 2x1 gb but ditched them and went for 2x2gb.. but like others said nothing will make a diff., except sound card a little.. around 3-4fps maybe up to 7fps, it depends on the game and sound engine (games that use eax4 or 5, not allot though)..
I wouldn't upgrade to 8gb memory yet as you may want to change platform later down the line and go to DDR3 - especially as it becomes more mainstream. It also depends on your operating system and like allesclar said, what you use your pc for. I think if you're on xp 64-bit then 4gb is fine, vista maybe benefit somewhat if you do a bit of multitasking, as would Windows 7 and 32-bit as you may know is just a no-no for 8gb.. Maybe put your $100 towards a new keyboard/mouse assuming you're a gamer as you have an ATI 4870 (Unless you already have good ones you like already ) - Or Save for a new monitor or soemthing along those lines? Or again as suggested get a new, bigger hard drive I hope this helps HyBrId
I'm set with the monitor I've got a 24' asus 1080p screen Mouse/keyboard fine. I just got an unexpected check for $100 from my old job so, I figured I may as well blow it and squeeze more performance outta my system. I guess the only real thing to do is save another $50 and get an ati 5770. Or newer cpu?hmmm
Oh ok that's good then You wouldn't see much more of a performance increase going to a 5770 to be honest.. with your cpu being a slight bottleneck (I think?? :S) and some benchmarks displaying this - Crysis exactly the same - http://www.guru3d.com/article/vga-charts-december-2009/5 Neck and neck on 3DMark Vantage - http://www.guru3d.com/article/vga-charts-december-2009/10 And so on.. It'd be much better to wait for ATI's new cards (Southern Islands?) whenever they come out and then the previous generation of cards (5850, 5870 etc) will come down in price, hopefully, along with Nvidia's HyBrId Edit: In fact the 5770 is slower in some cases - Mass effect http://www.guru3d.com/article/vga-charts-december-2009/7 Fallout 3 http://www.guru3d.com/article/vga-charts-december-2009/6 and only Marginally faster in others - BiAHH http://www.guru3d.com/article/vga-charts-december-2009/8
Yea, I should just wait till prices start dropping and upgrade to ddr3 system before anything else. Thanks for the advice everyone.
DDR3 system doesn't really net you any gains. In fact, if you go with cheap DDR3 it can actually be a performance loss compared to DDR2. The next upgrade you would want to take is a GPU/Better SSD. Nothing wrong with SSDs in general, just try to stay away from the ultra cheap ones.
Just suggested the DDR3 thing because newer systems/CPU's/Motherboards are using them more now - i7 triple channel for example and the prices are quite competitive now compared to a couple of years ago too, so as computers move forward, I think DDR2 will begin to phase out over the next year or two, so spending his money on more DDR2, replacing his current lot, may not be the best course of action.. Wait for GPU prices to fall like you said enoch I'm sure you can be patient
Yeah, I wouldnt spend money on more RAM or a 5770 as its not a big enough upgrade. What about upgrading your headset or speaker setup? You can find some really nice gear for under $100. If you got a sound card, the quality is only as good as the output, so you really want to have something to make full use of it.
For $100, these two sound cards will fit your bill better: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829271001 OR http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132007 That or you can spend the money on the Radeon HD 5770 but the GPU is over your budget. A sound card does make a difference in terms of overall enjoyment of your rig and not performance. It has little to no effect on your performance. deltatux
The logitech x540 is a good entry level set. It is 5.1, and with shipping should be right around 80 or 90 $USD$. They are a great entry level set. I cant think of a better set of 5.1 that your going to be able get for >100 w/ shipping. The sound is really alright, granted the sound system in my"living room" is much much better, but it was much much more expensive. I think you would be happy w/ it. Just make sure you have the right audio out, you will need(color)green, black, and yellow. The the audio out goes to the sub, and from the sub you connect the 5 speakers, and the controller.
