New PC Spec

by Baggiez • 26 Jul 2010, 13:14 • Journals
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-258-OK&groupid=43&catid=1078&subcat=

Called up overclockers regarding this. Wanted to upgrade the:

GPU from 768mb -> to 1024mb
CPU from AMD Athlon II X2 Dual Core 245 -> to Phenom x4 9850

Dude on the phone said the GPU was no problem but he _couldn't_ upgrade the CPU as it's all part of the setup and it would require changing the RAM, mobo & cooler. He went on to say that quad core really isn't needed for gaming and won't be for another 2 years.

Your opinion on this?

edit: there is also this - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-210-OK&groupid=43&catid=1444&subcat=

Which with the 460 GTX 1024mb would cost £75 more

parts
Case
PSU
CPU
Mobo
RAM
HDD
GPU
Sound
OpticalOption 1 £502
Xigmatek Asgard
OCZ 600w II StealthXStream
AMD Athlon II X2 Dual 245 2.90GHz
Gigabyte 760G DDR3 Motherboard
OCZ Gold 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz
7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache
Nvidia GTX 460 1024MB GDDR5
ALC888B 8-channel High Definition
LG GH22NS50 22x DVD±RW ReWriterOption 2 £570
Antec 300
same
X4 Quad 635 2.90GHz
same
Corsair XMS3 4GB
same
same
7.1 something
same


So the question is: Is it worth the extra £70 for quad core & Corsair brand RAM?
Comments
34
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speci 26 Jul 2010, 14:18
Can't really say much about the processor, but the Athlon II might be faster in games simply due to its higher clock speed, even if its a dual and not quad. What video card would you get it replaced with?
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Baggiez 26 Jul 2010, 14:22
460GTX 1024mb
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speci 26 Jul 2010, 14:24
With that second setup I would probably go with the HD5830 and have a solid card for awhile, its rapes most things at lower resolutions, will you be playing all the newest games?
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Baggiez 26 Jul 2010, 14:26
460GTX benchmarks are fine for dx11, I'm happy with that.

GPU isn't really the issue tbh. More interested in the CPU comparison
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speci 26 Jul 2010, 14:27
Well in that case, if you can get the second setup with the 2.9GHz quad, that will future proof from the dual and has the same high clock speed
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Baggiez 26 Jul 2010, 14:37
Option 1: £502 Option 2: £570

Case - Xigmatek Asgard - Antec 300
PSU - OCZ 600w II StealthXStream - same
CPU - AMD Athlon II X2 Dual 245 2.90GHz - X4 Quad 635 2.90GHz
Mobo - Gigabyte 760G DDR3 Motherboard - same
RAM - OCZ Gold 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz - Corsair XMS3 4GB
HDD - 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - same
GPU - Nvidia GTX 460 1024MB GDDR5 - same
Sound - ALC888B 8-channel High Definition - 7.1 something
Optical - LG GH22NS50 22x DVD±RW ReWriter - same


So the question is: Is it worth the extra £70 for quad core & Corsair brand RAM?
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zenix 26 Jul 2010, 15:28
no ocz is good brand aswell, no need to change it for corsair.
quad core is your own choice.
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speci 26 Jul 2010, 17:37
Sorry I was at work, as zenix said OCZ is a solid brand for RAM (and some power supplies and other stuff) but I personally have a 2GB kit of it, just as good. The processor is the only difference and if this is the only price class you have to work with I just have to ask, when/if you do you ever plan to upgrade it?
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Nemesis- 26 Jul 2010, 17:32
Ati fanboy
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speci 26 Jul 2010, 17:35
Among the best performance for the cost, soz
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pala 26 Jul 2010, 14:20
Not going to share my experience with you
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zenix 26 Jul 2010, 14:21
Phenom x4 9850 is first generation Phenom = shit
AMD Athlon II is the same like Phenom II, with no L3 cache.
If the motherboard will support it, maybe you can even unlock the Athlon II to quadcore most times it works, tho i am not sure if you can unlock this type. Some games allready support quad core, but many also don't. But i would use quad for future. And for motherboard, i would rather have motherboard with new sata 3.0 and USB 3.0. Something like 880G/GX/FX
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Baggiez 26 Jul 2010, 14:23
Benchmarks for the 4850 aren't bad? But it doesn't matter because I can't upgrade to that anyway.
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zenix 26 Jul 2010, 14:26
you mean 9850. It's just old gen tech, i would not put any money in it.
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chelmianin 26 Jul 2010, 15:27
dude, he is trying to say it's not an "upgrade"! don't take the first generation phenom even for free!
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speci 26 Jul 2010, 14:25
I was thinking the same, get USB 3.0 and SATA 6 GB/s but idk if they have a mobo there that offers it.
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zenix 26 Jul 2010, 14:31
it's not expensive to get one. Atleast SATA 3.0 would be nice, you can allways get pci-e card for USB 3.0
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speci 26 Jul 2010, 14:43
If he was building it himself, then yes, it isn't that expensive to get those, but hes not.
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ScarZy 26 Jul 2010, 14:51
Does USB 3.0 offer any advantages for pointing devices?
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zenix 26 Jul 2010, 15:26
I dont even know if there are USB 3.0 mouses yet, so it's hard to compare
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zzaps 26 Jul 2010, 14:25
I've got phenom II x4 940 harrrharr
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Kaizi 26 Jul 2010, 14:33
Who cares, you're gonna ban us anyways.
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hastaf 26 Jul 2010, 14:51
I got phenom II X2 555BE 3.2GHz (UNLOCKED) -> X4 3.2GHz
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mama 26 Jul 2010, 15:04
antec = win
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ironic 26 Jul 2010, 15:06
this is spam, give urself 15 warning points
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adetonian 26 Jul 2010, 15:40
For gaming, quadcore isnt needed. But I believe you also do Photography? And with for example Photoshop a quad core is a huge 'improvement'.

If its for gaming, get a dual core and overclock that(the money you save you can spent on either better cooling system or a better graphic card)
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zenix 26 Jul 2010, 15:57
There are some games allready supporting quad core, and there will be more games comming out supporting quad core. A good example is GTA IV, Crysis Farcry 2 etc. But most games that are on the markt now, work just as good with dual core. But it will change, AMD and Intel are adding more cores each year, hexacore is now here, and octocore will come next year.
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Baggiez 26 Jul 2010, 15:59
The man from OCUK is sorta right - it's not required currently but the first signs of multi-core processing are coming through eg BFBC2 and ports of games where the physics is slapped into a new thread instead of lumping it with the game engine thread. 
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adetonian 26 Jul 2010, 16:22
yea, true. If you want to play upcoming games on a decent way, id get I7 or something. Then get the best out there atm :P.
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Roach 26 Jul 2010, 16:20
RAM is fine. Are there any other cpu options ?
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chosen 26 Jul 2010, 16:45
get an intel quadcore, their latest generation rocks
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belto 26 Jul 2010, 17:09
combination intel/nvidia yes, amd/nvidia no, amd/ati yes.
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zenix 26 Jul 2010, 18:00
its no problem stop talking shit.
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hattivatti 26 Jul 2010, 18:14
1. Buy new computer
2. Ban people faster
3. ???
4. Profit!!!
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