Advice Please !

[Stang]

Hey Guys,

My buddy has an HP system he is looking to upgrade for BF3. Follow the link he provided below for system specs.

I'm thinking He will need Power Supply, Ram and a GPU. (PS spec is not shown, but I'm sure it will be undersized for an upgrade)

Can you guys recommend some affordable options that will not be overkill for his Q6700 CPU ??


http://www.d-a-l.com/hardware-scanner/app/results.php?id=44778cff6ae0a495a90672e63e766378

Thanks,

[supaflyx3]

no sense in upgrading the ram, since his mobo only supports 4GB.
GPU: 560ti or maybe a used 480
PSU: TX750 or something along those lines.

[_dangtx_]

i say start from scratch. sell or use that hp for something else.

2500k build with a 6950 should do well.

[EmptyMellon]

Based on the HP support page this model (HP Pavilion Media Center m8425f PC (KJ295AA) specifications - HP Home & Home Office Products), says that the ASUS mobo has 4 DIMMs, but he is still probably limited by the OS, unless it is a 64-bit OS (though, he could max out the RAM to 4GB, even with a 32-bit OS).

As for a PSU upgrade he should not need anything over 650 Watt.

[7NationArmy]

GTX 560Ti is definitely the way to go, and really any 650 watt supply will be plenty. Just be sure to get one with a nice fan because any smaller cheaper ones might get a little warm in that HP case and start to get loud. I would recommend and Corsair or CoolerMaster PSU at or above 65oW from personal experience. Also go modular if u can, i used to have a GTX 260 in my HP case and all the extra wires from the PSU used to insulate it. But that's optional. Try to get a card the exhausts externally as well instead of one of those dual fan options. This will keep your case temperatures down.

You'd probably be better off investing in a new hard drive than better RAM for that motherboard.

BTW if he decides to build a new rig Newegg.ca has an EVGA micro SLI motherboard on sale this afternoon very cheap right on the homepage!!!

[GT7R]

IMHO, do not invest in that HP, build yourself a new (probably 2500K)rig.

[Bond007]

IMO either build a new rig from scratch (2500k, 560ti/hd6950 based), or if money is tight go for just a power supply and video card (that way they can be transferred to a new build down the road). I wouldn't put any money into ram etc that couldn't go in a new rig. You didn't give a budget, so I would say best bang for buck is any quality power supply 600+ watts and a gtx 560ti or hd 6950 (these will likely be bottlenecked by the CPU). Can recommend some PSU if you don't know which are good, or can amend the recommended parts if budget doesn't allow them or if he is after a smaller upgrade to make the game playable vice maxed graphics.

EDIT: A decent upgrade for graphics that would be more $ friendly would be hd 5770/6770/6850/ or gtx 460 768mb/1gb (better to not get an SE model). and any quality >500w PSU.

I don't know how demanding BF3 is, so these are just my opinions on money well spent.