PC Upgrade

[erjohnz]

Hello, I'm just new here and I'm upgrading my 5 year old PC. (E5300 DC, 9400GT and DDR2 RAM)

1. What YOUR PC will be used for.
- Mostly gaming.

2. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread.
- I don't understand the 20% spread thing.
- GPU = Php 9,000 ($205)
- CPU = Php 9,000 ($205)
- MoBo = Php 6,000 ($136) or something cheaper...
- PSU = I'm not sure, depends on the build.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
- Philippines.

4. IF YOU have a brand preference.
- I'm ok with anything.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
- My monitor, keyboard, mouse and casing.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
- Yes, but it only helped a little.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
- Nope. Don't know don't care. I'm ok with the CPU & GPU's default speeds.

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?
- Hopefully next year, when I get money.

9. What resolution do you use?
- 1360x768, I don't have any plans on upgrading it. I feel kinda dizzy on big screens.

I was thinking about:
Intel Core i5-2400
A decent/cheap P67 Mobo
Sapphire Radeon HD 6870
2x2GB 1600MHz

I don't plans on having a Z68 board since I won't be using an SSD.
Some says that the 6870 is overkill for that resolution, they prefer to use a 5770. Well, for me, I like overkill and I want to play games with atleast 50+ FPS (even if my monitor is 60Hz only). I play mostly FPS games & MMORPGs, I seldom play RTS games.

Philippine Peso exchange rate to U.S. Dollars:
Philippine Peso Exchange Rate - Currency Converter

Thank you and Happy New Year~!

[sswilson]

With current pricing (that might be changing soon) on memory, I've personally moved up to 2 X 4G sticks for all of my builds. It just doesn't make sense to save $10 - $15 by not doubling up on your ram.

[frontier204]

I don't see anything about the power supply: if you are feeding a Quad Core that draws ~90W and GPU that draws ~160W, you will want a good one so you don't have a fire.
An Antec, Seasonic, Corsair, Silverstone, or power supply manufactured by OEMs Delta or SuperFlower would be good. Aim for a ~500W power supply that has the two PCI-E plugs you will need, although if you are not overclocking even a 450W will be fine if you can find one with the appropriate connectors. I don't know what shops you have access to, so you can post the power supplies you find and we can have a look.

If you only play RPG and FPS, the 2400 even at stock will be fine unless the game you play is badly programmed. If you're not overclocking, then any motherboard which supports that CPU will be fine: I usually aim for the company who has the best support (e.g. if they have a repair depot in your country). You can even go for a H61 or H67 motherboard if you wish, as it doesn't seem you will be going to multiple GPUs.

[jdm89]

I'm actually studying in the Philippines right now, are you buying your computer parts from http://www.tipidpc.com ?
I would go for the 2500k if you can stretch your budget so you can overclock later if you like, its 9500 php TipidPC.com | Intel i5-2500K 3.30GHz 6MB Cache LGA1155
go for the biostar mobo which can be had for around 5300 php or less, the biostar TZ68K+ TipidPC.com | Mobo, 1155, Biostar, TZ68K+, Brandnew
for the gpu if you could stretch your budget to 10000php you can find a used 6950 2gb or a brand new 560 ti / 6950 1gb
as for the psu I agree with frontier204 any of those brands would do fine and a good 500 watt would do fine.

[erjohnz]

Originally Posted by frontier204

I don't see anything about the power supply: if you are feeding a Quad Core that draws ~90W and GPU that draws ~160W, you will want a good one so you don't have a fire.
An Antec, Seasonic, Corsair, Silverstone, or power supply manufactured by OEMs Delta or SuperFlower would be good. Aim for a ~500W power supply that has the two PCI-E plugs you will need, although if you are not overclocking even a 450W will be fine if you can find one with the appropriate connectors. I don't know what shops you have access to, so you can post the power supplies you find and we can have a look.

If you only play RPG and FPS, the 2400 even at stock will be fine unless the game you play is badly programmed. If you're not overclocking, then any motherboard which supports that CPU will be fine: I usually aim for the company who has the best support (e.g. if they have a repair depot in your country). You can even go for a H61 or H67 motherboard if you wish, as it doesn't seem you will be going to multiple GPUs.

I'm buying from this site:
http://www.tipidpc.com/useritems.php...Oxvor_Cellular

Is this H61 motherboard good? 'cause it's really cheap. ($60)
TipidPC.com | mobo lga1155, Asrock H61M-HVS B3 motherboard intel

Or would I benefit more from a H67 motherboard like: ($110)
ASUSTeK Computer Inc. - Motherboards- ASUS P8H67-M LE

Which of these PSUs be okay for the HD 6870?
Does it have the appropriate connectors? I'm really not good at PSUs.
TipidPC.com | psu, Antec Basiq Series BP500U 500 watts 80plus power supply ($55)
TipidPC.com | psu, Antec VP550P VP550 550 watts 80% efficiency power supply ($55)

Originally Posted by jdm89

I'm actually studying in the Philippines right now, are you buying your computer parts from http://www.tipidpc.com ?
I would go for the 2500k if you can stretch your budget so you can overclock later if you like, its 9500 php TipidPC.com | Intel i5-2500K 3.30GHz 6MB Cache LGA1155
go for the biostar mobo which can be had for around 5300 php or less, the biostar TZ68K+ TipidPC.com | Mobo, 1155, Biostar, TZ68K+, Brandnew
for the gpu if you could stretch your budget to 10000php you can find a used 6950 2gb or a brand new 560 ti / 6950 1gb
as for the psu I agree with frontier204 any of those brands would do fine and a good 500 watt would do fine.

Yes, I'll be buying from that site.
I'm not going to get "K" CPUs since I won't be overclocking.
You know, I really want to stretch my GPU budget to Php 10,000, but since I really have to buy a new PSU to replace my generic one, I really can't.

[frontier204]

Either motherboard should do just fine. Keep in mind that you'll want RAM at DDR3 1333 to make sure it will work - getting DDR3 1600 or higher is a waste of money on those boards since they don't support that speed.
You need two PCI-E 6-pin connectors for a Radeon 6870, so pick the 550W Antec which has the appropriate connectors.
The FSP Hexa unit on that page may also work as FSP is a decent OEM, but I can't be sure unless I see the label that shows how much current it can provide.
TipidPC.com | psu, FSP Hexa 500 watts 80% efficiency power supply