Need Help Upgrading

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VeNoM56k

Member
Ive probably put this in the wrong place. Sorry if i have,

So. I bought a pc from PCS before xmas and am looking to upgrade it a bit due to having some spare money. Ill post my specs below.

CPU: Phenom II X4 980 BE (with a titan fenrir evo extreme heatpipe cpu cooler)

Graphics Card: GTX 560ti

Motherboard: ASUS M5A97

RAM: 16BG Kingston HyperX Genesis (1600Mhz)

PSU: Corsair TX650

HD: seagate Barricuda 650gb

Case: In Win Fanqua

Ive just ordered a new GTX 670, but im afraid it might get held back by my CPU and/or Mobo. I dont know much about the hardware side of computers which is why im asking on here.

Im willing to dish out the money to upgrade if i need.

I was looking at the AMD FX-4170. Just wondering if it would be worth buying. Also i have absolutely no idea about Mobos so would need help with a new one aswell if i needed it.

Ive been getting told by a friend to switch to intel as their CPUs are supposed to be alot better for gaming, is this true? and would the change by worth it. If so what Mobo/CPU would you recommend, one that would go with the rest of the parts i already have.

Any help is greatly appreciated.
 
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Corfate

Corfate

Author Level
If moneys no problem, you could flog your old mobo and cpu, then go to intel :) Im sure you won't be held back substantially by your cpu and mobo though :)

I really like my MSI-Z77A-GD55 mobo and my 3570k :)
 
vanthus

vanthus

Member Resting in Peace
Upgrading the GPU to a 670 is an excellent choice.
As far as gaming goes,upgrading the CPU or motherboard would just be a waste of time & money.
 
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VeNoM56k

Member
Thanks alot guys. I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't be held back. I went with the OC'd gigabyte windforce 670, as from reading the reviews it seemed it was the better choice with the temps and noise being excellent on it.

I'm going to wait a while then before upgrading my CPU, i'lll probs go intel unless the new Piledriver i have been hearing about is as good as they say(and priced good).

Do you think i should upgrade my Hard Drive then? i don't know how good the Barricuda is but i don't think it is by any means great. Im not really interested in a SSD yet so would anyone have a recommendation of a good one to use a my primary one and make the Barricuda my secondary.

Also if i get a new HD can i do a complete transfer of the old one to the new one. So that i wont have to re-install windows or any of my stuff again.

Thanks for all the help so far guys, I really appreciate it. I'll give you all rep now for the help. :)
 
keynes

keynes

Multiverse Poster
I went with the OC'd gigabyte windforce 670
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Good choice :)
Also if i get a new HD can i do a complete transfer of the old one to the new one. So that i wont have to re-install windows or any of my stuff again.
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I know there are software that allows you to clone your HDD (Acronis) that allows you to copy your HDD without reinstalling the OS and application but I have never used it, I'd always do a clean installation of the OS in a new HDD just for piece of mind.
 
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tom_gr7

tom_gr7

Life Serving
It can be a bit of a pain trying to transfer OS's and everything installed on ya drives, I looked at doing and to cut a long unsuccessful story short I just had to do a clean install.

On other notes, If you were to get an ssd, they are pretty cheap at the moment a 60 gb drive is more than big enough for your OS, or 120gb if ya wanna pop ya fave game on there.

With the low price of ssd's I think its certainly worth considering.
 
vanthus

vanthus

Member Resting in Peace
VeNoM56k said:
Also if i get a new HD can i do a complete transfer of the old one to the new one. So that i wont have to re-install windows or any of my stuff again.
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You can move a windows 7 install from your old hard drive to your new one.
I've already done this twice on my new computer without a hitch,after two hard drive changes.
Windows7 Is very capable of moving your full system without any other software.You will need a third hard drive though,large enough to store the image It can be internal or external.
You can only do a system image recovery to a drive that is the same size or larger than the one the system image was created from. You will not be able to do a system image recovery to a smaller drive with windows own backup utility,To transfer the system to a smaller drive you would need something like Acronis or norton ghost.
To create a system image backup go to Control Panel > Backup and Restore > Create a system image.
If your moving the system to a larger hard disk it will create an identically sized partition of your old hard drive but once you boot into your new installation you can easy have the Disk management "extend" the drive space.
All you have to do is right click on 'Computer' > Manage > Disk Management > Right click on the partition that holds the OS/select "extend volume".
It is best to replace the old hard drive with the new one to make sure everything is set up ok,then you can put your old drive back in and format it from the OS on the new hard drive by going to "computer" right click on the old drive and select format.
 
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Corfate

Corfate

Author Level
On the 60GB SSD front, i have a 60GB onewith all programs and OS on it, still got 24Gigs left :)
 
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VeNoM56k

Member
Thanks for the replies. I may actually go with an SSD now. Can anyone recommend a good one?

And thanks for the detailed explanation of how to do the HD transfer. If I go with a SSD I'll probs just do a fresh install but i know a friend lookin to do it aswell.
 
tom_gr7

tom_gr7

Life Serving
I've got a corsair force gt 120gb and its pretty ace!

I'd either go corsair or kingston hyper x k. Intel are good too but cost a bit more unfortunately
 
keynes

keynes

Multiverse Poster
tom_gr7 said:
I've got a corsair force gt 120gb and its pretty ace!

I'd either go corsair or kingston hyper x k. Intel are good too but cost a bit more unfortunately
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How much is the corsair force gt 120gb? Intel 330 SSD 120gb is around £83 including delivery
 
tom_gr7

tom_gr7

Life Serving
rubensolo said:
How much is the corsair force gt 120gb? Intel 330 SSD 120gb is around £83 including delivery
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the force GT is about 95 quid, but I think its a touch/quite a bit faster than the 330.

The standard corsair force 3 120gb is about 80 quid, as are a whole range of other ssd's! ocz, sandisk, crucial,
 
tom_gr7

tom_gr7

Life Serving
[video=youtube;HuOq8A2PZwM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuOq8A2PZwM&feature=player_detailpage[/video]
 
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VeNoM56k

Member
First of all i really appreciate all the help you have given me. The people on this forum are great as i got a lot of help when configuring my computer aswell before buying it. I have nothing but good things to say about PCS and have gotten a few people to buy from here aswell.

After doing a bit of reading from your recommendations i might go with the corsair force gt 120gb.

I would just like to ask one more thing if its ok. How hard is it to install the SSD. Like would i be able to do it myself or should i get someone to do it? Also from what ive read, Should i completely remove my old HD, put in the SSD, install windows on it, then put back in the old one, and format it. Also, when i have the SSD in place, do i just put my windows disc in and it installs normally or do i have to do something first. I have no experience with adding new hardware so have no clue. lol.
 
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