Upgrading work/gaming PC - Crit my rig!
greentooth
There's been alot of hardware talk in the Sandy Bridge thread, but I wanted to get some opinions on my own upgrade, and possibly turn this into a Hardware/upgrade thread if anyone else wants to throw around specs and prices! 
My current PC is about 4 years old, give or take the odd replacement along the way. But the big two, my CPU and GFX card, have been with me since 2007. Console's have kept game specs down enough that it can still play new releases on my tiny 1440 x 900 monitor, but it's really chugging under heavy 3d and graphics work.
The OLD
The NEW
My questions are:
How big a difference is the i5 2500 from the 2400? is .20 Ghz really worth it?
Will 550 watts power this fine?
Does anyone have any tips on good, 22/23" monitors for under £200?
So, anybody see any problems?
My current PC is about 4 years old, give or take the odd replacement along the way. But the big two, my CPU and GFX card, have been with me since 2007. Console's have kept game specs down enough that it can still play new releases on my tiny 1440 x 900 monitor, but it's really chugging under heavy 3d and graphics work.
The OLD
- Gigabyte GA-EP45
- 2x1GB DDR2 RAM
- Core 2 Duo E6550 2.33GHz
- nVidia 8800 GTS
The NEW
- Asus P8P67
- 2x4GB DDR3 RAM
- Core i5 2400 3.10GHz
- Gainward GTX 460 SE
My questions are:
How big a difference is the i5 2500 from the 2400? is .20 Ghz really worth it?
Will 550 watts power this fine?
Does anyone have any tips on good, 22/23" monitors for under £200?
So, anybody see any problems?
Replies
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007617%20600030617%204017&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Order=RATING&PageSize=20
I'm sure the baking/render time will be significantly faster.
Wattage calculator http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine
monitor! http://compare.ebay.com/like/220721320063?var=lv<yp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&rvr_id=206244057220&crlp=1_263602_309572&UA=%3F*S%3F&GUID=fb99882312c0a06c1af30513ff4db73b&itemid=220721320063&ff4=263602_309572
It's a good place to buy stuff from if you're in the UK. The monitor I've linked is a really nice one. I picked out 2 of these for my brother's PC I built for him. The picture quality is fantastic.
Although we had a problem with one of the screens we bought, Iiyama has first class customer support. They sent out someone to pick up the monitor and replace it.
Hope that helps, there's other monitors on that site aswell. If your willing to spent £230, you can get a 27" monitor!
Yep Zac I've been told as much!
Cheers for the links guys, some nice stuff to read while I eat!
Delivery is super quick too, I ordered my latest build about 5PM one day, and it arrived before 12 Noon the following day.
With regards to monitors, I've always been really impressed with Samsung. I've got a 21" Syncmaster which I've had for about 3 years and has been great, and recently got one of these:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-P2450H-24-inch-Widescreen-Monitor/dp/B002DPYQSW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1296592452&sr=8-1
Also really good.
I've got a similar setup to what you're going for except I picked up a 2600 i7 instead, (and my GPU is ASUS but still a 260) and it's insanely quick, I'm running a 650W PSU so I'd have thought you'd be fine with a 550. I'd recommend Corsair PSU's too, I've built 3 machines with TX650's and they're fantastic. You also get a nice velvet drawstring bag with them which you can then use to store all your leftover Sata cables / driver discs
Overclockers uk have a wide range of plasma, Lcd/lcd led backlits ect.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=17&catid=949