Hey thar! First of all, I'm just a casual PC gamer cuz I've been playing games on my xbox360 & ps3 (and iphone, if that counts)..
However Starcraft 2 is coming very soon which left me no choice but to upgrade! :-s

This is my specs:



Needless to say, i can only play current games on low / lowest settings ..
According to above specs, will it do any good if I just upgrade my graphic card?
Budget is around RM400.

Please advise.
Thankies!

This post has been edited by fizyboy: Jul 19 2010, 12:04 AM

Yes, first and foremost you should upgrade your GC.

What is your PSU? Need to know this before suggesting a GC.

I see, so my Graphic Card is the bottle neck?

My PSU: ENERMAX 535Watt FMA Iron PSU

Which graphic card should I go for?
Will i be able to play on high setting after upgrade?
Please help Sifuu

This post has been edited by fizyboy: Jul 18 2010, 11:15 PM

your best bet would be the Sapphire HD5750 512MB, currently Thundermatch is selling it for RM410, not sure if they still have stock though. Otherwise go for GTS250 512MB, RM390 from Thundermatch too.

This post has been edited by phantomash: Jul 18 2010, 11:17 PM

Thank you phantomash, may I ask if i upgrade to either of those GC, will I be able to get decent frame rate playing Starcraft 2 on high setting?

On my current rig, i even feel lag playing HD movies on youtube, for heaven's sake!

HD Movies on youtube? did u use the latest flash player and updated ur graphics driver? anyways you do need a new graphic card..

You should get GTS250 man if you don't mind missing out on DX11..

I have 5770 with me and i felt abit disappointed due to the driver support and issues with games stuttering at start which would be gone after ahwhile.. Hopefully ATi resolves this issue with a new CCC update.. >.<

Yea im using the latest flash n driver but it still stinks big time! haha
Well I don't mind missing on DX11 cuz i just want best value for money. And I know newest graphic card cost a bomb n not really worth the buck.
Although i don't mind to top up a little bit more if I can get a better deal out of it.
Also, should I buy a second hand GC or a new one?
Besides my GC, which one is holding back its performance?

Your mobo is awesome man. I think E6400 @ 3.0GHz is possible without even touching vcore. For GC, just get HD 4850 @ RM299

Ops sorry, its E6300 not E6400.. my bad, typo error on my part.
And you know whats funny, i bought a decent OC mobo when i don't know anything abt OC-ing (or too chicken to do it)!

DX11 aside, HD5750 have slightly better performance than both the HD4850 and GTS250, while consuming much less power, and also runs at lower temperature.
The only problem is finding the Sapphire 512MB version, as this card is getting out of stock in many stores.
The 1GB version although is easily available but it does not offer much more performance boost while costing about RM50+- more.

This post has been edited by phantomash: Jul 19 2010, 12:13 AM

+1
TS, better get HD5750 instead of HD4850 or GTS250...but most shops only selling 1GB version...maybe u can try ur luck finding in garage sale...

My suggestion:

Upgrade ur graphic card. with budget around rm400. u can get ATI HD 4850 or ATI HD 5570 or 5670. at my place ATI HD 5750 oso is selling at rm399

u can always check the new pricelist in garage sales.

rm400??


hd 5750 is best buy now coz price just dropped RM100 from previous RM500!

ASUS Formula 5750 1GB - RM 399. Bought at C-ZONE yesterday in Digital Mall.

I think GPU companies has started to dropped their prices in anticipation of the GTX-460 onslaught.

Better grab while u can...coz some places like ALL IT has run out of stock. According to the CZONE dude, ASUS having promotion. I see other 1GB 5750 still expensive...Gigabyte still selling at RM510.

This post has been edited by Matrix: Jul 19 2010, 07:20 AM

, HD 5750 then. And don't forget to overclock that E6300 to 2800MHz (7x400fsb)

OK HD 5750 it is! I'm still looking at GS but have yet to find a brand new HD5750 for RM400 or below. Mostly still around RM500
1GB HD5750 for RM399 is a very good deal indeed. I will try calling up CZone later on and see if they still have stock.

This post has been edited by fizyboy: Jul 19 2010, 10:00 AM

If you can't find 5750, HD 4850 @ RM299 is also a very good card. Faster than 512MB 5750 & a bit cheaper as well............duit lebih can invest on Hyper 212+ for your E6300

This post has been edited by azzrul: Jul 19 2010, 10:30 AM

I wouldn't recommend 4850...1GB 5750 performs better than 4850...and use less power, cooler and physically smaller. I sold my 4850 a week or two ago...

Ya la, 1GB 5750 @ RM399 is definitely a steal.....but very hard to find woooooooo....

yeah, very hard to find it. In Ipoh, there is only 1 shop dat sell at this price. other shop >rm400

if u lucky , can get <rm400

Try CZONE at Digital Mall, i think still have. ALL IT habis liao.....ASUS wanna clear stock b4 price drop...I think price drop for 5750/5770 is very soon oready, so ASUS clear it off b4 the rest follow.... Lowyat i dunno, didn't go there very long time. Very jam. dun wanna go.

U are not from KL/Selangor? I think other towns won't find this cheap price usually...maybe only after a general official price drop then it'll reach other places later.

I just called up CZone and they said still have 2 units left but more stock might arrive today 4-5 units left @ lowyat branch.
I'm planing to drop by tomorrow.. don't you guys dare to buy from them before i get mine first!!

I am going there later to sapu all. You want? RM450. LOL.

Ehehe! i dah beli!
I was wondering why ASUS called it EAH5750 Formula
Now I know! They designed the fan like a sporty car / Formula F1 LOlz




Anyways, i will post 3DMark score before & after installing the card................ when i get the time to do it that is.. >_>
Stay tuned~

Congrats...we are in same group now...lol.

Thanks Matrix

Here's the 3DMarks06 benchmark result

Previously with 7600GS, I scored 2494
With ATI ASUS EAH5750, I got 7645 (7395 without HyperDrive enabled)

I also tried the FFXIV official benchmark software and scored 1895, which is also a significant improvement from previous 432 result

(eik! it IS Core2Duo 6400! >.<, i tot i made a typo.. oh well i'm turning old.. sudah nyanyuk aiyak!)

Nowhere close to other crazy scores with their uber expensive rig, but hey i think i'm pretty satisfied with the 4 times performance boost.. i only spent less than 400 bucks afterall XD
Not to mention i can play Settlers 7 on MAX setting on highest resolution supported by my monitor now with all special effects turned on whereas before this I can only play on lowest setting on lowest resolution with all effects turned off

Thank you all sifu for helping me out
Much appreciated!

This post has been edited by fizyboy: Jul 24 2010, 07:34 PM

Overclock that C2D to 2.8GHz and your 3D Mark score will jump to 10+++ ............

Serious?? How? Where to start learning about OC-ing my 6400?
any links?

woa the graphic looks like a f1 car very attractive.

Try here

http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Hardware...965-ds3/11.html

I'm back with some questions!
I'm able to run at high setting but i think Starcraft 2 is such a great game that i must enjoy the campaign at its all glory ultra setting!

and referring to this article, Phenom II X2 seems like a good value for money..

So my question is, Is it worth it if i were to upgrade my processor to

PHENOM II X2 555 (RM 319)

which budget motherboard is recommended for it?
Any incompatibility with my other hardware / is my power supply good enough?

Tenkiu!

Get an e5400 and OC it to 4Ghz...cheap and good...

Hmm interesting.. but I'm no good at OC-ing besides i'd rather spend RM500 knowing it will last for another 2-3 years instead of wasting RM200 on the same C2D upgrade

No need to know anything. Set everything auto. Just set FSB to 333, memory speed to ur memory specs (etc: 800Mhz), and the clock multiplier to 12. That's it! ....but of course depends on ur mobo also....my Gigabyte EP45-UD3P mobo is great...OC very easy...no need to know any other parameters...LOL...Since u already on C2D, which model?? U probably just need a good cooler like a CM V6-GT.

If u upgrade, why don't choose the i3? It's better than the 955, slightly more expensive only...and can O/C to 4Ghz at least i think.

This post has been edited by Matrix: Aug 4 2010, 11:02 AM

Which i3 cpu are u talking here? I never read a review b4 showing a 2c/4t i3 beating a 4c/4t 955 b4.. Are u sure ur not talking bout i5?

Opps...my mistake...typo...555 not 955.

According to the Starcraft 2 chart provided above, Starcraft 2 is so crap that it only know how to use 2 cores....frankly, not impressed...a brand new RTS released today should be able to use 4 cores at least.

Maybe i'll install tonight and test it out...hehe.

This post has been edited by Matrix: Aug 4 2010, 11:40 AM

Yup, i was disappointed also, can't believe a game that i had waited for 12 years is optimized for only 2 cores
Other RTS like CoH & Supreme Commander released like 2 years ago already support more than 2 cores

i3 is a good processor with improper priced.
I recommend Athlon II x4 635 instead of i3.
Reason :
-> True 4 cores
-> Gaming performance is same with i3 but less bottlenecking on high end graphic card (i3 is just only to provide juice to HD5770)
-> Can pair with DDR2 mobo
-> LGA1156 is going to be replaced by LGA1155

Source to backup your claims??

Anyway, TS only wanna plays Starcraft. Quadcores not supported. And it don't need very high end GPU either....basically SC2 is a technically low-end requirement game that looks more like 2 years late in terms of technology.... But i do agree with the platform replacement...dunno what intel is thinking, the i series barely started and now wanna replace them......for that a vote to AMD for better platform keeping longevity...dunno if AMD has AM4 in the works or not though.

This post has been edited by Matrix: Aug 4 2010, 05:10 PM

12 years?

my e8400 4.2ghz is good enough for SC2~

now waiting for diablo 3~ (dunno need to wait how long )

hmm maybe upgrading mobo + processor is not a good idea right now..
i mean, what if the expansion support more than 2 cores..
then this upgrade would look pretty pointless..
also, if i change my mobo, do i have to upgrade from ddr2 to ddr3 ram?

guess I should try overclocking my E6400 afterall..
found and printed out this guide: http://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/503808-i...verclock-e6400/ which seems pretty easy to understand..
how much is the CM V6-GT? i doubt that i know how to install it

also im planning to upgrade my ram to 4GB since its quite cheap nowdays.. as mentioned in the first page, currently im on 2x 1GB HyperX PC6400 DDR800 CL4-4-4 .. 2 more slot left.. so should i buy 2x1GB or just 1x2gb? which one i should go for and good for overclocking & compatible with my current RAM?

KINGSTON PC667 (1gb: RM68, 2gb: RM127)
KINGSTON PC800 (1gb: RM68, 2gb: RM127)
KINGSTON KHX8500D2K2 2GB (2gb: RM209)

im using windows xp sp3 btw..
Thank you so much for helping newbies like me!

This post has been edited by fizyboy: Aug 5 2010, 12:14 AM

I think better find Hyper TX3 la. Cheaper & very easy to pasang......




2GB RAM is more than enough already for XP.......better spend that money for a good cooler

CM V6-GT..retails for RM230 at C-ZONE...but i got discount ....RM215. LOL.

It's very easy to install, it is compatible with socket 775, AM3 and the intel i series. So you can re-use it next time u upgrade. For socket 775 very easy, but you need to take out ur mobo first. Generally:
(1) Take out mobo from casing.
(2) Take out the 2 fans from the heatsink (clip on only, no screws needed!) But take note of the direction of the fans for the airflow.
(3) Put the 775 backplate under the mobo.
(4) Put the 2 pieces of top plate on top of the mobo.
(5) Use the 4 screws and screw from bottom to up. So backplate holds the two pieces of top plate.
(6) Put mobo back to casing. Apply silicon gel to heatsink.
(7) Put middle plate (whatever u call it) across the bottom of heatsink connector and hold it to the top plates previously.
(8) Screw it in using a provided nut..the screw is very easy to use...has springs to prevent overscrew.
(9) Snap in the two fans (make sure airflow direction is correct).
(10) Connect the two fan cables together (cables provided) so they both can go into a single CPU fan header on the mobo.
(11) Connect the lights cable to a 4 pin power molex (this is only for the lights... )

May sounds complicated, but quite easy actually, hardest part is (5) when u need to hold the backplate and align with the top plate to screw in the top plates holder. After that, it's a breeze.
Oh IMPORTANT: Make sure you connect any cables around the CPU area...like the 4 pin/12v power plug first before installing the cooler (b4 step (7) ). otherwise, you'll have very little space to put your finger around anywhere there...this thing is gigantic!!!


2GB is enough, my advise is don't go with different kind of RAMs if u intend to OC might cause a lot of problems.

This post has been edited by Matrix: Aug 5 2010, 09:41 AM