Motherboard and CPU Upgrade Recommendations

[SuperBeatBoy]

Thanks, that sealed the deal for me.

[SuperBeatBoy]

All my parts arrived today, did get them from that site in the end. Speedy service, they just need to improve their website. Will be using them again.

Only now got where i like my Windows to be. Can't wait to start messing with it.

[SuperBeatBoy]

Right might have some spare cash from my purchase on my new graphics card, so i might buy some extra ram. Just wondering as i have 2x2gb ram, if i get 2x4gb. Will the 2x2gb and the others still work in dual channel?

[abigsmurf]

So long as you've got 4 slots and make sure you pair them up in the right ones, yep.

[SuperBeatBoy]

Currently thinking about this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2GB-AMD-Radeon...item1c1a42a4e2

What does it mean by 2gb and 1gb. I really wouldn't mind having a 2gb graphics card more than anything just for the added vram.

[eastyy]

dunno if the extra gig of ram would be worth the extra money...i have a 2gb 460 and to be honest not really that much different to a 1gig version

might be at extremely high resolutions though

oh by the way the cpu and stuff you got how is it running and did it manage to unlock ?

[SuperBeatBoy]

Its running great, huge step up from what i had before. I didn't bother unlocking or over-clocking it as i don't think i really need to quite yet. The stock fan that came with it was quite shocking though, jesus it was one super loud mofo. So I replaced it with a Zalman CNPS10X Performa.

The reason I'm thinking of getting the 2gb version is because any mods or hi-res texture packs I get in the future would benefit from the extra vram. You need at least 1gb for the texture pack for DA2 and the morrowind overhaul package uses quite the amount too. I guess i'm just future proofing myself for Skyrim & The Witcher 2.

[NW2013]

Is that card you linked to on eBay actually 2GB though? The description says 2GB and 1GB and the 'dedicated memory' section on the spec only says 1GB as well.

[mezzanine]

Don't go for a £200+ 6870 (esp one with a 1 year warranty like that ebay link) when you can get a 6950 for a few quid less (at http://www.overclockers.co.uk for example).

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/290?vs=293

Is that card you linked to on eBay actually 2GB though? The description says 2GB and 1GB and the 'dedicated memory' section on the spec only says 1GB as well.

LOL. 'Hypermemory'.

Pathetic.

[SuperBeatBoy]

Is there a particular version of the 6950 you would recommend? I'm willing to pay up to £250.

[mezzanine]

The one at OCuk on today only would be a good choice. It's a V1 card which can be unlocked if you wanted to try, the stock cooler is decent and a two year warranty isn't bad.
If you want to try a v2 2GB card with a different cooler you could try this one. I doubt it's worth the extra though.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-113-MS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752

There's no point paying near £250 for a 6950. Once you're paying that much you might as well look at the next lot of higher end Nvidia/ATI cards.

[eastyy]

well i think a 6950 would be good enough checking some benchmarks at http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/293?vs=292 about 5fps the difference which is hardly a huge difference

[abigsmurf]

The amount of RAM you need in a gfx card comes largely down to your monitor.

If you want to be playing games at under 1080P, I believe the extra ram offers little benefit. Could be wrong but I'm sure there are benchmarks floating around showing the difference as minimal until the ultra high resolutions where the lack of ram bottlenecks the cards.

[mezzanine]

well i think a 6950 would be good enough checking some benchmarks at http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/293?vs=292 about 5fps the difference which is hardly a huge difference

Sure. It's not worth it and if you can unlock the extra shaders on a v1 6950 it's even less of a difference.

[SuperBeatBoy]

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...-256-SP&tool=3 The reviews on this seem to say that its easy to unlock. Hmmmm.