$180 - What to buy for my computer?

linkin

linkin

VIP Member
Another one of these threads. I have $180 to spend on my computer (had $130 but got another $50 woot.) Preferably from www.pccasegear.com.au and including shipping. Analyse what you think would be best for my rig and post a link.

So far I'm thinking a Samsung F3 1TB but that's all I can think of :o

Merry Christmas everyone
 
Hmm... I was thinking of getting a better screen, but an SSD would work. Maybe I just need more money :P
 
:D

Yeah that'd [SpinPoint F3] be better than two slow WD blues, unless you RAID them?

It's kind of tricky with your rig, everything is pretty balanced.
I guess if you sold the Athlon and got a Phenom II 955 BE you would see a decent performance increase. How's things in the peripherals department?

EDIT: Hmm actually seeing as you don't have an SSD...
 
To be honest, any major upgrade from here will need a new PSU. That one is of dubious quality and only (at max) has around 37A on the 12V rail.

I would be upgrading that PSU with some of the money.

The Corsair 650W will provide 52A on the 12V rail of quality power. $79

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

Then spend the rest on a small SSD such as this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233122

Put your OS and apps on it, run the rest with storage. Massive performance boost, plus reliable quality power for that next GPU upgrade.
 
bigfellla said:
To be honest, any major upgrade from here will need a new PSU. That one is of dubious quality and only (at max) has around 37A on the 12V rail.

I would be upgrading that PSU with some of the money.

The Corsair 650W will provide 52A on the 12V rail of quality power. $79

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

Then spend the rest on a small SSD such as this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233122

Put your OS and apps on it, run the rest with storage. Massive performance boost, plus reliable quality power for that next GPU upgrade.
Click to expand...

AUD, can't use newegg, and his PSU has been stable for months on the current system. I agree, it isn't the best, but an upgrade isn't needed, and throwing an SSD in tehre wouldn't put any extra strain on the unit, they draw so little power.

I would agree with the what that Nev put up. A 955 would be nice, however the performance increase isn't really all that great except in video editing/converting, code compilation, CPU intensive tasks basically, for games, watching films/listening to music, multitasking and every day tasks, the current CPU is plenty enough
 
@bigfellla,You really dislike OCZs Power supplies don't you :D,You said mine was crap and now Linkins.
He wont change the PSU because he just recently got it,and to be honest id have to disagree with you because ive had mine over 2 years now and its still going strong....were all entitled to our opinions though.

But like i said i think a SSD drive would be his best next upgrade path,He could change his CPU and get some boost,But his Hard drive will always be the bottleneck no matter what.
 
linkin said:
Hmm... I was thinking of getting a better screen, but an SSD would work. Maybe I just need more money :P
Click to expand...

I wouldn't buy a SSD yet. Wait 2 months then buy it as the new Intel drives are coming out and possibly the new Sandforce drives. Should drop prices quite well and 25nm is suppose to be 50% less costly to produce so in theory a 120GB drive for $240 now should be $120 (though it will be a bit higher due to release) but people will be selling their SSD for cheap :P Also note on the sandforce drives you lose 20% space right off the bat or you lose a lot of performance. So you will only get 45GB of space to play with after you partition the drive up.


Also why does everyone say "buy a blu-ray" its useless and I have never met anyone that actually has one let alone a blu-ray player. Sounds like Sony propaganda ~_~
 
@Twist,To be honest i cant see current SSDs we have out now going down all that much at all,The newer Sandforce ones thats comming out soon will just be so expensive....its not all about manufacturing costs....its about greed and retailers will charge over the top because they can!

I think they will hold their price.
 
bigfellla said:
To be honest, any major upgrade from here will need a new PSU. That one is of dubious quality and only (at max) has around 37A on the 12V rail.

I would be upgrading that PSU with some of the money.

The Corsair 650W will provide 52A on the 12V rail of quality power. $79

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

Then spend the rest on a small SSD such as this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233122

Put your OS and apps on it, run the rest with storage. Massive performance boost, plus reliable quality power for that next GPU upgrade.
Click to expand...

Aastii said:
AUD, can't use newegg, and his PSU has been stable for months on the current system. I agree, it isn't the best, but an upgrade isn't needed, and throwing an SSD in tehre wouldn't put any extra strain on the unit, they draw so little power.

I would agree with the what that Nev put up. A 955 would be nice, however the performance increase isn't really all that great except in video editing/converting, code compilation, CPU intensive tasks basically, for games, watching films/listening to music, multitasking and every day tasks, the current CPU is plenty enough
Click to expand...

I was thinking about a Silvestone Strider 600w.

Russ88765 said:
Phenom II 965: http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=187_345&products_id=12293

or

Lite-On blu-ray writer w/ lightscribe support: http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=658_667&products_id=16031

or

Samsung 18.5" led monitor: http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=558_1092&products_id=15697
Click to expand...

Nevakonaza said:
@bigfellla,You really dislike OCZs Power supplies don't you :D,You said mine was crap and now Linkins.
He wont change the PSU because he just recently got it,and to be honest id have to disagree with you because ive had mine over 2 years now and its still going strong....were all entitled to our opinions though.

But like i said i think a SSD drive would be his best next upgrade path,He could change his CPU and get some boost,But his Hard drive will always be the bottleneck no matter what.
Click to expand...

It's not the best but not the worst :D I really want a new screen but something 1680x1050 or 1920x1080, I really don't like 1336x768. 1600x900 might be okay.

Benny Boy said:
Definately the ssd, as you know it's the single best upgrade. Not even debatable imo.
Click to expand...

You guys are really pushing me for an SSD :o

Nevakonaza said:
@Twist,To be honest i cant see current SSDs we have out now going down all that much at all,The newer Sandforce ones thats comming out soon will just be so expensive....its not all about manufacturing costs....its about greed and retailers will charge over the top because they can!

I think they will hold their price.
Click to expand...

I think I've decided... I'm going to save up more money, order an SSD, Samsung F3 1TB and a new PSU (undecided)

thanks everyone!
 
The sirtec based psus, including OCZs are known to be rubbish. The specs reveal this, however if you don't understand how to read those, rust read the amount of reviews showing the 12V rail instability under load. They are crap.
 
bigfellla said:
The sirtec based psus, including OCZs are known to be rubbish. The specs reveal this, however if you don't understand how to read those, rust read the amount of reviews showing the 12V rail instability under load. They are crap.
Click to expand...

What would you recommend then? Is the Strider Plus 600w okay? Or is worth getting something a bit beefier and keeping it for a long time?
 
linkin said:
Forget all your suggestions I'm getting a new screen :P
Click to expand...

I think that is actually your best bet...your system is fine and can run games with no problem. You will be amazed when you turn on a new screen and you will ask yourself..."Why didn't I buy one a long time ago?"
 
ScOuT said:
I think that is actually your best bet...your system is fine and can run games with no problem. You will be amazed when you turn on a new screen and you will ask yourself..."Why didn't I buy one a long time ago?"
Click to expand...

You know its true...even going from a 19'' to a 22'' I noticed a big difference. Now I am kicking myself for not going with the 24'' :P
 
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