AdviceUpgrade advice/thoughts
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AdviceUpgrade advice/thoughtsPosted:

ryanc_98
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So I haven't really used my PC for gaming in like a year/ year and a half. Just stopped playing as real life came into account. However I am selling my Xbox one as I have now even stopped using it and thought maybe I should treat myself to a few upgrades. I built this PC over 2 years ago and have since fallen out of the loop a little bit. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas for upgrades to my desktop. I definately want a new monitor with 144hz refresh rate and probably some more ram (up to 16gb) and possibly a new graphics card. Another thing is I desperately need an SSD as I still haven't got one yet (don't flame me I know its bad haha). One final thing, windows 10? I have a laptop and I despise it however I have noticed a lot of games now require it? Is it worth upgrading to? I love windows 7 too much.
Now thats all my questions
Monitor - £150 or as close to as possible
Graphics card - No idea I will let you guys tell me the next step up and give me the price for it.
SSD - £30 again not sure on pricing but i reckon a simple ssd for the operating system will be cheap?
RAM - Just let me know how much it is for a decent pair of 8GB sticks.

Specs are as follows -
Windows 7 Ultimate
i5 4460 3.2GHz
8GB RAM (DDR3)
MSI H97M-G43(MS-7924)
2GB NVidia Geforce GTX 750Ti
ATX 450W Power supply

Not one hundred percent sure on compatibility with SSDs or RAM so again if you need any more info on the parts let me know! Cheers!
#2. Posted:
21
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If you want a 144Hz monitor, you'll have to up your budget. 1080 144Hz monitors are still around 200 quid, maybe a little less if you're lucky.

Honestly though, you're better off going 1440p 144Hz IMO since you can find 1440p 144Hz monitors under £250, like this;
ebuyer.com/838555-element-gaming-...or-gs27-v2
Samsung's JG50/JG52 is another nice 1440p 144Hz option, was £230 recently but has gone up to £300+ where available, unfortunately.

Best option for £150 is this IMO;
ebuyer.com/739141-lg-25um58-25-ul...eid=206719

For RAM, 8GB of DDR3 on the used market is 20-25 quid, so yeah no reason not to add another 8GB for 16GB total really. I'm assuming you have 2x4GB now, just buy another 2x4GB kit. When mixing RAM, you can have some issues so just keep that in mind. For RAM to work best together, it's best to have the same speed/latency/brand/etc, but not entirely necessary. I've built a system with 3 mismatched DIMMs, a 2GB, 4GB and 8GB DIMM and it worked fine(a friend was adamant on using all the RAM he had in his system I was building for some reason lol) but you could get unlucky and have some problems mixing RAM.

For SSD;
aria.co.uk/Products/Storage/SSDs/...m=referral
amazon.co.uk/dp/B076DWV18J/?tag=pcp0f-21

Those are you 240GB options, around 30 quid. Though I'd personally just spend the extra 20 quid or so for a 480GB variant of one of those SSD's instead. If you're really set on keeping price down though, those 240GB options are great.

Lastly, GPU, this will obviously depend on your budget. It's also going to depend on what monitor you end up getting, as well as what games you'll be playing. You might also need a PSU upgrade depending on which GPU you upgrade to, so we'll need to know the make and model of your PSU, not just wattage. Would be handy to know the make and model of your case also, if possible.
#3. Posted:
lilmayo
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21 wrote
If you want a 144Hz monitor, you'll have to up your budget. 1080 144Hz monitors are still around 200 quid, maybe a little less if you're lucky.

Honestly though, you're better off going 1440p 144Hz IMO since you can find 1440p 144Hz monitors under £250, like this;
ebuyer.com/838555-element-gaming-...or-gs27-v2
Samsung's JG50/JG52 is another nice 1440p 144Hz option, was £230 recently but has gone up to £300+ where available, unfortunately.

Best option for £150 is this IMO;
ebuyer.com/739141-lg-25um58-25-ul...eid=206719

For RAM, 8GB of DDR3 on the used market is 20-25 quid, so yeah no reason not to add another 8GB for 16GB total really. I'm assuming you have 2x4GB now, just buy another 2x4GB kit. When mixing RAM, you can have some issues so just keep that in mind. For RAM to work best together, it's best to have the same speed/latency/brand/etc, but not entirely necessary. I've built a system with 3 mismatched DIMMs, a 2GB, 4GB and 8GB DIMM and it worked fine(a friend was adamant on using all the RAM he had in his system I was building for some reason lol) but you could get unlucky and have some problems mixing RAM.

For SSD;
aria.co.uk/Products/Storage/SSDs/...m=referral
amazon.co.uk/dp/B076DWV18J/?tag=pcp0f-21

Those are you 240GB options, around 30 quid. Though I'd personally just spend the extra 20 quid or so for a 480GB variant of one of those SSD's instead. If you're really set on keeping price down though, those 240GB options are great.

Lastly, GPU, this will obviously depend on your budget. It's also going to depend on what monitor you end up getting, as well as what games you'll be playing. You might also need a PSU upgrade depending on which GPU you upgrade to, so we'll need to know the make and model of your PSU, not just wattage. Would be handy to know the make and model of your case also, if possible.

Replying on my normal account forgot the password before. Thanks mate monitor for 250 seems reasonable will go with that. Also do all motherboards support using 4 ram cards? If so then yeah 2 more will work as you said due to the 2x4GB i have already. SSD looks fine for 240GB will probs go with that. The GPU was a tricky one as i am currently not playing any games to be honest haha. Dont know what to play just know it needs an upgrade, is the nVidia 1050ti a worthwhile upgrade? And when im home i can check the make of the psu. Same with the case, i believe off the top of my head it is a fractal mid tower, something along those lines. Also whats your thought on OS. Windows 10 worth going to? Thanks for the info mate.
#4. Posted:
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lilmayo wrote do all motherboards support using 4 ram cards? If so then yeah 2 more will work as you said due to the 2x4GB i have already.

Not all do, no. Your motherboard does support 4 DIMMs though, so you can just add another 2x4GB alongside your current 2x4GB, job done for 20-25 quid.

lilmayo wrote The GPU was a tricky one as i am currently not playing any games to be honest haha. Dont know what to play just know it needs an upgrade, is the nVidia 1050ti a worthwhile upgrade?
Not really, kinda over-priced. RX 570s and 580s are silly well priced right now, so I'd just aim for one of those at least to be honest. If you're going to be playing more demanding games and you're using the 1440p 144Hz monitor, then you'd probably want to look at something a little higher end than an RX 580 though.

If you're comfortable buying used GPUs, I've even seen 8GB RX 480s go for as little as £100. /r/HardwareswapUK, and Gumtree are good places to keep an eye on.

Also, I'd aim for an 8GB variant for sure. 4GB VRAM would do fine, but 8GB WILL be beneficial at 1440p.

Case is likely fine if it's Fractal, you just might want to double check dimensions to make sure whichever GPU you get fits in your case. Was mostly worried if it was a pre-built as those tend to be VERY limited on space.

I'd probably upgrade PSU at the same time as GPU, unless it's quite a good quality 450W unit you've currently got.
#5. Posted:
lilmayo
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21 wrote
lilmayo wrote do all motherboards support using 4 ram cards? If so then yeah 2 more will work as you said due to the 2x4GB i have already.

Not all do, no. Your motherboard does support 4 DIMMs though, so you can just add another 2x4GB alongside your current 2x4GB, job done for 20-25 quid.

lilmayo wrote The GPU was a tricky one as i am currently not playing any games to be honest haha. Dont know what to play just know it needs an upgrade, is the nVidia 1050ti a worthwhile upgrade?
Not really, kinda over-priced. RX 570s and 580s are silly well priced right now, so I'd just aim for one of those at least to be honest. If you're going to be playing more demanding games and you're using the 1440p 144Hz monitor, then you'd probably want to look at something a little higher end than an RX 580 though.

If you're comfortable buying used GPUs, I've even seen 8GB RX 480s go for as little as £100. /r/HardwareswapUK, and Gumtree are good places to keep an eye on.

Also, I'd aim for an 8GB variant for sure. 4GB VRAM would do fine, but 8GB WILL be beneficial at 1440p.

Case is likely fine if it's Fractal, you just might want to double check dimensions to make sure whichever GPU you get fits in your case. Was mostly worried if it was a pre-built as those tend to be VERY limited on space.

I'd probably upgrade PSU at the same time as GPU, unless it's quite a good quality 450W unit you've currently got.

Okay so my PSU is an XFX ProSeries 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX PSU
Case is Fractal Design - Core 1000 MicroATX Mini Tower Case

What do you think on OS, should I get windows 10 or is it okay to stay Windows 7?
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