Techie Advice Please!

[Hubris]

Hi Guys,

I've had this rig for a while now and I really think it's about time I replace some of the components.

I've had a lot of overheating problems, CPU and GPU. I also don't get graphics performance any more and I'm sure my GC is on it's way out. When BC2 first came out, I ran it on full graphics and it played fine. At first, I thought the issues I was getting (overheating) were due to the old mobo and bios drivers, so I tried to update those but Gigabyte are no longer supporting the mobo. I then had a situation where my PC wouldn't start and I had to remove and replace the GC before it would come to life again.

Since, I've had bluescreens, more non-starts and general dodginess relating to the GC. It's gotten so bad that I leave my case completely open, play on low graphics and use a floor fan to cool off the PC during BC2. I still get forced restarts to protect the system from overheating even though I de fragment regularly, have latest drivers and have tuned the system as best I can. I also run Riva Tuner to pump up the CPU and GPU fan speeds permanently.

My rig:

NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT
Gigabyte GA-8S661FXM mobo
Intel Core 2 Quad Processor
4GB RAM
Peripherals (22" widescreen monitor, Razer Copperhead mouse, standard keyboard)
Windows 7 64bit

Any advice? At the moment I'm thinking NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470... but have no idea re the mobo. What should I do about ensuring mobo compatibility with RAM and CPU? Also any advice with respect to suppliers would be great! Do you think I should buy some more thermal grease for the CPU/heatsink/fan when replacing the mobo? Can I simply unplug the existing components and replace them and that's that or is there a longer process to these sorts of changes?

Of course, I'd like to keep cost down if I can - but Christmas time is coming and I have some leeway to do shopping.

Many thanks!

[Phatso]

The Tech gents are going to be more accurate than me, but I would recommend the following:

Asus P5N-D - old skool motherboard, had mine for 2-3 years, but suits Quad Cores + DDR2 Ram perfectly R1,194--
http://www.prophecy.co.za/asus-p5ndelux-with-energy-processing-unit-p-25435.html

XFX 6870 - possibly the best bang for buck GFX at the moment. And its rocks performance wise.
http://www.computersonly.co.za/productdetail.aspx?sku=HD687AZNFC&categoryId=49918 R2,499--

Short of this, if you are looking at going all i7 / i5 what what... look at needing to upgrade RAM / Processor and a high-end mobo.

Additionally, what case do you have and whats your cooling setup like. That could be a big factor to the overheating.. Airflow is key.
If you REALLY want to splash a little more for a new case...

Coolermaster 690II Advanced Black Edition - I will never buy another case. EVER - R999--
http://computersonly.co.za/productdetail.aspx?sku=CMRC692KKN2&categoryId=47039

I have the above and must say at the moment, my PC is really awesome. It looks good, runs good and has finally paid off (I had issues up until I replaced my faulty GFX card too by the way.. Took a full system overhaul to realise that was the issue...).
Hopefully I won't need to upgrade soon though, as the next upgrade of mine will need to be new everything... *sigh* thats technology for you.


PS: While I have not used Prophecy, I am big supporter of Computers Only. They based just off Allandale Road in Midrand and their service is very good.

[Megageth]

Skoups makes the most sense with his Techie help, but I would try to narrow down what is causing the freezes. Is it RAM, CPU or heat related? Are you overclocking?
Have you run Prime95 to see if the system is stable? That should eliminate the graphics card issues and test the CPU and RAM.

If you want to upgrade only, start with the graphics card. Not sure if your CPU problems are serious or can be sorted by a good aftermarket cooler.
i7 rocks but if you have a decent quad core then you wont get that much improvement in games so I would spend on the graphics and try to get your CPU stable and cool with a good overclock and a good cooler. - Maybe try the Coolermaster H70, even if you upgrade platforms later you can still use it.

[pmurgs]

Asus P5N-D...

I have one of these under my desk... its ok, but its a damn NVidia chipset and very picky about ram. Hardly overclocks at all. I would recommend buying an Intel chipset board. You can get much nicer boards than this one if you take the time to look and research properly.

[Thor_23]

I had a p5q asus board for the last 2 years and that was a awesome board....
Dont see the board on sale anymore tho

[flycatchr]

the last two issues i have had with PC's have been dust and stuff preventin cooling on the heatsink. take the fan off, get rid of the dust.
otherwise listen to everyone else. :)