BleepingComputer.com: PC upgrade

Im thinking of upgrading my computer, and running windows 7 on it. Since building the computer, I've become a world of warcraft player, so I want the computer to run well, with high fps and the likes. My current set up is as follows.

AMD Phenon 9600 Quadcore Processor. 2.31 GHz,

2GB of ram (this one i believe clicky )

Corsair HX620W

Mobo

Quote

HMM!! I am experiencing internet connection problems at the minute!!!

Radeon 3870 gfx card

CPU cooler

Case

And I like to use two monitors

What do you think should be upgraded to play World of Warcraft on Windows 7 with preferably full graphics?

I have a budget of about £500 but that doesnt mean I want to spend that much

Thanks for any advice

This post has been edited by dark messenger: 17 June 2010 - 10:44 AM

believe me, I am the last person to be giving advice on this stuff, but the OTHER people are going to need to know if your windows 7 is 64 bit or 32 (just wanted to save you the time)

I'll probably go for 32bit

Not really sure how the whole currency breakdown is but i would upgrade the proccessor, memory, and video card.

Proccessor - go for a Phenom IIx4 in the highest your board can support which I think was 3.0Ghz (check you motherboard at the Gigabyte site to be sure you have the appropriate revision.)

Memory- Go for 4 GBof total system memory... hopefully your 2 GB is on two sticks so you can just add two more of the same??

Video card- ATI 5850 or better. You will be floored by how much better these new cards are.

I believe you should be able to wing it in budget. Looking at about $400-500 American Dollars which should be less than 500 pounds????

Yeah the memory is in 2 1gb sticks.

As for the motherboad, I was thinking of changing it because I keep getting random restarts of the computer, since day 1, like when I close down a computer game, the pc restarts, and I feel the mobo is to blame, could be wrong but you never know.

Processor looks good, as does 5850 series cards. and its scraping into the £500 budget.

A decent mobo suggestion would also be brilliant :D

I prefer gigabyte boards. Something that supports sata 6 and usb 3 would be good too.

Something like this should do.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813128443

If I was to upgrade my computer and get a new mobo, and get a 32bit windows 7, the current CDs for any/all of my hardware would work/install on my system right?

Not necessarily. Windows 7 uses a different architecture than winXP. It is more along the lines of Vista in compatability of programs and drivers. Drivers for anything need to be Windows 7 specific to avoid them causing any issues. But if your replacing all of that stuff you will not be using any of your old hardware anyhow. Check with your program manufacturers for Win7 compatability.

As a side note with the upgrade you are proposing I see two issues that would/could still need to be addressed. First is the power supply you need to check to be sure you have the proper connections for the motherboard and anything else that may need it. Things like drive, video cards, ect. If you need a new one look for something in the 550-650 watt range. Second is the hard drive. IMO this is the slowest part of the PC so if you can gain more space and speed from a newer drive it can pay big dividends.

Take your time and do some research. I recently did a rebuild reusing nothing but the case and optical drives for around $550.00 in parts through Newegg.