Have not got a great deal of £££s so am looking for advice. Lots of it.

Will be on hols for next two weeks so will reply when i get back.

Current rig -(info using SiSoftware Sandra)




SiSoftware Sandra

System
Model : System manufacturer System Product Name
Workgroup : **********
Host Name :**********
User : ********

Processor
Model : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E6750 @ 2.66GHz
Speed : 2.13GHz
Cores per Processor : 2 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 1 Unit(s)
Type : Dual-Core
Integrated Data Cache : 2x 32kB, Synchronous, Write-Thru, 8-way, 64 byte line size
L2 On-board Cache : 4MB, ECC, Synchronous, ATC, 16-way, 64 byte line size, 2 threads sharing

System
Mainboard : ASUSTeK Computer INC. P5LD2-X
BIOS : American Megatrends Inc. 0104 (05/18/2007)
Bus(es) : ISA X-Bus PCI PCIe IMB USB i2c/SMBus
Multi-Processor (MP) Support : No
Multi-Processor Advanced PIC (APIC) : Yes
Total Memory : 2GB DIMM DDR2

Chipset
Model : ASUS 82945G Processor to I/O Controller
Front Side Bus Speed : 4x 267MHz (1GHz)
Total Memory : 2GB DIMM DDR2
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 401MHz (802MHz)

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : G.Skill F2-5400PHU1-1GBNY 1GB DIMM DDR2 PC2-5300U DDR2-666 (5-5-5-15 3-20-5-3)
Memory Module : G.Skill F2-5400PHU1-1GBNY 1GB DIMM DDR2 PC2-5300U DDR2-666 (5-5-5-15 3-20-5-3)

Video System
Adapter : ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 (2x 320 SP 825MHz, 2x 512MB DDR3 2x901MHz, PCIe 2.00 x16)

Graphics Processor
Adapter : ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 (2x320SP 825MHz, 2x512MB 901MHz)
Adapter : ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 (2x320SP 825MHz, 2x512MB 901MHz)

Storage Devices
MAXTOR STM3250310AS 250GB (SATA150, NCQ, 8MB Cache) : 233GB (G:) (I:)
Generic USB SD Reader (USB) : N/A (M:)
Generic USB CF Reader (USB) : N/A (D:)
Generic USB SM Reader (USB) : N/A (E:)
Generic USB MS Reader (USB) : N/A (F:)
HL-DT-ST DVD-RAM GSA-H50L (ATA66, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache) : N/A (H:)
LAPY H2RS1YZ (SCSI, BD-R, HD-DVD-R, DVD+-R-DL, CD-R) : N/A (J:)

Logical Storage Devices
System Drive (I:) : 50GB (NTFS) @ MAXTOR STM3250310AS 250GB (SATA150, NCQ, 8MB Cache)
Games Area (G:) : 183GB (NTFS) @ MAXTOR STM3250310AS 250GB (SATA150, NCQ, 8MB Cache)
Optical Drive (H:) : N/A @ HL-DT-ST DVD-RAM GSA-H50L (ATA66, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache)
Optical Drive (J:) : N/A @ LAPY H2RS1YZ (SCSI, BD-R, HD-DVD-R, DVD+-R-DL, CD-R)
3.5" 1.44MB (A:) : N/A
Removable Drive (M:) : N/A @ Generic USB SD Reader (USB)
Removable Drive (D:) : N/A @ Generic USB CF Reader (USB)
Removable Drive (E:) : N/A @ Generic USB SM Reader (USB)
Removable Drive (F:) : N/A @ Generic USB MS Reader (USB)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : ASUS 82801GB/GR (ICH7) LPC Interface Controller
LPC Legacy Controller 1 : Winbond W83627DHG
Audio Device : Creative Labs Soundblaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio
Audio Device : ATI (AMD) Radeon HD 3870 Audio device
Audio Codec : ATI (AMD) AA01h
Serial Port(s) : 1
Parallel Port(s) : 1
Disk Controller : ASUS 82801G (ICH7) Ultra ATA Storage Controller
Disk Controller : ASUS 82801GB/GR/GH (ICH7) Serial ATA Storage Controller
USB Controller 1 : ASUS 82801G (ICH7) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 2 : ASUS 82801G (ICH7) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 3 : ASUS 82801G (ICH7) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 4 : ASUS 82801G (ICH7) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 5 : ASUS 82801G (ICH7) USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller
SMBus/i2c Controller 1 : Intel 801xx/63xx SMBus

Printers and Faxes
Printer : PaperPort Color Printer Driver (600x600, Colour)
Printer : PaperPort Mono Printer Driver (600x600)
Printer : Microsoft XPS Document Writer (600x600, Colour)
Printer : Microsoft Office Document Image Writer Driver (200x200)
Printer : KODAK ESP 7 AiO (600x600, Colour)

Network Services
Network Adapter : Atheros L2 Fast Ethernet 10/100 Base-T Controller - Packet Scheduler Miniport (Ethernet, 100Mbps)

Power Management
Mains (AC) Line Status : On-Line

Operating System
Windows System : Microsoft Windows XP Professional 5.01.2600 (Service Pack 3)
Platform Compliance : x86


So...for a paltry £300 could I get a half-decent Windows 7 pc good enough to run BF3 on a modest setting? (Including getting a legit copy of win 7?)

And should I try and re-use the graphics card (details below), Geoff gave it to me and it has served me pretty well so far...possibly overheating now? Or is a newer, cheaper model now faster?

SiSoftware Sandra

Video Adapter
Display : \\.\DISPLAY1
VGA Compatible : No
Official Device Name : ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2
Hardware ID : PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_950F&SUBSYS_25421002&REV_00
OEM Device Name : ATI (AMD) R680 [Radeon HD 3870 x2]
Device Name : ATI (AMD) R680 [Radeon HD 3870 x2]

Chipset
Model : 2x RV670
Speed : 825MHz
Shader Speed : 825MHz
Peak Processing Performance (PPP) : 1TFLOPS
Adjusted Peak Performance (APP) : 950.4WG
Unified Shaders : 320 Unit(s)
Raster Operation Units (ROP) : 16 Unit(s)
Texture Mapping Units (TMU) : 16 Unit(s)
Maximum Pixel Fillrate : 26.4GPixel/s
Maximum Texture Fillrate : 26.4GTexel/s
Maximum Power : 196.00W

Multi Video Card Support
Number of Linked Devices : 2
Cores per Device : 2
Crossfire Technology : Yes

Logical/Chipset Memory Banks
Total Memory : 512MB DDR3
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 901MHz (1.8GHz)
Channels : 4
Width : 64-bit
Maximum Memory Bus Bandwidth : 56.31GB/s

Bus
Type : PCIe
Version : 2.00
Width : x16 / x16
Speed : 2.5Gbps / 2.5Gbps
Maximum Bus Bandwidth : 4GB/s

Video BIOS
Date of Manufacture : 10 January 2000
Version : 3B40001.104

Direct3D Capabilities
Interface Version : 9.00
Model : ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2
Video Driver : ati2dvag.dll
Library Version : 6.14.10.7193
Has 3D Hardware Acceleration : Yes
Hardware Transform & Light : Yes
Heads : 1
Pixel Shaders Version : 3.00
Vertex Shaders Version : 3.00

Accelerated Video Decoders
MPEG2 IDCT : Yes
VC1-D (VC1 VLD) : Yes
WMV8-A (WMV8 PostProc) : Yes
WMV9-A (WMV9 PostProc) : Yes

Accelerated Video Processors
Pixel Adaptive Device : Yes
Bob Device : Yes
Software Device : Yes

Video Driver
Expected Windows Version : 4.00
Screen Saver Active : 10 minute(s)
Low Power Saving Active : No
Power Off Saving Active : No

Mode
Mode : 1280x1024 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit)
Refresh Rate : 75Hz
Virtual Desktop Size : 1280x1024

Supported Video Modes
Mode 2 : 640x480 256 colours (8-bit) 60Hz 72Hz 75Hz
Mode 5 : 640x480 64K HiColour (16-bit) 60Hz 72Hz 75Hz
Mode 8 : 640x480 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 60Hz 72Hz 75Hz
Mode 10 : 720x480 256 colours (8-bit) 60Hz 75Hz
Mode 12 : 720x480 64K HiColour (16-bit) 60Hz 75Hz
Mode 14 : 720x480 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 60Hz 75Hz
Mode 19 : 800x600 256 colours (8-bit) 56Hz 60Hz 70Hz 72Hz 75Hz
Mode 24 : 800x600 64K HiColour (16-bit) 56Hz 60Hz 70Hz 72Hz 75Hz
Mode 29 : 800x600 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 56Hz 60Hz 70Hz 72Hz 75Hz
Mode 31 : 848x480 256 colours (8-bit) 60Hz 75Hz
Mode 33 : 848x480 64K HiColour (16-bit) 60Hz 75Hz
Mode 35 : 848x480 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 60Hz 75Hz
Mode 39 : 1024x768 256 colours (8-bit) 60Hz 70Hz 72Hz 75Hz
Mode 43 : 1024x768 64K HiColour (16-bit) 60Hz 70Hz 72Hz 75Hz
Mode 47 : 1024x768 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 60Hz 70Hz 72Hz 75Hz
Mode 50 : 1152x864 256 colours (8-bit) 60Hz 70Hz 75Hz
Mode 53 : 1152x864 64K HiColour (16-bit) 60Hz 70Hz 75Hz
Mode 56 : 1152x864 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 60Hz 70Hz 75Hz
Mode 58 : 1280x720 256 colours (8-bit) 60Hz 75Hz
Mode 60 : 1280x720 64K HiColour (16-bit) 60Hz 75Hz
Mode 62 : 1280x720 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 60Hz 75Hz
Mode 64 : 1280x768 256 colours (8-bit) 60Hz 75Hz
Mode 66 : 1280x768 64K HiColour (16-bit) 60Hz 75Hz
Mode 68 : 1280x768 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 60Hz 75Hz
Mode 70 : 1280x800 256 colours (8-bit) 60Hz 75Hz
Mode 72 : 1280x800 64K HiColour (16-bit) 60Hz 75Hz
Mode 74 : 1280x800 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 60Hz 75Hz
Mode 78 : 1280x960 256 colours (8-bit) 60Hz 70Hz 72Hz 75Hz
Mode 82 : 1280x960 64K HiColour (16-bit) 60Hz 70Hz 72Hz 75Hz
Mode 86 : 1280x960 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 60Hz 70Hz 72Hz 75Hz
Mode 89 : 1280x1024 256 colours (8-bit) 60Hz 70Hz 75Hz
Mode 92 : 1280x1024 64K HiColour (16-bit) 60Hz 70Hz 75Hz
Mode 95 : 1280x1024 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit) 60Hz 70Hz 75Hz
Mode 96 : 640x480 16 colours (4-bit)
Mode 97 : 800x600 16 colours (4-bit)

Device Mode Characteristics
Physical Medium Width : 375 mm, 15 in
Physical Medium Height : 300 mm, 12 in
Recommended Display Size : 23 in
Horizontal/Vertical Resolution : 96x96 dpi
Colour Bits/Planes : 32-bit / 1-bit
Brushes : 4294967295
Pens : 4294967295
Colours/Shades : 4294967295
Pixel Width/Height/Diagonal : 36 / 36 / 51

Clipping Capabilities
Can Clip Output to Rectangle : Yes
Can Clip Output to Region : No

Raster Capabilities
Supports Banding : No
Supports Fonts Larger than 64Kb : Yes
Can Transfer Bitmaps : Yes
Supports Bitmaps Larger than 64Kb : Yes
Supports Device Bitmaps : No
Supports DIBs : Yes
DIBs on Device Surface : Yes
Flood Fills : Yes
Supports Windows 2.x : Yes
Stretch/Compress Bitmaps : Yes
Stretch/Compress DIBs : Yes
Supports Scaling : No
Palette-Based Device : No
Saves Bitmap Locally : No

Curve Capabilities
Can Draw Circles : Yes
Can Draw Ellipses : Yes
Can Draw Pie Wedges : Yes
Can Draw Chord Arcs : Yes
Can Draw Wide Borders : Yes
Can Draw Styled Borders : Yes
Can Draw Wide, Styled Borders : Yes
Can Draw Rounded Rectangles : Yes
Can Draw Interiors : Yes

Line Capabilities
Can Draw Polylines : Yes
Can Draw Styled Lines : Yes
Can Draw Wide Lines : Yes
Can Draw Wide, Styled Lines : Yes
Can Draw Markers : Yes
Can Draw Polymarkers : Yes
Can Draw Interiors : Yes

Polygonal Capabilities
Can Draw Alternate-fill Polygons : Yes
Can Draw Winding-fill Polygons : Yes
Can Draw Rectangles : Yes
Can Draw Scan Lines : Yes
Can Draw Wide Borders : Yes
Can Draw Styled Borders : Yes
Can Draw Wide, Styled Borders : Yes
Can Draw Interiors : Yes

Text Capabilities
Supports Stroke Clip Precision : Yes
Supports Stroke Output Precision : Yes
Supports Character Output Precision : Yes
Supports 90° Character Rotation : No
Supports Any Angle Character Rotation : No
Supports Independent X-Y Scaling : No
Supports Doubled Character for Scaling : No
Supports Integer Multiples for Scaling : No
Any Multiples for Exact Scaling : No
Can Draw Double-Weighted Characters : No
Can Italicise : No
Can Underline : Yes
Can Draw Strikeouts : Yes
Can Draw Raster Fonts : Yes
Can Draw Vector Fonts : Yes
Cannot Scroll Using BitBlt : No

Enhanced Video Settings
Animation Effects Enabled : Yes
Full Windows Drag Enabled : Yes
Font Smoothing Enabled : No
HighContrast Feature On : No

Performance Tips
Tip 314 : Video BIOS is too old. Check for an update.
Tip 2221 : Driver is not certified.
Tip 2 : Double-click tip or press Enter while a tip is selected for more information about the tip.



I have a brand new 2tb HDD to pop in but I'd like at some point to get a small SSD to boot the machine faster.

I suspect my existing 850w psu is getting a bit wonky...

Thought/comments?

_________________
Brother ANg-jung soon-um-bongo (Formerly Aim).

Mostly Harmful.
Vive La France!
I want my sig back!

HELL YES, i have the e6750.

i'd personally say upgrade your rig with say £200, get 4gb of ddr2 800 ram and i have the ati 5850. Plays BFBC2 all full and played the BF3 beta all full.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5850 = £150
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showprodu ... ubcat=1711

2x2GB Ram = £50
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showprodu ... subcat=813.

Total = £200
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With that leaves you £100 for an SSD, i got the corsair nova2 60GB for £70 from scan.co.uk.

Maybe spend and extra £40 and get the 6950, but i'd say the CPU and rest of your PC will suffice for now with a 5850 and 4GB?

_________________

*edit* forgot about windows 7, how much is that nowadays?

_________________

sent u a pm rob..but this may help someone on the win7 front....

http://www.software4students.co.uk/Micr ... tails.aspx

_________________





Went to a zoo, they only had one animal there, a dog............. It was a shitzu....



I’z leakin… bring amberlamps

Got mine through that, cost me about £40. You just need to have an original install, for it to upgrade you.

_________________

администратор дерьма

Not too many games, still not enough time. | Beefy is a Filthy Freeloader