Upgrades for Gigabyte M61PME-S2

[Edo]

Successfully updated BIOS thanks to you guys ,now just waiting for the new CPU to arrive!

[TheFiend]

Successfully updated BIOS thanks to you guys ,now just waiting for the new CPU to arrive!

Well done!!!

So which CPU have you gone for?

[Dark Mantis]

Cool! It is always nice to know that someone has been helped by the forum. 

[Edo]

Successfully updated BIOS thanks to you guys ,now just waiting for the new CPU to arrive!

Well done!!!

So which CPU have you gone for?

AMD  Athlon II X 3  3.2 GHz cause apparently it's very good for gaming http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-cpu-upgradable-processor-phenom-ii-x6,2731-6.html  and falls into my budget range .

[Dark Mantis]

With any luck you might be able to unlock the extra core too. 

[Edo]

Unfortunately,not with with this motherboard,but it's still a decent CPU I tell ya    especially when I throw in a Radeon 5770, it will be an awesome mid-range gaming rig   .

[Dark Mantis]

Any reason you are goiing for such old hardware as opposed to the 6000 series cards ?

[Edo]

I was considering a 6770 since they are in the same price range but overall it's pretty much the same card as 5770 and my budget doesn't allow me to aim higher.

[Dark Mantis]

If nothing else the six series cards are less power hungry and therefore cooler than the previous generation of GPUs.

[Edo]

Maybe others do but this two use exactly the same amount of watts http://www.hwcompare.com/5704/radeon-hd-5770-vs-radeon-hd-6770-1gb/ .

[absic]

I've got to say that I have two 6770's in my system and with hindsight I would have got hold of the 5770 instead. The 6770, although a pretty solid mid-range workhorse, is not all it's made out to be.

[Edo]

According to the test that I have posted 5770 has better memory bandwidth while 6770 is just slightly better when it comes to pixel and texel rate.

[Dark Mantis]

Well I accept your explanation of the reasoning and it seems fair enough to me. As you say there is very little to choose between the two it would appear.

[Edo]

I forgot to tell you guys that I have noticed that since I have updated the BIOS,my computer sounds kind of different when I turn it on ,is that normal,I mean,is that because of the new BIOS?

[Dark Mantis]

The difference in sound that you can hear is probably that the BIOS has changed the fan speeds. Apart from that everything should sound the same.