Ok so it's been a while since i actually did any work involving computer hardware.

I have decided that my GPU is next top be upgraded along with my HDD

So as i am extremely cheap i'll give you some quick insight into how i think when buying PC parts.

I ALWAYS buy the cheapest RAM i can find i think im using 4GB of DDR2 667? i think

I guess RAM is the only thing i really cheap out on i only use gigabyte motherboards and i got an (at the time) expensive CPU AMD x2 250 @3.0GHZ (Not OC'ed atm but will brong it to 3.5 when i go back to linux)

Anyway

I get paid tomorrow. I can't decide between the following combinations.

2TB HDD + 2x5450's in XFire
2TB HDD + 5670

2TB HDD + 2xGT220's in SLI
2TB HDD + GTS450

1TB HDD + 5770

These are all within my budget, My preference is
2TB HDD + GTS450
And i'll get that unless someone has a better alternative.

All of those cards are 1GB DDR3 or GDDR5

My computer shop is MSY Auburn if you want to look at their price list

http://www.msy.com.au/Parts/PARTS.pdf

EDIT: ATM i have 300GB HDD + 8400GS 512MB

Why do you even ask for guidance with these strict and stupid rules?

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I didn't put any rules.

Well except that i'm extremely cheap. The stuff i put is stuff i thought of within my budget.

Not sure if there were any better combinations as we have a very limited selection here

I'm against NVIDIA so the only advise you'll get from me is go with ATI, though that won't help you much

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Correction
I use full stops. You took parts of my sentences out of context.

I always buy the cheapest RAM not cheapest everything.

RAM is the only thing I cheap out on since i buy the more expensive GIGABYTE Motherboards and the but about the shop I use is in case you wanted to see price lists. as prices over here tend to be very different.

I see.
I thought you buy the cheapest everything. Even the cheapest RAM is not super wise. Between cheapest stuff and good low budget quality is pretty often just a small margin.

SLI / Crossfire is only valuable if you need the gpu computing power or if you want to play the latest games in ridcioulous resolutions and settings. And ONLY with high end cards. Bundling two low end cards will result in almost nothing besides all the downsides sli / crossfire has.

If your mainboard uses an AMD (ex ATI) chipset too I recommend the 5770. I think it may result in less driver issues. I like to keep stuff from one company (eg until nvidia closed chipset production I always combined nforce with geforce).

If you can spare the money somehow the 6850 is even better. Its the successor of the 5770. More power, less consumption and comparable price.

I used a 2TB Western Digital Caviar Green as my only HDD. So I can recommend that. In daily life usage you wont see much difference in 1TB and 2TB besides the storage limit.

You should consider buying stuff in different shops too if you not allready do that. Comparing prices between shops can almost save you 20% from case to case.

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I did some shopping around today.

One store had 4x 1TB HDD's for $190 (my budget is about 200-225) so that wasn't a real option. That and I couldn't have gotten it as I still don't have money for another several hours.

The 6850 REALLY pushes my budget. Thats $200 and i would have to push my budget to $250 for a 1TB HDD which means I might run out of petrol on the way

MSY is known for it being the cheapest retailer in Australia along with Fluidtek being the one with the most insane deals (eg the 4 HDD's)

There are a few others but it's hard here to get lower prices from other stores. it's usually just a few dollars and not really worth it.

And I have a feeling one of them closed down due to losing all their business to MSY.

Depending on how hefty my pay is ill consider the 6850. That is of course after bills come out
-_-

screw the data space, get yourself an SSD, the x25 from intel for instance and get yourself a nice graphics card. Voila

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M.A.S.K. , is the mighty power that can save the day

Nah I want the space. I'm not a performance freak. a disk drive will do.