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Should I upgrade or start from scratch?
My current system specs are listed below. I was considering an update to my mobo, processor, ps, adding an additional HD, and upgrading my gpu. What should I upgrade my mobo, processor, (an upper-mid range) gpu into?
I am staying with Intel, I'm fine with either AMD or Nvidia for the GPU.
System:
Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6002) Service Pack 2 (6002.vistasp2_gdr.130707-1535)
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 920 @ 2.67GHz
12277.199MB
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti (VRAM 4050 MB)
Comments
Personally i would be tempted to start from scratch
Depending on your personal situation either keep that pc running until your new one is bang to go and then sell it on ebay (will still get a decent few quid for it to cover additional costs)
Then start from scratch, personally depending on budget i would look at something like
http://www.overclock.co.uk/product/Intel-Core-i5-3570K-Quad-Core-CPU-Hyper-Evo-Cooler-Corsair-8GB-DDR3-1600MHz-RAM-Gigabyte-Z77X-Ivybridge-Motherboard-Bundle_45836.html
that would start you off,thats a nice pre-packaged and ready to rock setup, then just sort out a decent HD maybe something like a 256 SSD with 500g/1tb normal HD graphics card to taste probably one of the shiny new nvidia ones like
http://www.overclock.co.uk/dept/NVIDIA-GTX-660_1323.html < decent range, mid price (obviously more if you have more)
then windows 7 (still dont go anywhere near windows 8 lol)
But that would be me, obviously it depends on your personal situation, but personally if your going to upgrade the Motherboard i think go from start
This post is all my opinion, but I welcome debate on anything i have put, however, personal slander / name calling belongs in game
where of course you're welcome to call me names im often found lounging about in EvE online.
Use this code for 21days trial in eve online https://secure.eveonline.com/trial/?invc=d385aff2-794a-44a4-96f1-3967ccf6d720&action=buddy
Have you tried overclocking that CPU - that particular CPU was a notorious overclocker, often going well past 4Ghz reliably back when they were new.
Newer Intel CPUs are faster, but not by a huge margin over the original Core i7. There aren't a lot of games out there right now that will bottleneck a 920, especially when it's overclocked at 3.5G+
I think if I were ni the same boat, here's what I would do:
Start by upgrading your HDD to an SSD. That makes a huge difference.
If you are still itching to upgrade, then go for a newer video card. I don't know your budget, but the 770GTX is at a nice price/performance spot right now - in a couple/three months AMD could change the price points for everything.
And then, once you've got an SSD and new video card, re-evaluate and that would be the point where you would just jump into an entire new computer, with the ability to take your SSD and video card over into the new build.
I would first question why you're looking to upgrade. Are there some particular situations where your computer simply isn't good enough? Or do you just think that on general principle, your computer is old enough that it's time to replace it? If the latter, you might want to consider that hardware isn't advancing nearly as fast as it used to.
Other than adding a good SSD, I probably wouldn't update that system. If you've got $2000 burning a hole in your pocket and want something really nice, then go ahead and replace it. If you've got $700 to spend, I'd buy an SSD and keep most of the money, as that's not enough to replace the system by something meaningfully faster than what you have now.
+1
Exactly right about that CPU. Until recently, mine was a 930 instead of 920 but it OC'd easily on air @ 4.0, 24/7 for nearly 4 years.
And going from no SSD(s) (I prefer one smallish for OS and a 2nd bigger one for the games I currently play) to SSD is one of the most noticeable BIG improvements to any system.
So, OP...
If you're upgrading a piece at a time for the purpose of gaming, the GPU will have the most noticeable impact. That alone would probably let you postpone your decision for another 6 months or so.
You may not have a "need" but god knows I know all about "wants." It's why my 930 is sitting over there in the corner along with my old MB, ram and case, waiting to get adopted.
If you want to upgrade, just tell us and I'm sure Quiz or someone else will come up with a great reasonable system for any budget you have.
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For what it's worth, I'm in a kind of similar situation with my own rig, with a Core i7-860 and a Radeon HD 5850. So I've got a slightly faster CPU and slightly slower GPU. Even so, I've also got an SSD and Windows 7, so I'm ahead of you there. With my computer coming up on four years of age in October, I've been thinking about replacing it.
But I can only really find two good justifications to replace my current system:
1) Better support for having several monitors, which I'd buy at the same time, and
2) There isn't anything important coming in new CPUs until at least 2015, and possibly later than that even.
The former could be handled by replacing the video card alone, as well as buying some monitors. The latter is a justification for replacing the CPU, motherboard, and memory, perhaps, but not really a justification for going with a whole new system.
If it were me I would probably.
- OC the cpu
-Upgrade to windows 7 or 8
-Add an SSD if you dont have one
-Upgrade the GPU ( a 770 would be nice )
The SSD and GPU you can always re use when you get ready to do another build. You may have to buy another copy of windows when you do upgrade, or maybe not depending. You wouldnt really be out of much ( if any ) money when you build again if you re use the GPU & SSD. Maybe the money for windows.
You can probably stretch that PC for another year or more just by doing that. Unless you just are itching for a new build.