I want to upgrade to 1440p... Q6600 + 4890 --> Which to upgrade first??

I

investinwaffles

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 26, 2010
Messages
495
Hey guys,
For a while my crossfired 4890's were serving me extremely well for gaming on a 1680x1050 single monitor.
Unfortunately one of my GPU's died on me a while back, and another of my monitors is about to go now. So, I have been eyeing one of those Korean 27" 1440p monitors and I am about to pull the trigger on one.

Anyway, my current pc also has a trusty but dated Q6600, sitting at 3.6ghz on an Asus P5E Deluxe (flashed with the Rampage Formula bios). I can crank it up to 3.8ghz on 1.45v but its really hot. My 4890 is OC'd to 1000 mhz core, 1100 mhz ram.

What should I upgrade first, CPU (which has to include the MOBO and memory), or throw in a 7950 or 7970?
I have about $600 to mess with right now, but the monitor eats up $300 of that.

I do live near a Microcenter (i5 3730k for $170 is enticing), but I know my single 4890 will shit its pants at that resolution.

Games I play alot:
CS:GO
L4D2
Dirt 3
Need for Speed games

Sometimes:
BF3
COD games
Xplane/MS Flight Sim X

Cant decide what to do - wish my budget was higher :(
 
I know everyone always talk about CPU bottlenecking, but if your games run fine at your current resolution on Q6600, then they will run the same speed at 2560x1440 with some additional GPU muscle. I bought one of the Korean 27" displays and thought that gaming was going to be unplayable on my older [email protected] based on what I read about newer video cards being bottlenecked by my now dated processor. Well, lo and behold, after buying a GTX 670, I find games play and look better than with my old GTX 470 at 1920 x 1200. The monitor and video card + my new SSD have breathed new life into my machine and I couldn't be happier.

So far, I haven't found a game yet that I can't run maxed out smoothly with the exception of Splinter Cell Conviction. Wings of Prey, LFD2, TF2, Diablo 3, BL2, FSX, Cyrsis 2, Alan Wake, NFS: Hot Pursuit - they all run and look amazing.
 
Sweet,
I also only have 4gb of ram but I dont mind closing everything.
What kind of CPU usage do you get during more intensive stuff with the 670?

Just pulled the trigger on a Shimian IPSBS - $312 shipped is not too shabby. Just hope it lasts :)
But I am going to wait until black friday to see if any of the GPU prices come down. Will most likely end up with a 7950.
I would love a 670 but they are damn expensive!
 
I would do another budget crossfire setup, personally. Spend like 300 bucks on unlockable 6950's or 6970's and you'll save almost that much while remaining future proofed for a couple more years. As for your cpu, to make sure that keeps pace, get either a VERY strong air cooler, (I've been using my 980X stock superfan at max with regular cleaning for a while for example), and apply new thermal paste for your heatsink, (i often forget to reapply after extended time periods and fan switching haha). Then, with that additional cooling, you could probably push an extra little somethin somethin out of your cpu, flash your new cheap xfire solution, and run full bore into your next gen games. :)
 
investinwaffles said:
Sweet,
I also only have 4gb of ram but I dont mind closing everything.
What kind of CPU usage do you get during more intensive stuff with the 670?

Just pulled the trigger on a Shimian IPSBS - $312 shipped is not too shabby. Just hope it lasts :)
But I am going to wait until black friday to see if any of the GPU prices come down. Will most likely end up with a 7950.
I would love a 670 but they are damn expensive!
Click to expand...

I'll turn on my CPU monitor next time I fire up Borderlands and report back on the usage. As far as displays go, that is the same monitor I got and the display is simply beautiful. I had a Dell 2405 previously, and this thing is just so much better in every possible way. I have had it for over two months now, and I still smile every time I sit down in front of it. Previously I had never thought I would find a LCD monitor that would match the quality of my old Sony CRT, but the colors, sharpness, and responsiveness of this impress me beyond words. I did find the colors initially "off" with a bit of a blue cast to the image, but after calibration with my Spyder 4 Pro eveything feels and looks just right now. PM me if you would like me to send you my color profile to try.
 
I actually have access to a Spyder4 Pro as well but I appreciate the offer :D

I also think I am going to stick with a single GPU setup for now. Less complication and I can throw another 7950 in when the prices drop after the 8x series releases.

EDIT:
I have an H50 right now and temps are OK. Unfortunately I am using an older-school lian li v1000 and it only has room for 92mm aircoolers.
At 3.6ghz and 1.35v it maxes out at 65*c with the fans on high, 70*c if its hot inside the house. After about 3 hrs of gaming.
 
Old generation GPUs hardly ever drop in price when new generation GPUs are released. If they do drop in price, it's generally only a few dollars ($10, $15 at most)
 
Yeah, I guess your right, 6950 crossfire is tempting - I will keep an eye out on ebay to see if I can snag any deals, but I only save $50 or less I am going for a 7950.

Also, I like faster single cards because I did have stuttering issues with the 4890s
 
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