This Upgrade Itch

the.ronin

the.ronin

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 25, 2008
Messages
508
So I recently upgraded my PSU from an Antec BP550 to a Corsair HX750 and my video card from an HIS HD4670 to a BFG GTX 275 OC.

Now I find myself already considering my next upgrades. Here are some thoughts ...

No on SLI – I’ve got a single 22” 1680x1050 monitor and as far as I’ve been reading, I’d gain nothing from SLI. (Yes, I know my mobo doesn’t even support SLI/CS but I would’ve upgraded that as well had I gone this route.)

RAM – I’ve got some pretty plain jane DDR2 800 RAM that I’ve considered upgrading but I may only do this to the extent I move on the CPU and require DDR3.

CPU – my AMD 9950 is running pretty stable at 3.1 but this is the one area I’m thinking of upgrading either to some AMD II flavor or even going over to the other side of the 8-mile with Intel. My mobo is AM3 compatible so an AMD upgrade would be most effortless but I’m stuck with DDR2.

Mobo – If I do this, I am tempted to go balls to the walls with a CPU + mobo + DDR3 upgrade.

Any insights, “sell the 275 and get a 5870”, and “should’ve gotten the HX1000” comments welcome. :)
 
should have got the 5850 for the same price as the 275. its faster then a 285.

cpu/mobo/ram would be next

if thats all you need then its pretty cheep.

Phemom II 3.4ghz BE is about 200 shipped, and you can pick up a mobo for 50-60 bucks with ram being less then 100 shipped with tax.

if you can, fence then 275 and the mobo/ram/chip and get a PII x4 + 5850

either that or core i5 for a similar price, howerver the mobo is 50 dollars more. core i5 or PII is very nice. :)

Core i7 920 parts would be about 50-75 dollars more then the pII or i5 system.

you system would be quite future proof for some time
 
That 955BE is looking very very tempting.

Yeah, I would’ve jumped on the 5850 but the local store didn’t have any in stock and had the 275 for well below $200. I’m happy with it.

I’m wondering is there any benefit to having an Intel CPU and an Intel based video card vs crossing over CPU and GPU?
 
I'd go with the CPU upgrade that gwarren listed earlier. This should give you a decent boost over the 9950. The GTX 275 I feel is still good for 1680 x 1050 gaming.
 
Thinking of going Intel and started looking at motherboards, came across the EVGA line ... wow those are awesome looking motherboards. I can’t seem to find any AM2+ / AM3 variants though.

What would be the Intel equivalent of the 955BE? An i5?

I would also need to look into DDR3 RAM I suspect.
 
I am with hardwareguru, x4 955 + GTX 275 would be more than enough for your current needs.
 
Yup. Not to mention the cheapest route also. I'm still on my 8800GT gaming on my 27" 1080P monitor. $160 w/free shipping for that X4 955 cpu that gwarren linked, cannot go wrong. All you need is the BIOS Version F4 to support that AM3 C3 processor.
 
Ok guys, after some thought I think I’m going to make this a major upgrade albeit more of a long-term one over the course of the next month or so. I’m thinking about $600 tops should be sufficient ...

Intel CPU
EVGA motherboard
?? DDR3 RAM

The equipment I’ll carry over:

22” 1680 x 1050 monitor
Corsair HX750W
BFG GTX 275 OC
OCZ Vertex SSD 60GB
3x 500GB WD HDDs + 1x 150GB WD Raptor

As I mentioned before, I don’t think I need SLI currently but would like that option in case I expand monitors or resolution. I’ll need 6 SATA ports (incl optical not listed above). I game frequently but also do a lot of photo and video editing – this worries me about the RAM. I don’t need to be beat benchmarks but would like a reasonably future-proof, high performing setup.

Thanks again for all your advice so far and looking forward to reading further recommendations.
 
^^ That looks really compelling. Thanks!

Oh forgot to mention this is all going in my current CM Scout case.
 
Ok I think I’ve narrowed it down to the i7 920, an EVGA motherboard, and possibly Corsair Dominators. Yes I know the Dominators are overpriced but I’m going for looks here almost as much as performance – so suggestions would be appreciated based on this. Best prices I could find are linked below (I’ve also got two 5% off Micro Center receipts lying around to cushion the blow).

i7 920 from Microcenter

Corsair Dominators 3 x 2GB

Now I’m not sure which EVGA motherboard to go with since these all seem to fit my needs ...

EVGA P55 FTW SLI

EVGA P55 LE 123-LF-E653-KR

EVGA 141-BL-E757-TR

It looks like I’m looking at $550 to $650 here depending on which EVGA I go with.

What do you guys think?
 
Corsair Dominators are not worth the money, no matter how good they look.

You can't use the Socket 1366 Core i7 920 with a Socket 1156 P55 motherboard. By default, you're "stuck" with the 141-BL-E757-TR -- and that's assuming you're unwilling to look at other X58-based options (like the Asus P6T series or any of the Gigabyte X58 boards).

Personally, I wouldn't worry about SLI or CrossFire at this time. If you really feel the need to take advantage of either option, it's more than likely that you'll be looking to overhaul your system again (and possibly buy a better SLI/CF-capable board) when that time comes.
 
the.ronin said:
No on SLI – I’ve got a single 22” 1680x1050 monitor and as far as I’ve been reading, I’d gain nothing from SLI. (Yes, I know my mobo doesn’t even support SLI/CS but I would’ve upgraded that as well had I gone this route.)
Click to expand...
Not sure where you read that but it's not true. I have 1440x900 resolution and once had SLI 8800GTS 512MB. I gained almost 40% framerate across the board going SLI on that. I switched to an GTX260 216 and kept approximately the same performance (wanted to get away from 2 GPU solution).
 
gwarren007 said:
:D *ahem*

There is only 1 socket 1366 EVGA board there. :)
Click to expand...

I knew that ... I was just testing to make sure you guys were paying attention. Yeah that's it. :D

bigdogchris said:
Not sure where you read that but it's not true. I have 1440x900 resolution and once had SLI 8800GTS 512MB. I gained almost 40% framerate across the board going SLI on that. I switched to an GTX260 216 and kept approximately the same performance (wanted to get away from 2 GPU solution).
Click to expand...

I had suspected and read this as well - that even with a relatively lower resolution, single monitor, benefits can be gained from SLI/CF. Although the overwhelming sentiment seems to be that dual / triple monitors / very high resolutions is where SLI/CF truly shines. In any event, I the EVGA 141-BL-E757-TR is SLI capable so I will have that option.

Thanks for all the input everyone ... now it's just a matter of seeing if I can wait around for my tax refund, rebates, and eBay sales before pulling the trigger ... yeah right. :D
 
Once I have everything together, I want to murdermod sleeve the wires and most definitely shall I post pics. :D
 
Ok guys, I plan on picking up the i7 and EVGA tonight after work. They’re both 199.99 at Micro Center. I got 2 5% coupons. So all in I’ll be spending $413. I done good?

Just gotta figure out the RAM situation before all my drool does permanent damage to the EVGA.
 
Get a tri-channel (3x1GB or 3x2GB) DDR3 kit that runs at 1.5V. Depending on what you buy, it may be cheaper to go with DDR3 1600 than DDR3 1333... and unless you're pursuing extreme overclocking levels (closer to 5GHz than 4GHz, and in that case, why aren't you water cooling?), you don't really need the more expensive DDR3 1800 or DDR3 2000 kits.

Given Micro Center's comparatively meager offerings, you may be better off buying your RAM online. Regardless, the Corsair XMS3 kits are often available in-store.

Again, avoid the Corsair Dominators (or anything else priced around the same); they're not worth the money.
 
Thanks, tiraides ... for what it’s worth, I do run water cooling if the H50 counts (although I suspect to some die hards, it doesn’t).

Micro Center is actually the cheapest I’ve been able to find the i7 and EVGA. But, yes, I do plan on getting RAM online since the price differential is substantial. I’ve OC’ed my 9950BE but I hardly consider myself an expert – actually I’m just glad nothing blew up. I do plan to OC the i7 but ultimately I just want a stable yet extremely capable system.

And yes, I remain partial to the Dominators but almost entirely – I’ll admit – because of how they look. Would you have other specific recommendations?

Thanks again!
 
the.ronin said:
And yes, I remain partial to the Dominators but almost entirely – I’ll admit – because of how they look. Would you have other specific recommendations?
Click to expand...

$160 - Corsair CMX6GX3M3A1600C9 3 x 2GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$165 - G.Skill F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ 3 x 2GB DDR3 1600 RAM
 
Thanks guys for all of this great advice.

I’ll be picking up the i7 and EVGA X58 after work ... friggin minutes are going by like hours haha. If I get too impatient, I might just swallow the cost and get the Dominators there too so I can set everything up when I get home. Yeah patience was never my thing. :D
 
Careful... from my own personal experiences, one thing can easily lead to another, and then you realize that your money could have been better spent elsewhere. (Search within the forums for "upgrading season" to see what I'm talking about.)
 
Yeah ... too late for that. :D

gocrazy.jpg
 
Throw it together and let us know how it goes! I'm quite fond of my 920 setup.
 
Haven't gotten around to OC'ing yet but everything is running very very smooth ... but the upgrade itch struck back. :D

Although I was told they weren't getting any more 5850s, they popped up on Micro Center's website so I packaged up the GTX 275 OC for an exchange and ...

5850roxxors1.jpg


5850roxxors2.jpg


Sweet sauce. :D
 
Thanks HG ... it's just a Nikon D40 (entry level DSLR). I just too a little photoshoping too to get the light levels and crispness exaggerated.
 
atreidesgoldenpath said:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...No=4694158&sku=E145-2059&srkey=141-BL-E757-TR

So this motherboard says that it is "SLI" - no mention of CrossFire. Does that mean it doesn't support 2x ATI cards? I see the OP was going with a 5850.

the.ronin - you have my mouth watering for my new PC!!!!
Click to expand...

Nah all X58 boards support both SLI and CF capable. Just some Nvidia pimping by EVGA. This is confirmed by EVGA tech support.

Thanks for the compliment! I still need to OC and I know 920s are a breeze to OC but I want to take my time stepping, testing, and recording all the changes. Also expecting some Murdermod sleeving to add das bling. :D
 
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