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Upgrade CPU and GPU only?

G

Gobstopper

n00b
Joined
May 15, 2008
Messages
47
This isn't necessarily a build thread, but I thought I'd answer some of the sticky questions for more complete info.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Web Browsing, Photoshop, Premiere, Skyrim

I am looking to play Skyrim on my PC that I will hook up to my TV instead of my monitor. TV is an LG 55" LED TV if that matters at all http://www.amazon.com/LG-INFINIA-55LE8500-Internet-Applications/dp/B0039RRBQC

My main concern here is the value of upgrading just the CPU and GPU instead of building a new computer. I'm not sure if upgrading to a CPU that fits my older socket would even be worth it, but I do not play that many PC games aside from Starcraft 2 and soon, Skyrim. I realize Skyrim isn't out yet and performance can't be determined; I'm going by Bethesda's recommended specifications at the moment. I'd like to go a bit over the specs in hopes of running the game on as high of settings as I can.

Skyrim Recommended Specs
CPU: Quad-Core Intel/AMD CPU
Memory: 4GB RAM, 6GB Hard Drive Space
Video Card: DirectX9 video card with 1GB memory. GTX 260/Radeon 4890 or higher

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$350 w/ tax and shipping

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Palo Alto, CA. 20 minutes from Microcenter.

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget?
CPU and GPU only. Keeping the rest of the parts on my current setup.

My current setup
Mobo: Asus P5Q Pro
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
Cooler: Xigmatek HDT-S1283
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 260
RAM: G.Skill 4GB DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar 640GB
PSU: Corsair CMPSU-750TX 750W
OS: Windows 7 64bit
Case: Cooler Master CM690 (first model)

6) Will you be overclocking?
If practical, yes.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
24" at 1920 x 1200. Will be using the TV mentioned above as the display when playing Skyrim though. The rest of the time, computer will use the Samsung 2493HM.

8) When do you plan on buying the parts?
This week.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.
Not Applicable

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Will continue to use my current OS. Windows 7 64bit


My questions
1) Considering that I do not play that many PC games, would it be a good value to just upgrade my CPU and GPU instead of doing a complete build? If so, which combination would be best? My socket is pretty outdated so if I do decide on a new build in the future, I would need to buy another CPU, but the GPU I can reuse.

2) The GTX-260 has dvi out only and no hdmi out. I will need to use a dvi to hdmi converter to output to my TV. Does this mean that the sound would have to come from the computer instead of the TV?

3) The few times that I have seen a PC hooked up to an HDTV have resulted in blurry images. Is this to be expected or can this be remedied by settings or newer hardware? I wouldn't want to go through all this trouble and end up with a blurry image.

Well, thats about it. Thanks!
 
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Your budget may limit the effectiveness of your upgrades. Off the bat, I'd recommend a used Q9450 and the 2GB HD 6950. But you probably can't get both of them for $350.

How badly do you want to play Skyrim?
 
Wow, around $580 for the Q9450 + HD6950. That's a pretty big investment for just one game. I think I may just consider working on a new build altogether and get Skyrim for the 360 for now. I could use a new build due to heavy Premiere usage plus Battlefield 3 actually caught my interest as well.

Thanks tiraides and danny! You guys are always super helpful :)
 
Actually due to your heavy Premiere Pro usage, that actually changes our video card recommendations: Premier Pro takes advantage of Nvidia's CUDA tech so you should be looking at either the $220 to $240 GTX 560 TI or $330 to $350 GTX 570 cards.

The $280 HD 6950 2GB sits between the two above Nvidia cards in terms of performance but doesn't have CUDA tech obviously.

Also, getting the game on the 360 seems like gimping yourself to me: There's gonna be a ton of cool/good mods for Skyrim PC over the next few months if Bethesda releases modding tools.
 
Yeah, I was actually looking at the GTX 560 initially based on the Nvidia recommendations in other build threads listing Premiere for question 1. The only thing stopping me from the CPU and GPU upgrade is I'd rather save the money for a build in the near future (next 2-4 months) rather than spend $500-$580 now just to play Skyrim.

The mods are definitely the main reason I'm considering this though. :( Not really sure what to do, but I may just pick up a GTX 570 now, use it for Skyrim, and then integrate it into my build when I get to it. Hopefully the E8400 won't bottleneck me too much though.
 
Buy the GPU now, it will improve gaming and premier usage as well as carry over to your next build. Then later you can get the MB, RAM, CPU upgrade when you have the cash. Did you overclock your current CPU already?
 
One thing to consider holding off on an upgrade. Demanding graphics mods are highly unlikely to be early releases.
 
@silk186 Haven't overclocked the CPU. Never done it before so I wouldn't know what to do. I'll look around on the forums and google it. Anything important I should know about though?

Edit: @limitedaccess Yup. I believe Pete Hines of Bethesda said that the recommended specs were for Medium settings though. Since my GPU is what they list, I figured that upgrading it (and the cpu) would allow me to go into High settings. Right now, it does seem like upgrading the gpu is my best bet then using it for my build in 2-4 months. :)
 
I'd say give it a shot first though since the game is almost out anyways. Because if does run acceptably then you can stretch this to the next gen (which GPU wise is speculatively a very large leap) before the graphics mods come out.

There is also no telling how high of a performance requirement graphics mods will eventually stretch out a game. Oblivion/FO3/FONV mods ended up requiring much higher performance requirements than the base versions. Who knows you might need that extra performance from the next gen for them.
 
honestly it's not worth upgrading a dead platform. try to save up and buy a new computer, preferably a 2500k. you should see some great deals these holidays.
 
Try overclocking, there are many guides over the net. Just make sure you have an aftermarket cooler. This should also be able to carry over to your next build so it is another wise investment.
 
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