sohosources
n00b
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2006
- Messages
- 58
Hi, gang:
Trying to decide whether to upgrade my two main PCs. I like to stay in the price/performance sweet spot...not the $$$ bleeding edge.
Box 1: Productivity: i7-930 on an ASUS Rampage II Gene OCd to a moderate 3.8 GHz with a Hyper 212. Win 7 64-bit HP (soon Win 8 Pro so I can double the RAM) 12GB RAM (soon to be 24GB). Silverstone 750 PS. Two Samsung 830 SSDs, plus a pair of 750 GB hard drives (manually mirrored) for local data. Video = my old BFG 7950GT OC on two 1920 X 1200 monitors (desktop and movies only, no gaming).
Used for productivity apps and all general-purpose computing, INCLUDING several VMware virtual machines ALL THE TIME.
I'm looking for input on whether upgrading to a 3550k or 3770k would make for easier, higher overclocks, noticeably faster performance, give me speed improvements because of SATA 6 GB and USB3, etc. Another concern is the medium-term availability of decent (overclockable) X-58 MBs that don't cost $300 if my Rampage II craps out
Will I notice the improvement, or will I just be shuffling hardware and spending money? Best to wait for Haswell/Whatever-well, or do something now?
Box 2: Gaming PC and backup PC for productivity box: X4-965BE clocked at 3.6 GHz on a Gigabyte 880GA-UD3H with a Hyper-212 (clocks stable at 4 GHz, but no heat sinks on my MB VRMs at present). Two SSDs (Samsung 830 and a Crucial M4). 8 GB RAM. Win 7 64-bit. Antec True-Power Trio 650 PS. Video = HD-5870 1 GB. Monitor = single 1920 X 1200 (no need for gaming above this resolution, multi-GPU setups, multi-monitor gaming, etc).
I'm definitely noticing the need to upgrade the 5870, especially on FC3, etc, so I'm looking for a 7870, 9650, 7950, 660Ti or a 670 on super sale over the next couple of months. No real question there, but I'm wondering whether the 965BE is still suitable for gaming (with new GPU), or whether I should slide the i7-930 over from my productivity PC if it gets upgraded, etc?
My present PCs are working fine, but my local Microcenter is but an hour away
Your thoughts, as always, are appreciated.
Thanks,
--Kirk in MN
Trying to decide whether to upgrade my two main PCs. I like to stay in the price/performance sweet spot...not the $$$ bleeding edge.
Box 1: Productivity: i7-930 on an ASUS Rampage II Gene OCd to a moderate 3.8 GHz with a Hyper 212. Win 7 64-bit HP (soon Win 8 Pro so I can double the RAM) 12GB RAM (soon to be 24GB). Silverstone 750 PS. Two Samsung 830 SSDs, plus a pair of 750 GB hard drives (manually mirrored) for local data. Video = my old BFG 7950GT OC on two 1920 X 1200 monitors (desktop and movies only, no gaming).
Used for productivity apps and all general-purpose computing, INCLUDING several VMware virtual machines ALL THE TIME.
I'm looking for input on whether upgrading to a 3550k or 3770k would make for easier, higher overclocks, noticeably faster performance, give me speed improvements because of SATA 6 GB and USB3, etc. Another concern is the medium-term availability of decent (overclockable) X-58 MBs that don't cost $300 if my Rampage II craps out
Will I notice the improvement, or will I just be shuffling hardware and spending money? Best to wait for Haswell/Whatever-well, or do something now?
Box 2: Gaming PC and backup PC for productivity box: X4-965BE clocked at 3.6 GHz on a Gigabyte 880GA-UD3H with a Hyper-212 (clocks stable at 4 GHz, but no heat sinks on my MB VRMs at present). Two SSDs (Samsung 830 and a Crucial M4). 8 GB RAM. Win 7 64-bit. Antec True-Power Trio 650 PS. Video = HD-5870 1 GB. Monitor = single 1920 X 1200 (no need for gaming above this resolution, multi-GPU setups, multi-monitor gaming, etc).
I'm definitely noticing the need to upgrade the 5870, especially on FC3, etc, so I'm looking for a 7870, 9650, 7950, 660Ti or a 670 on super sale over the next couple of months. No real question there, but I'm wondering whether the 965BE is still suitable for gaming (with new GPU), or whether I should slide the i7-930 over from my productivity PC if it gets upgraded, etc?
My present PCs are working fine, but my local Microcenter is but an hour away
Your thoughts, as always, are appreciated.
Thanks,
--Kirk in MN