Which Upgrade Path Would You Choose?

[Bowen]

I have a choice of upgrading my CPU, mobo, RAM and video card or keeping the same CPU, mobo and RAM and getting a new LCD monitor and video card. Despite what I choose, I'll still be buying a new video card either way though. I won't upgrading until around March or April of 2007. As far as video cards go I plan on getting either a GeForce 8800 GTX or a R600. If I go with the CPU that I want, I'm looking at the Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 processor along with DDR2 667MHz RAM and I'm not sure what mobo yet. As my specs show in my sig, I have an A64 X2 4400+ and despite how impressive the C2D E6700 is, I don't really think it will make that much difference in games and definitely everyday apps. The bottom line is, I don't think I'll be able to see a difference from my X2 4400+ to the C2D E6700, do you guys?

As far as monitors go, I'm looking for sizes between 20 and 24 inches. I currently am using a Viewsonic G90f 19inch CRT monitor. Of course I want the lowest response time along with the higher contrast ratio. I'm a gamer so monitor lag is a big concern. Because of low latency, I've pretty much decided on the Samsung 215TW which is a 21inch monitor with an 8ms response time. http://www.samsung.com/Products/Monitor/LCD_Digital/LS21DPWABXAA.asp?page=Features I was considering the 24 and 20.1 inch Dell LCD monitors but because of their latency time and this article, http://www.behardware.com/articles/632-1/lcds-images-delayed-compared-to-crts-yes.html I've decided against it. I believe the Samsung 215TW is the best monitor out there for that size. If anyone has any other recommendations please post them.

So I'm wondering what you guys would do? Go for the LCD monitor and video card or go for the vid card, CPU, RAM, mobo and keep my 19 inch CRT monitor?

 

[Astrogiblet]

From what I've seen other people saying, the only real performance increase you'll see out of a C2D (especially from a 4400) is is you overclock it. Otherwise, your not going to get any real speed increases or anything in general apps, surfing, or gaming..

Also. You can't go wrong with a Samsung monitor. They are the best monitors made, crt or lcd, IMHO.

For you, just an LCD and vid card would be good upgrades, as everything else seems to be pretty up to par. Although, if you want to unleash the full power of either of the two vid cards your thinking about, you'll probably need a faster CPU.

 

[Bowen]

Yeah, that's what I was leaning towards as well. Like I said if I had the money to get both I would but I don't think it will be a big deal. As far as getting the full power of the video card out, even the fastest C2D can't push the upcoming DX10 cards to their max, but I currently have a GeForce 7800 GTX 512 and either a 8800 GTX or an R600 should show very noticeable framerate increases...that is I should be able to raise my AA and then also use HDR+AA. The minimum framerate should increase as well as the maximum.

Really though, even with my current system I can play all games at 1600x1200, save Oblivion at 1280x1024 (can still play it at 1600x1200 but smoother at 1280x1024) with full AF and some AA. Between the two upgrade choices though, don't you think the new LCD monitor would be the more noticeable choice? My 4400+ should last just fine until 2009 I would think. The last time I saw a real noticeable difference when changing core systems was when I moved from a P3 800MHz to a Athlon 1.33GHz (T-bird). Then when I went from that to a AXP 1900+ there was a little bit of a change, but then from that to a P4 2.8GHz@3GHz I don't recall seeing any change despite the speed difference. Then again I saw nothing going from the P4 to my current X2 4400+, save running multiple apps, but nothing when running single-threaded apps and games, which most are single-threaded.

From what I've seen other people saying, the only real performance increase you'll see out of a C2D (especially from a 4400) is is you overclock it. Otherwise, your not going to get any real speed increases or anything in general apps, surfing, or gaming..

Also. You can't go wrong with a Samsung monitor. They are the best monitors made, crt or lcd, IMHO.

For you, just an LCD and vid card would be good upgrades, as everything else seems to be pretty up to par. Although, if you want to unleash the full power of either of the two vid cards your thinking about, you'll probably need a faster CPU.

 

[GMoney42392]

imo the beauty of c2d is their overclockability. any $200-$300 chip that can oc to on par with or better than the high end chips that cost $700+ easily is a hell of a chip, no matter how you look at it. if your content with using amd (upgrading mobos is no fun, no matter what its for), then go with the 20" lcd and new vidcard. at some point, definitely upgrade to a faster cpu so it doesn't bottleneck your vidcard.

 

[Bowen]

Yeah like I said before, if I had the money to do both, without a doubt I'd get the C2D, but from looking at benchmarks, I just don't see being able physically see differences between the two. It looks like on average there's about 12 or 13 FPS difference between the two. Sigh, I don't know though.....this is tough!

Despite the difference or lack thereof between my last few CPU upgrades, this CPU upgrade would definitely be moreso than in the past. It's just that you know going from a 19inch CRT to a 21 inch LCD will provide and instant visual difference. If I knew the C2D E6700 would show me a noticeable difference, I'd go that way. It's really frustrating having to choose between the two! My current monitor works fine with no problems whatsoever (knock on wood), but is it really worth it? I know there would definitely be an improvement with the C2D proc, it's just is it enough?

This is by no means set in stone, but I think I'm gonna go with the monitor and video card. If the decision was between just a LCD monitor upgrade and nothing else, then without a doubt I'd go with the CPU, mobo, vid card and RAM, but I'll be upgrading the video card too, so I'll definitely be getting a boost in game and graphic performance....just not as much as if I got the C2D in addition to it.

imo the beauty of c2d is their overclockability. any $200-$300 chip that can oc to on par with or better than the high end chips that cost $700+ easily is a hell of a chip, no matter how you look at it. if your content with using amd (upgrading mobos is no fun, no matter what its for), then go with the 20" lcd and new vidcard. at some point, definitely upgrade to a faster cpu so it doesn't bottleneck your vidcard.

 

[engiNURD]

Heh, I voted before I read the thread. I still use my 22" CRT along with my 20" LCD I still like my CRT better than my LCD, though. So, I voted for you to keep the CRT. However, seeing as how you already have a very capable CPU, there is no need at this time to upgrade it. I think it'll start to show its age in about 1.5yrs, and you won't need to upgrade it for another 6 months after that (so in about 2 yrs you should need a CPU upgrade). However, you could still keep the 19" CRT for a dual monitor setup.

 

[Bowen]

Well that's about the time I figured it as well. I won't be upgrading until next year and my next upgrade will be in 2009. As I've said before the last two upgrades, really three, I haven't seen that much an advantage between the CPU's and have actually been disappointed. I'm betting the same thing will happen again because as powerful as the C2D's are, it isn't enough to warrant a visual difference.

Even the video card won't show a massive difference to the eye, but I know that I'll be able to turn more features on like AA and HDR for example and raise the resolution a bit, maybe 1920x1200 or so, but I don't know exactly how bad it will look because the monitor is not in it's native resolution. Still, even my CRT won't go that high, or rather it will but at a refresh rate of around 60Hz, which will be fine for around five minutes and then after that, my eyes will be bleeding. As it is when I run my games at 1600x1200, the refresh rate is 75Hz, which is OK, but I wouldn't want it any lower than that.

I'm pretty certain that I've decided on the monitor route for those reasons I've listed above. Another bonus from not waiting is that when I do upgrade again in 2009, which will be a full upgrade this time, CPU, mobo, RAM and video card....I'll definitely see a noticeable difference in the CPU. Especially since I'll be getting a quad-core or higher. Quad-cores will be affordable in a couple of years, even one more year for that matter. By that time, there should be much more app and game support for multi-threaded/multi-cores!

If I already had a 22 inch CRT monitor, I might stick with it, but seeing how much more space and how good they look, I can no longer resist having an LCD widescreen monitor.

Heh, I voted before I read the thread. I still use my 22" CRT along with my 20" LCD I still like my CRT better than my LCD, though. So, I voted for you to keep the CRT. However, seeing as how you already have a very capable CPU, there is no need at this time to upgrade it. I think it'll start to show its age in about 1.5yrs, and you won't need to upgrade it for another 6 months after that (so in about 2 yrs you should need a CPU upgrade). However, you could still keep the 19" CRT for a dual monitor setup.

 

[CompuDrew]

I'd get the LCD and video card, but I'd also get another gig of ram.

 

[raanemaan]

I'd get the LCD and video card, but I'd also get another gig of ram.

my vote

 

[Sirion]

Yeah like I said before, if I had the money to do both, without a doubt I'd get the C2D, but from looking at benchmarks, I just don't see being able physically see differences between the two. It looks like on average there's about 12 or 13 FPS difference between the two. Sigh, I don't know though.....this is tough!

Despite the difference or lack thereof between my last few CPU upgrades, this CPU upgrade would definitely be moreso than in the past. It's just that you know going from a 19inch CRT to a 21 inch LCD will provide and instant visual difference. If I knew the C2D E6700 would show me a noticeable difference, I'd go that way. It's really frustrating having to choose between the two! My current monitor works fine with no problems whatsoever (knock on wood), but is it really worth it? I know there would definitely be an improvement with the C2D proc, it's just is it enough?

This is by no means set in stone, but I think I'm gonna go with the monitor and video card. If the decision was between just a LCD monitor upgrade and nothing else, then without a doubt I'd go with the CPU, mobo, vid card and RAM, but I'll be upgrading the video card too, so I'll definitely be getting a boost in game and graphic performance....just not as much as if I got the C2D in addition to it.

Of course, it all very much depends on your intended use. Yes, for gaming the 12-13FPS is nice but obviously not entirely necessar (especially if you're already pulling 60+FPS)... however, the true beauty of C2D comes with its ability to multitask so well. Productivity software will obviously get to benefit from this nicely and it will probably be more "visable" therein. Still though, the benefits can be seen throughout. All that being said... I do agree with the assesment of +vidcard +LCD. As for the ram upgrade.... well, the extra RAM would definately be a plus if you feel you can afford it.... However, if you do plan on doing the rest of the upgrade you may just want to hold out on the extra cost that you won't be able to carry over to the new setup.... Just a thought =)

 

[Bowen]

Sorry guys, I haven't updated my sig. I actually do have 2GB of RAM now. I've got to tell you when I added the other gig of ram, I didn't see a big difference in everyday operation until I played with Photoshop and saw how it loaded quicker and then BF2. With BF2, it was a massive difference!

Anyway that was a few months ago and I'm OK with multitasking as well because I already have a dual core proc. An A64 X2 4400+. Sure it's no C2D, but it good enough for the next 2 years before I do a full upgrade and then I plan on getting a Quad-core or something.

Back to issue at hand...I found a new 24 inch monitor with low response time. It's the Samsung SyncMaster 244T. http://www.samsung.com/Products/Monitor/LCD_Digital/LS24BRBABXAA.asp?page=Specifications
and here's a good review of it as well: http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?page=6131&head=0
So my new question with this is, will one video be enough to run a game with decent frames.....say 60+ to support this monitor's native resolution of 1920x1600? Remember I'm going to be getting either the G80 or the R600. I know both cards will be powerful but will they be powerful enough to give me the same amount of FPS that I get with my current resolution of 1600x1200 with my GeForce 7800 GTX 512?

I want to run games with as high as a resolution as possible but I want it run just as smoothly at 1920x1200 with either the G80 or R600 as I do now. Is that possible or do I need two video cards, in which that's not going to happen, or should I just go with a 20 or 21 inch LCD that supports a lower resolution like 1680x1050 or so? If games will run as smoothly with one of those cards with that 244T LCD, then without a doubt, I want that monitor! If not I'll have to settle for the Samsung 215TW, which isn't bad, but 24 inches is better than 21 right...

*UPDATE*
After seeing the first benchmarks for the GeForce 8800GTX (G80) one of my questions has been answered. Without a doubt I'll be able to run games at 1920x1200 since The Inq (please no crap about the Inq, other reviews will be available tomorrow and everyone will see these are legit) ran games at 2048x1536 and it's numbers are what I'm satisfied with and I'll be running at a lower resolution. My only standing question now is how does the monitor look with non-native resolutions?

Of course, it all very much depends on your intended use. Yes, for gaming the 12-13FPS is nice but obviously not entirely necessar (especially if you're already pulling 60+FPS)... however, the true beauty of C2D comes with its ability to multitask so well. Productivity software will obviously get to benefit from this nicely and it will probably be more "visable" therein. Still though, the benefits can be seen throughout. All that being said... I do agree with the assesment of +vidcard +LCD. As for the ram upgrade.... well, the extra RAM would definately be a plus if you feel you can afford it.... However, if you do plan on doing the rest of the upgrade you may just want to hold out on the extra cost that you won't be able to carry over to the new setup.... Just a thought =)