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A Question for the Informed Masses

J

Justinat0r

Member
^_^ Hi guys, first post here, I've lurked for quite a while and I thought I'd register today and get an opinion from you all.

After quite a bit of lurking around I have a decent feel for the process of PC building and I've experimented with upgrading my own PC, the latest upgrade being extra RAM and a 750 watt power supply. So while I've never really built my own PC, I don't think I'd have a very hard time with it, but my biggest limiting factor is time. As a result of this time limitation, I've decided to go with one of two options: Buy a pre-built PC, or upgrade my current PC like hell. I figure upgrading my PC will be much less time consuming since I won't have to spend hours of pouring over benchmarks and user reviews of every single component and I'd only have to upgrade key areas.

My current PC, which I bought about a year and a half ago when I decided I wanted to seriously get into PC gaming is a Dell Studio XPS sx8100-1986NBC and for those of you who are unable to bring yourself to look at a Dell :thumbsdown: product review, the important specs are:

2.8GHz Intel Core i7 860
8GB 1,066MHz DDR3 SDRAM
1GB ATI Radeon HD 5770

The PC, in and of itself is not terrible. The fans can be quite loud, but the overall performance is quite nice. I can run Skyrim fairly well at 1080p (no AA, however). My main problem with it is I have quite a bit of extra spending money right now since I got a new job making basically two times :wub: my previous jobs salary, and I'm itching to "upgrade". So my question I am posing to you all is: Should I upgrade GPU and be done with it? Or should I buy a completely new pre-built, and IF I should scrap it, what are the best PC builders out there? (i.e. Puget, IBuyPower, CyberPower, etc)

Thanks for your input!

Note: I'm willing to spend up to $2500-3000 on this endeavor.
 
I'd just get a new GPU and maybe a better case with better airflow than the Dell case.

I'd honestly wait to see what happens in the next month or so with new GPUs.

Your CPU is fine for games, you've got plenty of RAM, the only real issue is your GPU.

You absolutely do not need to spend $2500-3000 unless it's really just burning a hole in your pocket.
 
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nickb64 said:
I'd just get a new GPU and maybe a better case with better airflow than the Dell case.

I'd honestly wait to see what happens in the next month or so with new GPUs.

Your CPU is fine for games, you've got plenty of RAM, the only real issue is your GPU.

You absolutely do not need to spend $2500-3000 unless it's really just burning a hole in your pocket.
Click to expand...

Excuse my ignorance, but my CPU is clocked at 2.8GHz, I've seen a lot of games lately requiring 3.0GHz+. Since my CPU is multi-core does that 3.0GHz become less of a significant difference or...?

Maybe I am reading too much into system requirements. 😛
 
Justinat0r said:
Excuse my ignorance, but my CPU is clocked at 2.8GHz, I've seen a lot of games lately requiring 3.0GHz+. Since my CPU is multi-core does that 3.0GHz become less of a significant difference or...?

Maybe I am reading too much into system requirements. 😛
Click to expand...

You've got an i7, you should be fine for damn near everything. Some things are recommending 3 GHz for dual cores like the Athlon 64 X2 and Core 2 Duo, but your i7 at 2.8 GHz is already faster per core than those CPUs by a long shot, not to mention having more cores.
 
Justinat0r said:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102957

this is the card I'm thinking of buying. I don't see any point for spending an insane amount for the 6990. I know it's amazing and all, but I dont have any use for that kind of power. Is the card I linked the best around that price? Or would you guys recommend something better?
Click to expand...

That's a solid card. I doubt the 6990 would fit in the Dell case anyway, and it's absurd to spend that much on a card anyway, IMO.
 
If you are willing/able to reinstall the OS, get an SSD something in the 80-120GB range to put the OS on. Night and day difference.

Plus the new GPU.
 
TheStu said:
If you are willing/able to reinstall the OS, get an SSD something in the 80-120GB range to put the OS on. Night and day difference.

Plus the new GPU.
Click to expand...


Might have to invest in a new case too. I noticed something alarming today... I was running Skyrim and I looked at my GPU temp... It was hovering between 95C and 99C after 30 minutes of game play.
 
Justinat0r said:
Might have to invest in a new case too. I noticed something alarming today... I was running Skyrim and I looked at my GPU temp... It was hovering between 95C and 99C after 30 minutes of game play.
Click to expand...

When was the last time you got in there with some canned air and murderized the dust bunnies?
 
Justinat0r said:
Might have to invest in a new case too. I noticed something alarming today... I was running Skyrim and I looked at my GPU temp... It was hovering between 95C and 99C after 30 minutes of game play.
Click to expand...

Dell cases tend to have fairly poor airflow.

You could spend anywhere from $50 to several hundred on a case. I'm sure we can recommend something. The cases that have been reviewed on the site recently are pretty good as well.
 
nickb64 said:
Dell cases tend to have fairly poor airflow.

You could spend anywhere from $50 to several hundred on a case. I'm sure we can recommend something. The cases that have been reviewed on the site recently are pretty good as well.
Click to expand...

I have seen a distinction made of a "mid sized" and a "full sized" case. Do you recommend getting a case which is considered full sized (more room for air flow between components) or do you recommend a mid sized case, as I have now, just with better airflow. I am a bit of an upgrade fiend so I suppose it would be pretty useful to buy a full sized case, but I'm wondering if the screws and length of cords and such are designed for a mid-sized case on a pre-built computer. Because certainly the case I have now is medium sized, it's packed with stuff!
 
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