cpu upgrade? and gpu to match it

[Bman123]

Alright guys rig is in my sig. I built this whole tower for $278 was the cheapest way to get on s1155 at the time as I've been low on cash. My b day is January 10th and ill be upgrading the CPU and video card that week. I don't know what to honestly do. I know I can't oc whatever I get due to my board and that's fine with me.

I'm trying to do the upgrade for pretty cheap, like $250 for the CPU and gpu Max. If I go with i5 2400 that leaves me $100 for the gpu, if I go i3 2100 it leaves me $150 for the gpu. My Res is only 1280x720 and I don't plan on changing it anytime soon since its hooked up to my HDTV in the living room.

For a idea of performance I get with sig rig here's this.
Fallout new Vegas ultra default settings no aa or af, 12x7 Res my minimum fps stays above 30, avg about 45 max is 60 with v sync on, with it off my screen tears and looks like shit.

The PC is mainly used for Netflix, hulu streaming as I don't have cable TV due to the price. So the PC is on from 8am til 2am. The current setup works perfect for that. I only game after work maybe a hour or two Mon thru sat, Sunday I try to get at least 3 good hours in gaming.

I don't plan on playing bf3 I don't like it, main games will be mw3, fo NV and I want to try out rage. Nothing else out or coming out soon that interests me.

What CPU and gpu would you get and why? I'm sure the current rig will play mw3 but I'm not sure with how good the fps will be in mw3 online or rage. Hence me wanting to upgrade thanks in advance, ill play mw3 sp tonight and post the results too.

I have no problem buying a used current Gen video card but at this Res I have no clue what card to get to Max those games out with full aa and af

 

[happy medium]

i3 2100 and a faster gpu.
I think there is still a gtx4601gb for 120$ AR in Newegg.

If going with a used card, go for a 4870 1gb or gtx260 (216 core) for about 70$

Or mabe a 5770 for about 85$.
All these cards are 2x faster than your current card.

 

[Fefster]

keep the g530 and get a 6770.

 

[happy medium]

keep the g530 and get a 6770.

that g530 is pretty quick, here it is paired with a 6970 vs a i3 2100 with a 6970.

I agree, save your money and buy a used 5770 for about 70/80$

 

[nyker96]

I also say keep G530, get a used 5770. best bang for buck.

 

[aigomorla]

Sb celeron g530, biostar h61 mlb, evga 8800gt, 2x2 Gb 1333mhz crucial, 320gb wd blue, lite on dvd ,corsair cx430,

Dont bother with a platform upgrade.

Keep your platform, upgrade the GPU first as it would give you the best gaming performance.
You can at the very least take it with you on a upgrade... so get a good video card.
(im going to recommend u find at least a 5850 class or a 460gtx class, and yes i am fairly confident your cx430 can handle it.)
Also i would recommend you getting a faster hard drive, with more cache.

 

[sm625]

Try and see how it works with just a gpu upgrade. An 8800GT pulls a lot of power at idle. Something newer would reduce your total average power consumption by more than 50%. After you see the performance with a new gpu u might decide you can wait till 22nm.

 

[Bman123]

I got the hard drive for $40 which I couldn't beat at the time due to the current prices.
You think its a good idea to get a gtx460 or hd6850 when my Res is so low?

 

[happy medium]

I got the hard drive for $40 which I couldn't beat at the time due to the current prices.
You think its a good idea to get a gtx460 or hd6850 when my Res is so low?

Yea, It will last you a good while.:thumbsup:

But a 5770 will perform just as good now for much less if you get one used.

 

[Bman123]

Well I fired up MW3 single player and here are the results at 1280x720
Played the mission with the chopper fight and I did the avg min and max benchmark thru fraps and this is what I got
min 35
avg 38
max 42
Settings
AA- off
shadows- yes
Specular map- yes
depth of field- yes
ambient occlusion- off
soften smoke edges- yes
bullet impacts- yes
image quality- native
texture quality- all set to high

 

[Bman123]

Now with that posted what do you guys think about the upgrade? Do you still say video card or cpu and video card?

My minimum is low, close to the almost lag zone. I didnt notice any lag when I was playing and it seems to run pretty smooth

 

[Bman123]

I turned all the settings to Max even aa and went from 12x7 to 19x10 Res and had the same frame rate. What do you think now?

 

[fourdegrees11]

Dosent a lower resolution put more strain on the CPU? I think you could get away with an upgrade of both

Sapphire HD 6850 $145 has $15 rebate - reportedly can OC to 950mhz core 1.2ghz mem easily, putting it close to a 6870.

http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-6850-...1956275&sr=8-1

i3 2120 - $130

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i3-2120-...1956693&sr=1-1

That puts you $25 over, or $10 after you get your rebate. I think it would be worth the little extra for a massive performance gain.

 

[Bman123]

The game plays fine at this res, I just don't like how low my minimum frame rate is and I know a better cpu will increase the minimum

 

[happy medium]

You better off with the cheapest used gtx4601gb/6850 you can find. Both your minimums and avg will go way higher.

 

[Bman123]

You better off with the cheapest used gtx4601gb/6850 you can find. Both your minimums and avg will go way higher.

So you think this CPU is ok and a video card upgrade will be enough? I figure the CPU is the bottleneck because I get the same framerate no matter what Res I use. Don't get me wrong mw3 plays fine as does new Vegas. I've been out of the PC gaming loop for so long and just got back to it and I got the upgrade itch already lol.I knew this would happen.

The games look so much better then they did on the 360 so I'm pretty happy with it.

 

[sm625]

Dude....

http://www.hwcompare.com/1218/geforce-8800-gt-1gb-vs-radeon-hd-5770/

A 5770 smacks the 8800GT like a red headed stepchild. And thats just the 5700 series.... Definitely upgrade the gpu before even thinking of upgrading the cpu.

So you think this CPU is ok and a video card upgrade will be enough? I figure the CPU is the bottleneck because I get the same framerate no matter what Res I use.

There's more to it than that. You have bandwidth and you have latency. Bandwidth effects performance at different resolutions. Latency effects performance at any resolution. Minimum framerates will skyrocket with a new gpu.