Feeling the upgrade itch

[krnmastersgt]

I've hung around General Hardware for quite a while, then went back to lurking its threads again and normally I'd have no trouble helping someone with an upgrade plan (or at least trying to). But I feel I need some extra input on my decision.

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

I use my system for just about everything, mixture of gaming + videos + actual work, etc. As for the games I currently play, its mainly just DOTA 2, LoL, Super Monday Night Combat, a few other titles not worth mentioning (2d graphics etc.), occasionally some Starcraft 2 and the only game I'm really looking forward to adding to the mix is Guild Wars 2.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

Lower the better, I'd like to cap this at around $400.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

The US

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.

I'm actually a bit of a Biostar fanboy as of late, haven't had a single one of their boards give me issues and I like the whole red on black color scheme they've got going. I'm fine with most companies though.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

I'll keep using whatever parts I have on me that I don't upgrade in the next few days/weeks.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

I've always enjoyed overclocking, rather a shame this budget board doesn't let me play with my Q6600 though. I plan to do a mix, probably a mild OC most of the time and then throttle it down during the summer to avoid excess power/heat.

8. What resolution will you be using?

Currently 1920x1080.

Note that it is usually not cost or time effective to choose your build more than a month before you actually plan to be using it.

Plan on ordering parts in the next few days if I'm doing the platform upgrade, otherwise I'll probably just wait for a good deal to come along.

Anyways I'm at a bit of a crossroads, in the past I knew which part was annoying me/keeping me down and needed to be upgraded/replaced. Right now however I'd say my system does pretty much everything I need it to, I just want it to do that job better.

Option A: Platform upgrade
CPU: i5 3570k ($230 - $20 rebate)
MoBo: Biostar TZ77B ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($90 - $10 rebate)
Ram: Hopefully some deal on a 2x4GB set comes up in the next few days, otherwise just grabbing one of the sets for around $40

Total cost: Around $350 + taxes, with $30 in rebates.

Option B: General upgrade
SSD: I'd probably do a bit more research if I went this route but I'm thinking a Crucial M4 128GB or 256GB as a more long term component so between $130 and $250
Ram: Same as above

Total cost: Roughly $170 + taxes or $280 + taxes

And for those wondering about the OS cost for Option A, I'd probably be able to get a key through MSDNAA. If not I know someone who has an extra key that I could get for cheap.

I was also thinking of a possible third option, an H61 board + i3 2100 and I'd have enough in the budget to grab an SSD as well though I'm not sure I'd like that as much in the long run, even though the immediate returns would probably be the best of all the options.

So please, feedback so I can decide! If I'm going with option A I'd like to know in the next day or so since TigerDirect finally got more stock for around $210.

 

[Chapbass]

Personally I'd say SSD. Its a massive upgrade (what HDD do you have now? not that it really matters I guess), though the only downside is that SSD tech is still rapidly improving. If it wasn't for that IMO it would be a no-brainer.

That said, you could probably get an ivy bridge setup, then in a few years when SSD is leaps and bounds better than it is now (not to mention a ton cheaper), you could spring for something then. That may be your best option long term, though IMO the difference in general feeling wouldn't be as much right now (maybe with the exception of Guild Wars? I'm not sure how CPU limited that game is, but I'm sure there are some games that the q6600 can't keep up with the 460 you have right now...)

 

[krnmastersgt]

As for current hard drives, I'm running 2 Seagate Barracudas, a 500 GB as my primary drive and a 1.5 TB as a secondary storage drive.

What you said pretty much summed up how I felt about all my options at this point Chapbass, I'd notice the SSD upgrade the most but at the same time it's a still rapidly developing/evolving technology for the most part. Not to mention in a year's time it'll probably reach much lower price/GB ratios.

As for my games, I'm not really CPU limited by any of them aside from Starcraft 2 occasionally. I believe Guild Wars 2 utilizes an optimized version of the engine for their first game so it also shouldn't be all that intensive. There are plenty of games where both my video card and my CPU would struggle but for the most part those aren't the types of games I play so it hasn't really bothered me to this point.

Still not sure what to do! Any other feedback would be appreciated.

 

[krnmastersgt]

Hmm well Hot Deals seemed to like me today, I found deals on both options.

Micro Center has the 3570k for $190 though they're out of stock currently, they do have the 2500k for $170 though so that is still tempting. Also if I were to get the 3570k when they hopefully restock, they also offer $50 off any Z77 motherboard, so I'd be able to pick up the board + 3570k for around $250-$260 + taxes if they ever get more stock. Not to mention they have Ram for a bit less, Option A would come out just about $300 + tax which is quite a nice savings.

Edit: Nevermind on the M4, deal seems dead.

This decision is getting harder 🙁

 

[mfenn]

Your gaming needs are that intensive right now, so I'd say the biggest overall performance boost that you'll see is from an SSD. Luckily the M4 128GB is very inexpensive right now at $125.

 

[bryanisleet]

If you have a microcenter near you they are having a sale on all of their processors http://slickdeals.net/f/4316960-Int...I5-models-and-I3-as-well-microcenter-in-store

 

[krnmastersgt]

Yeah I'm fully aware my components have no issues with the games I'm currently playing (though I hear GW2 can get hectic in some situations), just felt like it was time for an upgrade.

But after a bit more thinking I'm currently leaning towards the SSD since I don't think I'd have trouble waiting for Haswell next year. I don't upgrade platforms often as my current system shows. I still love this Q6600 though I'm not sure what I'll do with it if I do get a platform upgrade. Too attached to the thing to sell it 🙁