New build vs GTX 670

[cmdrdredd]

So I have been thinking a bit and I was considering a total rebuild mobo/cpu/memory/HSF.

I was going to keep everything else. Now I wonder if I would be better served for gaming to just upgrade to a GTX670. What does everyone think? DO I need a new system before a new GPU or can my current system last a bit more? Primarily I play BF3, Crysis 2, Skyrim, need to start playing Deus Ex: Human Revolution (installed but not started), Mass Effect 3, going to do Diablo 3 and Max Payne 3 as well as Crysis 3 whenever that releases.

So now I'm starting to doubt my original plans and wonder if I can stretch this out longer by just getting a new GPU or if someone thinks I should definitely be looking into rebuilding and grabbing a GPU later.

 

[lehtv]

Why not wait until you can afford a total system overhaul? I think your current setup is pretty balanced. Upgrading the CPU won't improve gaming performance all that much despite the rather high price of such an upgrade. And a GTX 670, being almost twice as fast as 6950, will definitely be held back if not crippled by the CPU. So you might as well wait and build up your budget until you can get the performance you're paying for. In the meantime, you might see price drops on the new generation hardware they settle in to the market

 

[cmdrdredd]

Why not wait until you can afford a total system overhaul? I think your current setup is pretty balanced. Upgrading the CPU won't improve gaming performance all that much despite the rather high price of such an upgrade. And a GTX 670, being almost twice as fast as 6950, will definitely be held back if not crippled by the CPU. So you might as well wait and build up your budget until you can get the performance you're paying for. In the meantime, you might see price drops on the new generation hardware they settle in to the market

There are people running GTX 680s with AMD cpus and that's considered ok even when some of the AMD CPUs running don't approach the performance of even the 5 year old Core2Quad.

So I'm having a hard time believing that, and obviously nobody is reviewing these cards on older hardware (something I wish would be done to show whether the upgrades are worth it).

Basically what I'm looking at is the following scenario. I upgrade one or the other next week. If I do a complete rebuild I can grab a GTX670 either in a few weeks or if they sell out, then whenever they come back in stock. This is what I was considering previously. Either that or get a GTX 670 to hold me over. It's not a matter of being able to afford it. I can still do a rebuild later this summer if I grab a 670 now, but I don't know which would help me more immediately.

 

[lehtv]

The GPU upgrade would have a bigger impact for sure. You won't run it at full potential, i.e. you will get a big increase in framerates when upgrading the CPU later on. But it'll improve framerates over 6950 much more than a CPU upgrade could.

 

[cmdrdredd]

The GPU upgrade would have a bigger impact on FPS, for sure.

Might not be a bad idea to do that then. At least for now, I mean...I can always build up an Ivy system this summer. A friend of mine was going to buy this from me but I don't think he's ready to spend any money right now which is why I've had a change of perspective and am second guessing my decision.

 

[mfenn]

A Core 2 Quad at 3.8GHz is no slouch. While you would theoretically be bottlenecked by the CPU in some games, that bottleneck is going to be high enough that it won't matter that much. What I mean is that you might be "stuck" at 60 FPS whereas you could theoretically go to 90 FPS if you had a faster CPU. So there's a difference, but it's largely academic. Besides, you can always just turn up the AA and AF to compensate. :awe:

 

[cmdrdredd]

Yeah...I wish there was time and resources for sites to go back to older hardware that we might have and toss in a new GPU to see what happens to the numbers.