Oh help me jeebus! The upgrade itch is so strong! --UPDATE--

[JoeKing]

==UPDATE==
Just to give an update, I did end up buying a new processor got a AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8GHz for cheap and things are now NOTICEABLY faster. What freaked me out was it took literally 5 mins to install the CPU. I told the wifey I'd be in the office for a while working on the computer thinking it would, well take a while. But nope 5 mins and done. Motherboard picked it up right away, Windows 7 said cool let me restart once, and now I'm online crunching away... plug... and play?! Whoa it's finally happened.

Now to fire up handbrake and let it get to crunching. Itch is scratched... for now... dun dun dun.

==/UPDATE==

Welp it's happened. After 2+ years of being "just fine" with the gear in my main computer, I've started reading reviews on hardware once again, subconsciously building a new rig... I just dreamed I built a new computer

Damnit! I'm trying to hold out the 8 months until I get back to the states and can save on the insane shipping fees. Halp me OT, keep me from doing a full upgrade! Tell me about how I if I wait X amount of time there's gonna be this super new thing out and how everything will be cheaper and faster.

And the reason I can't take advantage of all of the insane deals I'm seeing online is because I'm in the military and currently stationed in Italy. Newegg charges a boatload to ship here, along with the majority of the other vendors stateside. And buying on the economy?! The markup on electronics in Italy is insane, not to mention it's in Euro...

current specs:
-AMD Phenom II X2 550 (got it to attempt the 3rd core unlock)
-ASUS M4A78 Plus (bought it not realizing it wasn't capable of doing the 3rd core unlock)
-GeForce GTX 260 (I've got a spare on hand to SLI, but I don't think my PSU can take it and besides the CPU is the bottleneck already)
-G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2
-80GB Intel SSD
-1TB 7200rpm Western Digital black or whatever it's called
-CORSAIR 650W PSU

The only thing I've added/upgraded since the inital build was the 1TB HD.

 

[Tsavo]

Stick an X4 in there and a GTX 460 or 560 and be set for a while.

 

[brianmanahan]

Switch to a i7 2500k, muchos betteros.

 

[Numenorean]

You definitely need to dump that AMD crap....why did you even buy a Phenom in the first place?

 

[BladeVenom]

You definitely need to dump that AMD crap....why did you even buy a Phenom in the first place?

Perhaps because AMD had a better upgrade path. He can drop a brand new processor in that two year old motherboard.

 

[Numenorean]

Perhaps because AMD had a better upgrade path. He can drop a brand new processor in that two year old motherboard.

So you can drop a crappy processor in to replace a crappy processor. AWESOME!!

 

[waggy]

AMD used to be good. the new shit has not impressed me in the slightest.

I been wanting to upgrade myself running a intell duel core 6600,4gig mem and a geforce 8800 gtx.

it's a old rig. but keep finding something else to spend my extra money on heh. Its sad i used to upgrade every 6-9 months.

 

[Maximilian]

Welp it's happened. After 2+ years of being "just fine" with the gear in my main computer, I've started reading reviews on hardware once again, subconsciously building a new rig... I just dreamed I built a new computer

Damnit! I'm trying to hold out the 8 months until I get back to the states and can save on the insane shipping fees. Halp me OT, keep me from doing a full upgrade! Tell me about how I if I wait X amount of time there's gonna be this super new thing out and how everything will be cheaper and faster.


current specs:
-AMD Phenom II X2 550
-ASUS M4A78 Plus
-GeForce GTX 260 (I've got a spare on hand to SLI, but I don't think my PSU can take it and besides the CPU is the bottleneck already)
-G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2
-80GB Intel SSD

New awesomeness coming soon:

AMD Bulldozer, brand new architecture
Intel Sandy bridge E, beefed up 6 core sandy bride on new socket 2011
New 28nm graphics cards to replace the 40nm stuff we have had for ~2 years

BUY IT ALL!!! :thumbsup:

 

[SithSolo1]

About a year ago I got the bug and built a system worse than that. Then I stopped playing games. Then BF3 beta came out. Now I have the bug again and the cash to make it happen. It hasn't been easy but if you distract yourself with wanting to upgrade multiple things you can only afford if you keep saving it helps. Oh and Hookers and Blow, that helps too.

 

[Numenorean]

AMD used to be good. the new shit has not impressed me in the slightest.

I been wanting to upgrade myself running a intell duel core 6600,4gig mem and a geforce 8800 gtx.

it's a old rig. but keep finding something else to spend my extra money on heh. Its sad i used to upgrade every 6-9 months.

I been wanting to upgrade myself running a intell duel core 6600,4gig mem and a geforce 8800 gtx.

running a intell duel core 6600

intell duel core

duel

duel

duel

duel

DUAL!!!

 

[SithSolo1]

DUAL!!!

Oh come on, maybe the cores spar with each other while "idling" so they are in peak shape for handling heavy loads.

 

[waggy]

DUAL!!!

i think i need a few more quote's to get it.

 

[Numenorean]

i think i need a few more quote's to get it.

That could be arranged.

 

[RockinZ28]

Feel you OP, although I want to build one just for the enjoyment of doing so. Mines almost 2 years old except for a gfx upgrade. i7 920 that'll hit 4ghz+ and a Gtx580, showing no signs of slowing down for gaming.

 

[Maleficus]

I've been feeling the itch lately as well, IDK why I don't even game really.

I have other things I want to spend my money on though so I will probably hold out. I was thinking I might try BF3 but that has passed luckily

>vehicles

lol.

 

[KingGheedora]

Welp it's happened. After 2+ years of being "just fine" with the gear in my main computer, I've started reading reviews on hardware once again, subconsciously building a new rig... I just dreamed I built a new computer

Damnit! I'm trying to hold out the 8 months until I get back to the states and can save on the insane shipping fees. Halp me OT, keep me from doing a full upgrade! Tell me about how I if I wait X amount of time there's gonna be this super new thing out and how everything will be cheaper and faster.


current specs:
-AMD Phenom II X2 550
-ASUS M4A78 Plus
-GeForce GTX 260 (I've got a spare on hand to SLI, but I don't think my PSU can take it and besides the CPU is the bottleneck already)
-G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2
-80GB Intel SSD

Review your finances / redo your budget. That's usually a good way to kill the itch for impulse spend.

 

[roguerower]

I've been feeling it to OP. I'm running an Intel E8400 @ stock with a 4850 at stock. Just started playing games again (SCII, Fallout: NV) and while they do a good job I get some awful lag sometimes. I was thinking of buying a cheap HTPC box and then parting out my existing PC to buy a new mATX setup. Can't at this point because I need the money for several other things. Oh well.

Wait til all the new stuff comes out to scratch the itch.

Review your finances / redo your budget. That's usually a good way to kill the itch for impulse spend.

Yep, like I pointed out, money is already spoken for in my case.

 

[waggy]

That could be arranged.

do we need to have a DUAL to figure this out? :sneaky:

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

Get an X4 955 plus a good cooler and overclock it to 4GHz. That is plenty of power for games.

If you want to go Socket 1155 they are the best processors out now but you will need to spend more.

A GTX 560 Ti or 6950 is the only thing I would upgrade to from a GTX 260 unless you can get a good deal on something else.

 

[fatpat268]

I had the upgrade itch a while ago, and then I realized that what I have right now is plenty fast and runs most every game I want to play just fine. Also not having the money to spend helped too.

I'm still itching to buy an SSD, but the prices just haven't dropped as much as I've hoped the last time I checked.

 

[AstroManLuca]

I've got it too, and I didn't care until my wife got a raise and our current financial situation will allow us to spend a fair bit of money on ourselves this December.

I have a similar setup right now - Phenom II X3 instead of an X2, and a Radeon 4870 which is about the same as the GTX 260.

Still runs whatever I throw at it, but in some games at least I have to turn down the detail a bit.

I could upgrade to an X4 945 (best CPU my motherboard supports) and perhaps a Radeon 6870 or 6950, but it seems hard to justify. I'd love to just start from scratch and get an i5 2500k, but that would be a much more expensive prospect.

Going from an X2 to an X4 might be a bigger jump though.

 

[Ken g6]

Stick an X4 in there

This might be the best option. I was thinking you could stick a z68 board in, a G530 or something, and wait for an Ivy Bridge to plug into it; but you'd need DDR3 RAM too.

Are there no computer shops where you are, where you could pay insane taxes instead of insane shipping fees?

Do not upgrade your GPU yet; the AMD 7000 series on 28nm is coming soon. (Probably next year.)

Edit: P.S. I have an upgrade plan: Nothing this year, a new Ivy Bridge laptop next year for low power consumption, and Haswell to replace my desktop in 2013. But I'm running a Q9400 now.

 

[SKORPI0]

I'm in the same boat with a Asus P5K Premium, Q6600 @ 3.2 GHz, 8 GB DDR2 1067MHz, PNY 9600GT 1024mb since mid 2007. Slow by todays standards, but it does the job I'm currently using it for (video re-encoding) Been getting more HDDs and gadgets to tinker with.

Could have done an upgrade to a LGA 1155 socket mobo (Z68), i7 2500k, 32GB DDR3 but always ended up with doing something else.

 

[AstroManLuca]

You definitely need to dump that AMD crap....why did you even buy a Phenom in the first place?

Probably when he built it the Phenom II was the best midrange option. I know when I built my Phenom II system, the only Intel options were the EOL Core 2s and the overpriced i7.

But for people building today I wouldn't even consider going AMD. The i3 is better than any AMDs for the same price and the i5 is better than any AMD at any price.

 

[BoomerD]

Switch to a i7 2500k, muchos betteros.

It might be...if there was such a thing. Until Intel invents one, maybe he could settle for the i5-2500K or the i7-2600K...(for most of us, the i5-2500K is the better choice...it really depends on the use)