PC Gaming for the next couple years

[Sniper82]

Got around $500 to spend on a upgrade. I currently have a Phenom II 720BE x3 with 4th core unlocked at 3.3ghz, 4gb DDR2, 5770 1gb. Was thinking about going sandy bridge and keeping my current video card. However would I be better off getting a better video card if all I am focusing on is my PC being able to game at 1080p for the next couple years? Would the SB benefit me more or the video card if I was to not upgrade anything for the next couple years?

 

[stahlhart]

I'd go with CPU/RAM/motherboard. To be honest, I've never been similarly wowed by a GPU upgrade in an existing system.

 

[mnewsham]

I would personally spend 300 or so on cpu/motherboard then save the rest for 28nm gpu's in the coming months.

 

[fffblackmage]

If you sell your current cpu, mobo and GPU, you'll probably have more than enough money to get the SB platform plus a better graphics card.

 

[mfenn]

I'm going to go against the grain here and recommend that you upgrade your GPU. I went from a 5770-class card (GTX 260) to a 6950 and the performance difference was quite noticeable. A C2D-class chip at 3.3GHz is no slouch either.

Then again, if you save up $30 more, you can get both:

GTX 560 Ti $200 AR
i5 2400 + GA-Z68A-D3H $295
4GB DDR3 1333 $37 - you can add another stick to go to 8GB later
Total: $532 AR

 

[Sniper82]

so the 2500k is a worthy upgrade from what I have? I actually will probably upgrade my video card within the next 6-8 months either way if I don't now.

 

[dpodblood]

I'm going to go against the grain here and recommend that you upgrade your GPU. I went from a 5770-class card (GTX 260) to a 6950 and the performance difference was quite noticeable. A C2D-class chip at 3.3GHz is no slouch either.

Then again, if you save up $30 more, you can get both:

GTX 560 Ti $200 AR
i5 2400 + GA-Z68A-D3H $295
4GB DDR3 1333 $37 - you can add another stick to go to 8GB later
Total: $532 AR

I would agree. I recently upgraded to a GTX 570, and SB 2500k. The video card arrived a few days early so I installed it in my c2d 3GHz system, and it made a huge difference. Almost made upgrading the rest of my components seems like a waste of time.

 

[Sniper82]

I would agree. I recently upgraded to a GTX 570, and SB 2500k. The video card arrived a few days early so I installed it in my c2d 3GHz system, and it made a huge difference. Almost made upgrading the rest of my components seems like a waste of time.

well what if I went with a AM3+ board(use current CPU),8gb DDR3,upgraded video card and once BD comes out go with that? Would that be a good route to take? Thing is I have the money now to do some upgrades I am not certain I'll still have the funds available 6 months from now(aside from maybe a couple hundred for a CPU/GPU).

 

[dpodblood]

well what if I went with a AM3+ board(use current CPU),8gb DDR3,upgraded video card and once BD comes out go with that? Would that be a good route to take? Thing is I have the money now to do some upgrades I am not certain I'll still have the funds available 6 months from now(aside from maybe a couple hundred for a CPU/GPU).

May be a good route to take. Of course we don't have any benchmarks to prove what BD performance will be like, but it will certainly be better than what you have now.

 

[Sniper82]

yeah I'm not holding my breath on it being better than SB but am certain it will be better then what I got. However is BD guaranteed(or does anyone know?) to work with any AM3+ mobo(black socket) currently out?

 

[mfenn]

yeah I'm not holding my breath on it being better than SB but am certain it will be better then what I got. However is BD guaranteed(or does anyone know?) to work with any AM3+ mobo(black socket) currently out?

Nothing is guaranteed until Bulldozer is released. I would definitely not recommend buying a new AMD mobo until we see the performance on BD. Your current CPU will definitely be fine for the next few months and by waiting you avoid painting yourself into a corner in case BD is a flop (or too expensive).