Please let me upgrade? :-)

[Rune DK]

Usually I upgrade my hardware around summer each year and let the girlfriend inherit my previous setup. Last year I decided to skip the yearly upgrade due to barely being able to expect an increase in performance.

I should probably mention that I only research hardware and tech once a year to avoid temptation, hehe. Anyway, I skipped last years upgrade, expecting to do a major upgrade this year, so imagine my surprise when once again I'm looking at skipping the upgrade.

I'm using what feels like pretty old hardware. An overclocked i7 920 running 3.5 on air, radeon 5870, 12 gb ram and a 160 GB X25-M G2 SSD. I used this setup to multibox WoW back in the days, but I've quit since and my next game will most likely be Diablo 3.

Still being in the research-process it would appear as if I'm not really looking at more of a performance increase this year either. Could that really be so or am I just looking in the wrong places?

 

[Blain]

Upgrading should only be done when...
1. You have a performance need to do so.
2. You have so much cash that you need to throw some of it around.

 

[biostud]

What monitor do you have?

Velkommen til

 

[Rune DK]

Upgrading should only be done when...
1. You have a performance need to do so.
2. You have so much cash that you need to throw some of it around.

Or one of the other many reasons, such as:

3. You wish to have a more quiet PC
4. You wish to have a smaller PC
5. You want to switch computer/OS type (mac -> pc, pc -> mac)

Of course, that all depends on how you define "perfomance need" and a "need" to throw cash around.

When do you ever really "need" anything? Such as a new PC? If you want to play a game with high hardware requirements, does that constitute a "need"? Do you ever really "need" to play PC games? Do you really "need" a 27" display over, say, a 17" display?

Do you really "need" to eat a gourmet steak at a good restaurant when you can eat salad and chicken at home? Do you need to buy new clothes over used clothes? Do you "need" a car with an engine capable of accelerating from 0 to 100 kmt (/62 mph) in less than 20 seconds?

The answer to most of those is probably no, though I like to opt for the fun scenarios. I guess that falls in the throwing money around category Regardless, my question is still the same

 

[Rune DK]

What monitor do you have?

Velkommen til

I'm using a 27" Philips display (273E) - it's ok, though nothing spectacular, but I got it as part of a home-pc deal from work, so it didn't cost me anything.

Og tak

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Push your overclock a little higher first and then see what you feel.

 

[Rune DK]

I should probably refine my request a bit.

From what I'm seeing, my best bet for a CPU at the moment is an i5 2500 or an i7 2600, which at stock speed from what I can tell compares to my overclocked 920. Can this really be true or am I missing something here? I realize that a proper comparison would be OC CPU to OC CPU, but still.

As for the GPU, I guess my best bet (from what I can tell) is the 6970 or 6950 (I'm only looking at single card setups), which is an upgrade, though not a big upgrade.

Are there any significant CPU/GPU upgrades coming up from AMD/Intel in the next few months?

I'm tempted to keep my graphics card and do a setup similar to http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2139225 and if needed, switch the graphics card when Diablo 3 releases.

 

[Rune DK]

Push your overclock a little higher first and then see what you feel.

Thanks for the input. At the moment I'm at the limit of what I can do with air (at a bearable fan setting), so I'm unlikely to be able to go higher than 3.6, and even then I'm risking freezes when the apartment gets hot

 

[biostud]

Do you have any games/software that doesn't run as you wish?
If answer is no, then save money for upgrades, when you have an actual need. I would suggest to save money for 28nm video card launch this fall and a socket 2011 Sandy Bridge-E. Upgrading from a 3.5Gz Quad to a ~4.5Ghz quad is simply not worth it IMHO.

 

[infoiltrator]

Upgrade the girlfriends rig, see if you like it? IF she needs it I suppose.

 

[Venom20]

Yeah, it's pretty much the same.

I also agree that it makes little sense to discuss an OC'd system in comparison to a non-OC'd system.

Upgrading should only take place when you feel as though you could benefit from added power. To schedule it every summer seems odd to me. But I say that currently if you have no need for the added power, then save your money. Upgrade, if need be, when D3 comes out.

 

[mfenn]

I should probably refine my request a bit.

From what I'm seeing, my best bet for a CPU at the moment is an i5 2500 or an i7 2600, which at stock speed from what I can tell compares to my overclocked 920. Can this really be true or am I missing something here? I realize that a proper comparison would be OC CPU to OC CPU, but still.

As for the GPU, I guess my best bet (from what I can tell) is the 6970 or 6950 (I'm only looking at single card setups), which is an upgrade, though not a big upgrade.

Are there any significant CPU/GPU upgrades coming up from AMD/Intel in the next few months?

I'm tempted to keep my graphics card and do a setup similar to http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2139225 and if needed, switch the graphics card when Diablo 3 releases.

We can help you a lot better if you tell us what you'd like to accomplish instead of just naming random parts.

Do you want more CPU performance?
Do you want a quieter machines?
Do you need more FPS in a particular game?
etc.

 

[Blain]

We can help you a lot better if you tell us what you'd like to accomplish instead of just naming random parts.

Do you want more CPU performance?
Do you want a quieter machines?
Do you need more FPS in a particular game?
etc.

Aren't you picking up any vibes?

 

[mvbighead]

Honestly, if I am you OP, I might look at upgrading a GPU or something, but you're really looking at minimal performance gains. Definitely not worth spending 1000-2000 on a new rig just because it is summer.

Now, if someone who gets your hand downs is having troubles, I suppose upgrade away... but it looks like you're just a shade below top tech, so what is the point?

 

[mfenn]

Aren't you picking up any vibes?

Spoiler

I suppose they shouldn't have allowed inline images.