Should I Upgrade?

[Markgixer6]

Hello all,
This is my first post, and I want to get some expert advice before splashing the cash. I'm wondering if now is the right time to upgrade. Here is what I currently have :-

Lanparty UT RDX200 CF-DR (socket 939)
ATI X1800XT (matched pair in crossfire)
AMD 64 X2 3800+
Audigy 2 ZX Platinum Pro
Corsair 2GB DDR TWINX2048 3500LL Pro TwinX (2x1048MB) CAS2 (433Mhz)
Western Digital 150Gb Raptor 10,000rpm
Western Digital 320Gb 7,200rpm

Here's what I'm thinking of upgrading to:-

Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 2.4GHz 'Conroe' 4Mb Cache LGA775
Asus P5W DH Deluxe 975X PCI-E (Socket 775) DDR2 Motherboard
Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2 Dominator PC2-8500C5 TwinX (2x1GB)

Everything else will stay the same and go onto the new board. I have 3 questions really.

1. How much of a difference will this make from a gaming point of view (Medieval 2 told me my current set up wasn't good enough to bring all the armies on in some battles..very insulting). How much of a frame rate difference might it make.
2. Should I be looking for some alternative upgrades here?
3. Should I wait before upgrading anything, and if so, for how long?

I should add that my budget is about £650.
Any advice is greatly appreciated, so thanks in advance. Oh yeah, obviously I'm overclocking, and will do so with any new set up.

Cheers
Mark

 

[engiNURD]

1) unless that game is CPU intensive, it won't improve framerates much at all. Sell your X1800XTs and get some X1950XTs instead. That alone should improve your framerates, without a CPU upgrade.

2) Yes, see above.

3) Yes, wait until DX10 is more mainstream (DX10 games are out, DX10 cards are more affordable). Also, wait for the new Core2Duo's that are comin out in Q2'07.

 

[stogez]

If you can wait, see #3 above. Although IMO there is no need to buy a DX10 card till later in the year once there are a few games that actually support it and prices are down.

 

[happy medium]

That game is highly cpu intensive. Your cpu is slow. The core 2 duo will really help. Keep your video cards and try it with the new setup.

 

[Markgixer6]

Thanks for the replies. Actually I think I may do a complete rebuild. Now that windows Vista is coming out and DX10 cards are available, I think I should plan around that. I haven't seen any ATI cards that are specificly made for DX10, so I'm going for a 8800GTX. I'm not sure which m'board is best for this set up. Any idea? And if I do go for that card, will I need a e6700 or better to get the most from it?

Thanks

 

[engiNURD]

You'll need at least an E6400 OC'd to about 3.4Ghz to get the most out of that 8800GTX. If you want Crossfire, wait for the ATI R600 release, which should be in Feb. sometime. The best board for the 8800GTX in SLI is one that uses the nForce 680i SLI chipset (eVGA or Asus for now, I believe). If you want Crossfire, the Asus P5W DH Deluxe would be the best board for crossfire. Whats your budget? and what, if anything, will you be keeping from your old system?

 

[stevolution]

If you are gonna upgrade CPU to core2duo (conroe or allendale), just wait little longer until new core2duos that are coming out soon like engiNURD said.. you'll save some money or you'll get better performing CPU for the price you are prepared to pay for now.

 

[Markgixer6]

Thanks,
Following the advice given, I'm gonna hold off for a while. I think the next purchase is a new monitor, but even that will have to wait until March when the Benq fp241Wz or Samsung 245T come out.
As far as the rig goes, I'll hang on for DDR3 and the new chipset and CPU's.


Thanks

 

[MTDEW]

From experience if you get a core 2 duo with a lower multiplier (e6300,e6400) get a 965 board.(gigabyte 965P-DS3).

If you get one with a higher multiplier(e6600, e6700) get a 975 board. (P5WDH DLX)

I've had both a e6300, e6600 and a both a Gigabyte DS3 and a P5WDH.

The e6600 wouldnt overclock worth a poop on the 965 board, but flies on the 975.
(theres something wierd that goes on after 400fsb, they get "flakey" on the 965 boards)

And the e6300 flies on the 965 board cuz they hit higher fsb's than the 975's.

Im sure you saw this info all over these messageboards, and those statements couldnt be more TRUE!