unecessary upgrading advice....

[kbeefy]

I decided my computer was still to expensive to rebuild and decided I might tune it up a little. Any suggestions on where I might be bottlenecked at, or where to start?

Where this all started at...
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2026617&highlight=

Heres the quick specs...

Thermaltake 850w Powersupply,
ASRock X58 Extreme MB, this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16813157163R
i7 920 64bit quad-core cpu running @ 2.67 ghz
6GB DDR3 Corsair (3x 2GB),
ATI HD 5850 graphics card, this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150454
Intel 80gb SSHD for the operating system,
1.5TB SATA 3.0 HDD for storage,
Hanns-g 28" LCD monitor,
Pioneer DVD-DL 16x burner.
Running win7 64bit ultimate

I can drop in a i7-960 CPU for about $250 off ebay, that gets me up to 3.2 ghz.

Not sure about the current socket options, would it be more cost effective to jump to a newer mobo? Maybe I can get a better cpu in a different socket since they're discontinuing the 1366 next year. I don't think this option is very cost effective at this point, I think I can probably run 1366 for a couple more years.

6gb of ram is pretty decent, I only do a little video editing and some gaming. I doubt if thats slowing me down.

Graphics. I like to game but the newest game I play is COD MW2. Thinking about investing in a new game, but graphics don't seem to be a weak point. When I built it I thought when upgrade time came around Id get another 5850 and run them crossfire. Any input?


Well, I should probably leave it alone but I like tinkering with things. Any input is welcome. Happy holidays!!

 

[Ken g6]

I should probably leave it alone

Yeah, I don't see any great hardware upgrades for you at this point, for $250 or less anyway.

but I like tinkering with things.

Have you tried overclocking?

 

[mfenn]

What is it that you want the computer to do better? I can tell you that blowing $250 on a 960 will probably not get you the performance that you're looking for.

 

[nickb64]

Maybe a new CPU cooler if you're running the stock one, and try overclocking your 920. iirc it should be reasonably simple to get up to at least i7 960 speeds basically for free.

RAM is really cheap, and more couldn't hurt, but you likely don't really need it.

 

[kbeefy]

Not sure what I want it to do better, I'm just fiddling with stuff.

I have a Noctua NH-U12P cooler, not sure how great it is but better than stock anyways.

I haven't OC'd anything since AMD socket A days, maybe I should fiddle with that instead of wasting money.

 

[fffblackmage]

I haven't OC'd anything since AMD socket A days, maybe I should fiddle with that instead of wasting money.

That's what I would do. It's free and fun. Dropping $250 on a new cpu that's not much better than what you already have isn't.

 

[mfenn]

That's what I would do. It's free and fun. Dropping $250 on a new cpu that's not much better than what you already have isn't.

Exactly. A i7 920 with a good cooler like the U12P strapped to it will easily get you over 3.2GHz. At that point, you're at parity with (or better than) a i7 960 for $0.