Upgrade for 5 yr old gaming system

[Malladine]

After poor performance in GuildWars2 i've started looking at upgrading my ~5yr old machine. Here are the current specs (Windows 7 64bit):

Core2Duo E8500
4GB DDR2
Asrock P43Twins1600
SATA 3GB/Sec
HD 5850

What i've priced right now is:

Core i5-2380P 3.1GHz Quad-Core (195)
ASRock Fatal1ty P67 (100)
G.SKILL 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600 (79)

Bear in mind I have been out of the system building game for probably 4 years, i have a lot of catching up to do so i'm looking for any feedback - GPU, additions or edits you'd make to the choices above and anything else

thanks in advance!

 

[riversend]

Malladine,

First off, please answer the following questions from this sticky. (I know you know the forums, but if you edit the original post it is easier for folks to see where you stand)

Whenever you post the items you are looking at, give us an idea of the price you would have to pay for it, that way folks here can give you some alternatives or let you know if there are deals out there you might be able to take advantage of.

 

[Malladine]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

Gaming

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

Under $600 total (items priced above I found for $400 which is great - not sure how much performance gain i'll see though overall)

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

USA

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.

The brand choices I made (ASROCK, Intel and GSkill) because my current system has been 100% stable for 5 years and that's includes being powered up probably 99% of that time. The video card I have no preference either way, the power supply SeaSonic and the HDD Seagate.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

Answered above, at least in my initial attempt at an upgrade

5. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

No overclocking

6. What resolution will you be using?

1680x1050

7. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Note that it is usually not cost or time effective to choose your build more than a month before you actually plan to be using it.

Within 4 months

 

[DaveSimmons]

You only need 2 x 4 GB for several more years from now so save a little on that.

7. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Note that it is usually not cost or time effective to choose your build more than a month before you actually plan to be using it.

Within 4 months

Parts and prices will be different in 3 months. Get your money together and ask again then.

 

[Malladine]

Parts and prices will be different in 3 months. Get your money together and ask again then.

i kinda need to know roughly how much to aim for so that I can budget (and argue the case to my wife )

thanks for the RAM tip, saves $30 there

 

[DaveSimmons]

Check out mfenn's sticky thread for some good parts recommendations:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2192841

As of today his CPU + MB combo is $311 at Newegg but you can afford that with the RAM savings.

 

[Ken g6]

4 months is an odd time frame, because Haswell should be out in 5-8 months, and the quad-cores should be the first to be released. I would expect $400 to get a good CPU/mobo/RAM in any case.

Your current GPU is pretty good. It's not much better than a $200 GPU now, but refreshes are expected.

 

[Termie]

I'd budget $300 or so for the CPU/MB (the 2380 is an odd choice, just go with the 3450, or 3570K). Also skip p67 and go with z77. Finally, yes, $45 spent on 2x4GB is all you need.

Your GPU is fine for GW2. The problem is definitely the processor.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/guild-wars-2-performance-benchmark,3268-7.html

 

[riversend]

Live near a Microcenter? Great deals there will get you an i5 + AsRock Z77 mobo for ~$250ish, another ~$45 for RAM and you should be set. Then pocket excess for a future GPU upgrade down the road. I'm at 1680x1050 on a 5770 and it is still doing ok for gaming. I'll probably upgrade in the next refresh cycle.

 

[mfenn]

I'd budget $300 or so for the CPU/MB (the 2380 is an odd choice, just go with the 3450, or 3570K). Also skip p67 and go with z77. Finally, yes, $45 spent on 2x4GB is all you need.

Check out mfenn's sticky thread for some good parts recommendations:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2192841

As of today his CPU + MB combo is $311 at Newegg but you can afford that with the RAM savings.

:thumbsup: to both.

 

[fffblackmage]

If you can wait 4 more months, then you might as well just wait for Haswell. In the meantime, try overclocking that E8500 and see if that helps. It's free performance, and at this point, if it does die, you could just upgrade to IB.

 

[Malladine]

great advice, i'll budget $400 or so and refer back to this when the time comes.

Any indication of speed increase Haswell vs ivy bridge?

 

[mfenn]

great advice, i'll budget $400 or so and refer back to this when the time comes.

Any indication of speed increase Haswell vs ivy bridge?

Its a new micro-architecture as opposed to just a die shrink like Ivy Bridge was, so I expect a decent improvement (~20% clock for clock). The era of doubling CPU performance every year is probably gone for good though.

 

[Malladine]

thanks mfenn :thumbsup:

 

[mfenn]

If you can wait 4 more months, then you might as well just wait for Haswell. In the meantime, try overclocking that E8500 and see if that helps. It's free performance, and at this point, if it does die, you could just upgrade to IB.

By the way, in Anand's IB architecture article, he says that Haswell likely won't ship until June 2013 (page 12).

 

[aaksheytalwar]

E8500 to SB is a big enough upgrade. No need to wait.

 

[mfenn]

E8500 to SB is a big enough upgrade. No need to wait.

Given the new details of the Haswell time frame, I'm inclined to agree.