Upgrade suggestions please? :3

[wilsont06]

I would like a few opinions about an upgrade and if it is necessary, my current setup is this:
case : Antec P-180
psu : Seasonic s12-600
mobo : Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R
cpu : Intel Core 2 DUO E8400
cpu cooler : Xigamatek HDT-S1283
ram : G Skill F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ
hdd : Seagate 300gb
gpu : Galaxy GTX460 768mb
monitor: Samsung t260hd

As you can see, some of these components were bought in late 2005 and later upgraded in 2009. The most recent upgraded component was the gpu. Whenever I play Battlefield 3, it would play in medium settings but after three hours of gameplay I get artifacts and its driving me nuts. So I've decided to invest some money in my system about ($300) to get the ball rolling. I don't usually play games and the only games I play are League of Legends and Battlefield 3. So can anyone please help me save money and make the games run smoothly on my system. I will forever thank you and be your new best friend. thanks

 

[lehtv]

If you get artifacts, it sounds like a GPU problem. The warranty on the card is probably ended, correct? Is it overclocked, and do you get artifacts at stock clocks? How are the temps (use MSI afterburner)?

 

[Zap]

I agree with lehtv. Artifacts usually indicate a GPU problem, either faulty (which you can RMA), too high of temperatures or too high of an overclock. Check the latter two first. If no satisfaction, then RMA with Galaxy.

League of Legends doesn't need much. Heck, recently I was at a LoL LAN party and played all day using Intel HD 3000 integrated graphics. Battlefield 3 DOES need a lot, however. The "recommended" hardware for Battlefield 3 includes a quad core CPU, which means you may want to start planning an upgrade to something like a Core i5-2500K with some DDR3 and a Z68 chipset motherboard. If you live near a Micro Center you can do it for around $300, otherwise you may have to save a few more bucks. If you want to go above medium settings in Battlefield 3, you may have to also invest in a new graphics card.

 

[Blain]

I would have gone with 1.8v memory, but changing now would only be appropriate if the GPU RMA doesn't fix the problem.

 

[mfenn]

Significantly improving your BF3 performance for $300 is a little bit of a challenge. You could either spend ~$300 on an i5 2400 + mobo + 8GB of RAM or ~$250 on a GTX 560 Ti or 6950 2GB. However, getting one would cause your performance to be limited by the performance of your existing parts for the other.

 

[wilsont06]

thanks for your help guys. everything on my system is running on stock. I don't normally overclock my stuff as it ruins the warranty but yes the gpu is still under warranty. ill look into spending my money on a new cpu motherboard and the ram. Do you guys know which motherboard is the most cost-efficient and over-clockable for the i7-2600k?

 

[skipsneeky2]

thanks for your help guys. everything on my system is running on stock. I don't normally overclock my stuff as it ruins the warranty but yes the gpu is still under warranty. ill look into spending my money on a new cpu motherboard and the ram. Do you guys know which motherboard is the most cost-efficient and over-clockable for the i7-2600k?

2600k is a waste go for a 2500k its more then plenty.

Couple recent articles showed some dual core models can keep up with quads in BF3 so if i was on a budget and not a power user i would go with a i3 2100 myself.

But that decision should be based if you only game or got the cash for the i5 2500k or not .

 

[lehtv]

Asrock Z68 Pro3 Gen3 and Extreme3 Gen3 are the best value for money boards for a 2500K, IMO

 

[mfenn]

2600k is a waste go for a 2500k its more then plenty.

Couple recent articles showed some dual core models can keep up with quads in BF3 so if i was on a budget and not a power user i would go with a i3 2100 myself.

But that decision should be based if you only game or got the cash for the i5 2500k or not .

I agree with this. If you go out and buy even an i5 2500K, you will be really disappointed in the difference that it (doesn't) make in your gaming performance. You will be severely bottlenecked by your GTX 460 768MB unless you turn the resolution way down.

 

[wilsont06]

http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3483814

might be able to buy it with a motherboard for 220

 

[mfenn]

That's a good deal (get the Gigabyte Micro ATX board), but don't expext wonders out of your GPU performance.