• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Upgrading CPU + Motherboard + Video Card

D

dmw16

Diamond Member
When I built my computer I was on a budget and now I'd like to upgrade the CPU (for sure) and the motherboard and video card (probably).

Right now I have:

Core2Duo E6550
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L
Radeon 4870 512MB

I need to reinstall windows onto my new hard drive so I figure that is a good time to swap motherboards if I want to.

I want to be able to play pretty much anything out there on 1920x1200. I mostly play shooters but also like RTS.

Not sure what my budget is, let's say $500-$700.

Thanks.
 
While you can easily afford a new i7, I personally don't recommend it unless you're going to run more CPU intensive applications like a lot of video editing, photoshop, 3d modeling, etc.

Looking at this reveiw at Toms Hardware you can see that the i7 doesn't offer too much in performance for gaming. Also, in the few games it does add performance its not something you could ever see, because after 60 frames per second not even the trained eye can see a difference. So if you buy an i7 to get 104 frames per second instead of an AMD cpu that will deliver 95 and spent an extra $200 to do it, you really just shot yourself in the foot.

Most games are graphics intensive so it will be worth it to invest in a better GPU.

Here is what I recommend:
Phenom II x3 720 BE - $140
Gigabyte GA-MA790GP-UD4H AM2/AM2+ 790GX mobo - $130
*This motherboard will allow you to use your current memory.

However, if you wanted to upgrade to DDR3:
Asus M4A78T-E 790GX AM3 mobo - $140
OCZ Reaper 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333 Memory - $60

If you really want a quad core:
AMD Phenom II X4 955 - $245
This will add some performance to gaming, but it will really trump the PII x3 when it comes to multi tasking or CPU intensive applications. Just depends on your needs.

And to play anything at your desired resolution:
Sapphire Radeon HD 4870x2 2GB Video Card - $400

or you can buy another 4870 and Crossfire. The extra memory from using the above card will help more with higher resolution, but if you want to save some money get another 4870 but with 1gb:

Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 1GB Video Card - $190
 
Your MB with the latest BIOS update will support any 775 CPU out now.
Buy a Q9400, outfit it with good cooling like an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro or Zalman CNPS7700-Cu.
There's no need in hanging a 12 pound heatsink off your MB to get good solid, quiet cooling. 😛

Overclock the Q9400 up to a 400MHz FSB and you've got a smooth running, quiet 3.2GHz quad core setup for less than $250.
 
So I won't get a big performance bump w/ a motherboard? I'd get a better bang for my buck from CPU and Video?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top