What to upgrade on current rig?

[Jules]

Hey fellas, looking for some advice on what to upgrade on my current rig. I have about $240 to spend. I can always get rid of my current CPU/mobo/ram for additonal funds for a i5/i7. Posted from my itouch so sorry for typos

 

[Blain]

Hey fellas, looking for some advice on what to upgrade on my current rig. I have about $240 to spend. I can always get rid of my current CPU/mobo/ram for additonal funds for a i5/i7.

You are going to tell us how you use your PC, aren't you?

 

[RadiclDreamer]

Before i did much of anything id think about upping that power supply. You dont have much room with it now.

 

[MisterDonut]

If your rig is in your sig ( <-- haha), then you need no upgrade as of now. You can probably skip this generation and jump to a new socket.

 

[Firsttime]

Since I have no clue what the frig you're using your computer for I'm going to say you want a SSD. Everything else you have is fine for 99.99&#37; of computer related activities.

 

[Spikesoldier]

heres a vote for ssd

 

[aigomorla]

Hey fellas, looking for some advice on what to upgrade on my current rig. I have about $240 to spend. I can always get rid of my current CPU/mobo/ram for additonal funds for a i5/i7. Posted from my itouch so sorry for typos

Your current hardware:
C2Q Q9400 @ 3Ghz | GIGABYTE GA-EP43-DS3L | 4GB G.SKILL DDR2-800 | CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W
XFX RADEON HD 5850 1 GB DDR5 @ 850/1200 1.162 | WD Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS | Samsung DVD Burner SH-S223F

My recomendation:
http://www.jab-tech.com/Prolimatech-Megahalems-CPU-Cooler-775-1366-1156-Rev-B-pr-4557.html

+

http://www.jab-tech.com/Scythe-Gentle-Typhoon-D1225C12B5AP-15-1850rpm-pr-4501.html

And learn how to overclock that 9400 b4 you go full on platform revision.
If your not happy with an OC'd 9400, i can pretty much say u wont be happy with an i5, or an i7.

And this way if you really decide to get an i5 or an i7, you can recycle that sink onto your new system.

 

[Jules]

Well i have a 5850 so i game most of the time on it.

 

[darkewaffle]

What resolution? Chances are your 5850 isn't holding you back, and as far as gaming goes your CPU ought to be in pretty good shape.

When you say you're looking for an upgrade, what do you want to see? More FPS? Faster load times? Higher benchmarks? Lower temps?

 

[Jules]

What resolution? Chances are your 5850 isn't holding you back, and as far as gaming goes your CPU ought to be in pretty good shape.

When you say you're looking for an upgrade, what do you want to see? More FPS? Faster load times? Higher benchmarks? Lower temps?

Currently at 1680x1050. FPS and Faster load times. Seems like from the advice in this thread i should just hold out.

 

[Macboy18]

That setup should be fine unless you want to play Crysis on high settings.

get a SSD if you want very fast load times

 

[aigomorla]

That setup should be fine unless you want to play Crysis on high settings.

get a SSD if you want very fast load times

NO does not work.

Because games are more on sequental reads, then random reads.

The game is written to flow.

And trust me im on a 3 x SSD raid 0 array.

vs

3 raptor array, there is almost 0 improvement.

Gaming... SSDs will give you almost 0 experience over a standard raid array.
Overclock your CPU.

Learn how to overclock it, you will get the most noticiable increase from that area first.

Then if you want another upgrade, get a SSD.
But i recomend you will need at least a 160gb SSD if your a gamer.
Otherwise u will run out of space, and SSD's are horrible when near max'd.

 

[darkewaffle]

At 1680x1050 your 5850 is definitely plenty powerful, as for more FPS you could consider a faster CPU but I don't think you'd be happy with the results because you'd either need a complete mobo/ram/cpu upgrade or end up with a trivial upgrade in the same socket.

You could justify a SSD to decrease load times and also receive an overall more responsive feeling system.

I'd say hold off, or make a power supply upgrade. Chances are whenever the time comes that you actually could see substantial performance increases, that 400w will be stretched very thin; and it's one of the few things that can really last you multiple systems.

 

[Jules]

And learn how to overclock that 9400 b4 you go full on platform revision.

Learn how to overclock it, you will get the most noticiable increase from that area first.

Yes i already know how to overclock. Been doing it for years. I left it at 3ghz because im still using the stock HSF. Might wait it out till ewiz has another sale on the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus for 23 bucks

 

[mfenn]

I would say that you have a pretty stacked system right now. If this is also your general usage box, an SSD will be a nice upgrade (just not for gaming).

 

[busydude]

Upgrade your monitor to a 1080P one. Use your current monitor as a secondary one or sell it. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Jules]

I would say that you have a pretty stacked system right now. If this is also your general usage box, an SSD will be a nice upgrade (just not for gaming).

Yeah it's my main for gaming, websurfing and streaming to my consoles around the house.

 

[Jules]

Upgrade your monitor to a 1080P one. Use your current monitor as a secondary one or sell it. Just my 2 cents.

That sounds like a good idea. I already have a 1080p monitor right next to it. So I'm not sure. It's also a 22 inch.

 

[betasub]

I already have a 1080p monitor right next to it. So I'm not sure. It's also a 22 inch.

So why aren't you gaming on it at 1080p? Is your lower res monitor better for gaming? Or do you just want uber-fps at 1680x1050?

 

[Jules]

So why aren't you gaming on it at 1080p? Is your lower res monitor better for gaming? Or do you just want uber-fps at 1680x1050?

Kinda like 16:10

 

[Jules]

Hey guys I was thinking of replacing the stock hsf on my q9400 to the hyper 212 plus for $20. Think its a good deal and should I pick it up? http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0315397

 

[mfenn]

$20 is a good price for that cooler, but I wouldn't bother unless you're looking for some additional OC headroom.

 

[dpodblood]

A better power supply to prepare for future upgrades, and a decent cooler so you can overclock more.

The 1080p monitor suggestion was also pretty good. Added desktop space is always nice, and the higher resolution will make games look nice; unless you are desperate for FPS.

 

[atxbrandonlw]

I vote for a better PSU/Case (Combo?) to prepare for a better, future upgrade. Everything you have is fine. No need for you to go SSD.