What's my next CPU / Motherboard

[Cr0nJ0b]

So I'm itching for an upgrade. I have been waiting for new releases from Intel...but I can't remember why. I thought there was some new chip coming out that would be a leap ahead and I think I wanted to wait for that...but frankly I can't tell you what or why. So here I am, thinking about upgrading my system and I don't know what I should do. I can live with what I have today, if there is something on the horizon that I should wait for (and I know there is always something...but I'm thinking something big, like when Intel came out with the Core2Duo.) With that in mind my upgrade will also prompt an OS upgrade to Vista, so I probably want to look at a new graphics card with DX10.

I really like the idea of the quad cores for future proofing the system, fast ram (1333?) and Hybrid SLI. So i'm thinking, some type of quad intel (best bang for the buck). Probably an nVidia motherboard of some type that supports Hybrid SLI and a new nVidia video card (again best bang for buck). I need lots of SATA ports, since I have lots of drives and RAID would be nice...RAID 0, on board

any help would be appreciated. My current system is listed in my sig and I have answered all the N00b questions below.

thanks





1. What YOUR PC will be used for. 60% gaming (BF2, Crysis etc all sorts but no mmorp) 20% General internet and office stuff, 20% messing around with zips compiling and burning DVDs.

2. What YOUR budget is. I can't see spending more than say $1,500 total but I won't spend that all at once. I will reuse most of what I already have and look for the best price performance ratio.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from. USA, So Calif.

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. I'm hot on Intel Core right now for the low pwer and performance and I like the nVidia GPU for the Hybrid SLI.

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

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads. Read a lot but I'm confused as to the roadmap and what I should get or wait for.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds. I might overclock, 20-30% chance, but I want the most bang on the CPU.

 

[heyheybooboo]

Hybrid SLI is part of the nVidia 8200 IGP (which I believe has been delayed once again). It would be a step backward from where you are now and where you want to go.

Buy a new video card. With your budget you can afford a really nice one and then transfer the video card to your new rig in the future.

For around $175 you could buy a GeForce 8600 GT, a Radeon HD 3870 or a GeForce 9600 GT which will perform roughly 40--60% faster than your current video card.

If that money is burning a bigger hole in your pocket consider the EVGA GeForce 8800GTS 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 around $245 after rebate. Probably twice as fast as the 7800gtx.

Your Opty at 2.6-2.7GHz is not holding you back at gaming resolutions ... and a quad core cpu will not gain you a significant increase in performance in the vast majority of games.

 

[Blain]

You should forget about a quad core for "future proofing". Here's why...
A. Quad cores are fairly expensive right now, considering the performance difference from a dual core.
B. Quad cores of today can be purchased later on the cheap.
C. Future proofing doesn't pan out well with parts that tends to get much cheaper week after week, when fresh technology comes to market.

IF your rig spends LOTS of time encoding video, a quad core MAY be good for you now. In that case, it would be earning its keep by saving you lots of time.

A monster bang for the buck is an E2160 OC'd to 3GHz. :thumbsup::laugh:

 

[Cr0nJ0b]

What I understood about Hybrid SLI is that I could get a new Motherboard, put in a new FAT graphics card (which I would like to do) and only use a portion of the power for the day to day operation (which I like). I'm thinking of the 8800GTS to replace the 7800GTX. But that would mean a new CPU, and I think that the nVidia only supported AMD with the Hybrid SLI boards....

WHat I was hoping for is the newer Intel Core (forget the name of the die shrink) either DUO or Quad (but I have a duo today that's why I'm thinking Quad). Add to that an 8800GTS, 2-4GB of memory, 1333 memory bus and Vista Ultimate...

What I think I'm hearing (seeing/reading) is that I'm not going to get much out of a CPU refresh right now. If that is the case, any ideas when the next platform will come out that I should be looking at? end of 2008? 2009?

thanks again.

 

[imported_wired247]

Originally posted by: Cr0nJ0b
What I understood about Hybrid SLI is that I could get a new Motherboard, put in a new FAT graphics card (which I would like to do) and only use a portion of the power for the day to day operation (which I like). I'm thinking of the 8800GTS to replace the 7800GTX. But that would mean a new CPU, and I think that the nVidia only supported AMD with the Hybrid SLI boards....

WHat I was hoping for is the newer Intel Core (forget the name of the die shrink) either DUO or Quad (but I have a duo today that's why I'm thinking Quad). Add to that an 8800GTS, 2-4GB of memory, 1333 memory bus and Vista Ultimate...

What I think I'm hearing (seeing/reading) is that I'm not going to get much out of a CPU refresh right now. If that is the case, any ideas when the next platform will come out that I should be looking at? end of 2008? 2009?

thanks again.

Just google for nehalem... that's the big one everyone is dying over.

With nehalem and a huge price drop in DDR3 ram, an upgrade could be pretty killer.

 

[Cr0nJ0b]

Thanks! i knew there was something....Nehalem...hmmm

Ok, well now I'm thinking I should wait for Nehalem and upgrade when that hits the streets...in q4?

 

[Blain]

Dude, you've got the bug bad. They only way to get relief is to buy something.
I don't think you'll be able to hold off until Q4...
BUY A QUAD CORE NOW! :laugh: At least that way, you can get some peace.