When should I upgrade

[dacmx5]

This spring I upgraded my machine with a Q9650 on a Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD39 board with 4GB of G.Skill PC2 8800 memory, a BFG GeForce GTX 260 OCX Maxcore video card, and two WD 150Gb Raptors. I use the machine for gaming and surfing. I love FPS and racing games and they all run smooth as glass under Vista on my 24" monitor at 1920x1200.

On all of the technology websites the new I7 CPUs are the rage. Should I be worried about upgrading anytime soon? With good cooling in an Antec Nine Hundred case I run the Q9650 at 3.6GHz everyday and have benched it up to 4GHz.

 

[RussianSensation]

Unless you are playing ArmAII, GTA4, Anno1404, at 1920x1200 your GTX 260 is by far the most limiting component in gaming, especially if you want to use 8AA.

Unless you can sell your current parts and get a cheap upgrade to a Core i7 system, I say save your $. I would consider selling your GTX 260 when the time comes (i.e. the games you play run too slow for your liking) and get a new videocard.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Originally posted by: RussianSensation
Unless you are playing ArmAII, GTA4, Anno1404, at 1920x1200 your GTX 260 is by far the most limiting component in gaming, especially if you want to use 8AA.

Unless you can sell your current parts and get a cheap upgrade to a Core i7 system, I say save your $. I would consider selling your GTX 260 when the time comes (i.e. the games you play run too slow for your liking) and get a new videocard.

This is good advice.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: dacmx5
This spring I upgraded my machine with a Q9650 on a Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD39 board with 4GB of G.Skill PC2 8800 memory, a BFG GeForce GTX 260 OCX Maxcore video card, and two WD 150Gb Raptors. I use the machine for gaming and surfing. I love FPS and racing games and they all run smooth as glass under Vista on my 24" monitor at 1920x1200.

On all of the technology websites the new I7 CPUs are the rage. Should I be worried about upgrading anytime soon? With good cooling in an Antec Nine Hundred case I run the Q9650 at 3.6GHz everyday and have benched it up to 4GHz.

I have a Q9550 at 3.8Ghz and I have NO intention of upgrading until 6 core CPUs are available. Why? Because the fastest AMD system is slower than my current system and for general tasks and gaming, the difference between an i7 and Q9550 at the same clock speed is not noticable in action while actually playing the game and not staring at numbers on a website using a fraps benchmark.

 

[Griswold]

Originally posted by: dacmx5
Should I be worried about upgrading anytime soon? With good cooling in an Antec Nine Hundred case I run the Q9650 at 3.6GHz everyday and have benched it up to 4GHz.

Why? You also said this:

Originally posted by: dacmx5
I love FPS and racing games and they all run smooth as glass under Vista on my 24" monitor at 1920x1200.

Everything seems to be fine. You should wait until its not fine anymore, then worry about an upgrade. And then it will most likely be a faster video card anyway...