Worth upgrading this system ?

[SpeedyGonzales]

My current rig is nearly 4 years old.

Q9450@3.2Ghz
470gtx (15% oc possible), replaced a 4870 nearly 2 years ago
2*250GB Disc in Raid0

Profile: Office, Internet and Gaming @1080p

The CPU goes up to 3.4Ghz but no further, either it is maxxed out or I am lacking the experience for a higher oc.

I would like to upgrade the GTX 470 in the next 2 months with a a 7870AMD or something comparable from nVidia. Main objective is something using less power and producing less heat and offering a performance boost of around 50%.

Is the CPU powerful enough to handle a AMD7870 @1100 ?

 

[Arachnotronic]

Here's a real tip: Sell the Q9450. C2Q chips (and Intel chips in general) have INSANE resale value. Like I'm talking $165 in your pocket. If you buy the 2500K used, you WILL break even on CPU upgrade cost.

I would sell the C2Q + Mobo + DDR2 (if you're running ddr2) and then grab the following, once IVB hits (since IVB will not overclock better at all over SNB and could run hotter):

- (Used) i5 2500K
- (New) Z77 motherboard
- (New) 8GB DDR3

 

[SpeedyGonzales]

Here's a real tip: Sell the Q9450. C2Q chips (and Intel chips in general) have INSANE resale value. Like I'm talking $165 in your pocket. If you buy the 2500K used, you WILL break even on CPU upgrade cost.

I would sell the C2Q + Mobo + DDR2 (if you're running ddr2) and then grab the following, once IVB hits (since IVB will not overclock better at all over SNB and could run hotter):

- (Used) i5 2500K
- (New) Z77 motherboard
- (New) 8GB DDR3

Thanks for your input.

Checked ebay prices for the q9450, indeed prices seem to be good. However, my times of self-build rigs are over, this is a pre-overclocked PC from a small german vendor. I wanted to do the lazy upgrade, not the full.

 

[chimaxi83]

I'm pretty sure a C2Q would still go fine with a GPU upgrade. Its not like you're going multi GPU, in that case I'd go full upgrade. But just for one card, you should be fine.

 

[SpeedyGonzales]

I'm pretty sure a C2Q would still go fine with a GPU upgrade. Its not like you're going multi GPU, in that case I'd go full upgrade. But just for one card, you should be fine.

Thanks.

Still unhappy with the fact, that prices for the new GPU generation are too high, with limited supply and early adopter premium. The 470gtx is powerful however way too loud, even though it is a custom design, cooler and quieter than reference. Once we see $50 decrease on the 7870 or Nvidia equivalent, I will replace my current card.

 

[Crap Daddy]

7870 is a good upgrade from a 470 but it's way too expensive. Don't expect a GTX670 to cost less.

 

[Qbah]

I'm in the same boat as you. However for me the question is - does my PC play all my games fine at IQ settings that I'm satisfied with? That's (sadly) a no... It was fun while it lasted, time to say good bye and upgrade.

What you might want to try is to get the GPU first and see if that's enough of a boost for you. If not, go and upgrade the CPU. That's how I think I'll proceed...

However I think GTX470->HD78xx is hardly an upgrade worth spending money on...

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/548?vs=519

That's under best conditions too (best CPU).

 

[SpeedyGonzales]

I'm in the same boat as you. However for me the question is - does my PC play all my games fine at IQ settings that I'm satisfied with? That's (sadly) a no... It was fun while it lasted, time to say good bye and upgrade.

What you might want to try is to get the GPU first and see if that's enough of a boost for you. If not, go and upgrade the CPU. That's how I think I'll proceed...

However I think GTX470->HD78xx is hardly an upgrade worth spending money on...

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/548?vs=519

That's under best conditions too (best CPU).

Can be up to 50%, more if you overclock the 7870. I am currently not overclocking my 470GTX because it is too noisy.

Normally I try to get 70-100% increase when swapping GPUs, this time I am willing to sacrifice a bit on the increase in favour of less noise. Was happpy with the 470GTX performance, but even the custom version is too loud, when under load (even undervolted).

 

[bigsnyder]

For what its worth, I just upgraded to a 7850 on a Q9550 system running at 3.7Ghz. So far, I have not detected any CPU bottlenecks. My benchmark scores on 3Dmark11, 3Dmark Vantage, and Furmark are consistent with the Sandy Bridge systems in all the online reviews. I believe your Q9450 will do just fine even at 3.2Ghz.

 

[SpeedyGonzales]

For what its worth, I just upgraded to a 7850 on a Q9550 system running at 3.7Ghz. So far, I have not detected any CPU bottlenecks. My benchmark scores on 3Dmark11, 3Dmark Vantage, and Furmark are consistent with the Sandy Bridge systems in all the online reviews. I believe your Q9450 will do just fine even at 3.2Ghz.

Thanks, I am considering this.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

Games on a Q9550 irrespective of speed will not be smooth and there will be some lag and stuttering, which imo makes it unplayable. It is like MS, to some it is unplayable, to others it is perfect. Just that it isn't stuttering but lag here. For me a Q9xxx is unplayable for games of 2011 and 2012, or even many from 2010 infact. But to most others it would be acceptable. Rest assured, based on how adept your brain and eyes are at detecting motion and lag

If I were you I would upgrade to Ivy. But if you don't find any major bottlenecks with your system then just get 7870 for $250 and wait for Haswell

 

[toyota]

Games on a Q9550 irrespective of speed will not be smooth and there will be some lag and stuttering, which imo makes it unplayable. It is like MS, to some it is unplayable, to others it is perfect. Just that it isn't stuttering but lag here. For me a Q9xxx is unplayable for games of 2011 and 2012, or even many from 2010 infact. But to most others it would be acceptable. Rest assured, based on how adept your brain and eyes are at detecting motion and lag

If I were you I would upgrade to Ivy. But if you don't find any major bottlenecks with your system then just get 7870 for $250 and wait for Haswell

I think you are GREATLY exaggerating. a Q9450 oced to 3.2 will play basically every game just fine. sure it will give up some framerates in many games but I don't see it lagging and stuttering. any game that did lag or stutter would be a very poorly optimized spot in a game that is not likely to do much better on any cpu.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

Nope, there is nothing as a poorly optimized game. There is no point blaming a game. If faster future CPUs don't require optimization, there is no point crying that the game was poorly coded. Games will be poorly coded. You need powerful hardware to compensate.

I had a Q9550 and back in 2010 with newer games it acted like crap. I just swapped it for a I7 860 and all my games became smooth and nice, as far as my GPU permitted of course.

I have experienced this myself and hence am not talking without meaning. But going from i7 860 to I7 2600k wasn't that big a jump, as going from Q9550 OC to I7 860 stock.

 

[toyota]

Nope, there is nothing as a poorly optimized game. There is no point blaming a game. If faster future CPUs don't require optimization, there is no point crying that the game was poorly coded. Games will be poorly coded. You need powerful hardware to compensate.

I had a Q9550 and back in 2010 with newer games it acted like crap. I just swapped it for a I7 860 and all my games became smooth and nice, as far as my GPU permitted of course.

I have experienced this myself and hence am not talking without meaning. But going from i7 860 to I7 2600k wasn't that big a jump, as going from Q9550 OC to I7 860 stock.

read again because you missed the point. I am saying that IF the Q9450 at 3.2 stutters in a game then its a spot that is likely to cause an issue with ANY cpu. for example there lots of cpu intensive spots in GTA 4 that bring even my 2500k at 4.4 down into the 40s and sometimes 30s. even in Fallout NV there are a few spots that drop into the 50s and 40s. in other words its silly to tell someone not to upgrade for a few games that have cpu intensive spots that tax any cpu. overall a 9450 at 3.2 will do just fine.

I had an E8500 for 3 years and games did not "act like crap". I knew I would not get the most out of a high end gpu though so I got a new 2500k system when it was time for a gpu upgrade from my gtx260.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

But where 2500k 4.4 runs crap, CPUs 3 years hence would eat those spots up

And since we are already into the future from q9xxx series, I rest my case

 

[AtenRa]

I had a Q9550 and back in 2010 with newer games it acted like crap. I just swapped it for a I7 860 and all my games became smooth and nice, as far as my GPU permitted of course.

I have experienced this myself and hence am not talking without meaning. But going from i7 860 to I7 2600k wasn't that big a jump, as going from Q9550 OC to I7 860 stock.

Two things C2Q lucks,

Core i7 860 has IMC (Integrated Memory Controller) + Integrated PCIe inside the CPU die. Those two contribute higher frame rates and much smoother gameplay even with the same fps.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

Two things C2Q lucks,

Core i7 860 has IMC (Integrated Memory Controller) + Integrated PCIe inside the CPU die. Those two contribute higher frame rates and much smoother gameplay even with the same fps.

Then that is something you need to explain to the OP

IMO anything more than a 470 wouldn't be fulled used by a Q9770 anyway.

 

[SpeedyGonzales]

Thanks again for all your input.

Usually I only upgrade, when the expected framerate doubles.

But this will not happen with a nearly 4 years-old rig, although CPU performance increases have slowed down in the last years. It is the first time since I have a PC, that I did not upgrade the CPU/Ram after a maximum of 2-3 years.

I do not want to buy a complete new PC, but want to extend the lifecycle another 1-2 years. I am not playing the most demanding games anymore. I am gaming since my C64 times (nearly 30 years ago), however I am loosing interest as content-wise gaming has become more and more boring the last 5 to 10 years.

This time a moderate upgrade would be sufficient, as I know, that the CPU will start to be a limiting factor. Focus is more on energy and noise. I was/am unsure how much of a limiting factor this CPU will be.