Would you upgrade now from...

[Elcs]

I am running an AM2 X2 6000+ and an HD4870 with 4 x 1Gb DDR2 6400. I guess I want to distinguish whether I am suffering the jitters from an upgrade bug or not.

I am a general games player, I pick up quite a variety of different games and game at 1280x720 generally when I need to read text and 1920x1080 when I am up for graphical carnage. 42" HDTV at 4 metres away, it makes it difficult to read 1920x1080.

If I dropped £100 on a mobo and £150 on an Intel Dual/Quad Core (Q6600 guarunteed to 3.3Ghz for £140)... would this be a worthwhile upgrade now?

I am frustrated with myself for even contemplating it but Id like to hear what people think.

 

[error8]

If you are gaming at 1280X720 it means that you are pretty much cpu bound, but at 1920 the graphic card is much more important then the cpu. I don't know what to recommend, that 6000+ is still a fast cpu, but if you're willing to change it I'd get a cheap E7200+P45 or P35 combo and a severe overclock to 3,8-4 ghz. This would pretty much be the best bang for your buck right now and maybe later, you can get a Q8200 when it will be released. Or, you can keep your current cpu, squeeze an extra 200mhz out of it and everything will still work great.

 

[myocardia]

For most games out there now, you're slightly CPU-bound now (unless you're also cranking up AA to high levels), but not by all that much. In other words, you'd see a slight improvement in FPS, but not nearly enough to make it worth the money.*


*Unless you're playing Supreme Commander with alot of "bots" (or whatever it is SupCom calls it's AI), or M$'s Flight Simulator X. For either of these, it will be worth every penny, to go quad.

 

[DSF]

The first question to ask yourself is always, "What feels sluggish?"

If you're not noticing slowdowns or unacceptably low image quality in any of your games, then the answer is pretty much no. Your CPU, while it may not be top of the line anymore, is still pretty good. I would hold out, as it should be a year or less until we find out what Nehalem can do.

 

[daveybrat]

I don't think you'd see enough of a difference to make it worthwhile. Like others said, your 6000+ is not a 'slow' cpu. Should be more than enough to hold you over till Nehalem comes out

 

[SlowSpyder]

Your current system is more then fine for gaming. You may be CPU bound at the lower resolution, but you're CPU bound at probably 120 FPS in most games.