Your Opinions on Upgrade!

[t_eddy35]

Hello, I'm new here, I'll try to make this concise and to the point. Please give your opinions!

I was hoping for some advice upgrading my gaming PC. (I would like to be able to play games like tf2/mw2/global agenda/Dragon Age: origins max settings 16xAA) at 60+ frames per second. Video rendering + Frapsing is also something I'd be doing. And overclocking =)

I currently have:

e6600 oc@ 3.15 Ghz stable
p5n32-e SLI Plus motherboard
Corsair xms2 DDR2 4x1GB ram
2 x 8800GT in SLI
1kw Antec Quattro PSU (Overkill, I know)
Windows Ultimate 64bit
[edit: 1920x1200 resolution monitor]

I'm really not sure what to upgrade. In TF2 it seems I am CPU limited with lots of players, and in other games shadow quality / Anti Aliasing and texture resolution can become the problem with slowdowns.

mobo + cpu
Basically I have read in a fair few places that my motherboard (p5n32-e sli plus) will NOT work with 45nm quads - not sure how true this is. But I would like to upgrade to quad core, and I have read that the Q6600 is not much of an upgrade to my E6600. Also I know my motherboard sucks at OC'ing quads. Should I get a new mobo? What would a good SLI option be (should I keep my current cards)?

GPU
I realise the 8800GT in SLI is good (comparable to gtx 260) but I would kind of like to upgrade to really max out shadow/aa/textures, although should I consider waiting for mid-range DX11 cards at this point?

Also is there a general consensus on the best/coolest/most silent PC case that would fit anything( like large graphics cards)? My case at the moment is very noisy and collects a lot of dust.

Money isn't really an object but I would like to upgrade while not going over the top obviously ^^ (I am considering i7/ddr3 mobo - anyone know around how much this would cost me?)

Thanks

[Charper2013]

Are you currently having problems running those games? What resolution do you play at? As a case recommendation the Lian Li Pc-K62 is IMO the best case you can get for sub 150$. It has dust filters that are clipped in and can be removed easy on all intakes. Very good airflow and not loud at all. And on top of that its really sexy.

[t_eddy35]

Thanks for the reply. Forgot to say, I'm running at 1920x1200 resolution so yeah, I am struggling to run these games with all the eye candy, the newer Source Engine games like L4D2 and TF2, and the UT3 engine (Borderlands/Global Agenda) do drop to the 30-40s in FPS. Especially when a lot is going on. Since I like to play pretty competitively (in a clan matches etc) I am often forced to lower graphics settings.
Oddly though framerate can still drop when graphics are low suggesting CPU limitation

Case looks good, my friend has a Lian-Li PC-A05N which runs so quietly and under 30c (in Hong Kong too :O ) So I know they're a good brand I will check it out, cheers

I would defo say a cpu/ cpu and mobo upgrade before your gpu's they should still be able to run most games really well, and a low end/older c2d just doesnt cut the mustard with games these days.

You have 2 choices imo, e8*** or a Q9*** depends on your budget really. You could think about i3/i5/i7 though then you not only need a new board and cput but also ddr3, I would think a good e8** or q9** proc should be good for a couple more years despite 775 being a dead platform.

[assaulter_99]

Originally Posted by InTeL-iNsIdE

You have 2 choices imo, e8*** or a Q9*** depends on your budget really. You could think about i3/i5/i7 though then you not only need a new board and cput but also ddr3, I would think a good e8** or q9** proc should be good for a couple more years despite 775 being a dead platform.

+1. Anyways, talking about your board, I'm pretty sure a bios update will make it able to support em' cpu's. Just do some research before you fork serious cash!

Well it supports upto an E8600 on a dual, though strange on the asus site it only has the Q6*** series as being supported for Quads, was the e8600 45nm or 65nm ? sure its 45nm and if thats the case, theres no reason with the latest bios you shouldnt also be able to get a q9*** series in there too.

[assaulter_99]

Anyways if money ain't a problem for you, you can always get a new mobo, an i7 and ddr3. It won't cost you that much, cause you can always rely on your 8800 sli. Right now the gpu's are the problem, cause the dx11 ones cost, especially the top of the line. So you can always get the new cpu+mobo+ram and wait for the gpu.

[t_eddy35]

Thanks for replies everyone,

Originally Posted by InTeL-iNsIdE

Well it supports upto an E8600 on a dual, though strange on the asus site it only has the Q6*** series as being supported for Quads, was the e8600 45nm or 65nm ? sure its 45nm and if thats the case, theres no reason with the latest bios you shouldnt also be able to get a q9*** series in there too.

I have done quite a bit of research just now, Q9XXX isn't supported but people have had it be recognized and running stable, however it seems overlocking it is out of the question with my board. Something about the power being crippled =(

How soon till dual cores become phased out? Perhaps I will go for the E8600? I do want this upgrade to last.

[t_eddy35]

Originally Posted by assaulter_99

Anyways if money ain't a problem for you, you can always get a new mobo, an i7 and ddr3. It won't cost you that much, cause you can always rely on your 8800 sli. Right now the gpu's are the problem, cause the dx11 ones cost, especially the top of the line. So you can always get the new cpu+mobo+ram and wait for the gpu.

yeah I was considering that option. If I do go down that path I was thinking I may just sell my whole PC atm as a whole as I'd be replacing most parts anyway - was thinking about upgrading hard disk and getting a quieter PSU anyway, and a new case... in fact, I might actually do this

[assaulter_99]

Not a bad idea, especially if you plan on selling your rig. It wont cost you a whole lot actually. An i7 920 will last you a couple of years. If you are budget minded then go 1156+i5 750.

[t_eddy35]

Originally Posted by assaulter_99

Not a bad idea, especially if you plan on selling your rig. It wont cost you a whole lot actually. An i7 920 will last you a couple of years. If you are budget minded then go 1156+i5 750.

Considering the GPU and CPU now What do you think is better for me, 920 or i5 750?

there are some benchmarks here: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/core-i...w-31673-6.html

But i'm not sure if the 10fps gain shown is worth the extra cash. Also not too sure what benefits hyper-threading gives, apparantly the i5 doesn't have it? Do I need hyperthreading?

WAs looking at the gtx 285 but then came across the HD 5870 which is dx11 ready - this would be the better option, right? Any recommended ATI Crossfire / i5/i7 mobos?

[assaulter_99]

It depends what you plan to do with your build anyways. If you plan just to game, well you might also consider amd. the phenoms II are pretty good at gaming. If you plan to do heavy video encoding and other cpu heavy stuff, then you can go either i5 or i7. Either way you can't go wrong. Its only a matter of choice (amd or intel, even though intel has the edge right now) and budget.