What to buy with my tax return!

[Darkmind]

I'm not getting much this year, however I'm trying to decide which will be a better upgrade. My current specs are:

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P35-UD3L
CPU: E2180 2GHz @ 2.66GHz
RAM: G.Skill DDR2 1000 @ 1066 5-5-5-15
Video Card: Radeon 3850 512MB
Sound Card: Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS (has served me so well... don't plan to upgrade it anytime soon though)

Note: Clocks are a bit different than what my sig and forum system specs say.. had to slow them down to compensate for wear.

Now I'm trying to decide whether to go just get an i7 920 cpu, motherboard, and RAM, or just go for a high-end graphics card like the ATI 5870. I wouldn't have enough money just from my tax return for the i7 920 approach. However I'm going for a long-term investment so I'd feel I wouldn't have to upgrade my computer for a real long time. Other options I could do is the i5 750 cpu and motherboard and ram and have a little money left over. Socket 1366 motherboards are not cheap, this I know. I do plan to do Crossfire down the road though and I heard the i5 cpu's aren't the greatest to dual card with due to the limited lanes with the on-die PCIe controller.

Now what I mainly what I do is play WoW, and as of recently I've been recording our attempts in Icecrown with FRAPS which kinda slows it down. I also play Crysis, and am planning to get Bioshock 2 soon (I really need to get more games).

 

[zithe]

New CPU PSU and video card, imho. Reading rest of post now lmao. If you have a microcenter nearby, you could grab a Q9550 for 150.

I had an e2180 at 2.66 for a while. I didn't like it at all. I've upgraded a couple weeks ago and knew right away I'd be getting something better soon. CPU is the first thing I'd upgrade. XD

 

[PVTCaboose1337]

I vote for do not upgrade, if all you play is WoW that is a fine setup. Wait till your computer cannot do what you want it to. Save tax money, and just wait. Trust me.

EDIT: In other words, buy the games first, can they not run ok? If they don't then upgrade, not before!

 

[qubit]

If you're gonna get a 920, don't. The 930 will be out soon and is identical in every way including price, except for a higher clock speed.

Here's a Hexus review of it.

 

[Darkmind]

I also want to get DiRT 2. Also there's a new first person shooter coming out, Brink I think it's called which looks awesome. I'd like to play that smoothly. I'm mainly going for a long-term investment with my computer.

Would it be a good idea to just get a 775 CPU and video card upgrade, wait on a whole new system build for a bit?

 

[PVTCaboose1337]

I also want to get DiRT 2. Also there's a new first person shooter coming out, Brink I think it's called which looks awesome. I'd like to play that smoothly. I'm mainly going for a long-term investment with my computer.

Would it be a good idea to just get a 775 CPU and video card upgrade, wait on a whole new system build for a bit?

Once again, just wait it out. The more you wait, the cheaper hardware gets. By the time Brink comes out (ok yes it does look awesome, saw it at QuakeCon in August) there might be a new gen of hardware and older hardware will be cheaper. The lesson is to wait till the last minute (by this I mean your current setup does not do what you want), then buy.

 

[assaulter_99]

Just get a 5870 for the moment, you can at least carry it on to your next build when you have more cash.

 

[brandonwh64]

Get a Pentium D! those things are HOT!!!!!!!!

J/K LOLOLOLZ

No seriously i would up the CPU to maybe a E8400 or if you want quad do a Q9550. Then get a decent PSU so you can use it in future upgrades. Then i would get a good video card. maybe a used 4870 or something.

 

[Darkmind]

Oh, I should also note my PSU is not that crappy 550 x-connect anymore. It's a Corsair HX620w, modular. I'm thinking of just getting a 5870 for now. My bro is in the middle of building a new system now to an i7. He has an e8400 CPU. However he's not sure if he will hand me the e8400 as of yet, he might keep his old system. Until I know for sure I will hold off on buying an e8400.

It should be mentioned that WoW will slow down in a lot of parts since I do some hardcore raiding. I would like my raid experience to be a bit smoother. Since WoW is also an MMO, I would figure a CPU upgrade would benefit the game more because of all the in/out, logging, and processing it has to do for all the stuff going on such as: buffs and procs coming on and off, 24 other players plus bosses and mobs in 25 man raids, the add-ons I like to use... FUCKING DALARAN.... fuck Dalaran lag, not internet lag either. I do believe my current CPU is bottlenecking my computer right now anyway, and it will even more so if I buy a new video card.

As of right now, I'm not TOO fond of my curent computer specs, since there are some slow downs.

So I have kinda made up my mind on what I want to do, thanks to your guys' input. My plan is as follows:

Buy new video card (probably the 5870) --> Wait on confirmation from my brother about the CPU.
If so: Obtain e8400 from brother, and continue to save up money for a new i7 system with the i7 920.
If not: Get e8400, wait a bit longer to save up money for an i7

Get Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.
Get a future proof motherboard with SATA 6 and USB3.
Get some decent (not high end) DDR3 RAM (3x2GB = 6GB)
Get a new PSU, most likely an efficient 750-800w PSU.
Get another 5870 for crossfire.

 

[CJCerny]

Probably just better to decrease your withholding on your W4 so you don't give your money to the government for a year interest free.

 

[DonInKansas]

A CPU/Gfx upgrade will do you great if you have to spend the money. With the games you want to play, an e8400/5770 combo will be miles ahead of what you have and you'll have loot to spend for other goodies.

 

[Fourstaff]

My vote goes to cpu upgrade to Q9xxx series if you can do it without a mobo upgrade, or a i5/Phenom II if you cant. Upgrading graphics to 5770 is also a good option if you are gaming at low enough resolutions (Read: less than 1680X1050).