AM2 Upgrade to AM3 +video or new build?

[BenHoliday]

Hi,

I am looking into upgrading my proc and video card. I want to make sure that upgrading is the best option for me at this point and that I am spending my money correctly. When I built this system it was in the plans that this would get at least one upgrade put into it. My current specs are as follows.

ASUS M3A79-T Deluxe
AMD Phenom II X4 940 AM2 @3Ghz oc @3.4 stable
Kingston HyperX x8Gb
XFX 5770 1Gb
WD Raptor 640Gb x2
PC Power and Cooling (can't remember the wattage off the top of my head.)

What I am currently looking at is Phenom II X4 975 @3.6Ghz. Along with a newer Radeon or maybe even a GTX 570. I want to make sure I am going to see a decent speed increase and that this is the right option for me. When I built this system I had a E8400 I was building for my brother and that thing screamed when oc'd. The price of quad cores kept me with AMD at the time. I can upgrade from $300-$500 here which would be nice but I want to make sure this is going to keep me happy for at least another year. I am also wondering what a comparable I5-I7 build will run me if that is the better option.

 

[cheesy999]

don't bother upgrading the procesor, you won't notice the difference - just put all the money into a even better graphics card

 

[Goodman]

Don't upgrade just yet!

Save some more money & buy a new Board , GC & DDR3 , in about 2 months when Bulldozer be out Or buy an 6950 for now

If bulldozer are not as good as we hope for , you will then have the choice to go Intel which should go a little bit cheaper after Bulldozer is out

 

[BenHoliday]

Thanks for the heads up. I haven't really been paying attention to the amd tech except for pricing recently. I did not even even realise they had a new platform coming soon. I guess I will wait for the benchmarks and see which way the pricing drops in the upcoming months.

Are the 6950's the best bang for your buck right now? They look like they have the same power requirements as my current so that is a plus.

 

[happita]

Honestly, I would just upgrade the graphics card as it is the only noticeable upgrade that you will see a difference on.
I'd say get a 6950 or 6970.

Don't upgrade just yet!

Save some more money & buy a new Board , GC & DDR3 , in about 2 months when Bulldozer be out Or buy an 6950 for now

If bulldozer are not as good as we hope for , you will then have the choice to go Intel which should go a little bit cheaper after Bulldozer is out

Goodman has a good point there. You should wait until Bulldozer comes out and then you can decide which path to take: Intel or AMD.
Upgrading to another Phenom 2 x4 really isn't worth it.

 

[BenHoliday]

I am looking through the 6950's and 70's right now. Is there a big performance increase with a 2Gb card vs a 1Gb? Most of the clocks are looking about equal in the specs.

 

[BraveSoul]

2gbvs1gb seems almost useless right now,, u will literally see no difference ,, but if you are using eyefinity 3 monitors with high resolution that might benefit from 2gbs,, its good to have more just for the peace of mind :0)

 

[TheMailMan78]

Don't upgrade yet man. Bulldozer is right around the corner.

 

[BraveSoul]

here it is,, looks like that 2gbs of video memory is not needed for today's games

 

[BenHoliday]

That is a nice chart very helpful. After reading through that though I got to wonder if all the 6950's have that increased power draw. If that is the case a 6970 might be a better option or a GTX 570 they had a decent bit of performance increase as well.

On the other hand I have an Antec twelve hundred case so heat issues are not a worry for me. I also have the system shut down when I am at work so except for nights and weekends the power is nada. A 6950 may still be in the running especially with the lower price.

 

[happita]

You can't go wrong with either the 6950 or 570 IMO. Both are very reasonably priced and will offer a significant performance boost versus your 5770.

 

[BenHoliday]

I just wanted to thank you all for the assistance. I ended up getting a Galaxy GTX 570. Huge improvement in fps at high settings. I am seeing effects I never saw before and I had that 5770 at high settings as well. As soon as I can get the fan speed below 40% I think I will be a lot happier as well this card is a lot louder with nothing running.

 

[BraveSoul]

love huge improvement,, so worth the effort ,,, as for the noise,, could try one of those utilities like MSI afterburner to lower fan speeds manually to get desired noise level, but watch the temps so they stay within safe limits of whatever it is for 570s,,im guessing below 95c? do some research.. also u could try increasing the speed of your side panel fan if u got one there,,, i know i do got same case as u
pss: write ur system specs in control panel

 

[BenHoliday]

Huge improvement but I think I am going back to my old card and pass this on to a buddy. The sound is killing me here. Who puts in the card bios fan does not go under 40%? I have played with all the utilities to no avail. It is awesome in games but this just isn't worth the suffering when browsing the web. It this is the loudest component in my case and I have an Antec 1200 which is fan city.

-Edit-

Well give me the dunce cap I will go sit in my corner. Me- Loud fan (cursing,etc), Buddy - Didn't you upgrade bios around the same time you installed that?, Me - Yup, Buddy - Did you reapply all of your settings, Me - Sob (head banging on desk)

Abott I'm a bad boy. Everything is back to being the sweet silence I once enjoyed. I must go make amends to besmirching this video cards good name by playing some decent games.

 

[Dent1]

Huge improvement but I think I am going back to my old card and pass this on to a buddy. The sound is killing me here. Who puts in the card bios fan does not go under 40%? I have played with all the utilities to no avail. It is awesome in games but this just isn't worth the suffering when browsing the web. It this is the loudest component in my case and I have an Antec 1200 which is fan city.

-Edit-

Well give me the dunce cap I will go sit in my corner. Me- Loud fan (cursing,etc), Buddy - Didn't you upgrade bios around the same time you installed that?, Me - Yup, Buddy - Did you reapply all of your settings, Me - Sob (head banging on desk)

Abott I'm a bad boy. Everything is back to being the sweet silence I once enjoyed. I must go make amends to besmirching this video cards good name by playing some decent games.

Bad move. You should of bought a cheap GPU silent cooler.