potential upgrade (worth it?)

techead

techead

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hi all

I usually do a bit of an upgrade every now and then, just wondering if I really NEED to upgrade anything.

I got a Asus P5N-D with Intel Q9550 with 4GB DDR2-800

My GFX is a Sapphire 4890 1GB and I got 2 x 1TB WD black editions

Would there be value in upgrading only my GFX? I would love to get one of the new 5870's but if the rest of my system is gonna be a bottleneck then no point!

other area I was thinking was my hard drive... I've heard SSD gives a system a serious rocket speed injection!!

thoughts?

thanks all
 
No. WRT to the SDD, it will speed up any activity that uses a hard drive. Of course most functions on a computer, such as starting an application, use more than just disk IO (CPU, RAM etc) so the increase in speed will depend on the activity.

Speed increase of copying files will be huge; the speed increase of opening office less. Try this:

Open perfmon (start > run > perfmon), and add CPU and physical disk counters. Launch an app and watch what the counters do. Your system should open word in around 3 seconds, during which time the processor will be running high. Adding an SDD would reduce the amount of time the HDD is used, thus increasing performance, but it will not reduce the amount of CPU time (should remain almost constant).

So an SDD, for a quick example, may reduce an app launch from 3 seconds to 2. You decide if it's worth the money....
 
I doubt you'll bottleneck that card too much - are you oc'ing the q9550? If you can do it then by all means do it, 5870 is a beautiful card with an outstanding price point.
 
If I was in your position, I would definitely get the ssd over the 5870. Don't get me wrong, the 5870 is an awesome card, but your 4890 should be able to run any game on ultra high for a while.

You will see a much greater leap in overall system performance with the ssd.
 
Well firstly that q9550 will run any card you throw at it, gpu's are not all that cpu dependant these days, obviously trying to run a 5870 on a 3000+ plus will cause some trouble :D.

On the SSD side of things if you do things on your pc that you would notice a massive boost in performance such as corel, photoshop and other worked related things then get an SSD because your pc will fly man but if you just game don't bother with an ssd, once you are in the game the ssd is useless.

Conrad ssd's are not just about opening dude, ssd's these days can read/write at 200mb+ which will stomp on your standard 7200 rpm drive. SSD is all about what you do on your pc. For everyday use and gaming an ssd is pointless unless you want your pc to run very fast even if it you don't really need it to, but if you work and use heavy duty apps then get an ssd.

If you are looking for a really fast injection of speed then the ssd is a winner.
 
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With uncapped Internet I would go for another 1 or 1.5TB Hard Drive.

get the SDD if you use Advanced software/etc and need hard drive performance

Get a GFX Card if your games are starting to slow down (which it wont)

what about your screen / sound / other peripherals? don't forget those!
 
thing is right, I prefer RPG games... which tend be more intensive on the GFX card... I think!? :confused:

im hesitant to get a bigger screen (have 22") as then my native res will go up which means I will have lower FPS... and I like smooooooth!
 
Lol 5870 on a 22" monitor.....kinda overkill there.

I'd go for a monitor - dun worry about losing out on the resolution, you can always set it lower if necessary. You don't have to run games at 1920. Plus you can watch proper hi-def movies :D
 
Your system will not be a bottleneck. The HD5870 will quite happily run games at 1920x1080 or 1920x1200.
 
Here's my opinion...you buy ME the HD5870 and I'll let you know if it's worth it or not :p I'm willing to take 1 for the team here! :D
 
ok so Im looking at LCD's now...

I dont understand why for full HD res of 1920x1080 there are different sizes?

I see the below from frontosa, but which would be the better option??

Samsung T240 , ToC rose black , 24" Wide , MagicBright3 + MagicTune , Full HD 1920x1080 (WUGA+) ; brightness- 300cd/m2 ; DC contrast ratio- 20000:1 , response time- 5ms , no vesa wall-mount - d-sub+Dvi+HDMi+USB+SPDiF - tilt+swivel stand

Samsung 2494HS , glossy black , 23.6" wide , 2 x 3w speaker , with MagicBright3 + MagicClear , vesa wall-mountable , Full HD 1920x1080 (WUGA+) ; brightness- 300cd/m2 ; DC contrast ratio- 50000:1 , response time- 5ms , 100x200mm vesa-wall mountable - d-sub+Dvi+HDMi - tilt+swivel stand

Samsung art series P2450H , rose black , touch buttons design , stylist crystal neck , ultra-slim 30mm depth , 23" Wide + MagicBright3 + MagicTune , Full HD 1920x1080 (WUGA+) ; brightness- 300cd/m2 ; DC contrast ratio- 70000:1 , response time- 2ms , 100mm vesa wall-mount - d-sub+Dvi+HDMi

:confused:
 
Regarding monitors take 1920x1200 over 1920x1200. In other words take the T240.

Regarding the ssd take the 64gig gskill falcon from prophecy.

Since you already have a 22wide I'd take the ssd.
 
HTC_guy said:
hi all

I usually do a bit of an upgrade every now and then, just wondering if I really NEED to upgrade anything.

I got a Asus P5N-D with Intel Q9550 with 4GB DDR2-800

My GFX is a Sapphire 4890 1GB and I got 2 x 1TB WD black editions

Would there be value in upgrading only my GFX? I would love to get one of the new 5870's but if the rest of my system is gonna be a bottleneck then no point!

other area I was thinking was my hard drive... I've heard SSD gives a system a serious rocket speed injection!!

thoughts?

thanks all
Click to expand...

Im not sure if you already have but if you're upgrading for the sake of upgrading why not focus on your audio experience... get an awesome sound card and an awesome pair of headphones.

or just get the ssd for the fact that it starts up super silently... niiice and stealthy
 
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