Upgrade or New? PC for current gaming

Budza

Budza

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Will be using 42" TV, so max res is 1920x1080. Might even go less than that, as where I sit, I can't read text on screen...

Might consider getting a 32" FullHD TV, as have heard they're a great compromise.

Anyway, to drive all this for the likes of BF3 and whatever else is out now and in the last few months at average detail, is it upgrade time, or new PC time?

Current specs:

AM2+ athlon64 x2 Dual-core 7850 @2.8Ghz
4GB DDR2 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145229)
ATI Radeon 3870XT, 512MB

I'll be browsing Carbonite for a couple of weeks to see what's what.

Considering going quad core, DDR3 and 1GB Direct x11 GPU, but that'll be pricey. If I could chuck in a better GPU into existing setup, that's be fine for a few more months, while I save for a more complete setup.

What's the best GPU for the 7850? I reckon I could OC the 7850 to about 3.2Ghz, if that becomes the bottleneck...

:)
 
Always upgrade, unless you really want to replace your PSU, case, keyboard, mouse, monitor, hdd, tv-tuner, wifi adaptor.
 
Wyzak said:
Always upgrade, unless you really want to replace your PSU, case, keyboard, mouse, monitor, hdd, tv-tuner, wifi adaptor.
Click to expand...

OK- what I meant was upgrade just the GPU, or Mobo, CPU, GPU, RAM etc, IE NEW components.

Peripherals, add ons, HDDs, screen etc will be retained..

I'm trying to figure out what the GPU limit of the 7850 is my Google skills are failing me. IE, if I buy a 4770 it'll be OK. 5870 and CPU becomes a bottle neck, that kind of thing.
 
Considering you have AM2+ you can pop in an AM3 hexa-core CPU and it should provide a significant boost in performance.
 
Honestly even with a 4670 I think your Cpu would be a bottleneck. Dont forget that the newer graphics cards can eat power, so make sure your PSU is up to the task.
 
Yip, time to upgrade.
It always depens on what the budget is, and then your preference. AMD/Intel, Nvidia/AMD.... and so on
 
Anyway, to drive all this for the likes of BF3 and whatever else is out now and in the last few months at average detail, is it upgrade time, or new PC time?


Yes get intel quadcore with a new qpu, all good and well going with phenom but your vga needs upgrading for sure. Then you run the risk of your amd gpu bottlenecking your gpu.

Cheap a cheapie intel mobo plus the cheapest sandy bridge quad which will set you back

Intel Core i5 2400 Processor - 3.10GHz, Socket 1155, 8MB L3, 2.0Gb/s DMI Interface R 1 529 excl. R 1,743 incl.
P8H61-MLX ASUS P8H61-M LX - INTEL H61 CHIPSET (NEW B3 STEPPING) - LGA 1155 FOR INTEL 2ND GENERATION CORE I7 / CORE I5 AND CORE I3 PROCESSORS (SUPPORTS INTEL 32NM CPU)- MICRO ATX FORM FACTOR, 2X DDR3 (MAX 16GB 1333MHZ), 1X PCI EXPRESS 2.0 X16, 3X PCI EXPRESS 2.0 X1, 4X SATA 3.0GB/S, 10X USB 2.0, 10/100/1000 GB LAN, REALTEK ALC887 8 CHANNEL HIGH DEF AUDIO, BACK PANEL: 1X PS2 KEYBOARD, 1X PS2 MOUSE, 1X VGA, 1X COM PORT, 1X PARALLEL PORT, 4X USB 2.0, 1X LAN (RJ45) 3X AUDIO JACKS R 488 excl. R 556 incl.

2.3k, if you can push it to 3k get a better motherboard but i would not touch amd if i was you, that setup is only 300 bucks more than the phenom recommended with a new mobo.

Then you need a vga card and some memory as well but 4gb ddr or even 8gb ddr is dirt cheap.

You could wait for amd's new stuff but that is only if you are a fanboy and you will buy amd regardless if it gets pomped. Dual core setups are not ideal anymore for gaming. Certainly not your dual core, that thing will bottleneck a 6850 and perhaps lower. Also a budget would help us.
 
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Thanks- no idea about budget yet. Used to be an AMD guy, but that's just cos they were always in the bang for buck segment I shopped in...

For now, I think new GPU will suffice while I decide on a budget. R1k for GPU now should suffice. From what I've heard, the new AMD is a disappointment. Pity, but sounds like it's Intel then. That i5 2400 most likely.

Cheers.
 
Budza said:
Thanks- no idea about budget yet. Used to be an AMD guy, but that's just cos they were always in the bang for buck segment I shopped in...

For now, I think new GPU will suffice while I decide on a budget. R1k for GPU now should suffice. From what I've heard, the new AMD is a disappointment. Pity, but sounds like it's Intel then. That i5 2400 most likely.

Cheers.
Click to expand...

Playing bf 3 should be an issue with that cpu though but give it a bash. It may work. Does a 965 work on your mobo or 955/940?
 
i5 is probably your best bet yeah... Radeon 6850 is pretty decently priced for really decent performance. Should be R1600-1800.

Don't have to break the bank completely to have a fine, seaworthy ship!
 
go for one of these (in sig)...
phew... it blows your mind...

but with the i series of intel's remember the k versions of the i5 and i7 are only necessary if you want to overclock...
so depending on budget and what you wanna do with it, if just gaming, id say a i5-2500 and a 6850 or 550ti
 
If you go intel you pretty much have to throw everything away and start from scratch. Fortunately for you thats not needed, you already have an AM3 compatible setup so why not just drop a 6 core 3.3 Ghz black edition onto the board and enjoy a massive boost at a low cost?

Sure the newer AM3+ bulldozers are not as impressive as people would have thought, but they still make for a good deal and offers more bang for your buck than intels at the same cost. Not to mention AMD having a more future proof platform.

The biggest benefit of the newer AMDs coming out is the drop in price on the Phenom II, which killed its equivalent intel rivals, so why not make use of this benefit and get a six core Phenom II for cheap.
 
Roux listening to you talk about this stuff is bizarre, you sound like you hate intel.

Dude it seems if amd was a beat up golf and intel was ferrari you would say the golf is better. What don't you like about intel?
 
Actually, if you did google for that you would find the top result to be the reasons why yours truly is not an intel fan. That and the fact that they bribed companies like Dell to support them.
 
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