Worth Upgrading on a Sandybridge Board?

BDEE

BDEE

BDEE

Soldato
Joined
21 Apr 2011
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I upgraded a while back, 2-3 years I think, and board is a Sabertooth P67.

I am looking to upgrade some bits and wondering if there is any point in upgrading based on Sandybridge?

I would be looking at new CPU / RAM / GPU and machine is for gaming.
 
BDEE said:
P67
i7 2600k @3.4GHz
8GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3 @ 1666MHz
Asus HD6950 DirectCU II

Budget £1500ish
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Get a new gpu and ssd if you don't have one. The cpu/ram is still good enough. Maybe get a cooler and overclock the cpu as well.
 
I have a 128Gb SSD which is almost full. I might look at a new GPU and monitor.

I was looking at an X79 based board and a 4930K - Maybe a little extreme then?
 
BDEE said:
I have a 128Gb SSD which is almost full. I might look at a new GPU and monitor.

I was looking at an X79 based board and a 4930K - Maybe a little extreme then?
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I think the 4930K would be overkill for gaming.

Do you have a good cpu cooler ? Also what make/model power supply do you have ? Also is your current case able to take a big cooler if you need one ?

A 290 or 780 gpu would be a nice upgrade, and maybe another SSD if yours is nearly full.
 
I have a Coolermaster V6GT cooler.

The PSU is an Enermax Galaxy 1000w - It is about 6 years old.

The case is a Lian-Li PC-P80 Armoursuit, so there is plenty of space, but the cooler is huge anyway :)

Thinking a really high spec GPU might be good - I get a lot of FPS drop when playing TSW with a lot of action going on. Maybe a new monitor to make the most of it too. Running a Samsung BX2335 at the moment.
 
If you want a really high end gpu then, go for either a 290x or 780ti. Whether they are worth the extra money over a 290/780 is another matter :D

Have a look at the benchmarks on Anandtech - http://www.anandtech.com/bench/GPU14/815

I can't advise on what monitor to get, but obviously if you want one of the 3D monitors then I think you need an nvidia card.

Your psu, case and cooler are all good so no need to change those.
 
2600k is a fine cpu,but running it at stock clocks isn't,you need to buy aftermarket cooler and clock it to around 4.5ghz (free performance upgrade)

ram is fine also
 
So having a look at what GPU to go for - I am tempted by a GTX 780Ti - I have always stuck with AMD GPU's with my last few builds, but seems that Nvidia have the edge back now?

Can anyone recommend a monitor to get the best of of the card? Or any other card suggestions?
 
The 780ti is faster (but not my much, at least from what I have seen) but it is more expensive than a 290x (I don't think the 290x is really worth it over a 290). If it were me, I would buy either a 290 or a 780 and pocket the change for a later date. Grab a decent CPU cooler and over clock you CPU while you are at it. That should keep you fixed for performance.

Crossfire / SLI 290's 780's is also an option, but depends on what board you have. Not sure on the PSU whether it would be fine for dual card due to its age.
 
Looks reasonable but there are better ones. Its at least worth seeing what you can get out of the CPU with it. Depends on what voltage you need. I would think somewhere between 4.2GHz and 4.4GHz would be pretty easy.
 
Well of course there are better ones, but it is still a pretty beefy heatsink for a moderate overclock as you say. :)
 
Overclock your CPU (criminal not to do it on a Sabertooth :)). V6 good enough for mid-high overclocking (4.4GHz, 4.6GHz).

Upgrade your GPU. HD6950 is maybe equivalent to a R9 270(?), for comparison.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions.

I have ended up going for the following:

EVGA GTX 780Ti
BenQ XL2420T
Samsung 840 EVO 1TB SSD

And I will have a look at the overclocking. Will install the new GPU first once it is here, then get into the board and play with the clocking - I haven't ever looked at it before in detail, but seems simple given it is all built into the Sabertooth :)

On a plus side, next time I upgrade, I should only need a board, cpu, ram and cooler and maybe a new PSU. Unless of course this PSU blows at some point and frys my machine, in which case it will be sad times! Think I shall have a look into the useful life span of these as it is probably my biggest concern now having spent this money!
 
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