General H/W upgrade question

[Athlonix]

Hey all,

I've recently picked up BF3 like most, and i'm a little baffled on a few things and would like some advice, due to the unsure feeling in my mind.

First I'd like to discuss my Desktop PC.

Spec

AMD Phenom x4 965 BE + OEM Cooler
Crucial 4 Gig DDR3 @2000mhz
Gigabyte GA-790FXTA-UD5
XFX 5870 1Gig
Asus Xonar DS 7.1
Samsung Drives combination of, making 4 Terabytes


I've managed to get this system running everything on Ultra, with AA @ x8 and AF @ x16 and the system floats around 1920x1080 45fps +/- 5fps which is pretty good.

However I occassionally get a fps spike, I can't work out why. I think it's the hard drive loading.

Anyways I was thinking of upgrading the system;
One should I upgrade to AMD or Intel
I've come up with these specs

AMD Phenom x6 1100T BE
Gigabyte 990FXA-UD7 AMD 990FX
Crucial Ballistix Elite 8GB 2000MHz

OR

Intel Core i7-2600 3.40GHz LGA1155
Asus P8Z68 DELUXE Intel Z68
Crucial Ballistix Elite 8GB 2000MHz

Graphics card i'm thinking either ATi 6970 or a nVidia 580
and this is where my head scratching begins, The performance figures for these cards while better aren't mind blowningly faster

while the nVidia was faster it still doesn't seem that much faster

I do Photo and Video editing, so I am thinking about that, but i'm also thinking about improving my system for future gaming, the real question is, with the system I have is there much point? is there a cheap more 'bang for your buck' option? £300 for another 15fps seems horrendous to me. I also contemplated Overclock the 5870 to the XXX version clock speeds for a small boost, and finally running a overclock on the 965, saying 3.8 maybe even 4ghz.


opinions welcome,
my second problem i'll post separately as this has turned into a big post.


Thanks,

Luke.

 

[mp260767]

how about an ssd ?

get a 3rd party cooler and overclock your cpu

maybe get another 5870 and crossfire them ?

gfx card wise 580 if you have the budget, or the 6950/560ti if you want an improvement without going overboard price wise.

processor wise, depending on how much photo/video editing you do, maybe look at the 2500K if you don't do a lot, or the 2600K if you do.

 

[Reaper 392]

how about an ssd ?

get a 3rd party cooler and overclock your cpu

maybe get another 5870 and crossfire them ?

gfx card wise 580 if you have the budget, or the 6950/560ti if you want an improvement without going overboard price wise.

processor wise, depending on how much photo/video editing you do, maybe look at the 2500K if you don't do a lot, or the 2600K if you do.

seconded, especially the new processor cooler (those standard AMD coolers are LOUD)

 

[Athlonix]

Money isn't an issue in the sense that i will spend what is needed, but with the graphics cards I think it's quite ridiculous to pay 5-600£ for a card, if not more to see a benefit over existing hardware.

So a 2nd hand 5870 is the way to go possibly, hmm interesting idea. *searches Ebay*

Ok so it sounds like your in agreement that upgrading will yield little performance increase? Would you say there is any merit in the two system upgrade options i posted then? just dunno whether to bother upgrading yet or maybe later next year?

Does the hardware available today offer any real boost over my current setup? does that make sense?

I'm thinking SSD soon actually, just haven't got round to finding one, and getting a new case either, but at the moment i'm questioning the raw components for workload and there advantage over the current equipment.

 

[mp260767]

processor wise the 2500K/2600K will do a fair bit more than your current one, unless you use something that makes use of all the extra cores really no reason to look at the amd hex core.

as for know i'd go with the crossfire 5870's or a new graphics card, cpu cooler + overclock and an ssd (have a look at the crucial m4's).

see how that performs, the crossfire 5870's/new card can be carried over to a new build along with the cooler (something like the Gelid Tranquillo) and the ssd.

new graphics cards are due out soonish, not seen any confirmed dates, and socket 2011 (iirc) intel processors are the next things around the corner that i'm aware of.

 

[Athlonix]

So as you say I might as well wait for the new hardware, even if it's just to reduce prices. if that is the Case i'll just wait it out and hunt down an extra 5870 for crossfire to tie me over. and I'll start picking up some SSD pimpness.I suppose i'll get a cooler as well and push this system to the limits.

thanks guys,