Should i upgrade now or wait a while?

Radiation · 14 Nov 2011 at 14:06

I currently have a C2D at 3.1ghz and a GTX 260 sp216, im thinking of spending up to about £400 to replace mobo, cpu, ram and gpu, would i save or get anything better by waiting until around march next year?

solarp · 14 Nov 2011 at 14:11

Just discussing the same thing in http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18341295

fowler002 · 14 Nov 2011 at 14:12

new am and nvidia cards due out in the next few months, ivybridge out march/april.

get a cheap q6600/q9650 and overclock to 3.6ghz, have a look at http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/293?vs=330 to see how you the 260 compares to the current cards.

Radiation · 14 Nov 2011 at 14:14

Don't know whether this changes anything but it seems you can get a 6870 with both dues ex and battlefield 3 for about £135?

fowler002 · 14 Nov 2011 at 14:25

not from here you can't, upto you really if you can/can't wait.

the general budget cpu/mb/ram/cooler spec is:

i2500k £168 (upto £180 from wednesday)

gigabyte z68ap-d3 £85

8gb pc3-12800 1600mhz c10 crucial ballistixs sport £38

gelid tranquilo £26

total £317

Radiation · 14 Nov 2011 at 14:31

I got a cooler master hyper 212+, that will work won't it?

My budget won't change much so unless something is guaranteed to come out thats better i don't know whether it's worth waiting or not, i can go as far as april but it means i won't be playing any of the latest games until then, i can wait but it has to be worthwhile, would prefer better hardware over savings.

fowler002 · 14 Nov 2011 at 15:09

the cooler you have will work fine, similar performance to the gelid tranquilo.

well few options

1) upgrade everything now

i2500k £168 (upto £180 from wednesday)

gigabyte z68ap-d3 £85

8gb pc3-12800 1600mhz c10 crucial ballistixs sport £36

+ the 6870 you found

total = £424 + delivery cost for the 6870 if there is cost

2) upgrade the cpu/mb/ram now and hold off a couple of months for the graphics card

3) get a cheap q6600 now and wait till the new graphics cards are and buy one of the new ones or reduced priced current gen, then once ivy bridge comes out upgrade th cpu/mb/ram

4) upgrade everything together in march

Radiation · 14 Nov 2011 at 15:34

What will replace the 2500k and gpu as the new best budget components next year?

beejjacobs · 14 Nov 2011 at 15:55

next year the 2500k probably won't really be replaced. From what I understand Ivybridge is more about onboard GPU performance than CPU (I think meant to be ~10% increase) so 2500k will still be good for gaming really.

As for GPU, we'll have to wait and see!

Radiation · 14 Nov 2011 at 16:21

Ok thanks all.

fowler002 · 14 Nov 2011 at 16:55

beejjacobs said:
next year the 2500k probably won't really be replaced. From what I understand Ivybridge is more about onboard GPU performance than CPU (I think meant to be ~10% increase) so 2500k will still be good for gaming really.

As for GPU, we'll have to wait and see!

wrong answer, its a die shrink to 22nm more power effecient(may/may not get better onboard graphics but the main thing is the shrinking in size).