Should I upgrade now or wait?

ojgbrown

ojgbrown

ojgbrown

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29 May 2011
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I was hoping you guys could help. Not only do I need to know whether now is a good time and what the best bang for buck may be but also if my current Mobo is going to be sufficient not just for now but for future as well.

My current setup is:

550w PSU
Phenom II 550 BE @ 3.2 ghz
HD Radeon 5770 1gb 900/1350
ASUS M4A78-VM mobo
4GB RAM
500GB HDD


CPU
I think the PSU will be fine just about for what I want to do which is upgrade both the CPU and the graphics card. I had been considering an X6 1090 or even an X4 970. The machine is mainly for gaming in addition to basic uses. I will do some video editing but nothing extreme.

Regarding the CPU I am going to hang on I feel until I know the retail on the bulldozer chips and their relative performance vs the Phenom II's. Is an X6 for a bit cheaper or a new Bulldozer going to be a better bet?


GPU
My 5770 has served me reasonably well but I like to play games at the highest settings and I play at 1900X1200 res, or likle to at least. The problem is it is really struggling to get decent FPS past medium settings on the latest games now and this is only going to get worse with the likes of BF3 on the horizon.

I was considering a 6950 1gb as it is as far as my budget could go really. Ideally I would spend a little less but I feel that it would be better to spend a little more and get this card as opposed to saving a small amount and getting a 5870/6870/560 ti etc. Should I get this now or wait? Or would you say a 6870 for example would be a good enough bump in performance?


MOBO
I really really do not want to upgrade the mobo if I don't have to, as I only have budget for a GPU and CPU, and thats already stretching it. A new mobo would mean sacrificing one of the other two for now. I belive it is compatible not only with the X6 range but with the upcoming bulldozer chips with a BIOS flash which I have done successfully, however am I limiting the performance of any prospective new CPU or graphics card with this motherboard? Already it has limited me by not allowing me to even attempt to unlock the additional cores on the X2 550 and I fear to get the most out of new hardware I may need a new one. What exactly are the drawbacks of sticking with this mobo as opposed to getting a new one, and is it significant enough to justify a new purchase?



Thank you so much to anybody who takes the time not only to read but to assist, it is much appreciated as I am a little stuck as to what to do.
 
freddie64 said:
Isn't the X6 cpu worse than a X4 for gaming?
Click to expand...

Indeed it is.

Have you tried unlocking the cores on the X2? You should also overclock it, most will do 3.8GHz at least - that will provide a decent boost.

To tell the truth, I would just upgrade the graphics card now and start saving for a cpu/mobo update later (BD is just round the corner).

I have a HD6870 and while there is nothing it can't play on max atm I wouldn't recommend it.
I would be looking at the GTX560Ti over the HD6950 1GB as it edges it on performance and overclocks better.
If you can stretch your budget then the HD6950 2GB model is a better bet, provided you can get a Rev1 card as they can be flashed to the more capable HD6970.
 
What is the make and model of your PSU?

Also, with the graphics cards, the 6870 performs at a similar level to a 5850 but for £30 more. The only reason I would get a 6870 is if you plan on going crossfire in the near future as they will scale better than 5850s.

A 5870 would be better than both of these but haven't heard great things about the XFX version, coupled with they're not so great RMA service, but it's the only one sold here.

A 6950 would be your best bet to be honest, but the GTX 560Ti is a good card for around the same sort of budget too.

Edit: pretty much what Cookeh said:)
 
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Ok, well firstly saying "I would just save for a completely new rig" is incredibly unhelpful firstly because I have stated what my budget is and secondly because you have not followed that up with an explanation as to why.

As I stated in the original post, my motherboard does not allow me to unlock the extra 2 cores on the X2 550.

I'm not sure on the make of the PSU, it is just the stock one the machine came with so I doubt it is anything flashy, although I have never had any problems.

My motherboard also doesnt allow me to crossfire.

I I were to upgrade the motherboard then what would be a good budget option that would allow me to overclock with no issues, use crossfire in the future if I wanted to as well as being compatible with current and future CPU's? Any ideas?

Thanks everybody for your assistance.
 
ojgbrown said:
Ok, well firstly saying "I would just save for a completely new rig" is incredibly unhelpful firstly because I have stated what my budget is and secondly because you have not followed that up with an explanation as to why.
Click to expand...

Because you'll throw 200 quid at it, and it still won't perform. So you'll throw another 200 quid at it. Then 6 months later you'll throw another 200 quid at it. All this time you'll have a system that performs poorly, that you're not happy with, and is costing you money.

Whereas if you save the money you have, and continue to add to it. You'll be able to get a rig that's fantastic.

I'd much rather spend money and have something fantastic, than spend money and still have something rubbish. It's like paying 600 quid to MOT a car that's worth 600 quid.
 
All the bulldozer info is gona be released within the next 2 or 3 weeks hopefully so if you can save up some money over that period, I would get a PSU now, and then grab one of the lower end bulldozer CPU, boards with a GPU.

I would be worried about trusting a no-name PSU with all my new expensive equiptment, especially when they tend to go bang and take everything with them:(

You can pick up a great Seasonic design Antec High Current Gamer 620w for £49.99 if that's not a bargain I don't know what is:D lol
 
billysielu said:
Because you'll throw 200 quid at it, and it still won't perform. So you'll throw another 200 quid at it. Then 6 months later you'll throw another 200 quid at it. All this time you'll have a system that performs poorly, that you're not happy with, and is costing you money.

Whereas if you save the money you have, and continue to add to it. You'll be able to get a rig that's fantastic.

I'd much rather spend money and have something fantastic, than spend money and still have something rubbish. It's like paying 600 quid to MOT a car that's worth 600 quid.
Click to expand...

Thanks for at least elaborating a little further but again, you still haven't explained why this is the case. I do not require the absolute best of everything, I do not need some top of the line case or anything like that. What is the issue you see which means upgrading the current system is such a terrible idea? Is it the motherboard? I have concerns over the mobo myself and have asked if anybody knows what a better option would be and if indeed this is going to cause a problem.

Somebody has already stated that the PSU may be an issue and I should get a better one so that is noted.
 
I think he means that if you only have £200 to upgrade, your gonna wanna split that over the motherboard CPU and graphics card, and then in 6 months time, you may wanna do the same again, not necessarily getting you parts which are very future proof, where as if you spent the £400 in one go you could get components that will last you 2-3 years possibly longer.

To be honest, we don't know much about BullDozer at the moment so it may be best just to save up over the next couple of weeks, keep an eye on whats coming out and prices, and see what you can afford:)
 
I think the GPU and PSU need replacing now, then the CPU soon after. I don't like the idea of replacing so many things in a rig - if you got a completely new rig you'd have one pro rig and one old rig - rather than one frankenrig and some spare parts.

I'm also thinking long-term. Judging you a little, but... If money is a problem, you may assume it's better to spend a small amount now - but when it comes to needing a new rig, you won't be able to afford it, because you spent your savings on upgrades.

I just want you to at least consider the option of not upgrading :)
 
right now, the best upgrade you can do is a 2500K and P67. you have 4GB DDR3 (confirm?), maybe even some 12800 RAM, a semi decent card, so you can upgrade a few things, such as the PSU as pointed out (Absolute steal at that price), the motherboard, and the CPU.

IMO there's no point speculating over Bulldozer right now. AMD is just dangling a carrot around.

so there.


YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor £173.99
1 x MSI P67A-C45 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** £89.98
1 x Antec High Current Gamer 620W Power Supply £49.99
Total : £325.96 (includes shipping : £10.00).



Your current PSU could hold for a while, but missing out on a good 620W for £50 would be frankly stupid :) I paid at least x2 that for my HX620, and I'm not sure it performs actually better!

So either a GPU + PSU upgrade, or a mobo + cpu + psu upgrade. But I wouldn't upgrade below a 2500K or a 6950 2GB, and change the PSU either way.

Or everything at once :)

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI ATI Radeon HD 6950 OC Twin FrozR III Power Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE DIRT3 Game £205.99
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor £173.99
1 x MSI P67A-C45 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** £89.98
1 x Antec High Current Gamer 620W Power Supply £49.99
Total : £531.95 (includes shipping : £10.00).



And if you are thinking XFire later, then you'll need a better motherboard and a better PSU, which would be an extra £50-£60.

it really depends on your budget. But I wouldn't upgrade to anything lower than above, nor wait forever for bulldozer and take a chance at it. If you need an upgrade right here, right now, kust take the best that's available to you. Or wait and save money if you can't aford any of those upgrades.

And I wouldn't upgrade to x6. It is just not competitive with SB and upcoming bulldozer, at least not for gaming.
 
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OK well thanks everybody for your assistance- this has been very helpful. I am thinking now that I will probably hang on and save before looking to build a new rig in 3 months time or so. Will probably budget for about £600.
 
yes definately, either the bulldozers will be a good choice or the 2500k will be cheaper, either way its a good thing. Hopefully the graphics cards and mobo will be slightly cheaper by then as well.
 
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