Upgrade Path

youngbaba

youngbaba

youngbaba

Associate
Joined
27 Dec 2008
Posts
33
As my sig shows, I'm currently rocking a first-gen i3 and SLI'd 1GB GTX460s. I'm itching for an upgrade but am unsure of which way to go - new CPU and mobo or new GPU.

I was tempted by the unlockable 6750 way back when but then I read there's not much point dropping SLI 460s for a single 6950/6970, and that was over a year ago. Now the 7850 is out, and benches put it on par with the 6970, which doesn't help!

I'm looking to sped £00-£400 max, and have a feeling that a 2500k would get me another year out of my GPUs, but I'm not 100% sure. I play BF3 non-competitively, WoW and will be beasting D3 once its released. Any and all suggestions are welcome.
 

cmndr_andi

cmndr_andi

cmndr_andi

Soldato
Joined
23 Apr 2009
Posts
11,973
Location
Cheshire
Hi there,

May I ask what resolution you play games at?

Assuming it is 1200p or less then you would probably get better value out of a CPU upgrade, since with a i3 500 series and two GTX 460s there will be quite a few occasions where it is your CPU is the bottleneck.

If you want a cheap upgrade, then an i5 750 or 760 would give you a nice performance boost for not too much money (at a guess ~£80) and allows you to use your existing motherboard.

However, if you want a big jump in CPU performance then an i5 2500K or Ivy Bridge i5 3570K (expected to arrive at the end of this month) would also be good options.
 
Last edited:

youngbaba

youngbaba

youngbaba

Associate
OP
Joined
27 Dec 2008
Posts
33
Rocking 1080p right now, and doubt it will change anytime soon.

I'm hovering over the buy button on a 2500k + P8Z77-V PRO right now - DTS Connect for the Astro Mixamp is right up my street.

What kind of % performance increase do you think I'd see with the above? I'm finding it really hard to justify a £350 upgrade without some numbers, but at the same time this money is burning a hole in my pocket!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom