upgrading my computer

[vakker]

I currently have an e6400 running at stock clocks (2.13ghz) with 4gb of memory and an 8800GT. I am looking to buy a i7 860 and overclock the shit out of it with 8gb of memory and a new radeon 5870. this will end up running about 1100 all together, makes it so I dont have to upgrade for years again.

Is it worth it though? i find i download alot but dont play too many games because my computer can only handle some of them and usually those are on 360 anyways.


any nerds wanna lend some advice? is this going to be a steep enough upgrade that its going to be worth the cost?

[MuSuLPhReAk]

I too am looking to upgrade but waiting until the new year for the new usb 3.0 technology to be added.

Besides that, if you're going to go soon with something new, for sure the i7, at least 8gb of ram, 12 sounds nice though. I'd go with the 64 bit system, windows 7 and at least a 1tb hard drive.

[vakker]

It is just hard for me to get a good idea of the performance jump, silly sites compare the i920 to the i975 or whatever, when I need a comparison to my system (which the chip is now 3 years old or so).

any other opinions?

I have enough storage space, just concerned about the performance increase.

[RagingRandy]

It used to be that software development was moving faster than hardware was. Today is different. The hardware that was made even a couple years will run pretty much anything except for high-end games and graphics programs.

USB 3.0 will be sweet when it arrives but will only benefit hardrives. Currently there is E-SATA which is plenty fast. The I7 is a great processor and gives you the ability to run DDR3 memory. The DDR3 memory will give you a real kick in performance.

However, the Intel Nehalem-EX (8-core) processor will soon be available if it is not already. This, in a dual-socket configuration, you'd have a 16-core, 32-thread, 48MB cache machine able to address half a terabyte of RAM.....SWEET.

If you are looking at the 5870 this will interest you.... http://hothardware.com/News/Asus-Voltage-Tweaks-Radeon-HD-5870-To-A-38-Performance-Boost/

[vakker]

thanks guys. I am gonna go with an 860 and an ega board to match, it lets me reuse my socket 775 watercooling again. I hope the jump is worth it.

[z83]

G.SKILL F3-12800CL7D-4GBRH Ripjaws PC3-12800 4GB 2X2GB DDR3-1600 CL7-7-7-24 Core I5 Memory Kit x2
Gigabyte P55-UD4P ATX LGA1156 P55 DDR3 2PCI-E 3PCI-E1 2PCI RAID 2GLAN CrossFireX SLI Motherboard
Prolimatech Megahalems Heatpipe Cooler LGA775 LGA1366 Heatsink *Fan Not Included (get the bracket for socket 1156) + some good pasta (AS5 / MX2)
a good psu maybe corsair TX750w
I7 860
well ventilated case (coolermaster 690, haf932)
WD black edition 500-1000GB (SSD if you can afford one)
5850 and overclock it (it will match or perform better than a 5870)
if you're lucky on the cpu, 4ghz shouldn't be an issue

edit : just saw you're watercooled. make sure you have a good WB

[vakker]

thanks.

I was gonna go for 8gb of the ddr3-2000 rip jaws but already have solid PSU and harddrives (SSD won't happen because i don't see the benfit yet) and this big antec case.

I am still undecided on the 5870 or 295. Every single ATI card i've owned has been a huge peice of shit.




G.SKILL F3-12800CL7D-4GBRH Ripjaws PC3-12800 4GB 2X2GB DDR3-1600 CL7-7-7-24 Core I5 Memory Kit x2
Gigabyte P55-UD4P ATX LGA1156 P55 DDR3 2PCI-E 3PCI-E1 2PCI RAID 2GLAN CrossFireX SLI Motherboard
Prolimatech Megahalems Heatpipe Cooler LGA775 LGA1366 Heatsink *Fan Not Included (get the bracket for socket 1156) + some good pasta (AS5 / MX2)
a good psu maybe corsair TX750w
I7 860
well ventilated case (coolermaster 690, haf932)
WD black edition 500-1000GB (SSD if you can afford one)
5850 and overclock it (it will match or perform better than a 5870)
if you're lucky on the cpu, 4ghz shouldn't be an issue

edit : just saw you're watercooled. make sure you have a good WB

[z83]

thanks.

I was gonna go for 8gb of the ddr3-2000 rip jaws but already have solid PSU and harddrives (SSD won't happen because i don't see the benfit yet) and this big antec case.

I am still undecided on the 5870 or 295. Every single ATI card i've owned has been a huge peice of shit.

I prefer nvidia but dual gpu cards sux big time. Game stuttering, fps drop...
I had a 9800GX2...disaster in games.

I've built a rig with a 5870 and it's a very solid card. ATi cards tend to run hot and are noisier. If you buy one, XFX (register the card) is lifetime warrenty and have a great customer support

edit: the 5870 is cheaper and will sell really fast if you decide not keeping it

[MuSuLPhReAk]

However, the Intel Nehalem-EX (8-core) processor will soon be available if it is not already. This, in a dual-socket configuration, you'd have a 16-core, 32-thread, 48MB cache machine able to address half a terabyte of RAM.....SWEET.

Talk about sweeeeeeeet!!!!!

[vakker]

I went with the i7 860/p55 evag ftw/8gb of ripjaw/5870 xfx/1tb wd black. Everything else I can reuse.

thanks for the input.

[azian257]

I highly recommend a SSD, especially the Intel X25-M Gen2. Most modern day computers are bottlenecked by slow mechanical drives. Honestly the difference is night and day. Every program opens up near instantaneous. When I use other computers I say wtf, why so slow...firefox takes 3s to start lol.

[kloan]

Oh, I'd love to put one of those drives in my Macbook Pro... soon as they drop below $200 I'll get one. :)

[vakker]

anyone looking at the 5870 might wanna keep in mind the length, i thought my old 8800GTX was long, nope, this guy makes it look like my dick. sucker made me remove a harddrive cage it was so big.