Complete PC upgrade dilemma.

[Amit3945]

I am in a dilemma w.r.t overall PC upgrade.
Currently I am gaming on C2D, 2 GB RAM, 4850 (512 RAM) 17" LCD machine.
I am planning to upgrade but ONLY so that I can play games like Crysis/Warhead/BioShock Infinite/Dishonored/Metro 2033/Metro LL on a largish screen (Preferable a 21" monitor).
I have no interest in purchasing any future games..so I am not really looking at future proofing my PC with more powerful components (more RAM, more powerful CPU).
As I said, my primary interest is in running above games (or similarly powerful games) on a large screen.
What is the best upgrade path? I think a Ci5 with a 7850 should suffice.
What resolution would give me the best quality vs performance from the above system on a 21" screen?
Any other combination of hardware that would make more sense considering my requirement?
My budget is around Rs 40000-45000 i.e approx 650-700 USD.

Thank's in advance.

 

[Seba]

- On an LCD you want to use only the native resolution (probably 1920x1080 for a 21" monitor).

- If you upgrade the CPU+MB (to Core i5), you probably also need to replace the RAM (most Core 2 Duo motherboards used DDR2). 2GB of RAM is to little anyway.

 

[Jaydip]

It would be best if you ask the mods to move your thread in the general hardware section where members can help to make a good system for you.

 

[RayTheKing]

It would be best if you ask the mods to move your thread in the general hardware section where members can help to make a good system for you.

^^^

BTW: Yes, a i5 and a 7850 would work perfectly.

You should wait til one of the mods (They're our personal servants!) moves this thread to GH and then answer a few questions from the builder help sticky.

Yeah, on a good day.
-- stahlhart

 

[Amit3945]

Thank's. My mistake starting a thread here instead of GH.

 

[Nec_V20]

My advice for you would be to upgrade properly and take your time about it.

For instance you will be cheesed off with the 21" monitor pretty soon, so why not get a 27" one and save up a bit more and go with the next round of upgrades in a few weeks?

The next thing would be a good PSU, then you could go for the big upgrade (CPU, Mobo, RAM).

 

[stahlhart]

Moving thread to General Hardware at participants' request.
-- stahlhart

 

[mfenn]

What are the rest of your components? Drives, case, PSU, etc? You may be able to reuse those and get significantly more bang for your buck (or rupee as the case may be).

Also, does the monitor need to be within the same budget?

 

[Amit3945]

Thanks.
My PSU was having some issues so I recently changed to 700W CoolerMaster with a CM case...so I think I am good there.
I have a 1 TB drive.
The components that require an upgrade would be CPU/MB/RAM/GFX Card & Monitor....that's pretty much the everything that's significant for gaming .
Nec_V20 said something about going in for 27" instead of 21" & the next upgrade cycle....but I am pretty much interested in playing above mentioned games and older ones....just on a large screen & I am not sure the older ones would scale nicely on a large screen with the corresponding resolution.
I am not sure how expensive these large monitors are.
I had included the monitor cost in the indicated budget.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I have a 23 inch monitor and like it. A bigger one would be a plus, but if you go above 1080p it will require a much stronger gpu.

 

[mfenn]

Here's a build from Flipkart, you may be able to find better prices from your local market.

i3 3220 Rs. 8.0k
Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H Rs. 4.9k
G.Skill DDR3 1600 4GB x4 Rs. 5.1k
MSI GTX 660 Rs. 16.3k
Dell S2240L Rs. 9.5k
Total: Rs. 43.8k

 

[Amit3945]

Thank's
I suppose from gaming perspective (for the games that I have indicated), i3 would be more than enough.
A local vendor told me that i3 would be just a minor bump up from C2D..but I feel he was just pushing me towards the more expensive i5.
Are the above points valid?
I have a relative who is coming from US and I saw the price of 7850 on newegg to be around 150 usd...that's just about Rs 9000...seriously cheap considering the cost in India.

 

[Jaydip]

I wouldn't recommend getting a i3 unless you are really budget constrained.You can get a FX6300 for the same price.AMD has much lower IPC compared to Intel but going forward the more cores can offset some of the disadvantages.i5 is really the best of both worlds.

 

[mfenn]

Thank's
I suppose from gaming perspective (for the games that I have indicated), i3 would be more than enough.
A local vendor told me that i3 would be just a minor bump up from C2D..but I feel he was just pushing me towards the more expensive i5.
Are the above points valid?
I have a relative who is coming from US and I saw the price of 7850 on newegg to be around 150 usd...that's just about Rs 9000...seriously cheap considering the cost in India.

An Ivy Bridge i3 completely crushes a C2D in lightly-threaded workloads (all the Unreal Engine 3 games you listed) and is equivalent to a C2Q or an AMD A10 in multi-threaded workloads. Since you intend to only play older games, higher single-threaded performance is good for you.