Upgrade advice

[ronincse]

Ok so here's the deal, I have a major itch for an upgrade and I finally have a little bit of income I can dispose of, and this looks like one of the best time for an upgrade as well.

So current specs: Asus n570sli MB, 4gb ddr2 800, amd x2 4000+ oc'd @ 2.3 ghz, Nvidia 8800 gts 320mb, 2 250gb hard drives, etc...

Ok so my main concerns are the processor and graphics card. I really REALLY want to get a 4870 when they are in stock. My concern, however is that my processor is bottle necking me with my current specs, and so would be even worse with a far better gpu. Also if I upgrade the processor I want to get a new motherboard, most likely an amd790 one (I know but I like the idea of having a complete system ).

So basically my conundrum is this: Buy the graphics card now and upgrade processor/mb at a later date, do it vice-versa, or buy proc/mb and a 4850 now. Honestly I'm leaning towards the 4870, but if my proc is in fact a large bottle neck then I would re consider. Advice? Thanks in advance!

 

[DaveSimmons]

You'll get better performance with the 4870 even using your current CPU.

If you upgrade the CPU now you'll stay at the same performance level in games. By the time you add the 4870 you'll look and see that the CPU/RAM/motherboard are all cheaper then and you'll wonder what the point was of buying them first.

So either get the 4870 now, or do nothing yet and buy a full system later this year.

 

[ronincse]

Well considering this system is only about 3 years old I don't want to buy a whole new one yet, think I'll take your advice here and just go for the 4870 and hold off until maybe the next big chipset, actually this also opens up the possibility of going intel down the line too...

 

[Denithor]

How much cash do you have available to spend on this?

Because you can get an X2 4800+ (2.5GHz, 65nm) for $60 from newegg.

And, because you have an SLI board, you're better off with 2x8800GT in SLI (which beat both the 4870 and even the GTX 280 in nearly all benchmarks) which will cost you about $300, the same as a 4870 (if you can find one).

 

[ronincse]

Originally posted by: Denithor
How much cash do you have available to spend on this?

Because you can get an X2 4800+ (2.5GHz, 65nm) for $60 from newegg.

And, because you have an SLI board, you're better off with 2x8800GT in SLI (which beat both the 4870 and even the GTX 280 in nearly all benchmarks) which will cost you about $300, the same as a 4870 (if you can find one).

Well my problem with that is the 4800+ doesn't seem like much of an upgrade from my current one so it just kind of seems like why bother? Sure the SLI'd 8800gt's may be better than one 4870 for almost the same price, but then I don't have quite as good of an upgrade path and plus I run into scaling issues...anyways it seems like two 4850s would be a little better in some cases than the said 8800gt's in some cases.

I'm trying to keep it betw $400-$500 total, less is better of course

 

[DaveSimmons]

You're going to need about $650 for a full upgrade, with another $100 for a PSU if yours isn't good enough.

Something like:
$150 motherboard (Asus P5Q Pro is p45 chipset with PCI 2.0 x16 crossfire support)
$300 4870
$190 intel E8400

... less whatever you can get for your old mb, CPU, 8800gts.

 

[ronincse]

well this was mostly a question of weather it would be worth it with my cpu to get the 4870 or if I would see bigger gains with a new processor. Seems like the gpu would still be well worth it and I can upgrade other parts later. My PSU is fine BTW. If anyone else has a different opinion on my cpu bottle neck please let me know.

 

[Marty502]

You will be a bit CPU bound to a certain extent, but you'll see a massive improvement anyway.

May I ask why only 2.3 Ghz on the CPU? I'm sure it can go faster if properly tweaked... mine is at 2.65 Ghz with no problems (ignore the signature)

 

[Sunrise089]

The way I see it you have two decent choices that are reasonably affordable (not a whole new system). You can upgrade the GPU alone and see performance gains, assuming the GPU is up to it. Or you can upgrade to a higher end dual core ASSUMING YOUR CHIP IS A POOR OVERCLOCKER. $60, minus the tiny amount you may be able to sell your current chip for, is worth it to me if it means going from 2.3ghz to 2.9ghz. If you are only at 2.3ghz because you don't want to try any higher or your MB is maxed out than I wouldn't bother.

 

[ronincse]

Originally posted by: Marty502
You will be a bit CPU bound to a certain extent, but you'll see a massive improvement anyway.

May I ask why only 2.3 Ghz on the CPU? I'm sure it can go faster if properly tweaked... mine is at 2.65 Ghz with no problems (ignore the signature)

Well to be honest this is my first OC so there is always a chance I did something wrong. Every time I go over that mark it tends to run fine for a little while but I get random blue screens after a little while, I suppose I could be a little more patient and increase the voltage a bit more but I always get nervous about increasing it too much. Also I bought the brisbane version instead of the windsor so I don't know if that limits be at all...

Edit: Ok I guess I don;t NEED to get a high-end cpu if I upgrade that part...I could do something like the 5400+ at 2.8 ghz for about $80 instead, putting me at under $400 for a pretty decent upgrade. It's not a quad but I don't really think a cpu like this would really hold me back, especially after I OC it over 3ghz right?

 

[Marty502]

Right.

Unless you're a benchmark sucker or you absolutely need the fastest gaming machine for some reason, that CPU would be a reasonable good-bang-for-buck upgrade.

Also, voltage increases are the last thing you have to try when an overclock is not working. No way in hell than a X2 CPU is asking for more voltage with such a small overclock.

Two things that could be holding you back: Memory speed; in which case use a divider (slower RAM is almost unperceptible), or you might need to drop your HTT; use a lower multiplier, like 4x or 3x. Again, this setting is unperceptible in everyday use. Do that and for sure you'll get at least 2.5 Ghz, fully stable.

Again, do not increase voltages yet! Keep it stock. I mean c'mon, my own chip does 2.4 Ghz undervolted.

EDIT: I said it's a Brisbane, it's actually a Manchester... but still, 90 nm.

 

[ronincse]

Originally posted by: Marty502
Right.

Unless you're a benchmark sucker or you absolutely need the fastest gaming machine for some reason, that CPU would be a reasonable good-bang-for-buck upgrade.

Also, voltage increases are the last thing you have to try when an overclock is not working. No way in hell than a X2 CPU is asking for more voltage with such a small overclock.

Two things that could be holding you back: Memory speed; in which case use a divider (slower RAM is almost unperceptible), or you might need to drop your HTT; use a lower multiplier, like 4x or 3x. Again, this setting is unperceptible in everyday use. Do that and for sure you'll get at least 2.5 Ghz, fully stable.

Again, do not increase voltages yet! Keep it stock. I mean c'mon, my own chip does 2.4 Ghz undervolted.

EDIT: I said it's a Brisbane, it's actually a Manchester... but still, 90 nm.

Ok i'll try those things when I get back, I think my multiplier is at something like 10x so that sounds like a problem. Sounds like if I went for that proc I could probably get 3.2ghz easily, and of course with the 4870 it would be more than enough until games start really taking advantage of quad cores...which considering many don't take advantage of dual-cores seems a ways off

 

[Marty502]

No no, you got that wrong. I meant the HTT multi is getting on the way, not the FSB multi.

I know this will sound a bit pedantic, but it seems like you're a bit lost on basic concepts. Have you read a guide on how to overclock Athlon64/X2 rigs?

In case you haven't, give this guide a read. A few minutes, and OCing that chip is gonna be a breeze.

 

[ronincse]

I read a guide on tom's hardware somewhere but it seemed a little outdated, that was where I got the idea for increasing voltage because it said increase clock speed until unstable, then increase voltage and repeat. I am on vacation and away from my computer so can't test it out for a few more days, but I will give that guide a read and then mess with it. Thanks for all your help marty!

 

[Whitedog]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
You're going to need about $650 for a full upgrade, with another $100 for a PSU if yours isn't good enough.

Something like:
$150 motherboard (Asus P5Q Pro is p45 chipset with PCI 2.0 x16 crossfire support)
$300 4870
$190 intel E8400

... less whatever you can get for your old mb, CPU, 8800gts.

I just bought this MOBO and CPU a few days ago... I got the 4850 though. The Egg had a combo deal on the Board + 4850. $50 off. Got them both for $300. Sweet.

OP, if you can spend $500. Look for combo deals on an intel board + C2D or video card. a 4850 is a good card too.