Upgrade or Wait to Rebuild?

[Kyyrao]

I'm debating upgrading my gaming rig. I avoided upgrading to Vista after it looked like it was turning into another OS like Windows ME and haven't been sorry about the decision, but Windows 7 has me planning for the future. How much more performance can I squeeze out of my existing motherboard and CPU with just a video card upgrade? Would it be better to look at an incremental upgrade now or hold off for a total system overhaul in a year when Windows 7 finally launches? I primarily play World of Warcraft and F.E.A.R. 2 but can't push the resolution on most things past 1280 x 1024 as it stands without framerates suffering, and Civ4 gets to be a pretty miserable experience in multiplayer once we're all actually trying to run empires even with the graphics settings turned way down.

Here's a quick breakdown of what I'm running now (with handy Newegg item links):

MSI P6N SLI-FI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813130082

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115003

MSI 8800GTS-T2D320E-HDOC GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported HDCP Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814127278

Kingston HyperX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model KHX6400D2K2/2G
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820134012

Thermaltake W0131RU 850W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817153043

My budget for an incremental upgrade now would be somewhere around $250-$300, possibly more depending on whether or not those components could last after Windows 7 releases. I don't have any particular brand preferences, I'm all about function. I've never overclocked something before but I've built my own system several times so I'm not a total idiot.

 

[mmntech]

Your CPU should be fine, and there's no need to get a new mobo. What I would do is upgrade the RAM to 4gb and upgrade the graphics card to either a Geforce GTX 260 or a Radeon HD 4870. Both are about $150 to $170. I think you should be all set from there. My advice would be to upgrade to Windows 7 64-bit as soon as you can.

 

[M0RPH]

Originally posted by: Kyyrao
Would it be better to look at an incremental upgrade now or hold off for a total system overhaul in a year when Windows 7 finally launches?

Windows 7 launches October 22 of this year.

Your system looks decent enough, if I were you I'd wait to see what pans out with the new Intel processors and next gen videos cards.

Thermaltake W0131RU 850W Power Supply

My god, what are you doing with an 850W power supply?

 

[Kyyrao]

Thermaltake W0131RU 850W Power Supply

My god, what are you doing with an 850W power supply?
[/quote]

At the moment, running 7 hard drives. Also it came with modular cabling so the inside of my case is nice and uncluttered, and I figured I could buy it once and never have to buy another one short of massive power surge if I got lucky.

I downloaded a copy of the Windows 7 RC and it said it would shut down spring of next year (March or May, can't recall offhand and doesn't matter beyond this sentence) so I just assumed that 7 would launch, like, -after- their beta was shut off and all their data was collected. My bad.

Are there any estimations as to when Nvidia and ATI will be releasing a new GPU series? Also will my motherboard be equipped to handle the newer chipsets if I wait it out or will it just be assumed a tthat point that I'm replacing it as well?

 

[tvih]

It's Watt Madness I had a 600W PSU in my 8800GT + Q6600 setup, and it never exceeded 250W in continous use that I saw. Nuts.

But yeah, with so much new stuff just over the horizon, this would be a good time to wait it out 'til the new AMD cards and Intel processors to hit the stores. AMD HD 5XXX series should be announced next month, and some of the Intel stuff is already selling in Taiwan and should be released elsewhere next month.

 

[davidb72]

Wow... Glad I searched and found this!

Not to resurrect a thread from the dead, but I have almost the same system...

Gigabyte N650SLI MOBO
Intel Q6600
2 GB Patriot Memory
Corsair 620W PSU
EVGA 8800 GTS 320 Video card
Windows XP Pro 32 bit

Is it worth "upgrading" to a 4870 or 4890 card or should I wait a while and build a new computer on the 1156 platform? Upgrade memory?

I'm thinking about upgrading my monitor from the 19" Acer to a 25.5" or 24", but then I think I'd have to look at a little stronger memory card to play Fallout 3 and Far Cry2?

Thanks!

 

[betasub]

davidb72

1. If you are moving to Win7, then a new build will benefit from many of the OS new features. But if you are sticking with XP32 then only smaller upgrades (gfx, RAM) seem worthwhile.

2. Physical screen size (inches) isn't import for your graphics card choice: please specify resolution. Moving to a 4870 1GB would be good for your games on your current system, even with a new high-res screen, but a full build would deserve a new 5850/5870.

 

[davidb72]

Originally posted by: betasub
davidb72

1. If you are moving to Win7, then a new build will benefit from many of the OS new features. But if you are sticking with XP32 then only smaller upgrades (gfx, RAM) seem worthwhile.

2. Physical screen size (inches) isn't import for your graphics card choice: please specify resolution. Moving to a 4870 1GB would be good for your games on your current system, even with a new high-res screen, but a full build would deserve a new 5850/5870.

Thank you for the reply.

I am going to move to Win7.

The monitor I am looking at has a native resolution of 1920x1200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16824236047

My 19" Acer is 1440x900.

So... I think I will wait until Win7 is out and folks start reporting that it is stable. I already bought a case - Coolermaster HAF932. I can wait, I have the bug to build something, but I'm not in so much of a hurry that I want to rush into things.

Thank you again.

 

[JackMDS]

With 2GB of Memory Win 7 would run as good as Win XP on your system.

If the money is too heavy in your pocket get a Newer Graphic (as suggested above).

There is No need to through away $$ to enjoy life.:shocked:

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: mmntech
Your CPU should be fine, and there's no need to get a new mobo. What I would do is upgrade the RAM to 4gb and upgrade the graphics card to either a Geforce GTX 260 or a Radeon HD 4870. Both are about $150 to $170. I think you should be all set from there. My advice would be to upgrade to Windows 7 64-bit as soon as you can.

This is probably the easiest route to go. For less than 300 USD, you significantly upgrade your system.

Also, might be worth a look to see what CPUs that MSI board can handle. Not sure if the Nvidia 650 SLIs could use Wolfdale or not, or any of the C2Q's, but its worth a look to see what the latest BIOS revision offers.

 

[philosofool]

Yours looks like an ideal incremental upgrade system to me, davidb72.

Increase RAM to 4GB. Consider an aftermarket fan for overclocking, if you don't do that already. Get a new graphics cards (4870 1GB, probably). That is a big performance upgrade for less than $300.

Make sure to get 64bit Win 7 when you upgrade, as 32 bit won't recognize all your RAM.

 

[davidb72]

Man... you guys are the best.

Thanks for the advice! I'm itching to build something so maybe I'll just move everything over to the new case when I upgrade the video card.

I was actually looking at the P55 board tests that Toms did and it really doesn't seem like a huge leap from a good C2Q to the i5/i7 series of chips.

I can also add a nice cooler to the Q6600 and try some mild overclocking as well.

Thanks again guys, really appreciate the good advice!