- May 27, 2011
- 41
- 0
- 18,530
First some background so you know where I'm coming from:
CPU: Phenom II x4 965 @4.0 @1.4V multiplier only so far. Gets too hot over 4.0. 58-59 with Prime95 and FurMark right now. (Not happy with that, need to reapply some grease.)
HSF: Xigmatek Aegir with a second fan. (Bought same one that came with it)
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 Rev 4.0
GPU: MSI Hawk 7870 1175/1250 (Haven't pushed it much yet)
RAM: 2x4GB Kingston HyperX Blu 1600
HDD 1: Recertified 74GB WD Raptor for OS. (It was cheap when I bought it and still running strong 3 years later. Fingers crossed.)
HDD 2: WD Black 6402FAAEX 640GB for Everything else.
PSU: SeaSonic X750 Gold (Dear readers, this is the most important piece of gear in your rig. Don't skimp! Don't let anyone tell you different.)
Case: CM Elite 430
Additional Cooling: Fans and stuff
(Too tired to look, but they're good'uns.)
UPS: CyberPower 1350PFCLCD (Also really really important.)
Monitor: Panasonic TC-P60S60 60" Plasma on the wall 10' away
Audio: Onkyo TX-SR604
Audio: Bose Acoustimass 16 (Using some old JBL 3-ways for Front L&R)
Ok that's out of the way. Now, since if *I* was reading this, I'd think someone was banging their chest a bit too hard at this point (not that it's super impressive or anything) I humbly ask that you please keep reading, it'll make sense eventually, I swear
So I just replaced my and my wife's old ASRock M3A770DE mobos. (We had identical rigs at one point, other than the cases) I also replaced her PSU with a non-craptastic one.
So I've got two M3A770DE's, two CM ExtreMe Power Plus 550's, an old Sempron Sargas 140, and a Phenom II x2 555 that are going on an auction site soon, and with the proceeds I was thinking about buying.......something..... And that's where you come in
So I was debating on getting an FX-6300 or 6350 and OC'ing the crap out of it.
OR
I was thinking about selling the wife's HIS IceQ 7850 2GB and the above, and using the cash to buy meself a shiny new GTX 760 or a 7950 (or maybe a 7970.) Oh and I'd be giving her my 7870, even if it clashes with her color scheme
OR
Taking the plunge, joining the modern era and getting an SSD, probably/hopefully an 840 Pro 128GB or equivalent.
Now, to play Devil's Advocate in advance, allow me to shoot down all of my choices for you, one by one. Enjoy!
The FX-6300/6350 is not THAT much faster for what I use my computer for than what I already have. I play games and browse the web. I verrrrry infrequently rip a DVD but I really could care less how long it takes. My framerates are good in every game I play. 1920x1080 with enough eyecandy to make me happy. I play Skyrim with a bjillion mods and 8xx MSAA with everything as Ultra as it will let me. (I think my draw distance isn't maxed, but whatever.) BioShock Infinite didn't slow down at all for me either. (I wasn't running it balls-out though. I think I turned off the super high diffusion effects or whatever. Still 1080P with 4xMSAA and it didn't slow down at any point that I noticed) The only place I've ever had her stuttering was in Borderlands 2 inside that place that like spirals upward, with the big whirlpool thingy spinning at the bottom. Shut up, it's the best description I can give right now Anyways, whenever that thing was in sight, she bogged down just a little. No idea if BL2 is more CPU or GPU dependent, but I think I wasn't running an OC on my CPU or GPU at that point because reasons.
Ok, time to shoot down the GTX 760/Radeon 7950/7970. It seems to me that matching graphics muscle this burly to an old Phenom II would just be silly. It would be reminiscent of the System Builder Marathon a couple of quarters ago where they mated a 650Ti to a Pentium G860 (I think that's what it was) Also, to mention Skyrim again, I do believe it is CPU-limited, so it would probably not benefit from the better GPU. (Yes the 7970 has another Gig of VRAM for moddy goodness, granted.) Also, I will never be playing on an IPS panel or across three displays. 1920x1080 capped at 60FPS is the limit of my TV, which I spent $1200 specifically to play games on. (Yes, I did mah homework: super low input lag, and the image is GORGEOUS. 60FPS works for me.) so will I ever NEED more GPU muslce? (Obviously someday, but right now?) I own Metro 2033 (even though it's kind of boring) so yeah I can tax the hell out of my system with that I guess. Crysis 3 looks like a tech demo that someone made into a game. Pass. FarCry 3.....hmmmm that DOES look interesting, but seriously how many of you out there already have a "to play" list on your Steam library as long as your leg? (Raises hand) Me too. It can wait. Although.....I *do* have the new Tomb Raider with it's shiny new TressFX..... Help me!
Annnnd for the choice everyone probably immediately pounced on: the SSD. Yes, I know how fast they are, yes I drool over the 128GB 840 Pro like everyone else, or the Mushkin Enhanced Chronos Deluxe 240GB, or, realistically, ANY SSD over my current tiny little Raptor (Raptor Jr!) but But BUT, I'm a pretty old-school dude. Been around the block a few times, plus I work IT in a school district that just phased out XP last year so I have learned to be a patient man. My system doesn't boot in 13 seconds. More like 70 seconds. My games don't insta-load. Skyrim takes like 15-20 seconds from "Continue" to "looking at my pretty game" (Although it's loading from the WD Black, not the Raptor) But again.....I started with an 8086 running DOS, and I have used every iteration of Windows and Mac and Linux (Ok, ok, just one Unix box, one Redhat distro and like 4 iterations of Ubuntu) and played around with all sorts of hardware and I deal with administrators and educators (and students) who suck so hard at computering that I am going bald from pulling my hair out. (Kidding. F you, genetics.) But again....patience.
So in short, (Ok not really) the FX-6300/6350: a bit newer, a bit faster, that's cool, but not really necessary. Would I even notice it?
The 760/7950/7970: Faster, and by a lot, than what I have, which is boner-inducing, I'll admit, but wouldn't it be lopsided with how weak my CPU would then become? Would the CPu drag the whole shebang down so that I couldn't even appreciate my shiny new GPU?
The SSD is absolutely in another quadrant of the Galaxy as compared to the performance of my current HDD, which is totally sweet, but then again, I'm not really complaining about my current boot/load times (and general system snappiness)
So there you have it. My little quandary-laid out as best as I can describe it. What should I do? What should I buy? Should I buy ANYthing? Do I look fat in this dress?
Help me Internet, you are my only hope.
Well dear readers, I thank you all in advance for reading this far. Congratulations! You made it! We both did. This took forever to write.
I would like to thank anyone and everyone who takes the time to even read all of this, and an extra special shout out to anyone who goes the extra mile and responds. Thank you thank you thank you.
Chris the LongWinded.
CPU: Phenom II x4 965 @4.0 @1.4V multiplier only so far. Gets too hot over 4.0. 58-59 with Prime95 and FurMark right now. (Not happy with that, need to reapply some grease.)
HSF: Xigmatek Aegir with a second fan. (Bought same one that came with it)
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 Rev 4.0
GPU: MSI Hawk 7870 1175/1250 (Haven't pushed it much yet)
RAM: 2x4GB Kingston HyperX Blu 1600
HDD 1: Recertified 74GB WD Raptor for OS. (It was cheap when I bought it and still running strong 3 years later. Fingers crossed.)
HDD 2: WD Black 6402FAAEX 640GB for Everything else.
PSU: SeaSonic X750 Gold (Dear readers, this is the most important piece of gear in your rig. Don't skimp! Don't let anyone tell you different.)
Case: CM Elite 430
Additional Cooling: Fans and stuff
(Too tired to look, but they're good'uns.)UPS: CyberPower 1350PFCLCD (Also really really important.)
Monitor: Panasonic TC-P60S60 60" Plasma on the wall 10' away
Audio: Onkyo TX-SR604
Audio: Bose Acoustimass 16 (Using some old JBL 3-ways for Front L&R)
Ok that's out of the way. Now, since if *I* was reading this, I'd think someone was banging their chest a bit too hard at this point (not that it's super impressive or anything) I humbly ask that you please keep reading, it'll make sense eventually, I swear
So I just replaced my and my wife's old ASRock M3A770DE mobos. (We had identical rigs at one point, other than the cases) I also replaced her PSU with a non-craptastic one.
So I've got two M3A770DE's, two CM ExtreMe Power Plus 550's, an old Sempron Sargas 140, and a Phenom II x2 555 that are going on an auction site soon, and with the proceeds I was thinking about buying.......something.....
And that's where you come in So I was debating on getting an FX-6300 or 6350 and OC'ing the crap out of it.
OR
I was thinking about selling the wife's HIS IceQ 7850 2GB and the above, and using the cash to buy meself a shiny new GTX 760 or a 7950 (or maybe a 7970.) Oh and I'd be giving her my 7870, even if it clashes with her color scheme
OR
Taking the plunge, joining the modern era and getting an SSD, probably/hopefully an 840 Pro 128GB or equivalent.
Now, to play Devil's Advocate in advance, allow me to shoot down all of my choices for you, one by one. Enjoy!
The FX-6300/6350 is not THAT much faster for what I use my computer for than what I already have. I play games and browse the web. I verrrrry infrequently rip a DVD but I really could care less how long it takes. My framerates are good in every game I play. 1920x1080 with enough eyecandy to make me happy. I play Skyrim with a bjillion mods and 8xx MSAA with everything as Ultra as it will let me. (I think my draw distance isn't maxed, but whatever.) BioShock Infinite didn't slow down at all for me either. (I wasn't running it balls-out though. I think I turned off the super high diffusion effects or whatever. Still 1080P with 4xMSAA and it didn't slow down at any point that I noticed) The only place I've ever had her stuttering was in Borderlands 2 inside that place that like spirals upward, with the big whirlpool thingy spinning at the bottom. Shut up, it's the best description I can give right now
Anyways, whenever that thing was in sight, she bogged down just a little. No idea if BL2 is more CPU or GPU dependent, but I think I wasn't running an OC on my CPU or GPU at that point because reasons.Ok, time to shoot down the GTX 760/Radeon 7950/7970. It seems to me that matching graphics muscle this burly to an old Phenom II would just be silly. It would be reminiscent of the System Builder Marathon a couple of quarters ago where they mated a 650Ti to a Pentium G860 (I think that's what it was) Also, to mention Skyrim again, I do believe it is CPU-limited, so it would probably not benefit from the better GPU. (Yes the 7970 has another Gig of VRAM for moddy goodness, granted.) Also, I will never be playing on an IPS panel or across three displays. 1920x1080 capped at 60FPS is the limit of my TV, which I spent $1200 specifically to play games on. (Yes, I did mah homework: super low input lag, and the image is GORGEOUS. 60FPS works for me.) so will I ever NEED more GPU muslce? (Obviously someday, but right now?) I own Metro 2033 (even though it's kind of boring) so yeah I can tax the hell out of my system with that I guess. Crysis 3 looks like a tech demo that someone made into a game. Pass. FarCry 3.....hmmmm that DOES look interesting, but seriously how many of you out there already have a "to play" list on your Steam library as long as your leg? (Raises hand) Me too. It can wait. Although.....I *do* have the new Tomb Raider with it's shiny new TressFX..... Help me!
Annnnd for the choice everyone probably immediately pounced on: the SSD. Yes, I know how fast they are, yes I drool over the 128GB 840 Pro like everyone else, or the Mushkin Enhanced Chronos Deluxe 240GB, or, realistically, ANY SSD over my current tiny little Raptor (Raptor Jr!) but But BUT, I'm a pretty old-school dude. Been around the block a few times, plus I work IT in a school district that just phased out XP last year so I have learned to be a patient man. My system doesn't boot in 13 seconds. More like 70 seconds. My games don't insta-load. Skyrim takes like 15-20 seconds from "Continue" to "looking at my pretty game" (Although it's loading from the WD Black, not the Raptor) But again.....I started with an 8086 running DOS, and I have used every iteration of Windows and Mac and Linux (Ok, ok, just one Unix box, one Redhat distro and like 4 iterations of Ubuntu) and played around with all sorts of hardware and I deal with administrators and educators (and students) who suck so hard at computering that I am going bald from pulling my hair out. (Kidding. F you, genetics.) But again....patience.
So in short, (Ok not really) the FX-6300/6350: a bit newer, a bit faster, that's cool, but not really necessary. Would I even notice it?
The 760/7950/7970: Faster, and by a lot, than what I have, which is boner-inducing, I'll admit, but wouldn't it be lopsided with how weak my CPU would then become? Would the CPu drag the whole shebang down so that I couldn't even appreciate my shiny new GPU?
The SSD is absolutely in another quadrant of the Galaxy as compared to the performance of my current HDD, which is totally sweet, but then again, I'm not really complaining about my current boot/load times (and general system snappiness)
So there you have it. My little quandary-laid out as best as I can describe it. What should I do? What should I buy? Should I buy ANYthing? Do I look fat in this dress?
Help me Internet, you are my only hope.
Well dear readers, I thank you all in advance for reading this far. Congratulations! You made it! We both did. This took forever to write.
I would like to thank anyone and everyone who takes the time to even read all of this, and an extra special shout out to anyone who goes the extra mile and responds. Thank you thank you thank you.
Chris the LongWinded.
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