Help upgrading my 4 year old computer

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Aeotic

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Dec 9, 2014
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To start off, I have an Alienware Area51 ALX, one of the older models. Before you hate on Alienware and their products, I DID get this for free from a family friend, so I was not going to complain. Although it was a good computer, it is quite outdated and I'm looking to upgrade it.. which I don't even know if its possible.. My current specs are these;
http://i.imgur.com/Ea5pk0D.png
So, like I said, everything is quite outdated and I'd like to get some upgrades for Christmas, if its even worth it.. I'd like to upgrade by most important first, and I don't wanna spend over $500 (I'd like to get more than one part for this amount)
 
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capt_taco


If you have the budget for it, a GTX 970 now, and overclock the current CPU, then in 12 months or so upgrade to the Skylake CPU/motherboard (the 970 will still be good enough to carry it over and have a well-balanced new system).

If money is tight, the 7970 and overclock the CPU. Then a new system in the future at some TBA date. You may need a new GPU by then, though. The part about the 7970 was only if you were set on the 280X equivalent and couldn't afford the 970.

Under no circumstances would I upgrade the current CPU unless replacing with a current-generation one. It is still acceptable for gaming, but the...
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smorizio

smorizio

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Jan 22, 2010
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if you reuse the case/power supply/ram and drives. you could pick up a 99.00 msi z97 comvo and g3258 and a good gpu. asus z97 low end mb run about 130.00. if you have a local micro center the 4590 is 160.00. I would wait and see if the 960 going to drop in a few weeks.
 
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Aeotic

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Dec 9, 2014
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What do you suggest is priority to upgrade first? & do you have newegg links to these products?
 
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Cristi72

Cristi72

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Jun 25, 2014
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Hello,

If you're into gaming, a single R9-280x/290 or GTX970 will do wonders; for a snappier system, an SSD will be a good addition.

Being a SK1366 system, you could upgrade the CPU to an i7-950/i7-960, but only if you can find a decently priced one. If you have a good cooler, you can try to further overclock your i7-920 until fully upgrade your system.
 
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J

jakjawagon

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Aug 28, 2010
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Upgrading the graphics card would be the best option. I have a similarly old computer which originally had two Geforce 470s in, though one of them broke. I'm planning on getting a 980 when I can afford it.
I wouldn't go with smorizio's CPU suggestion, as your existing i7-920 is still better than a pentium g3258.
A solid state drive would also be a good idea (unless your RAID0 array is already SSDs).
 
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Aeotic

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Dec 9, 2014
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I'll be looking into the R9-280x as it seems fairly affordable, and I will later upgrade to an i7-950

 
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capt_taco

capt_taco

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Aug 5, 2009
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So your advice is to spend $200 for a new processor/motherboard in order to DOWNGRADE the CPU by three or four steps? Come on, man.

Best upgrade possible would be the GPU, something along the lines of a GTX 970. Although dual HD 5800 series (if they're 5870s) would still not be bad, better to have the single card that will be more powerful than both and use less power in the process.

Then see how far you can get overclocking that 920. With luck, that will keep it at least passable for another 12 months, which is when the REAL time to upgrade the CPU.motherboard will be, thanks to Intel Skylake being released and (hopefully) cheaper/better DDR4 memory. Since you'll need a new OS anyway, Windows 10 will be out around that time as well.
 
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capt_taco

capt_taco

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By the way, the HD 7970 is the same exact card (literally) as the 280X, only with different packaging. You can find them used for half the price. Just be careful you don't get one with worn out fans, as that used to be a popular card for Bitcoin mining.

For the ~$200 price tag of a 280X, I don't know if you'd get $200 worth of performance increase over crossfired 5870s. $100-$130 for the 7970 makes it a lot lower bar, though.

Also, for the money, an i5-950 is not a very worthwhile upgrade over the processor you have. Might as well just try overclocking it and see where it gets you before looking at new CPUs.
 
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A

Aeotic

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Dec 9, 2014
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So you're suggesting what exactly? Seems like you're going back and forth :p
Looking for the best move for my $$
 
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capt_taco

capt_taco

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Aug 5, 2009
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If you have the budget for it, a GTX 970 now, and overclock the current CPU, then in 12 months or so upgrade to the Skylake CPU/motherboard (the 970 will still be good enough to carry it over and have a well-balanced new system).

If money is tight, the 7970 and overclock the CPU. Then a new system in the future at some TBA date. You may need a new GPU by then, though. The part about the 7970 was only if you were set on the 280X equivalent and couldn't afford the 970.

Under no circumstances would I upgrade the current CPU unless replacing with a current-generation one. It is still acceptable for gaming, but the difference between variations of the second-generation i5s and i7s is comparatively small in today's terms.
 
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