09' Alienware upgrade or New PC? Need Help

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DamianSicks

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So I have a 2009 Alienware aurora which I bought new and the old girl is just now starting to show signs of her age (Cant keep up with new games) I love her looks and she has been such a great PC I would really rather uprgade her then get a new PC but I wanted to get some opinions from you guys first. My Aurora has an Intel i7 920 CPU, 6gb DDR3 RAM, 2x Nvidia GTX460 in SLI and is liquid cooled on the CPU only. My plan was to throw in some new RAM and get her to either 12 or 24gb, and buy a new high end Nvidia card (I dont know if SLI is still better these days so I rely on you guys for that info) and Get a new bigger, better HDD and maybe also a SSD or HDD/SDD Hybrid. If all of this stuff wont really do much then I will go the new PC route but I wanted to ask this stuff before I had to make the call. Thanks in advance for any help .
 
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king3pj

king3pj

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As far as I know, there is no reason you can't re-use your old case even if you choose to replace literally every part on the inside. If you like the looks of your Alienware you may as well do that. From the outside it will look like the same computer but it will be completely new on the inside.
 
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DamianSicks

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Budget is not really an issue, I didnt really want to take the time to gut out the entire PC and transfer my stuff to a new system. Also the Alienware case is really odd, it looks like everything aside from a few things were manufactured specifically for this case (ie I dont know if another mobo for example will fit in correctly and its real tight in there). So basically I just want to know if the upgrades I specified would give me the boost I am looking for to run newer games and If so do I still need 2 GPU cards in SLI or will 1 do these days? If you dont think that the upgrades will do much for my configuration then I am going to buy a whole new PC, case and all. Like I said I rather keep her and upgrade but if its not worth it in your guys opinion then I have to suck it up and go with a new system. Thanks again, look forward to your replies
 
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DamianSicks

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BTW I would get a Nvidia 980, single card if possible because it doesnt look like SLI is being used much anymore (maybe something else if i still need 2 GPU's) if that helps you guys out
 
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king3pj

king3pj

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I think you would be ok with upgrading the parts you mentioned. As long as you aren't going to upgrade the CPU there is probably no reason to upgrade the motherboard.

A 980 and bumping up to 8GB+ of RAM would probably give you a really nice upgrade. The 24GB of RAM you mentioned would be overkill for gaming purposes. I've never seen a game ask for more than 8GB in it's recommended specs but if you want some future proofing the 12GB option will be plenty.

I'm not an expert on CPUs. Someone else would have to tell you if the i7 920 is still good enough for modern games. If it isn't then you probably need a new motherboard and maybe a new build. Assuming the i7 can still handle modern games bumping the RAM up to 8GB+ and adding in a 980 will give you a strong PC.
 
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DamianSicks

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Thanks King! so that just leaves the question about the CPU if anyone can tell me if its good enough to keep using with the upgrades. Im assuming you mean the 1 980 is enough? do i not need to buy 2 cards in SLI?
 
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king3pj

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One 980 will be plenty unless you are gaming at really high resolutions. I use a single 970 and it's able to pump out 60+ fps on all the games I play with maxed out or near maxed out settings. The 980 you are considering is quite a bit more powerful than my 970 so unless you are trying to play at 4K or something there is no need to SLI.
 
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