Upgrade Predicament: CPU or GPU?

[Pogotron]

Hey All,

I'm stuck with a tricky decision to make.

My current Pentium4 3.0ghz HT is bottlenecking my XFX 7800GT 256mb quite badly. I run HL2 around 60fps while the 7800GT has been commonly reported as delivering over 130fps average. This means my system is less future proof than I paid for. I handle COD4 reasonably, UT3 well enough, and Bioshock only just.

I can either upgrade to a Core 2 Duo E6750 CPU and a new mainboard with a compaible chipset, or a Gigabyte 8600GT 512mb. While the 8600GT includes DX10 and 256mb of extra onboard memory, I'm not sure which of these two upgrades would boost my performance the most.

Can I get someone's opinion on this? Many thanks in advance!

 

[nukchebi0]

CPU, without a doubt. The 8600GT isn't enough of an improvement, not like a good dual or quad core Core 2 will get you over the single core Crapentium.

 

[chookman]

Second the CPU upgrade. If you are on a budget the e6550 is a better buy, combine this with the GA-P35 series from gigabyte and youll be on your way.

I assume your 7800GT is a PCI-e card

 

[Pogotron]

Yes it is. Hmm, the E6550... I'll have a look.

 

[sprucebr1]

Yeah, I agree the CPU/Mobo is the better choice. seeing as an 8600 GPU won't be the best choice. I hear it doesn't perform well in games. the E6550 is a good choice for a budget. Make sure you get a P35 mobo for you upgrade. good luck.

 

[NightlySputnik]

Your VPU isn't bad at all... or not as bad as your CPU. Go for a C2D, preferably a E6600 if you want to overclock. 3,0GHz is easy to get even without special cooling, and put you up to X6850 performances.

Then, start pilling up for a good Dx10 VPU in the 200$ range next year, with much better performances then the 8600 you want right now.

My 2 cents!

 

[pony]

Q6600 maby better,because more and more games or sofewares would
support it ..... and the graphic card , i suggest the 8800GT,or 2900pro
(88gt will almost twice as the 86GT)or if you have enough money,the 88GTX will the best choice

 

[rgeist554]

Upgrading your GPU w/o first upgrading your CPU will give you no performance gain. If your processor is bottlenecking your current card, then it will defenately bottleneck a higher end card.

 

[monnewbie3]

Yea man cpu/mobo, get yourself a good base to start with. e6600 is a nice cpu with good oc'ing, just make sure yur mobo has some nice oc'ing options as well.
7800gt ain't to shabby, besides nvidia is releasing some of their new line this x-mas, so maybe some prices will drop for you.

 

[aevm]

Between E6600 at $224 and E6750 at $195, I'd get the E6750, it's faster. Is the E6600 easier to overclock, or does it have some other advantages I'm missing here to justify the higher price? Based on speed alone I'd expect E6600 to cost around $180, not $224.

 

[Maziar]

The reason 1066 CPUs are more expensive than 1333 CPUs is that intel wants custumers to buy 1333MHZ CPUs (with the exception of Q6600 which is a 1066MHZ CPU)

 

[Pogotron]

Thanks for the input, I appreciate it a lot!

Then, start pilling up for a good Dx10 VPU in the 200$ range next year, with much better performances then the 8600 you want right now.

I didn't know the C2D's were that future-proof. My current P4 must suck even harder than I thought. I'm just baffled as to how cheap the E6550 - E6750's actually are for the alleged performance they put out. Maybe I've just been stuck with my P4 for too long. ^_^

I have read reviews of the 8600GT, and to be honest, the performance doesn't look that hot. It looks like a card you'd need to upgrade again in a mere few months. I think it was just DX10 that had me under it's spell for a while.
I'm definitely reaching a decision here, my CPU keeps looking rustier everyday. I'll be sure to find a decent mobo with a true 1333mhz FSB and proper overclocking features.

Thanks again for the help!

 

[KyleSTL]

Definitely a new MB and CPU, possibly new RAM (some LGA775 boards have DDR, however most have DDR2). I believe he either has a LGA775 board (most 915, 945, 946 chipset and the like), or a 478 board with PCIe (although much more rare). Chances are he has 775 with DDR2 (since they are the most common for Socket T Pentium 4s), although some chipsets have dual support DDR/DDR2 (some 915s) or DDR alone (915PL).

 

[lunyone]

If you really want to save $, go with a e2160 and OC it to 3 gig and use the extra $100 for a GPU upgrade to a 8800gts!!! or 8800gt's that are soon to be out!

 

[KyleSTL]

I agree with lunyone, although if you look at the cache-performance article released today, you'll see there are definite advantages to buying the extra cache. It's up to the OP to decide cache vs video card upgarde. On a budget though, I would suggest E21xx 8 days a week with a better video card upgrade (since his 7800 is pretty decent right now) in the forseeable future.

 

[lunyone]

Hey All,

I'm stuck with a tricky decision to make.

My current Pentium4 3.0ghz HT is bottlenecking my XFX 7800GT 256mb quite badly. I run HL2 around 60fps while the 7800GT has been commonly reported as delivering over 130fps average. This means my system is less future proof than I paid for. I handle COD4 reasonably, UT3 well enough, and Bioshock only just.

I can either upgrade to a Core 2 Duo E6750 CPU and a new mainboard with a compaible chipset, or a Gigabyte 8600GT 512mb. While the 8600GT includes DX10 and 256mb of extra onboard memory, I'm not sure which of these two upgrades would boost my performance the most.

Can I get someone's opinion on this? Many thanks in advance!

I forgot to ask, what is your budget for this?
I'm looking at this:
e2160 - $85
mobo - $100-$130 DS3L/DS3R
2 gigs DDR2 800mHz - $60 ish after MIR
8800gts or 8800gt - $250 after MIR's
Corsair 450w PSU (minimum) $65
Use old HD's and DVD/CD burner, total about $560 or so

 

[Onus]

Hmmm, one little nuance to throw in here, if you:

1. Buy new CPU / mobo / RAM (e.g. lunyone's picks, or the e6750),
2. Buy a new PSU to handle a high[er] end GPU,
3. Buy the new GPU

...as you can afford them, at the end you will have a nice new rig and you will still have an older but working machine you can use as a backup, media server, Ventrillo/Teamspeak server, or whatever.

Oh, and please choose your new PSU from tier-3 or better from this list:
http://www.tomswiki.com/page/Tiered+PSU+Listings?t=anon

 

[fatcat]

I forgot to ask, what is your budget for this?
I'm looking at this:
e2160 - $85
mobo - $100-$130 DS3L/DS3R
2 gigs DDR2 800mHz - $60 ish after MIR
8800gts or 8800gt - $250 after MIR's
Corsair 450w PSU (minimum) $65
Use old HD's and DVD/CD burner, total about $560 or so

Good suggestions,

I would only change the 2160 for the 2180.

 

[dragonsprayer]

buy a low end core 2 duo if your mobo will handle it - like an e4300 or something or 2160

then upgrade the video card to 8800gts - 640mb if you can swing it

 

[nukchebi0]

Wait for an 8800GT, of course. But how much do you want to spend?

 

[Pogotron]

Not a lot. I've got $350AUD to spend on upgrades right now. I can't afford much more than a new CPU and mobo by the looks of things. Though, looking at some of these P5 boards, it looks like I might have to buy new memory, too. =(

 

[nukchebi0]

Could you possibly wait until January?

 

[lunyone]

Not a lot. I've got $350AUD to spend on upgrades right now. I can't afford much more than a new CPU and mobo by the looks of things. Though, looking at some of these P5 boards, it looks like I might have to buy new memory, too. =(

So with that in mind, I'd get CPU/Mobo/RAM and use your current GPU. There is another option, where you could get a crossover board, but it'll limit your upgrade path. It takes 2 sticks of DDR or you can use 2 sticks of DDR2 and you can still use a PCI-e GPU. This would save you the initial costs of new memory, but does some what limit your upgrade path.

ASRock 4CoreDual-SATA2 LGA 775 VIA PT880 Pro/PT880 Ultra ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157115

 

[cfvh600]

CPU/Mobo/Ram