Upgrade advice

[skeeb23]

Hello folks... so I just got a new 22" monitor for christmas so now Im itching to upgrade.
I would really like the Geforce260 card but then I thought I should also look into upgrading my cpu. The new 7750 looks awefully attractive. I currently have a 550W PSU. I think Ill need to upgrade it... it currently has run my 8800GTS 512mb just fine though.
I just want some thoughts for you guys. So far Im not wanting to spend over 500. I think Ill stick with my 4gb of pc800 ram. It seems to suffice just fine.
So, CPU/GPU/PSU upgrade only... or should I even look into the Mobo too? The problem is I dont know which mobo to go with. I currently have a 590sli from Gigabyte. A little old I know but it says through a bios upgrade it will support the 7750.
I know the vid card is a good one and I want my gfx to upgrade a bit for my new big screen. Any help here I would appreciate.

I use my cpu mainly for gaming by the way...
AoC, Crysis, COD4 and FarCry2 to name a few.

 

[Outlander_04]

how many threads do you need to start?

go on add a few more , Im sure people will think you are smarter

 

[smithereen]

Real nice, Outlander. What resolution is your monitor? Is it 1680X1050 or 1920X1200? What CPU do you currently have?

Edit: spelling

 

[Zenthar]

Just for other people to know, here are links to the duplicate posts:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/255603-30-upgrade-question
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/256626-28-upgrade-help

 

[tenaciousleydead]

why does this fool get 3 threads. get a mod and shut 2 down

 

[Zenthar]

I think he posted one in every category he thought relevant CPU/MB/Video.

 

[4745454b]

I like how he asks for upgrade help, but doesn't tell us what he has already. A 512MB 8800GTS, 4GBs of PC-800 ram (I'll assume this is a typo...) and a 590SLI board from gigabyte. We have no clue about the CPU, or exactly what motherboard he does have. Its hard to tell someone what to upgrade if we don't have a good picture about what he has already.

 

[Zenthar]

Went into his profile to find the info .

 

[skeeb23]

Man you guys are harsh. I only did multiple threads to get some answers in relivent categories because I really do want some feedback. I dont need any smartass answers as Im not being one myself. Thank you Zenthar for your help though. I think after what I see Ill just upgrade to the 6000X2 and the 260 vid card. Seems like a great addition without totally redoing my system.
Still... I wonder if I should get a better PSU.
I also forgot to mention that I have a 4400X2 processor currently. The reason why I dont want to do SLI is because I know another wont fit well on the board. That and I am just not a fan of dual cards. Id rather buy a better 260 model and sell my card on ebay. Thats what I always do and end up spending about 1/2 the price because of the money I get back from used parts

 

[tenaciousleydead]

I don't know depends what kind of psu you have and what the amps are on the 12v rail, maybe you should give us this information and we'll help. Just because you think you need more help than other people doesn't warrant you to open multiple threads. And hey, somebody's gotta play the bad guy >: )

 

[skeeb23]

Fair enough, I deleted the other threads by the way
Ok, my PSU is a Rosewill and here is the page for it..
http://www.rosewill.com/products/486/productDetail.htm
12V1 is 17A and 12V2 is 18A

 

[tenaciousleydead]

Rosewill is definitely not know for good quality psu's(except their highest end models, 1kw). I would opt for something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341010
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153052
if you want to cut it closer.

 

[skeeb23]

Thanks for that. I actually picked out a nice 650W Corsair PSU. So for now I know I want a new PSU and GPU. Now to narrow it down on CPU/Mobo. I still think I want to upgrade my Mobo so it is future proof for upcoming CPUs. I just read a link on the Triple Cores... for $88 they seem pretty nice.

 

[tenaciousleydead]

Excellent. I didn't know your budget so I went for the best(cheapest) value. Triple cores were a weird move on AMDs part I think, not many applications are coded specifically for 3 cores. The only benefits I could see would be a game fully utilizing two cores and offloading the OS on the third to see minor gains in app performance.

 

[Zenthar]

IMO, the whole Phenom line was a disappointment (triple or quad). Good performance for the money, but not the best result clock for clock and lower maximum clock speed.

Right now new generation of CPU are released or are soon to be (i7 45nm, i7 32nm, Phenom 2) and by the end of 2009 I think the P55 (i7's version of the P45) should be released and give budget alternative to the X58.

Moreover, Nvidia has the GTX 295 coming which might impact the whole current pricing structure as MSRP is supposed to be 500$, the current price of 4870x2 and GTX 280, but be faster so every other price might drop. I think ATI plans on releasing the R800 (HD 5000) this summer, but that is a bit far.

So in you position and depending on how conservative you are with your money, I would rather minimize the investment now and see what happens in the next year as all you buy now might fly through the window by next Christmas.

 

[skeeb23]

What you are saying makes perfect sense. The only reason I want to upgrade my mobo now is to future proof it since the newer ones will support the PhenomII. $500 to me is not a huge investment... besides it will get me a new PSU which I need, new mobo for future and possibly a new chip/gpu. That is where I am still deciding. Whether to buy a 6000 or the new BE. I can OC the BE nicely from what I read. Decisions decisions decisions... lol. My 8800GTS does play most games very well right now. But with the new resolution (used to play at 12X10, now I do 16X11) I have noticed a drop in FPS. Im going to see what happens over the next couple of weeks in pricing. If I would have done this 2 weeks ago I could have got some nice deals from holiday pricing. You guys have been a lot of help and I appreciate it! Oh, and as far as what I am looking to do... I have the money now.. I get married later this year so I dont see me having the money later on. Basically I want to get something that will keep me happy and able to game well into early 2010. Almost impossible to predict that... thats why I atleast want to get a good mobo.

 

[Zenthar]

The only reason I want to upgrade my mobo now is to future proof it since the newer ones will support the PhenomII.

Compatibility of current board shouldn't be assumed. Many older LGA775 boards didn't support the Core2Duo let alone the Core2Quads even if it used the exact same socket. Same thing happened for AM2 to AM2+, they were supposed to be inter-compatible, but many manufacturer couldn't/didn't release updated BIOS. So until manufacturer start branding boards as Phenom 2 Ready, it can be a gamble.

On the Intel side it's a bit better, but newer CPUs (i7) use a new socket LGA1366 so LGA775 will gradually be phased out (but should still be mainstream for at least 1-2 years).

For PSU, go for it, there is no harm in going overboard (ex: getting a 750W when you only need 450W now), you should be able to reuse it in a future build.

If you have the money AND want decent gaming for a year, try to build something between Tom's 625$ and 1250$ marathon builds.