New pc time

[breedalot]

hi

I have a amd 4200+ duel core 939 system OCed to 2.6Ghz with a ati 2900 pro and 2 gigs of ram which i use a a gaming system it has served me well but seems to be starting to get near to minimums specs in games. As a s939 system it is not really upgradable.

My questions are:

2900 pro is it worth sticking with it?

do i go quad now or do i go with a fast duel core and a quad ready mobo?

PS the main gaming i do is FPS, RTS and i have a total football manage addiction for 3 months after the premiership kicks off!

 

[smithereen]

We need to know your budget. I would probably go with an AM2+/AM3 system with a Phenom II 720, as it seems to be the sweet spot for gaming right now. It loves high-speed memory, so you should probably upgrade your RAM to at least dual-channel DDR2-800, preferably -1066 or DDR3 on an AM3 board. You will probably want to get a 790GX board, good ones come from MSI and Gigabyte for cheep right now.

You will want an AMD board if you choose that processor, meaning SLI is not an option. Still, I would upgrade your card to an HD4850, HD4870 or HD4890.

This system will cost around $400-$500 if you recycle the rest of your components

Don't get a Core i7, it is not that good for gaming, especially in single-card scenarios.

I'm from Canada, so my prices are probably a little off, and I can't recommend an intel system because they are so price-inflated up here, I have no idea what the prices would be like in the States.

 

[mildiner86]

well the AMD phenom is good value for money and prolly best bet

although id disagree with "Don't get a Core i7, it is not that good for gaming, especially in single-card scenarios."

the core i7's seem to be the best CPU's on benchmarks and can OC veru high

my bros 2.67ghz gets to 3.8 on air and is running idle at 25-30c

 

[breedalot]

cool thanks for the swift reply.

I am in the uk so no us prices here! (and when i say football, i mean football)

the cost is more of a long term thing for me. i would be happy to upgrade one component again in 12 months. probably i would be willing to spend £300 pounds this time so i7 is out of the window.

 

[hosereh]

I've been thinkin of upgrading my system aswell , and done some research and it seems for bang for buck a AMD x3 720 based system with a 4870 is the sweet spot. Like you i don't got the cash for a i7 system , and my current setup is aging , jus keep in mind you need to make sure your a PSU is up to snuff for your new parts .

 

[smithereen]

The i7 usually the best/one of the best in benchmarks and in games, especially after it's overclocked, but it doesn't come close to being worth the price premium. Does it really matter that you get 200fps instead of 180fps in COD at 800/600 with dual GTX295s?

Yes, the 4870 is the sweet spot right now.

It'd try and get a 600W+ psu. I like OCZ stuff, Corsair is also good.

 

[joefriday]

If your 939 system is PCI-express, how 'bout upgrading to a nice highend video card 1st? Then, if it's still too slow, you can go ahead and upgrade the rest, but if it's fast enough now, you just saved yourself some $$$ upfront and get to holdout a bit longer for the newer/faster equipment to hit the shelves.