Would like to upgrade my Desktop without spending lots of money.

[phikita]

I recently build my desktop with trying to get the most out of the money i was willing to spend so that i could later upgrade my Desktop...I have recently come to the time when I really want to upgrade it...I do not really want to spend a lot of money though..so I'm looking to buy parts that would be the greatest upgrade to my Desktop without totally changing out things. I do not want to go to I7 yet though for the pure fact, that I would then need to upgrade my MOBO,RAM, and PSU all at the same time...so looking at my current build what should i upgrade..and with what?.


Case=Antec Nine Hundred Two
Mobo=ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
PSU=Rosewill RP600V2-S-SL 600W ATX12V v2.01 SLI Ready Power Supply
CPU=Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
RAM=Kingston 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model KVR800D2N5K2/4G - Retail
GPU=XFX PVT88PYDF4 GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
HDD=Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000HLFS 300GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM


I am an extreme gamer. (In case you were wondering why i wanted to upgrade)

Any additional information needed about my computer feel free to ask, Any upgrade information send my way no matter what part it is. thank you.

 

[Wolfshadw]

Probably upgrade the graphics card, but what's resolution of the monitor?

-Wolf sends

 

[phikita]

1680x1050 is the highest resolution shown in the proporties listing......its a 22" viewsonic monitor.

 

[hunter315]

how much are you willing to spend on these upgrades? Also what aspect do you want to upgrade? are you unhappy with frame rates, load times, or graphics quality?

 

[phikita]

Well I do want the upgrades..and I live by the moto "go big or go home" so if im gonna upgrade a part i want the best ...so im willing to spend like 700 dollars around....may vary..and to be honest im really not unhappy with any particular aspect..but i would prefer to get my load times and frame rates up...i just live with the god complex where i want it to be better.

 

[hunter315]

Then you want to look into a WD Caviar Black 640, it will give you more storage and almost the same load times, if you put two of them in Raid 0 you will get even faster load times. As for your graphics if you want to upgrade get rid of that rosewill PSU and get the corsair 650
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
Currently the same price as their 550 watt and a lot stronger than that rosewill. You might want to look into a GTX275 or an HD 4890 depending on whether your motherboard supports Crossfire or SLI

 

[phikita]

what about..maybe getting a higher wattage psu and going up to the Nvidia GTX 295?..and i really dont know how to raid a hard drive..is it difficult?

 

[hunter315]

The corsair has more than sufficient amperage on its 12 volt rail to support a GTX295 which only wants 48.

 

[phikita]

when you get 2 Hard drives...does to force you to save in one location or the other...?

 

[phikita]

would it be better to get the GTX 295....by itself...or can i SLI it with my 8800 gt? if i do SLI it..i would need to get a different MOBO..which honestly wouldnt be that big of a problem...but would i need to get a different PSU then the one your suggesting...?

 

[hunter315]

The corsair 650 will handle most things you throw at it, unless you are doing quad SLI or quadfire. If you want SLI you either need an X58 board for an i7 or an nVidia chipset as SLI gets licensed only to specific chipsets.

And with multiple HDD you just choose where to save stuff just like saving it in a different folder on a single hard drive

 

[phikita]

so you can sli two GPU's that arent the same kind?

 

[hunter315]

No. In order to SLI the GPUs must match exactly

 

[phikita]

so i would have to buy another 8800 gt. well then would it be better to sli those 2 together or just get on 295gtx?

 

[Wolfshadw]

Go with a single 295GTX and a better power supply (like the above mentioned Corsair). Unless I'm missing something, you cannot use SLI on this motherboard. Only Crossfire.

-Wolf sends

 

[Helloworld_98]

get a corsair 650w and a 4890, I think that would be the cheapest and best option.

 

[phikita]

is 4890 better then 8800GT?

 

[Helloworld_98]

^ yes, it's performs a bit better than 2 8800GT's.

 

[phikita]

alright...that actually sounds really good..
im gonna buy a

WD Caviar Black 640 and RAID 0 it with my current Velociraptor HDD

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V

and buy the 4890 ATI

one last questions....later down the line would it be worth doing Crossfire with that card on my MOBO..and can my MOBO do crossfire.

 

[Helloworld_98]

no, it would be better to get a DX11 card when they come out by the end of this year instead of crossfiring the 4890.

also the 650w can't power two 4890's.

 

[phikita]

well this opens up the idea..that ATI is finally catching up with Nvidia..is this true..is ATI becoming better or even again..just like the phenom II caught AMD back up with Intel?

 

[Helloworld_98]

I wouldn't say that amd has caught upto intel, and the only time ATi has been behind nvidia is in the 8800 era.

but yeah, ATi is kicking nvidia to the ground right now with their pricing, since their 4890 (GTX 275 or 285 equivalent) is priced very close to the GTX 260, and the 4870 close to the GTS 250.

 

[phikita]

well the AMD phenom 2 x4 955 and 940 are both better in money wise and benchmark testing to the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 the comparison in money to AMD to Intel is massive yes the i7 is above all of AMD but from previous times ever since intel hit core 2 amd has been lagging....and in my opinion i7 still isnt worth the massive price up you must pay for with the New mobo and new ram and the overly expensive chip