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Rebuilding a Gaming PC

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Wanting to build a new system for around $1000, no more $1200. Less money is better for me. I mainly game at 1920x1200 on a 24" Westinghouse (Farcry 2, CoD4, Fallout3, Last Remnant, but most the time on WoW) and I do quite of bit of video encoding, as this machine also serves as a HTPC. Need some advice on a upgrading this machine as I have not been paying attention to the new hardware that has come out in the past year.

So far I'm running this setup.
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor
PNY VCG88512GXPB GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16
G.SKILL 4GB (4 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Quad Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5Q-4GBNQ
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard
Antec Basiq BP430 430W Continuous Power ATX12V Version 2.2 Active PFC Power Supply
Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

What I want to upgrade to.

Video Card
2x ASUS EAH4870 DK/HTDI/1GD5 Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 In a crossfire setup
or
EVGA 01G-P3-1180-AR GeForce GTX 285 1GB 512-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16

MB
ASUS P5E Deluxe LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard

Case
COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Memory
2x G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK

Power Supply
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified

My main questions are. Should I upgrade to a HD4870 Crossfire setup or would the GTX285 be better? Would the price tag on a i7 setup be worth the performance upgrade from a Q6600? If I go with the GTX285 would it be bogged down if I stayed with the P35 motherboard?

Thanks in advance.
Bursk

More about : rebuilding gaming

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Any reason for ditching the case? Are you going to be moving a HDD and optical drive over to the new one? If you keep the case, HDD, and ODD you can easily get an i7 in that price range.

i7 920 $280
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

ASUS P6T V2 Deluxe $290
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

OCZ Platinum $115
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

GTX 275 $220
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Corsair 750TX $120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Total $1025 before $20 MIR, only the graphics card doesnt have free shipping.

Comes to $1125 if you change your case as well.

The is no real reason to ditch the case except that its a bit small. I have been having air flow problems with it lately. And yes I will be moving a WD Blue 500GB and a WD Green 1TB HD's over and a BD and DVD-RW DL over.

Did you put all of the optional fans in? With all 5 fans in it you should be getting somewhere around 200CFM going through it on high which should reduce cooling issues.

If you really want to stick with an LGA 775 upgrade i would just suggest upgrading your PSU and GPU, maybe your motherboard to a p45 but the x48 doesnt do any better than the p45 for most people, especially not if you are only running 1 card.

Dont spend extra money on the GTX285 when it is just a GTX275 clocked slightly higher.
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I have put all 5 fans in, but they are POS Dynex's from Best Buy, since the originals burned out on me. I can try upgrading to some higher end fans and see first before I buy a new case. Would the GTX275 out perform a dual HD4870 setup? I am looking to get 75 fps to sync with my moniters refresh rate.

The 4870s will out perform it by a good margin but also cost a good chunk more. Since you are having heating issues you will want to look into ones that have good dual slot coolers that exhaust heat out the back.
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