[Solved] [Upgrade advice] on graphic card/system overall

Forum Systems : Homebuilt [Solved] [Upgrade advice] on graphic card/system overall

I'm planning to upgrade my system. Currently I have Core2Duo E8400, coupled with Radeon 4850 512MB, 4x1GB memory (OC-ed to 4-4-4-12, DDR2 800), Asus P5K mobo (sucks, I know). Primary use is high-end gaming (well, can't say high-end anymore right now). This system is 2.5 years old and I want to do some upgrade.

Several upgrades path that I've considered:
- Overhaul the system (change to i7 or Phenom II + Radeon 6950. If I do this, I have to dump my entire box due to socket incompatibility)
- Replace Radeon 4850 with Radeon 6950 *AND* replace Core2Duo with Core2Quad
- Replace only Radeon 4850 with Radeon 6950.

Upgrade budget is less than $500.
I wonder if option #3 would give me a beneficial performance gain over the money I spend on upgrading graphic card, since that's my most favorable path and the least cost. Dunno if the dual-core will cause a bottleneck in the overall performance.

Thanks for the advice.

[EDIT] I play on 1920*1080 monitor.

Message edited by Xabre on 12-29-2010 at 04:07:20 PM

Reply to Xabre

The higher your resolution, the less impact pure clock speed of cpu has on framerate...

That being said, 'some' cpu scaling still occurs, and having 3 or 4 core cpu still has some impact, but, the video card is still usually the dominant bottleneck if at 1080P resolutions....

Reply to mdd1963

I have almost the exact same system (See my sig), just no overclock, and a smaller resolution monitor.

I'm currently planning a ~$750 replacement system, working on a Sandy Bridge 2500K or a Thuban 1090t. I'm waiting to see how the 2500K does.

A recent tom's article of 20 popular games suggests an average of 2.5 cores in use, so an update to a quad is highly recommended. Several recent games run best on at least 4 cores: Final Fantasy XIV, GTA 4, Metro 2033, Civ V, Starcraft II, etc.

for $500, the best option will probably be to get something like a GTX 570 or 580

------------------------------ We have no wish to offend you, unless you're a twit.
My PC: I5-2400, ASRock H61-VS, Mushkin 4 GB 1333, HD 6850, 2x Seagate 500 GB HDD, Corsair 430W, Rosewill R102 case
HTPC: Phenom I 9650 2.3Ghz, 4 GB DDR2-800, 120gb hdd, HD4850 512MB, Ultra 500W
Reply to ScrewySqrl

Best answer

Out of those options, I think you'll get the best performance boost from an upgrade from a dual to quad core and the 6950 upgrade. plus, having a better CPU will just make your everyday computer use more enjoyable.

Best answer selected by Xabre.

Reply to Xabre

I got a $177 Radeon 5870 deal... So I go with that route (no CPU upgrade yet, I'm too lazy to unscrew the HSF)

Reply to Xabre

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What level would you consider this?

By austinwillie_95, 11 minutes ago:

It won't handle high end games that's for sure. And for $800 you would be better off just...

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