Next logical upgrade

[frozenwalkway]

hey guys! first time posting here.

was hoping i could get some advice on my rig and find and eliminate some bottlenecks in my system. i made this around christmas 2009 for about 630 so it was a steal at that time in my opinion.


ECS BLACK SERIES A790GXM-AD3 AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)

AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition Callisto 3.1GHz Socket AM3 80W

XFX HD-477A-YDFC Radeon HD 4770 512MB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16

Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s

Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91

i made this system to play at 1440x900 but have since upgraded to a 23 inch asus at 1080p

i dont want to move onto a new chipset but if it would be the most logical and economic choice than so be it i guess.

any reply will be appreciated thanks

 

[mosox]

Did you try to unlock that CPU? A new video card, what's the budget?

 

[frozenwalkway]

my motherboard doesnt support it, i know i should get a phenom II x4 at least in this machine, and the budget is what ever is best for it. im not looking for a single upgrade, i want to know if any one could give me a road map so to speak for this machine.

 

[mosox]

You can get a, say, HD 6850 that would be a big upgrade. Or a HD 6870. The CPU is good for now, wait for the new AM3+ socket and the new Bulldozer CPUs (a few months away at most) and then decide between Intel and AMD. If you go AMD you will be able to use your current CPU and maybe unlock it. Also a Samasung Spinpont F3 500GB or 1TB if you need more disk space.

 

[Onus]

I agree with mosox. Upgrade your GPU; that won't be money wasted, as you can move it into a new rig if you decide to rebuild. Otherwise, you may get all the performance improvement you need just from a new GPU.

 

[frozenwalkway]

alright sweet, do you think that power supply will be alright with the 6850?

 

[Onus]

Oh yes. You could probably Crossfire a pair of them with an EA-650.

 

[frozenwalkway]

very cool, thanks alot guys. when do you think bulldozer will come out? what kind of advantages will it have over am3 and phenom IIs?

 

[Onus]

I am hoping it comes out in Q2, but I'm not sure it's safe to hold my breath. I believe its performance will be higher than Phenom II, and hope it will be comparable to SB. I am also expecting significantly lower power use, which will make it my choice for an upgrade.