Hi All,
I'm in something of a dilemma. At least, it seems that way to me, probably because my hardware knowledge is limited.
Here's what I'm running now:
Motherboard: ASUS P5WDG2-WS ("Mainstation") - LGA 775 - no XFire or SLI support
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz
RAM: 4GB (4 x 1GB) G-Skill DDR2 (Mobo supports up to 8GB)
GPU: EVGA GeForce 8800GT (512MB 256-bit)
PS: Rosewill RP550-2 550W
Case: Cooler Master Centurion 5
This rig lets me play games like MW and Fallout 3 on mid-to-high settings with decent frame rates, but still isn't phenomenal - and I'm dying to try later games like MW2, BF:BC2 and others (I wouldn't even bother trying them on my current build).
What I'm trying to sort out is whether it makes more sense for me to upgrade a few components on this system and get a couple more years out of it, or to simply start the inevitable move to one of the newer platforms (1155 or 1366). Or maybe jumping to the mid-ground at 1156 makes sense?
I doubt my approach to gaming will change - I don't care if I'm running the latest at maximum settings. I just want to be able to play some of the great games that've come out in the last 2-2.5 years with respectable graphics and smooth frame rates.
I'm hoping some of you epic nerds (I mean that respectfully - I'm just a junior nerd) can help me identify A) where my current bottleneck is and B) whether I just need to suck it up and upgrade most of my components if I want to play MW2 at even mid settings.
My budget is limited to the $250-300 range now so a new build would be put off a few months - I just want to be sure I don't waste money upgrading this system if its a lost cause.
Any help would be massively appreciated.
Thanks,
Mike
I'm in something of a dilemma. At least, it seems that way to me, probably because my hardware knowledge is limited.
Here's what I'm running now:
Motherboard: ASUS P5WDG2-WS ("Mainstation") - LGA 775 - no XFire or SLI support
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz
RAM: 4GB (4 x 1GB) G-Skill DDR2 (Mobo supports up to 8GB)
GPU: EVGA GeForce 8800GT (512MB 256-bit)
PS: Rosewill RP550-2 550W
Case: Cooler Master Centurion 5
This rig lets me play games like MW and Fallout 3 on mid-to-high settings with decent frame rates, but still isn't phenomenal - and I'm dying to try later games like MW2, BF:BC2 and others (I wouldn't even bother trying them on my current build).
What I'm trying to sort out is whether it makes more sense for me to upgrade a few components on this system and get a couple more years out of it, or to simply start the inevitable move to one of the newer platforms (1155 or 1366). Or maybe jumping to the mid-ground at 1156 makes sense?
I doubt my approach to gaming will change - I don't care if I'm running the latest at maximum settings. I just want to be able to play some of the great games that've come out in the last 2-2.5 years with respectable graphics and smooth frame rates.
I'm hoping some of you epic nerds (I mean that respectfully - I'm just a junior nerd) can help me identify A) where my current bottleneck is and B) whether I just need to suck it up and upgrade most of my components if I want to play MW2 at even mid settings.
My budget is limited to the $250-300 range now so a new build would be put off a few months - I just want to be sure I don't waste money upgrading this system if its a lost cause.
Any help would be massively appreciated.
Thanks,
Mike