775 Upgrade or move on?

[Luca-d]

Morning Guys / Gals,

i've been out of the game for a while however i think it's time my 775 system got a shake up, however i'm not sure if it's worth upgrading my motherboard + GPU or look to move onto Sandybridge or AM3.

Here is my situation and i hope you guys can help me!, currently my system is a Xeon X3330 (Quad 45nm) @ 3.3GHZ 410FSB, Nvidia 9800 GTX, 4GB DD2 @ 800mhz, Gigabyte GA965P-DS3. Currently my motherboard with not Overlcock at all via the bios, it's really strange ive never seen anything like it! Bios is currently F14 most upto date, it's only in the last 6 months this problem has happened. i'm having to use Easytune atm :-(

So i'm not sure if it's worth dumping a new GPU in a 460 or even a GTX 295 / 4870x2 (as they are quite cheap on ebay now) i know i will lose DX11 but i'm not sure thats such a big deal atm + a new motherboard (However 775 boards are becoming really rare, i assume a 780i or P45 would be a best bet?)

i'm just unsure if the Xeon is up to the job of being able to play games, i've tried to research what i could on if the quad would be ok with a SLI or Crossfire setup in the future however i'm got limited info back. Not sure where the limit would be?

Or is it worth scrapping the GPU upgrade and taking on the Sandybridge / AM3 upgrade route first? then come back the to GPU afterwards (I wish i could afford both ) :-(

Thanks for all your help and support over this!! :-D

 

[psyentist420]

if you upgrade to a new mobo you will need new processor, ram and maybe psu. but then you will be bottlenecked by your 9800. i would get a new gpu first then get the rest of the pieces for an AM3 build one by one. that way you will be able to game steadily for a while. 6800 series or 460 cards are very affordable right now and should blow your 9800 out of the water with todays heavier games.

Im in the same boat, Im running a Pentium D 2.8 OC to 4.4, 4GB 800mhz, ASUS P5Q board with an HIS 6850. I was previously running a 9600GT and now that i have my new card its stabilized a lot of my games and i feel a lot better about my build. I'm going for an AM3 build next, 1100T Hex core FTW! I was really thinking about dropping some faster DDR2 in or like an E8600 but the market really favors the AM3 crowd compared to die hard 775 people or Core I7 folk. E8600 is still like $300 compared to $240 for a hex core monster.

 

[aznshinobi]

Well your CPU looks like it could last for a while still. I mean it seems pretty solid off Intel. Plus you got that minor OC on it. But most signs point to getting a Sandy Bridge upgrade or AM3+ and then getting the GPU upgrade.

What is your resolution?

 

[Luca-d]

resolution depends on the game if i'm honest, ive got a 24" Benq monitor so i've got the res available however for certain games like borderlands for example i have to scale it down 1280x1024 is just about ok anything more and fps drop through the floor.

PSU wise i have a OCZ stealth stream 700w PSU so i'm kinda ready to upgrade, just dont know if it's worth buying another SLI or Crossfire 775 mobo (if i can find one) + GPU or GPU then upgrade to AM3+ or Sandybridge.

 

[aznshinobi]

Don't get another to SLI, the older gen is really weak compared to the new gen.

The 460 OWNS the 260 just dominates it.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/170?vs=180

So that's giving your 9800 GTX some extra performance, which it doesn't even reach the 260's level. So I just suggest getting the 460 and a Sandy Bridge/AM3+ upgrade all at once. Or do the Sandy Bridge upgrade later and get the 460 now.

 

[joelmartinez]

get 460 now, then SB later

 

[Luca-d]

Thanks for all your replies! to keep you guys in the loop i picked up a 768mb 460 for £107.00 bargain! also i got a XFX 780i mobo for £60.00! so i took this route rather than the full upgrade route just yet. If i add a second 460 i should get another year or so before i have to look to upgrade from 775!

again thanks for all your help!