It has been a while... too long... time to start researching a system upgrade. The core of my current system was done 3-4 years ago, and I upgraded one item/aspect per year averaging $100-$200 per change.
I am a gamer that dabbles in video editing. I have experience building systems since 1995, so what I am looking for here is your experiences in your research or a system you have built and had time to test.
The first question I have: Is there any performance advantage (now that ATI is owned by AMD) in going all AMD for the Chipset/CPU/Video?
Background: I have had EXCELLENT customer service from AMD and nVidia, and I am very loyal to those brands. Most of the games I play say they run better on nVidia. I hate Intel due to poor service I got and their price point. (I am on a budget here...) I am looking to do an upgrade that will be <$1000 and get me where I can play games like Rift, Black Ops, EQII, and EA Sports titles at higher resolutions.
At a minimum, I need to upgrade case, PSU, Mobo, RAM. I would like to also add in a better CPU cooler, and video cards if I have cash left.
Current System:
Case: Old Antec model... not very great at cooling.
PSU: Cooler Master 600W
CPU: 3.0GHz Athelon II x2 64bit
Mobo:Asus M4NE-SLI
RAM: 8GB OCZ DDR2 800
Video: TWO each nVidia GeForce 9600GSO 768Mb DDR3 (SLI mode)
Sound: Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Titanium PCI-e 1x
HDDs: System Drive: 320GB Seagate 7200rpm SATA
Game/Data : Two each Seagate 500 GB 7200rpm SATA RAID 0
Looking atupgraded parts only:
CASE: (undecided... looking at an Antec and a Cooler Master)
PSU: 1000W SLI Certified - Modular
CPU: AMD Phenom II x6 1090t (or 1100t) with Cooler Master 212 - 120mm sleeve cooler.
Mobo: Asus M4N98TD EVO
RAM: 16Gb DDR3 1333
The upgraded bits above take me close to my budget, which means I'll be weak on video until next year. I'm leaning this way for now because to add in video now requires either very little improvement on the video or compromising on the Mobo/CPU/RAM. I have to get a case because I fear the current one will not vent the heat well enough on the upgraded PSU and CPU. This is how I tend to build anyway to spread the cost over time.
Please discuss both the system specs and whether there is any advantage to going AMD all the way throughout.
I am a gamer that dabbles in video editing. I have experience building systems since 1995, so what I am looking for here is your experiences in your research or a system you have built and had time to test.
The first question I have: Is there any performance advantage (now that ATI is owned by AMD) in going all AMD for the Chipset/CPU/Video?
Background: I have had EXCELLENT customer service from AMD and nVidia, and I am very loyal to those brands. Most of the games I play say they run better on nVidia. I hate Intel due to poor service I got and their price point. (I am on a budget here...) I am looking to do an upgrade that will be <$1000 and get me where I can play games like Rift, Black Ops, EQII, and EA Sports titles at higher resolutions.
At a minimum, I need to upgrade case, PSU, Mobo, RAM. I would like to also add in a better CPU cooler, and video cards if I have cash left.
Current System:
Case: Old Antec model... not very great at cooling.
PSU: Cooler Master 600W
CPU: 3.0GHz Athelon II x2 64bit
Mobo:Asus M4NE-SLI
RAM: 8GB OCZ DDR2 800
Video: TWO each nVidia GeForce 9600GSO 768Mb DDR3 (SLI mode)
Sound: Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Titanium PCI-e 1x
HDDs: System Drive: 320GB Seagate 7200rpm SATA
Game/Data : Two each Seagate 500 GB 7200rpm SATA RAID 0
Looking atupgraded parts only:
CASE: (undecided... looking at an Antec and a Cooler Master)
PSU: 1000W SLI Certified - Modular
CPU: AMD Phenom II x6 1090t (or 1100t) with Cooler Master 212 - 120mm sleeve cooler.
Mobo: Asus M4N98TD EVO
RAM: 16Gb DDR3 1333
The upgraded bits above take me close to my budget, which means I'll be weak on video until next year. I'm leaning this way for now because to add in video now requires either very little improvement on the video or compromising on the Mobo/CPU/RAM. I have to get a case because I fear the current one will not vent the heat well enough on the upgraded PSU and CPU. This is how I tend to build anyway to spread the cost over time.
Please discuss both the system specs and whether there is any advantage to going AMD all the way throughout.