Future proofing

To be honest that isn't future proof. That's not even high-end by today's standards. You will want to put in a GTX 580. There are tons of different 580s released, just take your pick. That PSU is future proofed and should last til your next build, same with your ram. To be really future proof, what you want to do is wait until the end of the year when even SB-E (which has USB 3, PCI-E 3, SATA 6GB/s and quad channel ram) is released so that you have support for new hardware for the next 5 years +.

The 6970 runs about $310, yet is often overlooked in favor of the admittedly excellent GTX580 at $450-ish, despite performance that sometimes trails the GTX580 by only 5-10% or so, and sometimes the 6970 prevails at higher resolutions/quality/AA/AF settings...

(As for SB-E on socket 2011, I don't think we will see it this year....; Ivy Bridge is another story, however)

What did you manage to OC your 955 to ?

thats a great system, i wouldnt really reccommend a GTX580 or a 6970 if i dont even know what resolutions you play at or what games you are planning to play. imo its not worth buying high end cards, only for them to become obselete in a few years.

Sandy Bridge-E / s2011 is a workstation/server platform beyond the needs of an enthusiast gamer. Intel has moved Ivy Bridge to Q2 2012.

Future-proof is an ugly word. There will always be more-capable, less expensive tech just down the road. You will bruise your wallet trying to keep up, so you need to constantly weigh where you stand and what future options may be in your budget window.

In your case, I suggest -- either wait for the new AMD 7000-series Radeons (and their impact on current pricing) or jump on another GTX 460 before they are all gone. Tough choice because the 460s are not going to be around when Battlefield3 hits the market, but the AMD 7000-series Radeons might well be.

If you snag a second GTX460, take a look at these. These 990X AM3+ motherboards will support CrossFire/SLI with your current processor and RAMs, and offer support for the next-gen Bulldozer.

But the big question is really that second GTX460. You can upgrade your motherboard and wait it out without purchasing a second card, but you take the chance they'll be gone in a flash -- and if you buy the second GTX 460 (bringing your video capability to the HD6970 / GTX 580 range) you stand the chance of being blown out of the water by a single next-gen video card.

Soooooo .... QUICK! Sell your GTX 460 before it's too late!   (Kidding ... sort of. But it is always an option)

This topic has been moved from the section CPU & Components to section Graphics & Displays by Mousemonkey