End of 2009 PC, want to upgrade it, which parts?

[noktek]

Hello everybody.
Two years ago i started to rise my antennas to catch up with the computer hardware world.
I put my personal computer together with the following components: Now its two years later, and i have some money to put in it for upgrades and alikes. Something like 700-800euros, a thousand bucks. I work as a videogame freelance, so i believe i might want to invest a bit on a graphic card, as i already have a SSD. or maybe on a new processor. or maybe on both. Im not one of those persons that wants the super duper latest graphic card or so, something with a good price/performance ratio is perfect. maybe a bit more on the performance side. but apart from that, im open to any suggestion, as i really have been left behind with my knowledge...

bests, raffaele

Intel Core i7 920 D0 BOX, Quad Core, 2.66 GHz, ...
Noctua CPU-Cooler NH-U12P SE2 - Sockel 1366/1156
AsRock X58 Extreme, Intel X58, LGA1366, SLI, CFX
GeIL EVO ONE 6x2GB Kit, DDR3-1600, CL7-7-7-24@1...
Samsung HD103SJ, F3, 7200rpm, 32MB, 1TB, SATA-II
OCZ SSD Vertex 2 Extended Cap. 120GB, SATA-II, ...
WD VelociRaptor WD3000HLFS, 10'000rpm, 16MB, 30...
LG GH22NS, 22x DVD±R Brenner, SATA, schwarz
Cooler Master RC-690-KKN1-GP, inkl. Mesh-Gitter...
Corsair CMPSU-850HX, 850W, SLI/CF, ATX2.2/EPS, ...
Noctua CPU-Kühler NH-U12P SE2 - Sockel 1366/1156
MSI GTX-275 Lightning (GT200b) 1792MB GDDR3, 55...

 

[genghiskron]

yep, graphics, the rest of your computer is still very competitive. 800 euros is tons for a graphics upgrade. If you want to keep things simple, grab a gtx580. its the best single gpu available and it will easily fit in your budget. If you want more price/performance, go lower in price -> GTX 570 or HD6970 -> HD6950 or GTX 560 ti.
wouldnt go any lower than that.

 

[Outlander_04]

what genghiskron said

there will be no performance gain in gaming from a faster or newer processor if you are gaming at high resolutions

 

[noktek]

hello and thanks for the replies
is it a good idea to get a new graphic card? im not sure its really necessary, are there some newer generations on the horizon? or a relevant price drop on the actual ones to be forseen in the coming months?

 

[Outlander_04]

AMD have 7XXX cards coming soon, but I dont think the top end models will be on sale this year

If you are getting the frame rates you want at the detail settings you want then I would not upgrade

 

[g-unit1111]

hello and thanks for the replies
is it a good idea to get a new graphic card? im not sure its really necessary, are there some newer generations on the horizon? or a relevant price drop on the actual ones to be forseen in the coming months?

Everything else on your computer is pretty up to date. The thing is a faster CPU or more RAM wont do you a lot of good, there's no games or applications right now that take advantage of more than like 8GB, so don't drop money on that. Getting a new video card would be the ideal way to go. Upgrading from a 275 to a 570 or an AMD 6990 would allow you to see massive amounts of improvement in that area.

 

[noktek]

i believe i should get an nvidia because of CUDA, most of autodesks application as 3dsmax and mudbox take advantage of that... actually i have something like three 3d packages and photoshop open at the same time.. which eats up to 9gb of ram in standard working situations!.. what kills my machine is 3d sculpting, at the moment my machine can handle 16million triangles, then starts bogging down.. so summing up, i need an nvidia singlecore gpu

 

[genghiskron]

considering your budget -> gtx 580. btw do you have one of those 3d sculpting tools with force feedback? i got to play with one of those at my engineering school - theyre awesome!

 

[noktek]

force feedback? unfortunately not , still stuck with an intuos 3 pen tablet... are these thingies you mentioned available on the marketplace?!

 

[noktek]

ah i love the forums!... maybe i dont need new hardware to boost my productivity, maybe i need a better input device.. i didnt even think about that lol

 

[genghiskron]

http://www.sensable.com/products-claytools-system.htm
im sure they are truly expensive. but it really feels as if you are touching/sculpting the virtual 3d object.

this gaming controller thingy uses similar tech:
http://www.gizmag.com/go/7454/

 

[g-unit1111]

i believe i should get an nvidia because of CUDA, most of autodesks application as 3dsmax and mudbox take advantage of that... actually i have something like three 3d packages and photoshop open at the same time.. which eats up to 9gb of ram in standard working situations!.. what kills my machine is 3d sculpting, at the moment my machine can handle 16million triangles, then starts bogging down.. so summing up, i need an nvidia singlecore gpu

We use mostly ATI where I work (and we use all Autodesk products, you name it). The Radeon 6990 or 6970 both will be able to suit your CAD needs and be able to play some awesome games at that.

 

[noktek]

out of curiosity, i started documenting myself on these sensable claytools, and now its been 20minutes ive been trying to find a price without success. I guess i have my answer