Got my hands on 400$, where would it be best spent?

[markula]

So I recently got my hands on 400$ and I'm looking to upgrade my system in preparation for skyrim. Where would this cold hard cash be best spent?

My current rig is as follows

Case: corsair 650d
CPU: intel i5 2500k
CPU cooler: corsair h-100
M/B: Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3
Psu: nzxt 1000 watt
Gpu: his iceq 6970
RAM: 4x2gb 1600 corsair ram
HDD: wd blue caviar 500 gb 7200 rpm
SSD: none yet

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[rolli59]

SSD! Depending on what monitor you have maybe new monitor.

 

[casualbuilder]

What is your Monitor? A 2nd 6970 is always an option as well. I would agree though, a Crucial M4 SSD 128GB runs $190. You could put one of those in with a Blu-Ray player for a total of around $300.

 

[markula]

I was leaning twords ssd. I was hopping to hold out just a little longer til the price per gigabyte drops and for the tech to improve. Right now I'm running An Asus ve247h 23.6. I'd like to go samsung but none if their monitors have vesa mounts and I really want to do Eyefinity with 3 monitors in the future. I've been playing with the idea of getting a 3d monitor. Not because I'm terribly interested in 3d, but because I'm interested in 120hz. As for crossfire, Im not too learned and from what I understand the ratio for cost and performance isn't great. However I could be wrong.

 

[feartrich]

save it. don't spend money just to spend money...

your PC can run skyrim...trust me, if a system like yours couldnt run it, skyrim would be a major flop and bethesda would go bankrupt

 

[casualbuilder]

With your card, you are better off getting the 27" Samsung i think you are talking about if you dont go the SSD/Blu-Ray route. Either one of those would greatly increase your personal computer time...wink wink!

 

[chesteracorgi]

Unless you are going to multiple monitors going to Xfire is premature. The 6970 will give you pleanty of fps for your rig.

The prices on SSDs seem to be stable for the near future. I doubt that you will be seeing a radical price drop, but you should shop for bargains. I'd look for anything from a reliable SSD OEM for less than $1.75 per GB. A Crucial M4 128 for under $200 would be a buy.

Save the rest towards a new monitor, or a second GPU for Xfire.

 

[markula]

Aside from fast load times does ssd improve the performance in any other way for gaming?

 

[casualbuilder]

Some say yes, especially if you play games online with loading areas or large maps. Is this negligable? probably. but honestly, you have an awesome system already, so an ssd seems to be your best bet, and the blu-ray if you dont have one. your monitor is a very good monitor, and those would provide a performance boost, even if it is just for media movies and load times. Which btw...if you DL movies, an SSD is great for copy speeds. not that you should...CUZ DOWNLOADING MOVIES IS ALEGUL!

 

[markula]

Not a huge movie buff. So the blu ray is not my thing. Ssd on the other hand is what I think I will go with. I have really good eyes ( I can read the Bottom line of text on the eye charts) so I notice things that other people don't, that's why I sunk a lot of money into my rig, it literally bothers me if it isn't close to top notch. Any recommendations on monitors? I have seen "3d ready" monitors for alittle cheaper since they aren't fully 3d yet. As I said' I'm more interested in the 120hz aspect.

 

[g-unit1111]

Not a huge movie buff. So the blu ray is not my thing. Ssd on the other hand is what I think I will go with. I have really good eyes ( I can read the Bottom line of text on the eye charts) so I notice things that other people don't, that's why I sunk a lot of money into my rig, it literally bothers me if it isn't close to top notch. Any recommendations on monitors? I have seen "3d ready" monitors for alittle cheaper since they aren't fully 3d yet. As I said' I'm more interested in the 120hz aspect.

Even if you're not a movie buff, a Blu-Ray burner makes an unbelievably excellent backup drive with 25GB and 50GB disc options. If you were to go with a drive like the Plextor B950 (the 940 I have is discontinued) - it can burn a backup image of your drive in like 10 min per disc.

I'd also recommend going with a second display or maybe getting a second 6970 for Crossfire mode, those would be my choices.