New sys, upgrade or just fix it?

[GoldPush]

Hi! First time poster, longtime reader/lurker!

Now I'm having issues with my "old" system and I feel the urge to upgrade/fix/build a new (Yes I'm a hardware enthusiast and gamenut currently playing on a ps2, ps3, 360, wii, 3ds and ipad2 beside my computer).

Current specs are:
CPU: i7-920
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R, X58, Socket-1366
Memory: Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1333MHz 6GB CL9 Kit w/3x 2GB
Graphics card: ATI Radeon 5870 (I had a 280 GTX but that burned/died)
Harddrives: 4 internal including a raptor for OS, 4 external.
Case: Coolermaster Stacker with 3 casefans (back, top, front).

Now I can play most games fine (Heroes of newerth I play daily without issues), Deus Ex 3 never crashed BUT I can't say the FPS was perfect (Played at high settings), RAGE played without a hitch (but here I had to lower settings and FPS was still 15-20 at times).

Some games though, CRYSIS2 in the past and spesifically BF3 (With details at lowest except res at 1920) now run for anything from 30 seconds to 5ish minutes before it crashes with graphical artifacts. Are they using something most games aren't? Or are they just pushing my system? no idea.

I ran Speedfan+afterburner on my other monitor while playing BF3 now to see: http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/2046/tempsp.jpg

Temp2 and 3 reached over 80 and Core 0 and Core 1 peaked at 97.

Temps didnt show peak when crashing, still they crashed. This is with stockcooling, I even opened my case and put a tablefan at max blowing inn to help with cooling (still the heatsinks and pipes on mobo and graphicscard burn if I touch them).

Yes there is dust on my heatsinks/CPU fan so I will be fixing that tomorrow but still I wonder if the dmg is done.

Should I wait? Try to fix? Not play great games? Or upgrade. I have credit laying around at a computerstore now so I could get myself an 2500k or 2600k a new mobo (1155 is it?) so I'm upgradeable in future, get a 580 GTX or some sli/crossfire action going.

I want to play BF3/MW3 without all this crashing and at better details and I also want Skyrim to run well when it arrives.

I know IB will arrive soonish (CPUs Q1 2012 im guessing?) but i read all these threads saying the i7 etc will still be awesome so I'm at a loss of what to do..

Hope someone can help me figure this out!

Thanks in advance =)

 

[GoldPush]

Additionally: My 280gtx i think died cause i tried to oc my cpu once and failed

And now just surfing my temp2 and 3 at 60 and 70 degrees and core 0 and 1 at 69 degrees doing nothing but surfing.,

 

[Raiddinn]

What are the stats on your PSU? Maker, Model, etc.

 

[GoldPush]

Ah sorry forgot that =) It's a corsair TX 750w

 

[FinneousPJ]

The 920 is still a powerful CPU. It's not worth upgrading. Perform maintenance on your PC: clear the dust, reseat your heatsinks and reapply the thermal paste. Buy a new cooler for your CPU and overclock it. See my config on the left, it still hangs with the 2500Ks decent enough. Wait another gen before upgrading

 

[FinneousPJ]

Your temps are horrible. Fix them immediately!

 

[GoldPush]

So how do I lower those temps =)

I can get some compressed air and a vacuumcleaner and take a run. Everything is stock (coolers etc). I am very lazy though so there is a bigger chance of me upgrading than removing anything to clean it, as inn anything that requires me to take my motherboard out of the case will most likely not happen unless it's to replace it.

 

[GoldPush]

Update:

I ran across town to some mates and got a hold of one of those compressed air canisters! I took of the sides of my case, took out my 5870 and went to work pretty hard on both the graphicscard and all of the inside. You have no idea about the disgusting amounts of dust in there...

I wasn't able to completely clean out the CPU fan something tells me but nonetheless I did what I could. Temps dropped remarkably with the maxtemp being on Core0 at 74, Core1 at 76 when playing BF3... Ive played for 3 hours without a single crash! Temp1/2/3 was around 50-64ish on load. Those were the max values i registered...

So the question is:

With my current setup would it be a good idea to either get another 5870 (my mobo is crossfire supported), get a 69xx or a 580gtx instead? And maybe get one of those Corsair H60 for my i7 920 and maybe OC a little bit? Would that work out? And putting on that H60, would it require me to take out my mobo?!

Thanks!

 

[GoldPush]

Ok i've been checking around, seems everyone is right. Upgrading from i7-920 to 2600k is not worth it (benchmarks and scalings show no increase on BF3 atleast). So I'll just get a H60 or should i get H80? And OC a little bit if my Mobo/memory is good enough for it?

Seems 5870 is out of sale and from what I read xfire on 2x5870 1gb cards is just a waste anyways... My Mobo is a xfire (does not support sli afaik) but Im considering getting a 580 GTX or if not a 6970 (and play without MSAA since I dont really use it).

Last but not least to upgrade my shoddy 37 Gb raptor to an SSD for my os and cache (+ most played games) which would be Win 7 + bf3 and soon mw3.

Am I on the right track?