Which upgrade path should I take for next 1-2 years?

[markusaurileus]

Hi guys/girls, what are your suggestions on how I should go about future upgrades for the next 1-2 years?

My motherboard is the ASUS M4A785-M, which is DDR2 1033 and can support up to the Phenom II X6 1100T. Right now, I've got 6GB DDR2 800 and an Athlon II X4 635.

First Path: I've been considering upgrading my board to one with DDR3/AM3+ so that way I can keep the Athlon II 635 for at least the next 6 months while being able to take advantage of the super cheap, reliable name brand 8GB DDR3 RAM you can get right now. Then later, I can go to the X6 when it drops in price or get whatever better AM3+ CPU comes out.

Second Path: Ditch AMD path and go with a new Intel CPU & board with DDR3 off the bat. I have little to no experience with Intel processors, and this looks more expensive to me.

What should I do? I don't really know what's coming up in the future for these products, so I want to think it through before I buy. Much thanks & happy holidays.

 

[o1die]

You need to tell us your system uses (favorite games for example). You may not need to upgrade yet. I'm on my second ssd, and will never go back to a regular hardrive, since I don't need alot of storage space. But your needs may be different. Video card or onboard video?

 

[markusaurileus]

I'm not the biggest gamer, but I do play games like GTAIV and CoD. Looking to get LA Noire and F3AR soon. I want faster responsiveness in everyday computing, esp when I have multiple things like photoshop, internet, and itunes open.

I'm sticking with mechanical HD space since I don't want to pay $100+ for 60GB (bought an OCZ SSD but am now returning it). And I'm gonna keep my GTX 460 for the next year.

 

[o1die]

I've recommended the newegg shellshocker specials since they come with a hardrive and 25% discount. Todays includes a great antec case and power supply, but you may not like the board or cpu. The hardrive included is what makes it a bargain, since prices are so high right now.

 

[Petrofsky]

<snip>

I want faster responsiveness in everyday computing, esp when I have multiple things like photoshop, internet, and itunes open.

<snip>

Then you do want an SSD. You have plenty of memory already, and faster memory will be barely noticeable. Since I got an SSD, I boot in about 30 seconds, and shut off in about 10. Word opens instantaneously. Huge things unzip in the blink of an eye.

You also want at least a quad-core CPU. That's where the multitasking is.

 

[markusaurileus]

Then you do want an SSD. You have plenty of memory already, and faster memory will be barely noticeable. Since I got an SSD, I boot in about 30 seconds, and shut off in about 10. Word opens instantaneously. Huge things unzip in the blink of an eye.

You also want at least a quad-core CPU. That's where the multitasking is.

I would get a SSD, though I can't help but see a bunch of people talking about how their TRIM-enabled SSDs slow down after a while, and how a few months to a year the drive gives out all-together. I also hear a lot about SSDs not liking Win7 sleep. I like Win7 sleep and put my computer in it all the time. I really just wanna give the SSD market a little more time before investing money into one.

The 635 is a quad-core.

Edit---
I don't really mind the current loading times on such programs that I mentioned, or even the Win7 login time (30s is good enough for me). I'm just talking about like my comp handling a bunch of programs at once. I've been noticing that chrome starts to lag when I have +15 tabs open.