What should I upgrade next on my gaming comp? HELP!

[faztazfuk613]

I would like any and all suggestions for my best next upgrade. All opinions are welcome feel free to leave any feedback you may have. The games i currently play are "TERA Online" and "Tribes Ascend".

OS: Windows Vista Home Premium x64

MB: MSI 870A-G54

HD: 1 Terabyte Barracuda, not sure of exact specs.

Ram: 16GB probably ddr3 or something havent checked, dont feel like opening the case atm. (not sure if it matters)

Display: Samsung SyncMaster P2570HD 60hz ( I use digital connection).

CPU: AMD phenom 2 x6 (1090T) 3.2Ghz (OC to 3.6Ghz)

Graphics: XFX Radeon HD 6950 (2GB)

DirectX 10


And I think thats it, let me know if im missing anything.

 

[kelthic]

get an SSD to set up as a boot drive. install Windows 7 and the games you play most to this. Everything else should go to the HDD you already have. I really can't see you getting much more out of the AMD chips for gaming than you already have. You might consider an upgrade to i5-2500k or better with a new motherboard if you have the money.

 

[PCgamer81]

Don't waste money on an SSD. The only people who tell you to do that are the people who were dumb enough to shell out on one themselves, and because they don't want to feel stupid or feel like their investment was unnecessary, they recommend it to other people; a stupidity that is spreading like wildfire.

Forget about slightly faster load times.

Upgrade your CPU and OS.

And why do you say DX10? The 6950 is DX11.

 

[samuelspark]

Don't waste money on an SSD. The only people who tell you to are people who were dumb enough to shell out on one themselves, and because they don't want to feel stupid or feel like their investment was unnecessary, they recommend it to other people; a stupidity that is spreading like wildfire.

Forget about slightly faster load times.

Upgrade your CPU and OS.

And why do you say DX10? The 6950 is DX11.

Actually a 30GB SSD boot drive would be fine. Also put anti-malware on there.

 

[-Zombie-]

Don't waste money on an SSD. The only people who tell you to do that are the people who were dumb enough to shell out on one themselves, and because they don't want to feel stupid or feel like their investment was unnecessary, they recommend it to other people; a stupidity that is spreading like wildfire.

Forget about slightly faster load times.

Upgrade your CPU and OS.

And why do you say DX10? The 6950 is DX11.

SSD's are actually a good investment for any computer...
You don't have to spend a large amount of money on one, you could buy a 60GB for around 100.

Not sure if there is any actual evidence but many claim that the faster loading times really help you in StarCraft and allow faster texture loads in other games.

I guess I am one of the don't want to feel stupid and feel like my investment was worth it type but I absolutely love my SSD.

 

[faztazfuk613]

what is SSD? and if I should upgrade my CPU, to what CPU should I upgrade to I'm pretty sure my MB supports AM3 and IDK what else.

And as for my OS, The only Genuine copy I have is the one listed above, If i were tog et W7 it would be a torrent which i usually dont like doing much, but i really dont like wasting money on software lol.

 

[faztazfuk613]

how would i go about getting dx11? would it make a difference?

 

[kelthic]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-gaming-performance,2991-14.html that's Tom's benchmark on gaming with SSDs. the followup article explained some gaming does not see as much benefit as the first three titles tested, though it still sees some http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/battlefield-rift-ssd,3062.html.

For me, the real performance gain was when it didn't take me 5-10 minutes to start playing when getting home and the pc is off, as well as how much faster the games loaded once i started them. My only regret is not buying a bigger ssd

 

[kelthic]

An SSD is a solid State Drive. Do not torrent windows that is ILLEGAL as you pointed out. DX11 is probably already on your computer, but the games you play use DX10. If not, you should be able to get this via windows update.

 

[uno2tres]

what is SSD? and if I should upgrade my CPU, to what CPU should I upgrade to I'm pretty sure my MB supports AM3 and IDK what else.

And as for my OS, The only Genuine copy I have is the one listed above, If i were tog et W7 it would be a torrent which i usually dont like doing much, but i really dont like wasting money on software lol.

Download the windows 8 preview (free from microsoft until windows 8 is released), install it on a second partition, and see if the games you play will run. If they do the should perform noticeably better.

 

[4745454b]

Vista supports DX11 so you might already have it.

Your machine is rather balanced already so I can see your issue. An SSD, sound card, high end speakers or mouse/keyboard are probably your best best. Yes, I suggest an SSD even though I don't have one. While they won't do anything for your frame rates, the boost in load times can be nice. I'm not sure if its worth the cost to upgrade to an Intel machine.

 

[Memnarchon]

Hello.

The only good upgrade I see is to get a windows 7 64 bit so you can have DX11.

Since you have the best (at the moment) amd arsenal has to offer and changing to a new core i5 + mobo isnt worth the jump, you can get a gpu. And you will see real performance difference if you buy something like 7970 or gtx 680.

If you insist on changing cpu, just wait a couple of weeks, intel promised ivybridge in april.

 

[4745454b]

Again, Vista supports DX11. He might need a download or SP, but he can run it. (assuming he has software that supports it...)

Took another look at the list, what PSU do you have?

 

[uno2tres]

I would like any and all suggestions for my best next upgrade. All opinions are welcome feel free to leave any feedback you may have. The games i currently play are "TERA Online" and "Tribes Ascend".

OS: Windows Vista Home Premium x64

MB: MSI 870A-G54

HD: 1 Terabyte Barracuda, not sure of exact specs.

Ram: 16GB probably ddr3 or something havent checked, dont feel like opening the case atm. (not sure if it matters)

Display: Samsung SyncMaster P2570HD 60hz ( I use digital connection).

CPU: AMD phenom 2 x6 (1090T) 3.2Ghz (OC to 3.6Ghz)

Graphics: XFX Radeon HD 6950 (2GB)

DirectX 10


And I think thats it, let me know if im missing anything.

If you or a friend has a .edu email address you can get windows 7 pro for only $65
http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msstore/pd/productID.216644200?Icid=Student_HUB_4up_Windows

 

[toepickles]

i personally hate ssd's after having such horrid experiences with them...an os upgrade is the most needed thing but thats about it, if i was you i would spend time on the look of my pc instead of components

 

[faztazfuk613]

Again, Vista supports DX11. He might need a download or SP, but he can run it. (assuming he has software that supports it...)

Took another look at the list, what PSU do you have?

Pretty sure I have a ULTRA 800W PSU

 

[4745454b]

Hmm... Not the best but probably not uber junk either. If you don't mind vista then no reason to upgrade. (Vista support trim?) I'd stick with the list I already gave and perhaps add PSU or OS to it. Not sure which is best to do from list.

 

[-Zombie-]

Download the windows 8 preview (free from microsoft until windows 8 is released), install it on a second partition, and see if the games you play will run. If they do the should perform noticeably better.

From what I've seen of windows 8, I'll stay on 7.

 

[faztazfuk613]

should i get a different monitor?

 

[4745454b]

Any reason why?