Value for money upgrade

[mike789]

Hi Tom's fans.

1st af all since its my first thread I'd like to thank this website for existing and all of the people that post stuff , everytime I need something I find helpful opinions in here.

I am a regular gamer, not really hardcore so I'm not into spending a lot, but enjoy to tweak stuff to get the most out of it, meaning I like good frames and high settings So, about 2 years ago I built a system with these specs:

Asus p7p55 d-e evo
i5 750 @3.2 CM V8
8 gb Corsair Vengeance 1600 (bought these recently)
Radeon HD5850 1gb
wd black
Corsair 750W Pro (this also)

The monitor I use is an LGw2286pf (22') which has 1680x1050 recommended (and it really shows better in this res as it has 16/10 size). So far it has really been good because I never had to sacrifice high detail settings, except res.
The question is...
Is the machine worth it to get a new GPU? What GPU would you get? I am also thinking to get full HD (3D capable maybe) new monitor and sell this one, 120hz etc. Any other advice?

 

[Wolfshadw]

Personally, I wouldn't do anything with your system. I'm not even a "regular gamer", but my CoreI5 760, paired with my old 8800GTS-640 does just fine for me @ 1920x1200. Even if you upgraded your monitor to 1920x1200, since you're not a hard-core gamer, I don't see that upgrading your graphics card would be worth the cost.

-Wolf sends

 

[refillable]

I think resolution is just an opinion, if somebody likes it and enjoy it much, you are going to be OK. If you don't I don't suggest you anything like 3D or 120Hz, these technology are new and might hurt your eyes more than regular computer by using it too much. If I were you and I'm unhappy with what you have now, I would get:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236059
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127604

 

[mike789]

Thanks for replying guys, but if i decide to spend some more on the GPU for example buying a 7950 that comes out or an Nvidia equivalent, am I going to see a difference or is the rest of the sustem a bottleneck? The reason is because I am building a 2nd system for a friend and I plan to use this 5850 on it, so probably I ll get a new gpu for the one I have now..

thanks again

ex. In bf3 I get the best smoothness and fps in multi when I use medium->low settings which is good, but I 'd like to have it high->ultra
2nd ex. In skyrim I use high settings with 2XAA AF and I'd like to have them maxed with ultra.

 

[refillable]

If you can wait, go and wait . There will be a really small bottleneck by the way...

 

[amuffin]

Overclock everything.

 

[gopher1369]

In bf3 I get the best smoothness and fps in multi when I use medium->low settings which is good, but I 'd like to have it high->ultra
2nd ex. In skyrim I use high settings with 2XAA AF and I'd like to have them maxed with ultra.

There is something wrong, your system can play BF3 in high without breaking a sweat.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/battlefield-3-graphics-performance,3063-8.html

"At 1680x1050, the more than two-year-old Radeon HD 5850 is a solid bet"

 

[mactronix]

What I would call a worth while value for money upgrade for that card has not arrived yet.
7950 would be a decent upgrade for you while not really needed for your system, if you think you see a need for it and can afford it then go for it.
As you really don't need to upgrade iI would at least wait to see what Nvidia bring to the party first.

Mactronix

 

[esrever]

in skyrim your cpu is bottleneck. in bf3 you should be able to play on medium with some settings on high perfectly fine with your set up, no idea whats with that.

your system is pretty balanced and I guess more gpu would be nice but I don't think its needed until you get a new monitor.

 

[saratj1]

I agree your system is pretty well balanced and your not going to get very much bang for your buck in an upgrade of any one component. I've had both a 1680x1050 monitor and a 1920x1080 monitor and really for a computer the 1050 monitor is great b/c it allows better frame rates or more eye candy, without much loss in clarity due to lower resolution (as far as I can tell) and I have good eyesight.
I might think about upgrading the monitor, but I wouldnt just go to a 1080 monitor. I would at least go to an apple cinema display at 1920x1200, 2560x1600 or a dell ultra sharp at 1560x1440. then you would see some difference and need some more gpu power.
Or go for 2 more monitors like the one you have and go for eyefinity.

I'm kinda where you are as far as upgrades go. I dont have many places to go. But I dont feel like spending $600 on more/better monitors, but I feel like much of my computers power is wasted unless I'm playing a very demanding game.

 

[iinlane]

If you need an update then go with monitor + video card. I'm using i7-920 to drive two GTX570 in SLI and it can drive those well (had to overclock tho). For monitor I would suggest getting an IPS panel such as dell U2412HM - the IPS panels have better colors and will probably do more for your picture quality than a GPU upgrade.

 

[mike789]

Thank you everyone, it does seem to me also that its a balanced system that is why I am having thoughts.. you all know how this works.. sometimes planning upgrades and tweaking is better than gaming.. thanks again!