Upgrade

[tidus1112]

I've got a semi decent rig, and I'm looking to upgrade something. First thing I can think of is my cpu...well, before I go on, I'll go ahead and tell you what I've got:

NZXT Phantom - Black (case, yes I know this is irrelevant)
4x4 GB Corsair Vengeance (1600 mhz) ram
Asus M5A99X Evo mobo
AMD Phenom II X4 955 cpu (3.2ghz...this is old as hell)
AMD Radeon 6950 hd
Antec 900w psu (Went a bit cheap on this one)
3 HDD's totaling about 2.75tb


decent enough heatsink, I've got a bunch of fans, considering going to watercooling cause my case is sorta built to handle that. But I don't feel like I need it, so that may not happen >.>

Anyways, back to my question. I'm currently wondering if I should go ahead and upgrade my cpu. Due to a bad video card, and ultimately a mobo shortage, I was forced to buy another (newer) mobo. The one I got has an AM3+ socket, and I'm kind of starting to consider going for the scorpius platform.

I guess it's good to mention that I'm a gamer, so that's what my pc is primarily used for. Now, should I go ahead and opt for an FX series cpu now, like an 8150/20, or should I wait until AMD makes a decent high quality card for a better price?

Additional advice/suggestions are welcome. Feel free to ask any questions. Oh, and yes, I've considered getting an SSD, and yeah, I'm probably going to get one soon. Don't advise me to get one of those, cause I'm probably already going to.

 

[jerreddredd]

I would just buy a good CPU cooler and overclock your 955. AMD doesn't have anything for gamers in there current offering of CPU's. Hopefully the next line of CPU's will have something. Or Switch to an intel LGA 1155 platform.

Look thru the article below and note the the newer AMD CPU's only net 1 or 2 FPS over your current CPU in most Games. The big FPS gains are with the intel processors.

THG's Under $200 CPU article:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-fx-pentium-apu-benchmark,3120.html

that's the only thing other than your GPU, that would get you any better performance. The HD 6950 is still a good card, unless you need to play everything on ultra at 1080p and higher. if this is the case just buy another 6950 and xfire them.

 

[Chaz21]

If you're not going to Intel then I'd wait for AMD to come up with something better than what they're offering now. The fx's don't quite cut it.

 

[tidus1112]

That's pretty much what I was thinking. I'm probably not going to swap to intel, solely for the fact that I'd have to buy a new mobo, and the one I've got is pretty new to begin with. Not to mention I'd have to shell out quite a bit for a cpu anyways. I've always liked amd in the past, mostly cause they're cheap and I can always appreciate a good deal when I'm spending upwards of $1k on computer parts. Maybe when the Ivy Bridge stuff hits shelves, I'll look into them and see about swapping over. Otherwise, I may just wait for AMD to optimize their current system.

I think that, given enough time, AMD will be able to pull off the whole module thing, though I would assume, by that time, intel will have 8 core cpu's functioning much better anyways. Oh well, guess I get to play the waiting game then In the mean time, I'll probably grab an SSD and maybe another 6950. I already play everything max settings at 1920x1080, but I could go with a little boost in fps. Thanks for the advice.

One more question: Would it be better to go with watercooling, or stick to air cooling? I've already got about 6 fans and a giant heatsink, and my stuff generally tends to stay pretty cool. My gpu has 2 fans on it. Would I really see a difference with watercooling it, or should I just go with what I've got?

 

[Chaz21]

That's pretty much what I was thinking. I'm probably not going to swap to intel, solely for the fact that I'd have to buy a new mobo, and the one I've got is pretty new to begin with. Not to mention I'd have to shell out quite a bit for a cpu anyways. I've always liked amd in the past, mostly cause they're cheap and I can always appreciate a good deal when I'm spending upwards of $1k on computer parts. Maybe when the Ivy Bridge stuff hits shelves, I'll look into them and see about swapping over. Otherwise, I may just wait for AMD to optimize their current system.

I think that, given enough time, AMD will be able to pull off the whole module thing, though I would assume, by that time, intel will have 8 core cpu's functioning much better anyways. Oh well, guess I get to play the waiting game then In the mean time, I'll probably grab an SSD and maybe another 6950. I already play everything max settings at 1920x1080, but I could go with a little boost in fps. Thanks for the advice.

One more question: Would it be better to go with watercooling, or stick to air cooling? I've already got about 6 fans and a giant heatsink, and my stuff generally tends to stay pretty cool. My gpu has 2 fans on it. Would I really see a difference with watercooling it, or should I just go with what I've got?

I think you've got it covered. The cooling can wait until you get your new CPU. You'll like the SSD. Good luck to you.

 

[tidus1112]

Best answer selected by tidus1112.