Should I go for new build or just update graphics?

[leongrado]

Hello everybody.

I was originally planning on building a new system but now I'm having second thoughts about it. I currently have an Asus Crosshair II:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131292 and a 5770 graphics card. I'm thinking that if it was possible, I could just update my graphics card to a 7870:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131292. Would the motherboard be compatible with this new graphics card? I know the motherboard is pretty old so I'm not sure a new graphics card would work on it. I'm really a noobie when it comes to building PC's so I would really appreciate everyone's input!

 

[goodguy713]

7870 should work fine with that board..

 

[goodguy713]

but for the price of one 7870 you can get 2 6870s for crossfire .. and the screen tairing thing people were talking about has been fixed..

depending on your cpu this will be good enough to play battle field 3 on high settings some ultra settings.. in multi player single player you can max it out on ultra with this .. its multi player that you take a penalty on .. another thing bf3 likes multi core setups single player wont really matter but multi player it will use 6+ cores

 

[leongrado]

Ok so you think it will work? Yeah I've been thinking about crossfire but since I'm not an expert when it comes to computers, I don't really want to have to deal with any extra steps if I don't need to. My main concern is still if the graphics card will work/work well on my motherboard. If not, I might just have to save up money to get a while new system.

 

[goodguy713]

yea .. usually grapics .. then processor but at some point processor becomes a bottle neck .. just depends..

 

[leongrado]

My CPU isn't bad. If it is I'll probably just upgrade that too.

 

[fizzle22]

No point in getting two previous generation cards e.g. 6870. Get the best card you can afford now and then you can buy another down the road to meet future gaming demands. Think ahead!

Also the board says it supports nvidia SLI but does not mention Crossfire. It might be worth considering a mobo upgrade at some point. It only supports 8GB DDR2 RAM @1066.

 

[goodguy713]

just depends on how much money your willing to throw at it.. if i had the money id go for a 3830k and an LGA 2011 board but .. and toss a couple 680s but were talking almost 2k on that

 

[leongrado]

No point in getting two previous generation cards e.g. 6870. Get the best card you can afford now and then you can buy another down the road to meet future gaming demands. Think ahead!

Also the board says it supports nvidia SLI but does not mention Crossfire. It might be worth considering a mobo upgrade at some point. It only supports 8GB DDR2 RAM @1066.

Yeah fizzle22, I've been considering upgrading to a different motherboard + cpu + memory + graphics card. It would cost me around 800 bucks if I wanted an i5 and a 7870 with a board and memory which really isn't terrible but I'm just seeing if I can get away with just a graphics card.

 

[fizzle22]

What are your goals? I assume you want a better gaming machine? What is your current CPU?

You can get a solid z68 mobo for around $150, i5-2500k for $170 if you live near a Micro Center, 8GB DDR3-1600 RAM for $50. That's $370 for a very solid system, assuming you have a good PSU and keep the case.

If you think you have a good enough CPU then a GPU upgrade would definitely be worthwhile. Your mobo has a PCIe 2.0 x16 slot so any current GPU should work fine.

 

[leongrado]

Best answer selected by leongrado.

 

[leongrado]

I have a Phenom II 955 which is 3.2 ghz quad core I believe?