Upgrade Options

[sebooker]

Hello,
System specs:

Intel Core2 Duo E8400 @ 3.00GHz
Asus PK5 Pro motherboard
4.0 Gigs of DDR2
ATI Radeon HD 4770
PC Power & Cooling 610 watt power supply
WD 320 Gig HD
XP SP3 32 bit

I built this system several years ago and never had a problem with it. An Ivy Bridge build is in the near future, however I want to keep this system around for a while longer and want to know the best upgrade path(s) for it.
The video card seems like the logical solution, but what card can be used that won’t bottleneck the processor?
I am not opposed to overclocking, but that will be a brand new endeavor.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[obubdeno]

Hello,
System specs:

Intel Core2 Duo E8400 @ 3.00GHz
Asus PK5 Pro motherboard
4.0 Gigs of DDR2
ATI Radeon HD 4770
PC Power & Cooling 610 watt power supply
WD 320 Gig HD
XP SP3 32 bit

I built this system several years ago and never had a problem with it. An Ivy Bridge build is in the near future, however I want to keep this system around for a while longer and want to know the best upgrade path(s) for it.
The video card seems like the logical solution, but what card can be used that won’t bottleneck the processor?
I am not opposed to overclocking, but that will be a brand new endeavor.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

What are the intentions of use for the ps?

 

[jerreddredd]

I built this system several years ago and never had a problem with it. An Ivy Bridge build is in the near future, however I want to keep this system around for a while longer and want to know the best upgrade path(s) for it.
The video card seems like the logical solution, but what card can be used that won’t bottleneck the processor?
I am not opposed to overclocking, but that will be a brand new endeavor.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

the GPU would definitely be the obvious choice and could be used with your future Ivy build, or the next gen intel "Haswell". I wouldn't worry about the bottle neck.. so what if the E8400 can't keep up, it doesn't matter if you are eventually updating your rig. I suggest either a GXT 670 or GX680 or a HD7870 HD 7850, 7970 HD7950 as your budget can hold.

you could also update to WIN7 (Retail not the OEM version) and put in a SSD drive (Samsung 830, Crucial M4) 128-256GB

 

[sebooker]

What are the intentions of use for the ps?

Sorry, I will use the system mostly for gaming. I'm not playing anything too new, but want to keep my options open.

 

[sebooker]

the GPU would definitely be the obvious choice and could be used with your future Ivy build, or the next gen intel "Haswell". I wouldn't worry about the bottle neck.. so what if the E8400 can't keep up, it doesn't matter if you are eventually updating your rig. I suggest either a GXT 670 or GX680 or a HD7870 HD 7850, 7970 HD7950 as your budget can hold.

you could also update to WIN7 (Retail not the OEM version) and put in a SSD drive (Samsung 830, Crucial M4) 128-256GB

The only trouble with spending that much on a video card is that is almost half of an Ivy Bridge CPU, motherboard, and memory. I do like the HD 7850, and that is what I have in mind for the next build.

 

[obubdeno]

Well, what is your budget?

 

[sebooker]

Well, what is your budget?

It would be good to get a card that I can just keep in this system. Budget wise, $150.00 to $200.00.

 

[obubdeno]

It would be good to get a card that I can just keep in this system. Budget wise, $150.00 to $200.00.

Well if you would like to put that all into the GPU (Which I would say you should) I would go with one of the three.

HD 6870 - $159.99 and $10 MIR. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161389

GTX 560 - $179.99 and $20 MIR. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133397

For your price range thats where you are at, and benchmark wise, the HD 6870 is the better choice.

For a few extra bucks... (I would go this route)

GTX 560 Ti - $224.99 and $30 MIR (so 194.99) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130604

 

[sebooker]

Well if you would like to put that all into the GPU (Which I would say you should) I would go with one of the three.

HD 6870 - $159.99 and $10 MIR. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161389

GTX 560 - $179.99 and $20 MIR. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133397

For your price range thats where you are at, and benchmark wise, the HD 6870 is the better choice.

For a few extra bucks... (I would go this route)

GTX 560 Ti - $224.99 and $30 MIR (so 194.99) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130604

Will any of these cards bottleneck the processor? Or is that not something to worry about? I'm only at 1600 X 900 resolution. Also, I'm not sure how much longer will the 6870's be around. I'm not opposed to doing multi-GPU in my next build---probably 6 - 8 months from now---but those cards may not be available.

 

[obubdeno]

Well the 6870's will be around for sometime. I just recently bought a GTX 480 which will smoke most of the 500 series cards. Just because its not the new line doesn't mean it doesn't contend.

With that said...you have an old processor. You will see an increase in performance but where gpu's are now, most will be bottlenecked by your cpu.

If you are looking for an overhaul completely.. Save your funds. You are most likely looking at a new Mobo/CPU/GPU ... and even more.

XP Will stop being supported within the coming months, if I were you plan out the next few months to rebuild a PC. I could put together a Quality PC mid-range build for $600 bucks for you right now, if you wish.

 

[sebooker]

Well the 6870's will be around for sometime. I just recently bought a GTX 480 which will smoke most of the 500 series cards. Just because its not the new line doesn't mean it doesn't contend.

With that said...you have an old processor. You will see an increase in performance but where gpu's are now, most will be bottlenecked by your cpu.

If you are looking for an overhaul completely.. Save your funds. You are most likely looking at a new Mobo/CPU/GPU ... and even more.

XP Will stop being supported within the coming months, if I were you plan out the next few months to rebuild a PC. I could put together a Quality PC mid-range build for $600 bucks for you right now, if you wish.

So there isn't any reason to upgrade anything in the system and just focus on the new build? If you don't mind putting together that mid-range build, that will certainly give me new info and/or options. Thank you.

 

[sebooker]

the GPU would definitely be the obvious choice and could be used with your future Ivy build, or the next gen intel "Haswell". I wouldn't worry about the bottle neck.. so what if the E8400 can't keep up, it doesn't matter if you are eventually updating your rig. I suggest either a GXT 670 or GX680 or a HD7870 HD 7850, 7970 HD7950 as your budget can hold.

you could also update to WIN7 (Retail not the OEM version) and put in a SSD drive (Samsung 830, Crucial M4) 128-256GB

When does the "Haswell" get released? And will it remain socket 1155? I know I have to move up to WIN7, my lovely wife has that on her laptop and I am slowly learning my way around it.

 

[Outlander_04]

Radeon 6870 , 560 ti

or better sill the 7850 even though its out of your budget

 

[sebooker]

It looks like it's between the 6870 and the 560ti, but is the 560 ti worth the price difference? I will get the 7850 for the next build, looking forward to that. Thanks.

 

[sebooker]

Best answer selected by SEBooker.

 

[jerreddredd]

When does the "Haswell" get released? And will it remain socket 1155? I know I have to move up to WIN7, my lovely wife has that on her laptop and I am slowly learning my way around it.

March - June 2013 is what the Net says. It is supposed to be on a new socket LGA 1150.
http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-haswell-to-release-between-mar-jun-2013/14810.html