Should I build a pc?

[pmb88]

I'm new to the forums here and I apologize if I selected the wrong category. Anyways, I am thinking of building my first PC. I've had my current PC for about 5 yrs. I'm not sure if I should hold off a couple more years to get a new pc or do it now.

Here are my current PC specs:

Model : Dell XPS 720

Motherboard: nForce 680i SLI
GPU: Nvidia GTX 560ti
RAM: 5GB

HDD1: Seagate ST350063 0AS 500GB
HDD2: Western Digital WDC WD10 EACS-07D6B0 1TB

CD1: HL-DT-ST DVD+-RW GSA-H73N
CD2: PBDS CDRWDVD DH-48C2S

Sound: Creative X-Fi Xtreme audio

Monitor: Bravia KDL40EX500

This pc will primarily be used for gaming and web surfing.

If i decide to build one I'm still indecisive on a few things like:
1. should i build it myself or go to a company that does it for me.
2. should it be built from scratch or salvage what I can from my current pc and put that into the new system.

 

[jackspeed]

I take it you are familiar with the inside of a pc as it looks like you have made upgrades.

Whats your processor? You can salvage a few things in this PC to reduce the cost. The 560ti is decent card so if you wanted you could sli. A hard drive could be reused. The DVD drive could be reused.

The other option is to sell the pc and use that to help purchase a new one.

But we would need to see the processor before we could make a recommendation on the build vs keep issue.

 

[Deemo13]

I'm assuming the 560Ti is not 5 years old. I would re-use that personally, as well as the HDD's and the DVD drives. Even maybe the sound card. Probably the case too, since those are like some of the coolest cases out, even though they are 5 years old.

 

[pmb88]

I take it you are familiar with the inside of a pc as it looks like you have made upgrades.

Whats your processor? You can salvage a few things in this PC to reduce the cost. The 560ti is decent card so if you wanted you could sli. A hard drive could be reused. The DVD drive could be reused.

The other option is to sell the pc and use that to help purchase a new one.

But we would need to see the processor before we could make a recommendation on the build vs keep issue.

From my specs and the most important thing i forgot is the CPU. It is a Q6600 2.4 Ghz.

 

[pmb88]

I'm assuming the 560Ti is not 5 years old. I would re-use that personally, as well as the HDD's and the DVD drives. Even maybe the sound card. Probably the case too, since those are like some of the coolest cases out, even though they are 5 years old.

Originally the PC came with 400 series nvidia card but I've upgraded it to the 560 a couple of years back.

 

[monkeymonk]

The 560ti is an alright card the CPU is a bit old though.
But this all depends on what games you are playing what the resolution is, etc
and most importantly, budget?

 

[pmb88]

The 560ti is an alright card the CPU is a bit old though.
But this all depends on what games you are playing what the resolution is, etc
and most importantly, budget?

Most of the time I play the games in 1920x1080. Most of the games i play are action/rpgs like Skyrim, Borderlands(1/2), Dead Space 2, Dishonored, Diablo III, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Crysis.

This is subject to change but if I were to choose a value for budget I would say max would be 2,500.

 

[Faustus]

I think the logical answer to your question is no - you should not invest in a new PC at this point in time.
With the new Haswell architecture due in the spring, a new motherboard socket will be available - so now is not the time to be investing in 1155 socket technology unless there is a desperate need.

The Q6600 is an older chip and the weakest part of your system, but:
Good news - the processor can be overclocked.
Bad News - this requires a chipmod.
See Dell XPS 720 Overclocking Issues:

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/p/18946514/19069500.aspx.

So wait to see what Haswell brings - there may also be new gpus to consider by then.
If the need to spend becomes overwhelming, restrict yourself to a new monitor and/or SSD.

The logical answer is no, but in the end its an emotional decision - spend $2500 to play a few games at a slightly higher frame rate with a bit highter detail is not a "logical" choice. Flip a coin and see how you feel ?

 

[pmb88]

I think the logical answer to your question is no - you should not invest in a new PC at this point in time.
With the new Haswell architecture due in the spring, a new motherboard socket will be available - so now is not the time to be investing in 1155 socket technology unless there is a desperate need.

The Q6600 is an older chip and the weakest part of your system, but:
Good news - the processor can be overclocked.
Bad News - this requires a chipmod.
See Dell XPS 720 Overclocking Issues:

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/p/18946514/19069500.aspx.

So wait to see what Haswell brings - there may also be new gpus to consider by then.
If the need to spend becomes overwhelming, restrict yourself to a new monitor and/or SSD.

The logical answer is no, but in the end its an emotional decision - spend $2500 to play a few games at a slightly higher frame rate with a bit highter detail is not a "logical" choice. Flip a coin and see how you feel ?

I should have clarified and I apologize that the $2,500 is if I decide to build a new system from scratch. It looks like I'm might lean towards to salvaging what I can from the current PC and put whatever I can into the new build which would reduce my costs.

Can SSDs be put onto my system?

 

[Faustus]

An SSD is simply another SATA device like your existing drives - your motherboard supports up to six SATA devices - all it requires is a SATA cable and a power connector.
You have 2 hard drives and 2 optical drives so at least two should still be free - you only need one.
You may not have enough power connectors in which case you would need to remove one of the hard drives or optical drives.
If you install a SSD as the boot drive (you would want the OS, page file and temp files to use this drive) you will need to reinstall windows (what version are you running?). This should give you a very visible boost in general system performance - games performance should also improve but the extenet is hard to quantify.
The SSD can be transferred to any new build at a later date.

 

[Avenged7x]

Its really boils down to personal preference, if your system still does what you want you can wait, if not you can upgrade for alot less than $2500. I think you could salvage some of your better components to build a new system while still being able to sell your existing system. If you really want to upgrade big and spend that $2500 you may be best to wait until Haswell comes out.

I think you could salvage the 560Ti, the DVDRW and 1TB HDD.

You could then get a new case, PSU, SSD, I5-3570K, Z77 Mobo, Cooler, Ram and OS for somewhere around $800 which should be good for a few years. Then a GPU upgrade and an Overlock on the CPU should get you another 1 or 2 years of decent performance.

 

[jackspeed]

A good SSD might be a wise place to put some money in now.

You could build a new pc or you could wait. Eventually you have to decide when you no longer want to wait. The waiting is always an option and there is Always some new or better hardware around the corner.

 

[pmb88]

Its really boils down to personal preference, if your system still does what you want you can wait, if not you can upgrade for alot less than $2500. I think you could salvage some of your better components to build a new system while still being able to sell your existing system. If you really want to upgrade big and spend that $2500 you may be best to wait until Haswell comes out.

I think you could salvage the 560Ti, the DVDRW and 1TB HDD.

You could then get a new case, PSU, SSD, I5-3570K, Z77 Mobo, Cooler, Ram and OS for somewhere around $800 which should be good for a few years. Then a GPU upgrade and an Overlock on the CPU should get you another 1 or 2 years of decent performance.

Im starting to rethink my budget. Im leaning towards waiting but not sure of getting haswell. Do any by chance know when is haswell coming out and will it be any better than the current ones released?

 

[pmb88]

Best answer selected by pmb88.