What should I upgrade??

[Jordannn15]

Obviously christmas is coming up and my parents keep asking what I want and I'm not sure what i should get for my pc. Here are my specs as of right now:

CPU: i5-2500k
GPU: gtx 560 ti
HDD: caviar blue 500gb
PSU: PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK II 950w
MOBO: Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3
RAM: 8gb Corsair XMS3 1600mhz
Case: Gamma Classic Series
Mouse & Keyboard: Razer Deathadder & regular old dell keyboard (dont care about upgrading the keyboard or mouse though)
Monitor: My 32" flatscreen (really thinking about getting a nice 22" monitor)

Will take any suggestions, thanks!

 

[lt_dan_zsu]

9 times out of 10 it is gpu. I am currently about to upgrade my gpu. But I am having trouble suggesting one for you. Depending on how much your parents are willing to spend I would get a 7870, 7950, or 7970. You could also ask for money to buy the 88xx/89xx series when they come out this holiday or early next year.

 

[Jordannn15]

Not complaining just wondering, why did you only suggest amd cards?

 

[jjhuang42]

Obviously christmas is coming up and my parents keep asking what I want and I'm not sure what i should get for my pc. Here are my specs as of right now:

CPU: i5-2500k
GPU: gtx 560 ti
HDD: caviar blue 500gb
PSU: PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK II 950w
MOBO: Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3
RAM: 8gb Corsair XMS3 1600mhz
Case: Gamma Classic Series
Mouse & Keyboard: Razer Deathadder & regular old dell keyboard (dont care about upgrading the keyboard or mouse though)
Monitor: My 32" flatscreen (really thinking about getting a nice 22" monitor)

Will take any suggestions, thanks!

Depends on what you use your rig for. If it's video/photo editing, then you may do well to switch to a SSD (non-compression controller, i.e. Marvell or the Samsung MCX/MDX - not the Sandforce). Samsung is coming out with the 840 Pro - it's a beast! A 256GB will set you back $270 (I mean, your parents). If it's for gaming, then the GPU. AMD right now offers the best cost/benefit ratio against nVidia - the 7950 seems to be the sweet spot right now. Can also be had at around $300.

If you want to upgrade the monitor, then you can still get a very good 32" for $300. 22" just seems too small.

You didn't say what your parents' budget was - I'v been assuming $300.

 

[jjhuang42]

Not complaining just wondering, why did you only suggest amd cards?

AMD currently has the best cost/benefit. But nVidia makes very good cards too, but costs maybe 10% more for about the same performance.

 

[jay2tall]

If you are a heavy gamer your go to upgrade will almost always be a new GPU. However, if you are happy with your performance, just get some games for Xmas or a Steam gift card or something.

I would agree on a display upgrade. An LCD TV will usually give you a lot of input lag and if you are sitting right in front of it, it is hard to look around in FPS games. A good 22-24" monitor is always a good thing.

Another suggest would be to install an SSD. I recently did this and wouldn't want to live without it. It doesn't increase gaming performance or anything, but I don't have to sit and wait for my PC to do anything anymore, which is a treat. You would have to make sure you have one large enough and might be easist to reinstall on the SSD from scratch and use the 500GB for storage. Or since you have a Z68 board you can just get a small SLC SSD and use the Intel Smart Response thing and use it as a caching drive. I think you can just plug this in and setup the Intel software and not have anything else to worry about.

Give us a budget and what you think about these comments and we can go from there. Also, what games do you play?

 

[lt_dan_zsu]

AMD currently has the best cost/benefit. But nVidia makes very good cards too, but costs maybe 10% more for about the same performance.

It's way more than 10% at this point. You can get a 7950 oced past a 670 easily, and the 7950 at this point is basically just as good as the 670 without ocing. The 670 is about a little more than 23% higher cost. Also to about jay's post. The only thing with an ssd is that it might be hard to get the os on it, which from what I understand is the most important thing to have on an ssd. Also, what monitor do you currently have? If it is anything less than 1080p, then definitely go for a new monitor.

 

[Jordannn15]

Okay, I use my pc for gaming and I dont play games that need a really good gpu but I play COD4, TF2, CSS, and I'm most likely going to get BF3 and I would like to play it on ultra with playable frames if thats possible with a 560 ti? I understand you talking about the amd cost/benefit ratio so I agree with you there, if I do want to play BF3 on ultra with playable frames is a 560 ti enough or what do you guys recommend? Yeah my tv/monitor is only 1280x720 and the words on screen are kind of blurry.

 

[lt_dan_zsu]

How much do you think your parents would spend? If you get a 900p display for about $100, you could pair that with a 7850. Or you could get a 1080p monitor and upgrade the gpu later.

 

[Jordannn15]

How much better is a 7950 than a 7870? I dont know exactly what te budget is but i also have grandparents that will get me stuff so if you guys would suggest a 22" at like the $150 range definately under $200 and then like i asked up there^ what gpu should I ask for because if the 7950 is a lot better then I'll see if thats out of their budget.

 

[jay2tall]

Which GTX560Ti do you have? I would assume you have the original (384 cuda cores). You will probably play BF3 at a combination of medium and High settings with some AA. However, to tell you the truth that game looks amazing on anything medium and above. I play on Ultra, but it's not a huge difference from High. You will probably play on high detail with other items set to medium. I think a monitor should be your #1 priority. It is what gives you the visual gaming experience, so a better video card won't do much good if what you are staring at for hours doesn't look any better. 720P on a TV will have much larger pixels than a 22-24" display and especially if that smaller display is 1080P. You will be much better off with a nice display for gaming.

I personally like the Dell Professional and UltraSharps, but they can be a little costly. Asus makes a good display and always seem to have deals around the holidays. My buddy swears by them for builds he does.
example: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236052

If you are also able to upgrade your videocard here is a list that Toms's puts out that is pretty good to follow. You can at least get a general idea of what cards are better in the pricing brackets. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html
However, to be perfectly honest, you will probably have to get something like a GTX660Ti or AMD7950 to make the upgrade worth while. Both cards are about $300. Anything less and it will just be a small upgrade and in my opinion not worth while.

...Actually, looking at your motherboard and PSU you could easily run a 2nd GTX560Ti in SLI , which would really annihilate any other option. That and you could use your existing card.

 

[Jordannn15]

I have a gtx 560 ti superclocked: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004KZHRAM/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1352224932&sr=8-1&pi=SL75 so will two of these in sli be better than a 660 ti or a 7950?

Which one of these monitors would you get?: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004MXKSAS/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1348431481&sr=1-35 or http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00413PHDM/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1348430749&sr=1-10 or http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005BZNDOO/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1348430749&sr=1-8 or http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005S0XYKK/ref=redir_mdp_mobile?keywords=gaming%20monitor&qid=1347849040&ref_=sr_1_12&s=pc&sr=1-12

 

[lt_dan_zsu]

I would get any of the asus monitors. Dell sucks, never buy from dell ever! Also, the 7950 isn't substantially better, but it also comes with 3 free games right now, so that might be worth it.

 

[jay2tall]

(2) GTX560TI's in SLI would be substantially better than either of those cards.

I would really go for a 23" or 24" display if you could possibly swing it. 23" can be quite a bit cheaper than 24" and it is not that much smaller so it's a good pick for alot of people. Are you set on buying from Amazon or could you go to Newegg? they have a lot of good deals around the holidays. I'd suggest the ASUS i linked in a previous message. With a Dell display I'd go for a professional series or their lower end IPS displays. The lower end ones are just that, lower end like any other brand.

 

[jay2tall]

Dell sucks, never buy from dell ever!

And what information do you have to back this up?

I've owned several Dell monitors and I personally prefer them. The current Professional series is terrific. I have a Dell Professional P2411H and is probably the best TN panel I have ever used. They also have very highly rated entry level IPS panels. They just tend to be a little more expensive than something similar from ASUS or another brand. However, their tilt, swivel, height adjustment, and rotating stands are extremely convenient.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824260062
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824260055

 

[lt_dan_zsu]

I have had things by dell in recent years. Multiple pc's, monitor, speakers. All of them broke and had horrible quality. They gave horrible customer service, and it took 3-4months to get my new pc and have it working. That is why I hate dell, and I will do everything in my power to make sure people don't buy from them. I could go more in detail, but I would prefer to not write a novel right now.
edit
Also just compare their products to others, you can almost always get better deals.

 

[Jordannn15]

(2) GTX560TI's in SLI would be substantially better than either of those cards.

I would really go for a 23" or 24" display if you could possibly swing it. 23" can be quite a bit cheaper than 24" and it is not that much smaller so it's a good pick for alot of people. Are you set on buying from Amazon or could you go to Newegg? they have a lot of good deals around the holidays. I'd suggest the ASUS i linked in a previous message. With a Dell display I'd go for a professional series or their lower end IPS displays. The lower end ones are just that, lower end like any other brand.

Okay I will look at 23" and 24" monitors and see if i can get one for not too much more. I will buy from newegg too I just usually buy from Amazon because of their super saver shipping. And I'll just go for another 560 ti since its cheaper and I can use the card I already have.

 

[lt_dan_zsu]

you can get asus ones for like 140-170

 

[Jordannn15]

Okay I think I'm going to ask for this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008DWITHI/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1348430749&sr=1-4

Then get another 560 ti from a grandparent or something.

 

[lt_dan_zsu]

That could work, the problem is 1gb ram is starting to bottleneck in games.

 

[Jordannn15]

Well if I do decide to buy a new gpu instead of getting another 560 ti which would you pick the 7950 or 660 ti?

 

[jay2tall]

A 1GB card will be just fine on a 1080P display.

I see you have the superclocked card, but you could SLI with a lower clocked card and save yourself $50. You could either overclock the slower card to match or just allow the higher clocked card to run at the slower card speed. They don't have to exactly match brands or speed, just the GPU core and RAM.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130604

 

[Jordannn15]

Alright I might just upgrade my gpu now so I dont have to do it later.

 

[Jordannn15]

Best answer selected by Jordannn15.