Uprade Options

Altiris

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Jun 17, 2012
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PC Sepcs
Processor: Intel Core i5 2400 3.1ghz
RAM: 8GB Kingston
Graphics Card: AMD 7950 MSI
HDD: 1TB 7200RPM SATA 3
MOBO: MSI P67A-G45 (B3) (I have updated my drivers for ivy bridge)

So I just built my PC last year in October and I already want to upgrade it. I have $403. I can either got with option A, buy another 1TB Hard Drive and 2 8GB G.Skill RAM sticks (16GB) for $159, and have $244 left over that I can just keep as saving money. OR option B, buy an i7 3770k with an H80i Cooler to overclock it to 4.5ghz, $408 total (after $10 mail-in-rebate from the H80i), and I dont have any money left over and I need to start saving again.

Which is the better option? I mostly game on my PC, I dont make youtube videos or use Adobe or anything except for Photoshop. Whats the best option I should go far if I have to upgrade my PC?
 

groundrat

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Dec 11, 2012
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I would start with an SSD for your OS. That way you free up your 1TB drive for storage and programs. Next would be the memory kit. I would leave upgrading your processor to last.

If OC is the objective, might want to consider a Z77 chipset.
 

larrym

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why are you upgrading? Both your options really wont help in gaming. The sweet spot for ram is 8 GIG and the 3770 does not do much better in gaming (not for the cost anyway). I would wait, keep saving for the next generation CPU's then upgrade. Your system should still game very nice!
 

Altiris

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Jun 17, 2012
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Noctua wont fit in my case and some have said not to upgrade the CPU yet or get a3570k but I dont think there will be much of a speed difference between that and an i5 2400 unless I overclock it.

I will either get an SSD and 16GB of memory or another HDD (I host a minecraft server). The thing is, the SSD is more money and I get a lot less amount of space. 256GB Samsung SSD is $180 on NCIX and a 1TB HDD 64MB cache SATA 3 is $80. Also, dont SSDs wear out over a while? Don't they have a limited read/write count?
 

groundrat

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You have a limited amount of read write cycles on an SSD. Yes, that limit is astronomically high, but it’s there.
I wouldn't push it. Consensus is that SSDs are best as OS drives.

If a Noctua wont fit, try a Corsair or Antec closed loop liquid cooler, when you upgrade.

What an SSD is good at is speeding up your computing experience. The system boots faster, programs open quicker and respond instantly. You no longer have to wait on the system to think about something.