Looking to upgrade system, is it worth while?

shaunsharp

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Oct 13, 2013
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Hi

I'm thinking about upgrading my system, and if I do is it better going AMD/Intel for cpu, mobo and gpu?

Current system is:
CPU: Intel i7 920 @ 2.67
Mobo: MSI MS-7522
Mem: 6 gig
Vid: Geforce GTX 650ti
1 x 120g ssd
3 x 2+ TB Drives

Am wanting to have system future proof for at least 18-24mths. Primary use is for entertainment system and gaming (eg. X-Rebirth, Battlefield 4, Star Craft, X-Com etc)

Any suggestions on where to head in regards to system setup would be much appreciated. Do have a budget but would like to see ideas

regards :)
 

shaunsharp

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Oct 13, 2013
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Thanks for the reply.
So you think current CPU/Mobo is sufficient?
Could you recommend GPU
Not sure how to over clocking works so might stay away from that? haha
 

Icaraeus

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Go with an AMD R9 270X ($200 - Radeon 7870 2GB equivalent but newer) or AMD R9 280X ($300 - equivalent to Radeon 7970). Both can easily handle gaming at ultra settings 1080p60, with the 280X reaching 1440p60 in some games at ultra.
 

Tradesman1

Legenda in Aeternum
8GB is the basic entry level for gaming today, and games are becoming more memory centric, i.e BF4 requires a Minimum of 4GB, recommended is 8GB, and that's just looking at today, you asked about looking to 18-24 out....I wouldn't expect the DRAM requirements to roll backwards, they will increase
 

jedinegotiator

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Apr 2, 2011
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I think I would upgrade the GPU before the CPU but I used to have an i7-920, and in my opinion it would be worthwhile to upgrade. I would go with a i5-3350P. They go for about $179.99 and they offer so much power for the price. Don't think going from an i7 to an i5 is a downgrade. You have to remember that the i5-3350P is two generations newer than your CPU. The i7-920 was the first generation of the Core series CPUs. The second generation made a huge jump in performance and the third improved it even more. The i5-3350P will give you a big increase in performance. If you want a little more performance and like to overclock I would get the i5-3570K at $219.99. If you must have an i7 you can get the i7-3770K, but the incease in performance is small and the only thing it really has over the i5 is Hyperthreading which is not really even used in games.
 


A game is a 32 bit program . It cant use more than about 3.3 gig of RAM under any circumstances . The requirement for a minimum of 4 gig is to allow for the 7-800 mb's needed by Windows .
Add in the overheads of an AV and other services you might see a small increase in performance with a few hundred megabytes more RAM than 4 gig . The OP has six Gig already thanks to the triple channel memory architecture of the processor . He wont need more .

I suspect graphics cards costing more than about $200 - $250 are more than the rest of the system can use . How much to spend though depends on the budget
 

shaunsharp

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Oct 13, 2013
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If I was to just get a GPU I would not want to spend more than 300-350. Otherwise if I was to look at upgrading cpu etc. Maybe 1200 max? I currently only
have a 650W PSU, and not a full ATX tower. I think that would also play into considerations for options I'm guessing?
 

Tradesman1

Legenda in Aeternum
Hmm, games are 32bit, how about these - they say 64bit:

-Bioshock 2
-Indigo Prophecy
-S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
-Dreadnoughts
- Bet On Soldier: Blood Sport (native)
- Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
- Codename: Panzers (Phase one)
- Colin McRae Rally 2005
- Crysis
- Digital Combat Simulator (DSC) A-10
- Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy)
- Far Cry
- Half Life 2
- Hellgate: London
- Rainbow Six Vegas
- Shadow Ops: Red Mercury
- Unreal Tournament 2004
- World of Warcraft
- WWII Tank Commander

Some are native others are via patch, and I'm sure there are others, most are headed that way
 

shaunsharp

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Oct 13, 2013
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Thanks heaps for the help everyone!