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I have 1100 dollars to upgrade my computer - HELP!

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  • Computers
  • Intel i7
  • Alienware
Last response: in Opinions and Experiences
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March 14, 2014 4:42:47 PM

Hi enthusiasts! I have an Alienware Aurora R3 with the following stats:
Intel i7-2600K (liquid cooled)
MOBO (P67) Alienware 046MHW
Blue Corsair Vengence 16GB 1600 Mhz RAM
PSU stock 850W
Radeon HD 7870 Ghz edition
Sound Blaster Recon3D PCIe sound card
27" BenQ flatpanel

My first inclination is to sink around 800 bucks into a 780 ti - classified or superclocked with ACX cooler - but I wonder if upgrading to Hasewell may be in order. A little more background, my Alienware case makes a buzzing noise that goes away with a little nudge but I have been unable to isolate the noise maker. As a result, I have some interest in getting into a PC that is not so proprietary in nature.

Am I on the right track with keeping the Sandy Bridge and getting a killer video card or is now the time to move up the chipset ladder?

More about : 1100 dollars upgrade computer

March 14, 2014 4:50:47 PM

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March 14, 2014 4:54:27 PM

that noise is likely caused by a barring going out on one of the case fans.

listen... if you have that i7 overclocked, then you really won't see a lot of benefit going to haswell. Generally the average gain in IPC from SB to IB to Haswell has mymiced the average loss in overclock room from generation to generation. With the average overclock of SB being like 5.0ghz, the average IB being 4.6ghz, and the average Haswell being 4.3ghz... the net gain in performance going from an average overclocked SB to Haswell is less then 7%

SO... since there is little point to going for more then a GTX 780 if you're working on a 1080p monitor, i would look into getting a better monitor with 1440p resolution, and a 780, then spending the rest of your cash on a SSD.
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March 14, 2014 9:04:54 PM

Thanks for the reply, it was very informative. I should have mentioned before but I have a 256GB Samsung 840 Pro SSS and a 256GB Crucial M4 SSD. I was surprised by the 780 statement, I had kind of locked on to the 780ti. But then I did not know that 1440p was an achievable monitor resolution now a days.

I wonder if upgrading my MOBO to a better 1155 than the P67 for overclocking. I would love to be able to use my existing PSU and CPU hydro cooler to upgrade to a more spacious case. I am concerned that since Alienware (or Dell) is proprietary enough that their components won't fit anything not Alienware.
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March 15, 2014 3:10:09 AM

well, understand, the 780 is a stupid strong gpu.

i mean the 770 and 7970/r9-280x are already more then enough gpu to max out 1080p... a stock 780 is 25% stronger then both of them. Hell, when people are using 1080p monitors, except in rare cases/games a 660ti/760 or 7950/r9-280 would be more then enough for gaming in 1080p. The 780 and r9-290 are ideal for 1440p, or multiple monitor setups... and serious mind-blowing overkill for 1080p. The 780ti, while really nice and superpowered, really isn't all that much stronger then a r9-290x or Titan... frankly a solid overclock on either will match the 780ti. So it's not like its in another world for performance. Hell, an overclocked 290 or 780 will generally match a 780ti. So you're not getting much more performance going to the 780ti. Its a bit more... and i guess if you're planning on playing in 4k with a 780ti SLi setup you might want the extra power a 780ti gives you over a 780... but really we're not talking about "needed" hardware.

Glad to see you have some solid SSDs... getting the 780 and a 1440p monitor would be pretty good use of your cash.

As for the proprietary concern... its certainly something dell has done in the past, though usually their alienware stuff is based on standard formats for the motherboard. So getting a new motherboard or case is also an option. As for a new motherboard helping you overclock? considering your current motherboard is a p67 board... you'll probably want to get a new one as i'm pretty sure our options for overclocking are really limited with the p67 chipset. Its in a standard micro-atx format. So any micro-atx board with a z77 chipset will work. This will also give you an upgrade path if down the road you want to step into an Ivy Bridge cpu.
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March 15, 2014 8:09:34 AM

Sounds pretty convincing as for an argument for the 1440p and 780 investment.

I was thinking of getting into Ivy bridge so I had native TRIM support for my SSDs and so I can run them in a RAID 0 format. Since I wanted to get into Ivy bridge I was wondering if I might as well go all the way to Haswel on this budget. I am pretty sure I can swing an i5 -4660k (the number may be off but I think you get the idea). Thanks for you insight!
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March 15, 2014 11:55:34 AM

MikeL74 said:
Sounds pretty convincing as for an argument for the 1440p and 780 investment.

I was thinking of getting into Ivy bridge so I had native TRIM support for my SSDs and so I can run them in a RAID 0 format. Since I wanted to get into Ivy bridge I was wondering if I might as well go all the way to Haswel on this budget. I am pretty sure I can swing an i5 -4660k (the number may be off but I think you get the idea). Thanks for you insight!


you can get trim support with a pci card too.

I won't tell you NOT to go haswell. if you can swing it you'll see a small bump in performance.
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March 15, 2014 4:47:07 PM

ingtar33 - I took your advice and upgraded to an EVGA 780 SC with ATX cooler and an ASUS PB series 1440p monitor. Both are an incredible upgrade as the rest of my PC stuff is performing great. Thanks a ton for walking me off the upgrade ledge. This monitor is incredible and justified the 780 purchase. And it turns out the 7870 Ghz edition is still wanted by many people- next stop Craig's List! At the risk of being too mushy or overly thankful - your advice made this my first upgrade where I didn't have buyer remorse. Did I mention this monitor's resolution is off the charts!
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March 16, 2014 1:28:34 PM

:D  color me jealous. If i had the cash i'd totally be rocking a 780 right now too. I've loved that combo (790+1440p) since i've first seen it.

If you don't have a huge overclock on that cpu, your next step will be giving it one. the closer you can get it to 5.0ghz the longer it will be relevant. At 4.8-5.0ghz it's just as good as any current generation CPU, frankly it will be on the top end of any current gen cpu. So if you start to run into performance issues that would be my next step.
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