Computer Upgrade advice

[Acidburns]

It's been a long time since I upgraded my computer and it handles most games pretty good it is starting to look like upcoming releases are going to tax it a bit. My current specification is:

NZXT Lexa Blackline Mid Tower Steel Case
Core 2 Duo E6850 CPU @ 3.00GHz
Thermaltake Blue Orb II CPU Cooler
EVGA nForce 680i SLI Mobo
4GB PC6400 DDR2/800 Corsair XMS2 Xtreme Memory
700W OCZ Powersupply
NVIDIA GeForce 260 GTX
Vista 64bit

My monitor's native resolution is 1920x1200. The GTX 260 is a real squeeze inside the case. I have the money to buy a new tower but I am not sure I'd be getting my money's worth. I've heard some good things about solid state drives and it would be nice to get onto Windows 7. Then I look at the cramped case and start thinking that getting a full tower would make life easier...then I start creeping towards a full system upgrade. Anyone have any advice?

Is it worth spending the money to get a new system or would upgrading some select components be worth the effort?

[starslayer]

If you want a really significant upgrade to your performance, then a full upgrade is probably warranted. This is mostly because you'll need a new mobo and RAM for the new CPU socket (although you can still get Core 2's instead). The biggest single step you could really take without doing that (and really, with as well), is upgrading the GPU. For single-GPU value, AMD rules the roost this generation. Get a 6950 for something with similar placing in its generation as your 260; it should cost <£250 (I'm just going by amazon.co.uk's prices, not being familiar with the UK computer sites).

When you do do the upgrade, though, I'm a little worried about that OCZ PSU; I haven't heard good things about most of their units, so you may want to address that. A good 650 W would be more than enough for your needs, considering I somehow doubt you want to go SLI/Crossfire.

Definitely move to Win7. Personally, I find it to be far better than Vista. YMMV, though, since I had a shitty laptop install of it. SSDs can be nice, too, though I'm not really up on their merits besides faster boot and load times for the programs you put on them.

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

Related question: My 2.4 GHz dual-core processor is starting to choke my system. For about the same price, I can get a 3 GHz dual-core, or a 2.6 GHz quad-core. Given I run mostly games, what gives me more bang for my buck?

[starslayer]

What are their architectures? For the latest games, the quad core might be best. Otherwise, I would tend to go with the dual. However, if you also do video/photo editing or other CPU-crunching tasks, get the quad, no question.

As for PSUs, I forgot to suggest some good brands. Look for these: Antec, Seasonic, Corsair, PC Power and Cooling, XFX, Enermax, etc.

[Rahvin]

It's been a long time since I upgraded my computer and it handles most games pretty good it is starting to look like upcoming releases are going to tax it a bit. My current specification is:

NZXT Lexa Blackline Mid Tower Steel Case
Core 2 Duo E6850 CPU @ 3.00GHz
Thermaltake Blue Orb II CPU Cooler
EVGA nForce 680i SLI Mobo
4GB PC6400 DDR2/800 Corsair XMS2 Xtreme Memory
700W OCZ Powersupply
NVIDIA GeForce 260 GTX
Vista 64bit

My monitor's native resolution is 1920x1200. The GTX 260 is a real squeeze inside the case. I have the money to buy a new tower but I am not sure I'd be getting my money's worth. I've heard some good things about solid state drives and it would be nice to get onto Windows 7. Then I look at the cramped case and start thinking that getting a full tower would make life easier...then I start creeping towards a full system upgrade. Anyone have any advice?

Is it worth spending the money to get a new system or would upgrading some select components be worth the effort?

I just did an upgrade from almost exactly the same system setup (Core2Duo E8500, GeForce GTX260, etc).

The new Sandy Bridge processors are fucking amazing. Pick up a shiny new i5-2500K (you could get the i7-2600K for $100 more, but all you get it hyperthreading and a slightly faster clock, no games really take advantage of it). The K models are unlocked for overclocking...and the new motherboards (I picked up a MSI P67A-GD65) tend to have some really freaking easy overclocking options. I'm running at 4.3GHz (as opposed to the default 3.4) with no issues at all, runs smooth and cool. On Newegg right now, you'd be looking at about $180 for the motherboard, $225 for the processor, something around $100 for 8GM DDR3 PC1600 RAM, and then you'd need a cooling fan (the stock one sucks badly, and the socket for the Core2Duos is just a few millimeters off on the fan post holes, so you can't reuse what you have - made me take a very frustrated trip to Frys when I tried to reattach my Zalman fan).

For me, it was overwhelmingly worth it. Most games nowadays are taking advantage of 3 cores (plus one for the OS and background apps), so a dual core is feeling its age. Performance in Crysis, Crysis 2, WoW, Portal 2, Civ V, and other games increased significantly.

I did also get a new video card (I got a Radeon 6950, a little under $300), but the processor will by far be a biger performance boost for you over a Core2Duo system.

[starslayer]

If he's not overclocking, he should save money and get a non-k version. The stock Intel cooler also only sucks if you're overclocking; otherwise, it's more than enough. Right now, he's GPU-limited by that 260, hence why I said upgrading the GPU is the best single-component upgrade he could do. Once he does that, then he'll be CPU-limited.

Also note that he's in the UK, not the US...

[Rahvin]

If he's not overclocking, he should save money and get a non-k version. The stock Intel cooler also only sucks if you're overclocking; otherwise, it's more than enough. Right now, he's GPU-limited by that 260, hence why I said upgrading the GPU is the best single-component upgrade he could do. Once he does that, then he'll be CPU-limited.

Also note that he's in the UK, not the US...

The price difference between the unlocked and locked processors is minimal, a mere $15. Even air-cooled with a crap heatsink should be able to do some basic overclocking with these - the value and longevity provided by being able to increase the clock more than makes up for it, or at least it did for me. And even a good fan isn't terribly expensive, either.

As for being GPU-limited - that depends on what he's playing. My 260 was working very well for most games, and I really did see a bigger performance boost with the processor upgrade (I did some testing with the 260 and the new Sandy Bridge before I swapped video cards) on several titles, particularly WoW, Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance, and a few others. Quad-core vs dual-core really is not a minor thing any more. The GPU helped a lot more with games like Crysis. The GTX 260 is still not a terrible card - check out the performance charts over at TomsHardware:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/bes ... 912-7.html

They recommended passing on an upgrade unless you're going at least three tiers up. The GTX 260 is starting to show its age, but again, it depends on what you play.

Of course, a video card upgrade will run around $200-$300, while the motherboard/processor/memory will be about $500, plus the possible cost of a fan, so that can make a difference. I was ready to do a full rebuild, I basically kept some HDDs and my power supply and just replaced everything else. I considered a SSD, but decided against it - my system performance is good enough right now to crank all settings on everything I've tried to the maximum and not see any trouble, and load times are still short. An SSD might be the next thing I do, but in terms of price/performance increase, I'm pretty sure I achieved much more with the components I swapped for now.

Oh...and if your case is feeling cramped, be warned - the newer video cards are a bit larger than some of the previous generation. Be sure if you decide to do a video card upgrade that you actually have the space for the card, these things are getting huge. If you need a new case, Newegg has a sale on the very nice Antec 300 for $55 w/ free shipping. I used that one for my girlfriend's PC, and it's got plenty of room and great cooling. I went with the COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP for mine (it was on sale at the time) because I found I wanted side-facing HDD bays rather than rear-facing. I had some trouble on the Cooler Master because of the side-facing bay though - SATA cables stuck out a bit too far to close the case, I wound up installing the drives facing backwards and feeding the cables from the opposite side. It worked, but the Antec 300 was much cleaner and easier from that perspective at least.

Other than converting currency, are the prices in the UK significantly different than in the US?

[Falarica]

Go for a new system every time.

Since you're in the UK, if you haven't looked at Ebuyer you defiantly should. I've always been able to find what I've wanted there. If you are really strapped for cash try their outlet store, but I think you have to drive to one of their locations.

Try reading as much as you can about the current crop of cpus/gpus etc. Remember don't skimp on the power supply but don't go overboard.

Other than converting currency, are the prices in the UK significantly different than in the US?

Depends, probably a bit more expensive now because of VAT.

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

What are their architectures? For the latest games, the quad core might be best. Otherwise, I would tend to go with the dual. However, if you also do video/photo editing or other CPU-crunching tasks, get the quad, no question.

Core 2 Duo/Quad. Thanks for the advice.

[Edi]

If you have the resources, get an entirely new system and relegate the old one to a test bed position. A new motherboard is going to require a new processor and new memory anyway, so might as well go the whole hog. If you leave a basic HD in the old computer and reuse the others, you can save some money that way and if you do it right, you will have a somewhat future proof new machine.

With the old one you can do all kinds of testing of things, such as different operating systems, try a server setup or things like that, which are all actually marketable job skills. I'm actually going to have to upgrade my computer soon enough, since it's of the very first generation Core2Duo setups from September 2006 and it will definitely be relegated to precisely that role.

If you don't have the resources, then upgrade what you must, but only what you must and nothing more. Better save the rest for the inevitable whole hog system upgrade.