Hi guys,
Okay, so the system that I'm running now I rebuilt about five years ago. Obviously, it's starting to show its age. My RAM died and I replaced it about a month ago but I've been considering a major overhaul and need some advice. Here's my current setup:
ASUS A8N32-SLi Deluxe
AMD Athlon X2 3800+
2GB G.SKILL DDR 400 2.5-3-3-6
EVGA 9800GTX+
WD Raptor 300GB 10k RPM main drive, WD 160GB 7500RPM storage
Windows 7 Home
I've been able to OC the CPU to 2.5GHz without any issues. I haven't OC'd the RAM, trying to keep the timings down. And considering that I just had to buy new RAM ($72!!) I really don't want to fry these DIMMS.
My main question is: What is the best cost-to-value upgrade path that I can take?
Should I save up around $800 or so and upgrade to DDR3? That would include a CPU, MB, RAM, and (maybe) GPU.
I've been playing with the idea of going DDR2... I can get my hands on a XFX 780i MB for about $65. Couple that with a Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz and 4GB of RAM and that might make for a 'good enough' system for a couple of years.
Or is the GPU my problem? It's not DX-11 and I'm unsure how badly that's hurting me. Would I be better off dropping $230 on a 560 Ti? Only problem with that is my MB doesn't support PCI-E 2.0... garrr
So I need some advice. I can save about $200/mo without dipping into my main savings. I know that AMD is releasing Bulldozer soon and that everybody seems to be holding their collective breath. If I upgrade to DDR3 I won't be doing it for several months as I'll have to save up the required capital. Even then, I really hate spending that kind of money.
I'm highly aggravated that I can't play new games on anything above minimal graphics settings. Not fun.
Okay, so the system that I'm running now I rebuilt about five years ago. Obviously, it's starting to show its age. My RAM died and I replaced it about a month ago but I've been considering a major overhaul and need some advice. Here's my current setup:
ASUS A8N32-SLi Deluxe
AMD Athlon X2 3800+
2GB G.SKILL DDR 400 2.5-3-3-6
EVGA 9800GTX+
WD Raptor 300GB 10k RPM main drive, WD 160GB 7500RPM storage
Windows 7 Home
I've been able to OC the CPU to 2.5GHz without any issues. I haven't OC'd the RAM, trying to keep the timings down. And considering that I just had to buy new RAM ($72!!) I really don't want to fry these DIMMS.
My main question is: What is the best cost-to-value upgrade path that I can take?
Should I save up around $800 or so and upgrade to DDR3? That would include a CPU, MB, RAM, and (maybe) GPU.
I've been playing with the idea of going DDR2... I can get my hands on a XFX 780i MB for about $65. Couple that with a Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz and 4GB of RAM and that might make for a 'good enough' system for a couple of years.
Or is the GPU my problem? It's not DX-11 and I'm unsure how badly that's hurting me. Would I be better off dropping $230 on a 560 Ti? Only problem with that is my MB doesn't support PCI-E 2.0... garrr
So I need some advice. I can save about $200/mo without dipping into my main savings. I know that AMD is releasing Bulldozer soon and that everybody seems to be holding their collective breath. If I upgrade to DDR3 I won't be doing it for several months as I'll have to save up the required capital. Even then, I really hate spending that kind of money.
I'm highly aggravated that I can't play new games on anything above minimal graphics settings. Not fun.