do you guys think it would be worth upgrading from an i7 950 to a i7-2600k Sandy?
do you guys think it would be worth upgrading from an i7 950 to a i7-2600k Sandy?
@Yuri: Decent haul. Consider spending the $notmuch to upgrade to at least DDR3-1333. Also, while I can't really recommend it, if cost is seriously an issue, you can take Senji's advice and look for a $Free.FittyFree version of Win7 online.
@Ragin: notrly. Sandy Bridge is faster, but gen 1 i7 is already smokin', and it's really not worth ponying up the $400+ that a 2600K + mobo could run you.
I am depending on BG's feedback to vet the parts before I buy it, so thanks.
I am confused on the RAM though - the one I picked out is DDR3-1333, I thought... did you mean to upgrade to 1600? or am I missing something (which is entirely possible)?
the other RAM that was suggested was http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-277-_-Product which is only $9 more and is DDR3-1600. so maybe I'll get that.
@ Yuri
Now that you have cut your build down to $677, you could spend a few more bucks on a better graphics card. The gtx 560 (Fermi) sells for ~$199, the 560ti is going for $239.99. Depending on what you play and the resolution you may or may not want to beef up you video card. I personally don't like AMD cards, but the 6950 would be a better step up than a 6870.
I'm considering it, but if I go much higher would I have to upgrade the PSU?
and my goal is not to be on the high end, but rather to do stuff like max out Oblivion and be able to play Skyrim (not just specifically that, but that's a good benchmark for what I plan on using this PC for. anything further than that is excess, and can be done later if I decide to). from what I gather on their forums, that should be fine (the AMD HD 6850 is classified under "Extremely High" here: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:System_Requirements)
again though, I have never been a PC gamer, so my experience here is limited. feel free to let me know if that sounds right or if I'm off base. don't be afraid to school me
also, I have no idea whether I should go nVIDIA or ATI. not sure if it makes a difference for my purposes or not?
edit: looking more deeply into this, the HIS version of the 6850 isn't getting the best marks... I still feel like the 6850 is enough for me, but maybe that's not the best card to go with... um, this is where I ask for help again, please... lol
my 3 year old laptop can max out oblivion @ 1900x1200 lol. that's a low benchmark sir!
go nvidia cause i told you to and right now they are the better for price brand
hahaha, I guess I should set it a little higher then... I've never played Oblivion on the PC, but I have tried Morrowind 2009 (and 2011) on my laptop and it struggled with both. I wonder if they're tougher on the computer than Oblivion, or if my laptop just sucked.
I don't know what a good benchmark is then. although if I were to go by every video card review ever, apparently it would be Crysis 2. that's a joke btw, I keep seeing that game quoted in every single fucking card review out there.
maybe I will spring for the 560. would that work with a 500w PSU though?
Oblivion can be a bit more taxing if you mod the hell out of it (and is there really any other way to play it on PC?). Still an old game.
Few PC games truly tax cards right now, given that most are being developed for consoles first. You can still usually pick 'em out of the crowd if you look for the games that are running at under 60FPS without being set to extremely high resolutions. Metro 2033, for example, is a common game to see doing that. Crysis 2 follows more of the "built for consoles" performance results.
'course, sometimes it's just a result of not being especially optimized/efficient code. The original Crysis kinda falls under that, though it does make for a nice benchmark.
You can also go with synthetic benchmarks like http://unigine.com/products/heaven/ or http://www.3dmark.com/ as reviews often include them, and you can get the "basic" versions for free.
I think it depends on price range a little at this point. If he's looking at a 6850, the most comparable nVidia card to that would be a GTX 460, which is a bit more expensive right now. A 560 Ti is very close both price and performance-wise with the 1GB variant of the 6950 as well. Some great cards out all around right now though, not like either pick is "wrong".go nvidia cause i told you to and right now they are the better for price brand
You should be fine with a 500w, but I would get the newer version of that power supply because it has 80+ efficiency certification. Same price.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-027-_-Product
Also, you may want to buy 2-3 120mm fans for your case to have some proper air flow. 1 intake fan in the front would be good for now if you don't want to spend that much yet.
edit: 600w is only $10 though.
@isolia, thanks for the clarification. I feel I owe you a quarter share of my PC for all the help
@kingeric, good points. I updated my list a little bit. luckily, I found a combo deal with the 600w corsair and the gtx 560 that saved me like forty fucking dollars. fuck yes. I'll post my list in a second, I'm about ready to enter my credit card info... BG, approve my final build!
LITE-ON CD/DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM - $19.99
NZXT GAMMA Classic Series GAMA-001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $35.99
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL - $49.99
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX - $119.99
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit English 1-Pack - OEM - $99.99
PNY VCGGTX560TXPB GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
+
CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 V2 600W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - combo pack for $294.98 (+$30 in rebates)
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler, RR-B10-212P-G1 - $29.51
Gigabyte GA-880GA-UD3H Motherboard - Socket AM3, AMD 880G, ATX, USB, VGA, DVI, PCIe, RAID - $104.99 (-$15 rebate)
Western Digital WD5000AAKS Caviar Blue Hard Drive - 500GB, 7200rpm, 16MB, SATA-300, OEM - $39.99
total = $795.43
- $45 in rebates for a grand total of $750.43
if this look good I promise this will be the last time I revise my list. let me know what you think.
Looks good to me. I know it's a bit over your budget, though, so the responsible part of me says make sure you're in a position to pull the trigger.
thanks and I'm fine. I could afford even more, but it's a question of how much I want to spend, you know? was aiming for $700 or less but than there was that deal on the 600w supply + gtx 560 combo... which, come to think of it, is exactly why they have deals like that. bastards.
welp, I'm now $800 poorer.
will post once I receive everything, although the cooler says it may not ship for 1-3 weeks. so that could be a while.
thanks again to everyone who has helped me out, I'll be sure to post once I've got the beast up and running.
Did you order any case fans?
First thing you should really consider is if/how your current rig is falling short. The 1055T is still on the market, and is still easily a viable CPU. It can't touch a 2500 in most cases, but overclocked to at least 1100T speeds (3.3Ghz, stock is 2.8 so it's not a huge leap) it'll hang with a stock 2500 in heavily threaded apps....but that's basically been the case since the X6 series hit. They've never been particularly impressive outside of niche situations.
There are plenty of other areas of your system to look at, depending - SSD, video card, etc - which may address any shortcomings more directly, depending on what you're running already.
IMO, unless you're doing something where every scrap of CPU performance nets you real results - 3D rendering, video encoding, research computing, that sort of thing...you're probably not going to get your money's worth out of an upgrade. While your 1055T isn't quite the overall performer that an i7 900-series is, it's still in generally the same boat. Probably going to be another generation of CPUs at least before it's really that far behind.
'course, you can be like me and find excuses...make your existing rig a server, or living room PC, or whatever, if you just want an excuse to buy new gear =P
Planning on upgrade my CPU as well, any feedback?
Processor - i7-960 3.2H
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115224
Mobo - ASUS Sabertooth X58
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131665
Power - hec Xpro 600W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817339025
I've read a bit about Power Supplies here and that one I had picked out seems a bit cheap and not a name brand, should I look for something better?