Same old same old

wolfeking

banned
Okay, budget is $600 or so, + or - probably $50.

Motherboard: Z77 Extreme 4 (RMA status as packaging so shipping out probably today or tomorrow)
RAM: 8 GB DDR3 1600
PSU: 600 Watt Modstream Pro
GPU: HD 4870 512 MB
CPU: G530 stock (~ = to a C2D @ 3GHz)
HDD: 1TB Seagate ST31000524AS

Okay. I want to know what to upgrade. I am fairly happy with what I have now, as it runs what I am doing fine. I can go for a HD4870 x2 and a new PSU and be good for now but I do not know how much better it will go. Or I could get a 2500k and a good cooler, like a H80 or H100 and be good CPU wise and remove and CPU limitation from the equation. OR I could probably go for a HD6950 and be fine with the GPU and upgrade to a 2500 later and be good. I really do not know. I do not want to upgrade more than just the CPU or GPU at once as I want to see what it will do to the performance at once.
 

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
I'd upgrade to a 2500K or another quad-core i5 before you upgrade anything else. After that though, I'd say the graphics card is next on the list of parts to upgrade.
 

wolfeking

banned
okay, why?
I just want to be sure as to where the recommendations are coming from before I follow them. Not saying they are bad recommendations at all vista.
 

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
wolfeking said:
okay, why?
Your GPU is probably OK for the time being, it was a high-end card 'back in the day' but it's not so high-end these days, but still plays games OK-ish. Upgrading the CPU would be beneficial to you because the G530 is kind of weak and not really a gaming chip. You should see quite a big difference in performance just by upgrading to a 2500K or 3570K alone. You get extra cores to start with, and as we see more games which are written/optimised for more than one or two cores, it will be beneficial for you.

Also, if you keep your G530 and then upgrade the graphics card now to something like a 6950 for example, your CPU is going to bottleneck that card, so that's another reason why you need to upgrade the CPU first.
 
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wolfeking

banned
okay, so if I just go for a 2500k and say a H2O 620 for now would it be good to go to 4GHz and still be solid cool like I am getting right now? I might also go up to 16GB of ram, just to have it since I can get it all (620, 2500k and 8GB of Gamer 2) for $325.97 shipped.
Plus that will still leave quite a bit to repair the trumpet (member from the PYP thread?) seeing as I got $856 to spend and only $326 on upgrades here.
 

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
Yeah you should be able to go quite a way past 4.0GHz with a 2500K and H20 620 cooling it. I've got my 2500K at 4.3GHz using an Arctic Cooling Freezer 13, and that's an air-cooler. Upgrading to a 2500K won't just help in the games, but also in other stuff too like encoding/rendering and multi-tasking. :) Worthwhile I say!

Yeah I'd say you can upgrade to 16GB of RAM if you have any money left over. It's overkill for gaming now but hey, having lots of RAM is never a bad thing. It's so cheap these days as well, you may as well just spring for it.

Yes I do remember the trumpet. :D
 

wolfeking

banned
Well I want to keep it cool and stable, like rock solid stable like my current processor. I can do prime95 for over 12 hours @ low 40's iirc. I want the 2500k to do the same at whatever I OC it to.

And I probably am going to get the extra memory just to have it. I have not a clue what I can do to use 16GB but its there if necessary, right?
 
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spirit

Moderator
Staff member
wolfeking said:
Well I want to keep it cool and stable, like rock solid stable like my current processor. I can do prime95 for over 12 hours @ low 40's iirc. I want the 2500k to do the same at whatever I OC it to.
Yep with that cooler you can easily take a 2500K to 4.0GHz and still be rock solid and stable with very good temps. The 2500K can go further, but I'll leave it up to you to decide how far you want to push it. 4.0GHz would be a good place to start.

wolfeking said:
I have not a clue what I can do to use 16GB but its there if necessary, right?
16GB is good for stuff like virtual machines and stuff that eat RAM, I don't know if you use VMs or not though? Anyway, it's there if you need it as you said.
 

wolfeking

banned
well seeing as how the 2500k will kick arse at 4GHz compared to any AMD processor out there other than the FX8****s, and probably even them, I will be happy.

And I will probably do a VM of React OS and A few Linuxes to see what I can find to Play nice with AMD cards and finish updating the guide. So at most maybe 8GB of RAM to that, leaving 12 for other things.

Edit, how much better would CF on HD 4870 be? I can get a 4870 for ~65, and I already have a crossfire bridge. But I will need a better PSU then too. hmm...?
 
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spirit

Moderator
Staff member
Yeah if you wanna do virtual machines, 16GB is the way forward. :) I have 16GB of RAM for that reason.

A 2500K at 4.0GHz is going to be pretty fast. :)
 

wolfeking

banned
I am going to get the 2500k. I am just trying to figure out what else to get. with it. I guess it is all going to depend on how much the trumpet repair is.
 

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
I'd grab the 2500K, the liquid cooler you were on about, and maybe the extra RAM if you have the money to spare.

Can you get a quote on the trumpet repair and find out how much it's going to cost, then subtract the cost from your budget so that you can figure out how much you have to spend on the PC?
 
The 3570k does run cooler, which means higher overclocks, and newer tech, so I would get a 3570k for that, and its only $20 more, but if you dont want to spend that, than the 2500 is still great.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504&Tpk=3570k

Also, that GPU really getting weak, still plays games okay, but not to good anymore. I would get a 6950 and unlock to 6970 if you have $200 to spend on a GPU.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102987

What monitor? You might want to upgrade that.
 

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
byteninja2 said:
Also, that GPU really getting weak, still plays games okay, but not to good anymore. I would get a 6950 and unlock to 6970 if you have $200 to spend on a GPU.
The 4870 isn't a bad card, just not the best, but I agree an unlocked 6950 would be a good card. That, or a 7850 or 7870, or perhaps a GTX 660 when it comes...

byteninja2 said:
The 3570k does run cooler, which means higher overclocks, and newer tech, so I would get a 3570k for that, and its only $20 more, but if you dont want to spend that, than the 2500 is still great.
I've heard that the Ivy Bridge chips do not overclock quite as well as the Sandy Bridge chips and apparently run hotter when overclocked - not sure if it's true or not but really the 2500K and 3570K perform very similarly and the 3570K really is not much quicker at all. The Sandy Bridge architecture should be more than enough for anybody for at least the next few years or so definitely. :)
 
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wolfeking

banned
I really do not think it is worth the extra $20. I am not going to try for the highest clocks availiable. I am more just going for 4 or so GHz and leave it be.

As for a quote, the parts are around $200 and then labour. shouldn't be much over $300 total. But I am not really trying to do it all at once. As someone said, the 660 is coming out and that would probably be good. If I leave the GPU till July, then I can probably get a 680 or possibly 2x 670 and be great for the length of service.
 

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
wolfeking said:
I really do not think it is worth the extra $20. I am not going to try for the highest clocks availiable. I am more just going for 4 or so GHz and leave it be.
Yeah a 2500K @ 4.0GHz is going to be more than enough for you. The 3570K is not worth the extra 20 bucks, very minor performance gain.

wolfeking said:
the 660 is coming out and that would probably be good. If I leave the GPU till July, then I can probably get a 680 or possibly 2x 670 and be great for the length of service.
I've heard the 660 and possibly the rest of the Kepler cards are coming out Q3'12, so that is anywhere between the beginning of next month and the end of August. I'd wait until then and buy a 660 or whatever. 2x 670s is going to be more than adequate for you, even one 670 would probably do you good.

wolfeking said:
just a update. My Z77 extreme 4 shipped from edison, NJ about 15 minutes ago, so 3 days and it will be back.
That's good news! You should have a very nice gaming rig by the end of it.

Now all I need to do for mine is buy a graphics card. :/ Like you, I think I'm going to wait for 660 and see what it brings to the table.
 

claptonman

New Member
Agreed with the CPU over a new GPU. Your G530 would limit a 6950 big time, and a 4870 is not all that bad. Could easily get ultra settings on CoD with that. I got close to that with my frickin 4670 AGP on my old build. But I wouldn't spend the money on a second one, even at $65.
 
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