$1000, what to upgrade?

[Chewy_Solo]

Well i have $1000 sitting around. What should i upgrade?

Currently i have:

EVGA 8800 GTS 640MB (Thinking of getting an EVGA GTX 280 FTW)

Intel Q6600 G3 2.4GHz (Thinking of getting an q9450, or maybe ill wait for nahelem)

EVGA nForce 680i T1 (thinking of getting an MSI x48C Platinum as it supports FSBs from 800-1600 and supports both DDR2 and DDR3 http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?func=prodmbspec&prod_no=1393&maincat_no=1&cat2_no=&cat3_no=# )

2GB of PAtriot eXtreme PC2 9200 RAM @ 1150MHZ (i might want 2 more sticks)

Cooling: All air cooling, with a Thermalright Ultra120 Extreme. (Thinking about going watercooling as my case mod failed and didnt reduce temps :( )

The rest of my hardware is probably fine.

[crenn]

I'd suggest waiting til the end of the year.

[Mitternacht]

get the q6600 with the b0 stepping.

[Chewy_Solo]

im not so sure about that, because for 100 bucks more i could just get a q9450 which is way better.

[Chewy_Solo]

actually id get the q9550 as its about 5 bucks more expensive than the q9450 :P

[Omega]

im not so sure about that, because for 100 bucks more i could just get a q9450 which is way better.

Well if you already knew what you wanted, why are you asking us? ;)

[Chewy_Solo]

i want opinions? :P

you guys have more knowledge of such things than me. Im just saying what id like to do, but if there are better options or if you think i should wait please tell me :)

[FuzzyPlushroom]

I'd listen to crenn, wait a few months and see what gets introduced. Failing that, maybe upgrade your cooling, if you deem it necessary - I'm not sure what your temps are currently.

[Airbozo]

go for the 4870x2. better performance than the 280.

Ati set the standard with this card.

Also stay away from the 680i. too many problems with that chipset that I have seen. opt for the intel p45 which is more stable and better at overclocking.

[The boy 4rm oz]

get the q6600 with the b0 stepping.

Don't you mean 'GO' stepping???

Personally I would wait until the end of the year as was said by crenn. This will allow you to take a look at the Nehalem CPU's DDR3 prices should have dropped a lot by then. Hey, you may even be able to get a SSD lol.

[.Maleficus.]

Wait until Nehalem. Pick up a bunch of new stuff then.

[The boy 4rm oz]

Even if you don't want to move to Nehalem the tech of today will be much cheaper.

[Mitternacht]

Don't you mean 'GO' stepping???

Personally I would wait until the end of the year as was said by crenn. This will allow you to take a look at the Nehalem CPU's DDR3 prices should have dropped a lot by then. Hey, you may even be able to get a SSD lol.

Oh, my bad. G0, B3. Got it mixed up. I'm an AMD whore anyways. :D

[Quakken]

I would get a 4870x2. That thing is completely outrageous. It does the crossfire for you, I think, so you don't have to have an ATi chipset for it to work well.

And work well it will.

[Chewy_Solo]

as for nahalem, i was kinda planning on waiting for that more so than getting the q9550 or 450. Hell by then the q9450 will be dirt cheap anyways if i were to see that nahalem was overly priced anyway.

As for ATI, im not so sure. Ive always used NVIDIA cards and not sure i want to go the ATI route. Mainly i suppose is due to the fact i like EVGA so much. Great tech support.

What someone told me to do the other day is wait for the GTX 280 + which sapposedly will kick everythings ass. Any ideas on that?

As for the 680i chipset, ive had no issues other than had to RMA it once due to it not letting me clock my RAM any higher than 667 Mhz when it should run at 1150Mhz. But that wasnt too major anyway. But probably next motherboard wont be nforce anyway. As i have no desire to go SLI.

[The boy 4rm oz]

As i have no desire to go SLI.

It is always good to have that option open.

The new X58 boards may even support SLI and Crossfire so there may not even be a need for the nForce chipset in the market anymore.

[Chewy_Solo]

well the reason i have no desire for SLI is the fact that i have another video card running my two other monitors. Thus it wont let me run SLI, unless i were to pick up an ATI cheap card. Anyone want to give me one for free? :P

[Chewy_Solo]

does anyone know an aprox. time that the GTX 280+ will come out?

[crenn]

Sometime this year I think.... but I'm wondering if that will be the case.

[Xpirate]

I agree with crenn. That $1000 will get you a lot more if you can wait a bit. If the machine you have is good enough right now, it would be a good idea to wait.

[TheGreatSatan]

Will you have to change your mobo too?

[Chewy_Solo]

if i wait for nahalem.

[Chewy_Solo]

Bump, its now basicly 2 months later, getting close to upgrade time, ive yet to hear ANYTHING about a GTX 280 + card :(

[crenn]

GTX 290 is due by the end of the year, maybe november, although I can't guarantee that

[Chewy_Solo]

GTX 290 is due by the end of the year, maybe november, although I can't guarantee that

i did some googling and it seems that the 290 is basicly a 280 only a smaller die and cheaper to produce, and maybe a little cooler, but will it have better performance?

Also, do you think upgrading my Mobo will help as its currently only pcie-16 not PCIe 2.0

[crenn]

It's unseen whether there will be a performance increase (NVidia may increase the clock speeds). However, I'll only know when I hear anything more about it.

As for upgrading motherboard to PCI-E2.0, it's not going to be that much of a help I believe.

[Chewy_Solo]

i got about 1400 now, probably spending 150 on games though.... Mirrors Edge, Cod5, Left 4 dead.... :)

[The boy 4rm oz]

CoD5 is hell cheap. You can pick it up for $69.00AUD pre order. CoD4 still sells for around $80AUD. I think it shows which is the better game IMO.

[Pointy_Stick]

Price can mean very little TB4O. I picked up The Witcher: Enhanced Edition which is a cracking game and came with a making-of DVD, a quest creator, a 29 track soundtrack, another CD of music 'inspired by the game', extra quests which are independent of the main game, a short story and gameguide and a game map all for $70AUD. One of the best deals ever IMO.

[The boy 4rm oz]

I know price doesn't mean anything but I have played both CoD4 and 5 and I honestly believe the move to get the developer of CoD3 to make CoD5 will impact on the sales therefore the lower release price. Why get a console designer to design a game which was born on PC? Epic fail on their behalf. I think they are already feeling the criticism and have dropped the sale price to maintain positive revenue.

The Witcher is a great game. I have played it and am frantically looking for a copy I can purchase for myself.

[armadilloben]

get the q6600 with the b0 stepping.

i feel like thats a really silly idea

he already has the q6600 and so i dont think that it makes sense to by a diffrent stepping of the processor you already have just cause its better oc'er

wait till the nehalems are realeased on what the 17th? then the lga 775 procs will all probably go down in price

i say buy yourself a 4870 with the gddr5 ram its ok price performance wise but u can afford it and you have expandability with that on any intel board (well nvidia to now i guess

whatever just my opinion

[The boy 4rm oz]

The GDDR5 RAM still has no performance improvements over GDDR3-4 as of late. It is a marketing ploy my ATI. Until the RAM becomes more supported I don't see the point.

Personally I would go for the GTX260 but that's just me. The GTX260 and the 4870 cost basically the same. Generally both the GTX260 and the 4870 are very evenly matched with the GTX260 winning in Crysis. The test results always vary between the 2 cards but in 3D Vantage in THIS REVIEW (http://www.techspot.com/review/109-geforce-gtx-260-280-versus-radeon-4850-4870/page2.html) the 4870 only beats the GTX260 by 28 points which is nothing really. At the end of the review they go to say that each card is basically the same performance wise so either way you go you will pick a winner IMO.

[Chewy_Solo]

im still buying all three games.

Is nahalem good for gaming, ive heard no.

As for GFX, i was planing to go with the GTX 290 or 280 we will see, i can always do step up program with EVGA :)

[nevermind1534]

Some games preformed better, some were worse. You should see improvements with future games, though, I'd imagine.

[The boy 4rm oz]

Some games preformed better, some were worse. You should see improvements with future games, though, I'd imagine.

Yeah I would say so. As newer games come out or are patched with support for the i7 then you will see performance gains.

[Chewy_Solo]

so would you think its worth it, or should i just go with a Penryn? I dont know what the prices will be for Nahalem.

[crenn]

The Core i7 920 will be between $300-400 I think, but you'd need to factor in new RAM, motherboard and maybe new power supply.

EDIT: More info here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Core_3

The core i7 920 will be $284

btw, reviews show that core i7 is great for CPU limited games (if you weren't getting enough FPS before). Some games will need a better graphics card.

[The boy 4rm oz]

DDR3 RAM prices have dropped a lot, if your not looking for 100% enthusiast grade overclockable RAM you can pick 4GB of Corsair DDR3 TW3X4G1333C9DHX (http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=186_538&products_id=6895) for $298AUD. This isn't bad considering my 2GB DDR2 RAM kit which I got about 14 months ago cost me $225AUD.

[Crazy Buddhist]

I'd suggest waiting til the end of the year.

Given the current economic situation I would agree - your $1,000 will go a lot further in the January sales as people prepare for recession and heavily discount prices to clear inventory. I would have thought if you wait two months you will get an extra third out of your $.

CrazyBusdriver

[Chewy_Solo]

i can probably wait on the CPU and such but i dont think i want to wait on GFX.

[crenn]

Looking at the release schedule, I have to agree there.

[crenn]

December is when the new NVidia 55nm GPUs come out.

btw, a Core i7, decent motherboard and 12Gb of RAM..... a lovely $1180.... damn that system is expensive.

[progbuddy]

I would get a Radeon 4870 X2. :P Tera-scale computing on a single graphics card.

[The boy 4rm oz]

Here is a rough guide to the prices of the i7 here in Aus:
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=187_346

[Crazy Buddhist]

Well i have $1000 sitting around. What should i upgrade?

My bank balance?

[nevermind1534]

I checked today, and newegg has the new core i7 motherboards and processors available http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010340343%2050001157%201051744913&name=LGA%201366 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010200280%201070545356&name=LGA%201366

[Crazy Buddhist]

8 i7 Mobo's and 3 CPU's: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=i7&x=0&y=0

can't wait to see the UK prices :( yeah

[crenn]

I need a winning lotto ticket to buy one of those systems....

[Chewy_Solo]

well ive been looking at those i7s but i will probably wait till january to do a new MOBO and CPU and ofcourse RAM, but when are those GTX 290's coming out?

[Chewy_Solo]

well november is gone where is it D:

[The boy 4rm oz]

I'm guessing a launch in the new year OR they haven't finished it yet lol.

[Crazy Buddhist]

well november is gone where is it D:

I'm guessing the 260's and 280's are not selling as expected. This is no surprise with the launch in the middle of the greatest global consumer confidence crisis and financial meltdown since the great depression.

It's either for that reason that the 270/290 haven't appeared (an excess of 260's and 280's in stock) or possibly because they are having issues with driver development - though the chip is not so different from a 280 so I find that unlikely.

Methinks they got caught at a bad time in the consumer cycle and are deliberately delaying launch.

Matthew

[The boy 4rm oz]

You could wait for this?
http://www.techpowerup.com/78464/NVIDIA_GeForce_GTX_295_Spotted.html
Should be quicker than 2 GTX260 in SLI with the possibility of quad SLI.

[Chewy_Solo]

You could wait for this?
http://www.techpowerup.com/78464/NVIDIA_GeForce_GTX_295_Spotted.html
Should be quicker than 2 GTX260 in SLI with the possibility of quad SLI.

i was thinking about that but i prefer a single PCB on a card. Im not sure, im guessing it will run quite hot and under perform like the 9800 GX2... I was hoping they would come out with a "GTX 290"

[The boy 4rm oz]

Well here is some more info on the GTX295:
http://www.techpowerup.com/78767/More_GeForce_GTX_295_Details_Trickle-in.html
Personally I haven't seen any press releases on the GTX290.

[The boy 4rm oz]

I also just found this:
http://www.techpowerup.com/79016/NVIDIA_to_Launch_GT300_in_Q1_2009?.html
A so called press release from Nvidia (Nvidia won't comment) stating they should have the GTX300 out by as early as Q1 2009. They also say that at CES they unveiled a GTX295 but no GTX290, there was also hints of a GTX285 floating around.

[The boy 4rm oz]

Just some more info on the GTX295, looks to be a very good card:
http://www.techpowerup.com/79027/Prelimnary_Tests_on_GeForce_GTX_295_Run_Leads_Rade on_HD_4870_X2.html
Preliminary tests show it to be better than a HD4870 X2, it should be lol, It's 2 GTX280's on one board haha.

[crenn]

Wrong, it's 2 GTX265s on one board.

[The boy 4rm oz]

Yeah sorry I mis-read an article. The card will hold the same amount of stream processes as an GTX280 (240) but the memory configuration resembles a GTX260 (896 MB x 2, 1720MB total).

Personally I would wait to see more on the GTX295 or wait until the new year to have a look at the GTX300. Not much point upgrading now, unless you wanna get the GTX280 on the cheap when they launch some new cards.

[crenn]

From what I've heard, it will have 2 lots of 216SPs not 240 in total. Personally, I'm waiting for DX11 card to come out before I upgrade again

[The boy 4rm oz]

I will only upgrade when my 8800GTX craps itself lol.

[Spawn-Inc]

the GTX295 is just a filler card if you will. it is meant to hold people by until they make a new card thats much better. i wouldn't get it.

[Chewy_Solo]

Well its out now... the 295, and according to TomsHardware, beats the 4870 x2.... Same price too.

What do you think?

[The boy 4rm oz]

I haven't seen any performance review on a 295 yet so it's hard to tell. The GTX285 is the fastest single GPU card to date though. Bit-Tech got their hands on one for a review:
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2009/01/16/nvidia-zotac-geforce-gtx-285-1gb/1
It's not that much faster than a 280 so personally I think the 280 is still the better buy.

[Chewy_Solo]

I haven't seen any performance review on a 295 yet so it's hard to tell. The GTX285 is the fastest single GPU card to date though. Bit-Tech got their hands on one for a review:
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2009/01/16/nvidia-zotac-geforce-gtx-285-1gb/1
It's not that much faster than a 280 so personally I think the 280 is still the better buy.
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2008/12/18/first-look-nvidia-geforce-gtx-295-1792mb/1

it seems to own any non SLI system.

Is it then one i have been waiting a year for?

[crenn]

Sort of, the one you've really been waiting for, isn't due out for sometime. I'd say it's time to buy before the markets goes to hell.

[Chewy_Solo]

do you think it will lower in price anytime soon? Or should i go for it soon?

[The boy 4rm oz]

Hmmm, I missed that review. Personally I would wait about a month to see how things go. Electronic goods will only start to get more expensive (in Australia anyway) as major brands start pulling out during the economic crisis. PHILIPS has already done so.

[crenn]

do you think it will lower in price anytime soon? Or should i go for it soon?
I can't say. I'd say go for it soon, either this month or early the next.

[Chewy_Solo]

I will keep an eye on it ;)

[Twigsoffury]

I'd upgrade the looks of my hooker....


*runs*

[The boy 4rm oz]

I'd upgrade the looks of my hooker....


*runs*

HAHAHA

[crenn]

I'd upgrade the looks of my hooker....


*runs*
The left or right one?

[Chewy_Solo]

another question, as it is SLI on a single PCB, would it prevent me from using my other GFX card that i already have in here, for my other monitors? As SLI would be enabled on the drivers...

[Twigsoffury]

another question, as it is SLI on a single PCB, would it prevent me from using my other GFX card that i already have in here, for my other monitors? As SLI would be enabled on the drivers...

dunno but my 8800GTS SSC slaps a 8800GTX in the face

[Chewy_Solo]

dunno but my 8800GTS SSC slaps a 8800GTX in the face

Probably because you have the G92 version

[bartvandenberg]

I see a lot of people are saying wait till the end of the year, or wait a few months. well, when do you stop waiting then? prices are always going down, and stuff is always coming out. If you want to do it now, do it now.

i would pick up the q9550, 4gb dominator pc8500, (you can always add 4gb more later) p5q pro, and a gtx280.

that future proofs you to a certain degree, with decent ram speed, decent cpu, available pci-e slot for sli, and 2 ram slot open for 8gbs of ram.

That will be your 1000 bucks spent. But you can find good deals here and there, and get better stuff or cheaper.

I'm not sure on your current getup, but.. spending 600 bucks of your $1000 on a gpu is pointless if your cpu is gonna bottleneck. Current games are both gpu and cpu dependant. i doubled fps when i dumped my fx-55 to my Core2Duo

and IMHO, i dont suggest buying a motherboard that supports ddr2 and ddr3, becuase you are stuck to 2 slots of either (if i remember correctly)

the p5q pro overclocks amazingly. its a solid board, and ive used it in about 6 of my custom computer builds now.

If you are building LGA775, that is my only recommendation. Its the only board id ever use. for less than 150 bucks, its a no brainer


dunno but my 8800GTS SSC slaps a 8800GTX in the face


I love it. cause so does mine.

[crenn]

another question, as it is SLI on a single PCB, would it prevent me from using my other GFX card that i already have in here, for my other monitors? As SLI would be enabled on the drivers...
My thoughts would be no providing it's another NVidia card.

EDIT: btw, technically NVidia supports Multi-monitor SLI

[Chewy_Solo]

I see a lot of people are saying wait till the end of the year, or wait a few months. well, when do you stop waiting then? prices are always going down, and stuff is always coming out. If you want to do it now, do it now.

i would pick up the q9550, 4gb dominator pc8500, (you can always add 4gb more later) p5q pro, and a gtx280.

that future proofs you to a certain degree, with decent ram speed, decent cpu, available pci-e slot for sli, and 2 ram slot open for 8gbs of ram.

That will be your 1000 bucks spent. But you can find good deals here and there, and get better stuff or cheaper.

I'm not sure on your current getup, but.. spending 600 bucks of your $1000 on a gpu is pointless if your cpu is gonna bottleneck. Current games are both gpu and cpu dependant. i doubled fps when i dumped my fx-55 to my Core2Duo

and IMHO, i dont suggest buying a motherboard that supports ddr2 and ddr3, becuase you are stuck to 2 slots of either (if i remember correctly)

the p5q pro overclocks amazingly. its a solid board, and ive used it in about 6 of my custom computer builds now.

If you are building LGA775, that is my only recommendation. Its the only board id ever use. for less than 150 bucks, its a no brainer




I love it. cause so does mine.

I was thinking of going for graphics now, and then later in the year upgrade my CPU and Motherboard. I was thinking about going with an i7 as its pretty cheap and beats out any Core 2 CPUs.

My thoughts would be no providing it's another NVidia card.

EDIT: btw, technically NVidia supports Multi-monitor SLI
How so? Besides, i use 3 so i dont know how i could do that with one GFX card.

[crenn]

I was thinking of going for graphics now, and then later in the year upgrade my CPU and Motherboard. I was thinking about going with an i7 as its pretty cheap and beats out any Core 2 CPUs.

How so? Besides, i use 3 so i dont know how i could do that with one GFX card.

That no should be a yes....

[Twigsoffury]

i'd buy a uber graphics and power supply really.

upgrade the rest later.

[Chewy_Solo]

That no should be a yes....

I thought that if you have SLI and another card thats not in SLI, that the SLI selection in the drivers does not allow for you to use other monitors. Let alone another NON sli card.

And im also thinking about upgrading to 4 GBs of DDR2. But then again if im upgrading to i7....

[nevermind1534]

I thought that if you have SLI and another card thats not in SLI, that the SLI selection in the drivers does not allow for you to use other monitors. Let alone another NON sli card.

And im also thinking about upgrading to 4 GBs of DDR2. But then again if im upgrading to i7....

You can use different cards in non sli to use as many monitors as you want.

[Chewy_Solo]

You can use different cards in non sli to use as many monitors as you want.

but for the GTX 295, do the drivers see the card as SLI?

[nevermind1534]

but for the GTX 295, do the drivers see the card as SLI?

Oh. I couldn't answer that. As far as I know, if the cards aren't bridged, they're seperate. from all other cards. The 295 might be seen as SLI. Ask somebody who owns a 9800GX2.

[Chewy_Solo]

anyone have a dual PCB Nvidia card?

[crenn]

No.

[Chewy_Solo]

That was a pointless post.

[The boy 4rm oz]

What duel PCB card u looking for? One of my mates has a 7950 GX2 if that helps lol.

[crenn]

That was a pointless post.
I just answered your question, nothing more.

[Twigsoffury]

anyone have a dual PCB Nvidia card?

oh yeah oops sorry lemme go just dig one of those out of the dirty laundry basket.

oh excuse me i didn't notice i was also using one as a cup holder, here you go.

[Chewy_Solo]

You feel that poorly of it? :P

Talked to a XFX support guy on the TGN forums, he says that the drivers now allow multimonitor support. So i should be good. Now i just need to decide if i buy it or not...

[Chewy_Solo]

ordered a GTx 285 on Newegg.

[The boy 4rm oz]

Nice choice.