Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2010 10:29 am Post subject: Upgrading Suggestions
Whoa! Believe it or not ICF is thinking about getting back into some of the newer games again. But he needs your advice on upgrading his outdated machine. It's been since Aug 2007 since I upgraded my machine last.
Here are my current specs. I'm guessing most, if not all of it is useless now.
What are some GPUs/CPUs/Mobos I should be looking at? I've always been a fan of intel and I see they have some lovely i5 or i7 series cpus out.
So, for those of you who keep up with this stuff. Give your wisdom! _________________ It's a piece of cake to bake a pretty cake.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=s8UdbPE4-oU
I love the new ATI cards. With that setup I run the new Battle Field 1680x1050 full everything and it doesn't even touch it. _________________ Blog: www.kalenarndt.com
Have games really advanced that much on the PC in the last few years?
It seems to me that up until Crysis it was all about pushing the envelope in ways that demanded constant upgrades to deliver performance. Now, it's almost like PC gaming has hit a plateau where it's not as necessary anymore. Look at the top PC games, they're all pretty old for the most part. I have a theory that it has to do something with the withering of the PC market along with the age of current consoles, since nowadays most PC games are console ports.
Am I wrong? _________________ Bixch, where's my bacon?
Joined: Aug 16, 2004 Posts: 570 Location: Bangor, MI
Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2010 8:28 pm Post subject:
ChopperDave wrote:
I actually just upgraded entirely last week.
You're dead to me! Seriously though, I'm jealous!
<rant>
I really hate the way mobos are all over $140 for enthusiast boards now. I remember when they were half that price. The cost of the board, CPU, and DDR3 stops me from going i5 or i7 for my gaming rig at this time. I'm just bumping up my DDR2 to 8GB and getting a Core2 Duo @ 3Ghz on my current rig to last me another year. *shrug*
</rant>
Joined: Aug 16, 2004 Posts: 2709 Location: Saginaw, MI
Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2010 9:23 am Post subject:
Armagetto wrote:
Have games really advanced that much on the PC in the last few years?
It seems to me that up until Crysis it was all about pushing the envelope in ways that demanded constant upgrades to deliver performance. Now, it's almost like PC gaming has hit a plateau where it's not as necessary anymore. Look at the top PC games, they're all pretty old for the most part. I have a theory that it has to do something with the withering of the PC market along with the age of current consoles, since nowadays most PC games are console ports.
Am I wrong?
I think its the opposite, really. PC games coming out are constantly attempting to push the limits of gear that was current 12 months ago. I based my last major upgrade around the release of Bioshock, and at the time, it was a core2duo e6600 and a GTS 8800. now, its a GTX 260 and 8 GB of ram, same proc, and I am seeing lagging issues when trying to play the "latest and greatest" games like the MW2 demo and BFBC2.
I think it comes hand in hand; the newer components that have been out for a while are almost crucial to have to really crank those games up so they look comparable to their PS3 and xbox 360 counterparts.
sure, a build like mine, or ICF's, and the majority of those that really cant afford to upgrade due to home-ownership, kids, meth habit, etc, might be able to hold out a little while longer, but...for how long?
bonus material: buddy of mine is selling a machine here at work. AMD XP 2500, 2 GB of DDR 333, 60 gb, and a 250 gb, 9800XT, complete in case for 50 bucks. _________________
Armagetto wrote:
Trunkwontopen: The hotlinkin'est mofo on the forums!
BH's OFFICIAL stand-up comedian and all around gnarly dude.
Joined: Sep 17, 2009 Posts: 36 Location: Grand Rapids
Posted: Fri Mar 05, 2010 5:18 pm Post subject:
Depends on the monitor. 24" LCD's can be had for $240 today so if you like eye candy on a big screen running 1920 x 1080 then get the best vid card affordable as the other parts almost become secondary.
You might want to consider just getting the vid card and put it in your current system. The cpu won't push the card to full capability but may handle just about whatever you throw at it. _________________ Phenom II 940 BE @ 3.45
Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UDP4
4 Gb G.Skill DDR2-800 Black HZ's
Sapphire Radeon HD4830 512MB
Win7 x64 Professional
Thanks for the suggestions. Doesn't look like a bad setup and not extremely expensive either. Thanks!
Armagetto wrote:
Am I wrong?
I'm not sure. I haven't been around console or PC games in a long time (since LOTRO). That's why i came here to ask.
Griminal wrote:
The honeymoon is over, eh ICF?
No it's not over. However I've started to get a little free time lately and gaming sounds fun. Until about mid Feb, I've had anywhere between 1-4 computers at my house that I was fixing for people (since my wedding in June). I've had 3 weeks of vacation from that, so i'm getting bored on my nights when the wife works late.
arcturus wrote:
Depends on the monitor. 24" LCD's can be had for $240 today so if you like eye candy on a big screen running 1920 x 1080 then get the best vid card affordable as the other parts almost become secondary.
Well, currently I run a 24" LCD and a 17" LCD. But my resolution is 1920x1200.
What do you all think about a SSD? Anyone own one? Worth the money? I'm don't care much about size of a primary drive. I've been running dual raptors since they first came out in 36gb sizes. (currently have 2x 150gb raptors in raid 0) _________________ It's a piece of cake to bake a pretty cake.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=s8UdbPE4-oU
Joined: Aug 16, 2004 Posts: 570 Location: Bangor, MI
Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 1:54 pm Post subject:
IceColdFever wrote:
What do you all think about a SSD? Anyone own one? Worth the money? I'm don't care much about size of a primary drive. I've been running dual raptors since they first came out in 36gb sizes. (currently have 2x 150gb raptors in raid 0)
I've been running 74GB Raptors in RAID 0 for nearly 4 years and when I was trying to decide what to upgrade, I decided to keep the RAID array. It just wasn't worth the upgrade to me right now. You're in a better position with the twin 150 drives which are faster than mine. Maybe in one more year when the SSD drives are cheaper. If you know what I mean.
Joined: Sep 13, 2004 Posts: 1325 Location: Mattawan M
Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 8:49 am Post subject:
IceColdFever wrote:
What do you all think about a SSD? Anyone own one? Worth the money? I'm don't care much about size of a primary drive. I've been running dual raptors since they first came out in 36gb sizes. (currently have 2x 150gb raptors in raid 0)
I am running my main drive with just my OS and WoW on it right now and it's fucking awesome. I have an OCZ Agility 60gb drive and I put the overflow of games and apps on my secondary 500gb drive. I think it cost me around 200 for it and it was worth every penny. _________________ Blog: www.kalenarndt.com
I agree with Ghetto, for the most part gaming performance demands have peaked for awhile, unless you are talking about running max specs on a large monitor, then that's just common since. (I get to game on a 20' screen, when no ones looking.)
According to "market research" the 10k raptors are still better bang for the buck, but you can always get a SSD setup instant-on and throw a " i " sticker on your PC.
Joined: Aug 18, 2004 Posts: 1185 Location: Cedar Springs, MI
Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 1:11 pm Post subject:
Hey there Tom,
Sure, your machine isn't shiny and new, but for the most part the specs look ok. The video card could stand an upgrade, but the rest should soldier on nicely for a bit.
Unless you have the upgrade bug lol. _________________ I've been better...
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
The BoxHeads
