Justification for a new rig.

[sticksman]

My current machine is 4 years old (Athlon 4200*2, 2Gb RAM, 8800GT) and does everything I want it to if I'm honest. I have never kept a machine this long before, however, as there has always been some hardware or software push for me to change every 18 months or so. With everything stable and reasonably fast at the moment, I'm finding thoughts of i7s, 5850s, SSDs and windows7 tempting but not spend tipping.

Games for the PC were always a significant push in the past but now that few of them tax even a modest PC, I can't use them as an excuse for a new rig. My monitor runs at 1680*1050 and I have no intentions to go higher def just now.

But a PC can never be too fast can it? I mean I still wait for the hour glass at times and for things to load and process. So a more responsive and lively computing experience might tilt the balance if that were to be really noticeable from an upgrade.

Has anyone else faced this dilemma recently and what did you decide to do?

Cheers,

~Sticks~

[GheeTsar]

I mean I still wait for the hour glass at times and for things to load and process. So a more responsive and lively computing experience might tilt the balance if that were to be really noticeable from an upgrade.

Sounds like you need a decent SSD. That should give you the responsivenes you are looking for.

I'm in a fairly similar boat - my graphics card (an 8800GTS) handles most new games adequately, but yet the temptation to go to a HD58X0 or maybe even a Fermi board is ever increasing as I'm starting to find some games get the odd bit of slow-down and I want a bigger monitor.

[Phage]

See my spec on the left. I upgraded from a P4 3.6Ghz, 3Gb Ram and a 8800GT.
Quite a bit of difference, but it isn't cheap. But then I tend to keep them unchanged for a few years. The only upgrade I may do to this would be the 5870 VaporX card maybe next Summer.

[pp05]

Am looking to upgrade but nothing expensive. No need to future proof as hardware prices are always falling. Get what I need now.

I just don't know how much of a boost you're getting to justify extra monies spent. But if money isn't an option go for it.

[circuitmonkey]

I'd double the ram, look into a faster HDD (possibly even SSD) and definitely look at going win7 64bit

[vti_786]

I'd double the ram, look into a faster HDD (possibly even SSD) and definitely look at going win7 64bit

does win 7 increase the gaming part of computing or are you just giving ideas on cheaper upgrades that can be done, i still use xp and have not really bothered with OS change as xp does the job for me. is it worth it going from xp to windows 7, is it that quicker

[kalniel]

I had exactly the same dilemna.. couldn't justify a new rig, so picked up a second hand graphics card and OC'd the CPU. Just can't justify anything else until PC gaming becomes a decent revenue stream for companies again.

[TooNice]

I find that my Opteron, clocked a little higher than your X2 seem to limit my GTS250 (only about 10% faster than a 8800GT). If the games you play right now are still fine with that card, then I don't think there is much point in upgrading. But it'll be able time to upgrade when a game struggles.

[shaithis]

Thats because the GTS250 is a rebadged 9800GTX, which is a slightly tweaked 8800GT......so the 10% is probably not far off, rgardless of CPU.

[CK_1985]

My upgrades are rarely justified by the software - I just like to play with shiny new toys

Having said that, I agree with various posts here in that if you're looking for extra snappiness, a decent SSD, some extra RAM and Windows 7 will all help with that - and my guess is that the size of the impact would probably be decreasing in that order.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The HD5770 is being released next month:

http://forums.hexus.net/graphics-car...ml#post1791207

Is your processor a socket 939 one?? If so you could get a decent amount of money for it and get an X3 720,a 770 based motherboard and 4gb of DDR2 for under £200.

[Cheapy]

My reason was purely so I could play some new games . Well I suppose a Athlon 3000 and a AGP Radeon 9700 Pro did pretty well to last till this year .

Im glad I did upgrade though purely because everything is so much faster and smoother now.

[Syllopsium]

Change something that will give you a revolutionary difference rather than an evolutionary change. In other words, either buy something entirely new or stupefyingly faster than your existing system.

About the only hardware that might fit into the 'stupefyingly faster' category (and perhaps not even then) is an SSD. I think it's wise to let the market settle a bit more though..

Beyond that - what about peripherals? A new mouse? A really decent keyboard (mine's a custom hardwired Dvorak buckling spring)? A second monitor. A printer or scanner. Surround sound. 3D glasses or monitor. Steering wheel? Joypad?

The upgrades I'm looking at personally are :

3D monitor - not that expensive, worth trying to see how well it works and if I can manage a 4 monitor configuration.
Faster graphics card. Currently have two 7600GTs - bit slow when I eventually get into Fallout 3.
SSD. Everything else is way faster than I need - SSD is the only thing left that's a lot faster and will last for years.
Lowish end test PC that's VT-d capable, for bleeding edge virtualisation. Got everything except the motherboard for that.

Alternatively you could - shock- spend it on something else . Audio system. Blu-ray upgrade. Saving up for a bicycle. Decent weekend away. etc.

PK

[ecac]

I'm with Syllopsium - change something that's going to make a difference you can really feel, or think outside the box and get something different or new. 3D monitor, or just a second monitor (guess it depends on what games you play - I'm not a huge gamer currently), or a new joystick or controller.

Or try something new with your PC - get a TV card and record some telly, or some new software or hardware to muck around with photos, or music or somthing.