Hypothetically

[Phage]

If you had a max of £1,000 to spend on an upgrade how would you spend it ? I could eke this out a few hundred by selling the current box.

I have all peripherals, but will need another copy of W7 as this is OEM.
As the primary use is Office and gaming I'm thinking that X79 would be a waste of time. Possibly 2700k bundle + FT02 ? My only condition is that the Mainboard must allw both SLI and CF, and have ample space between the GPUs for cooling.

What's the best at this point ? Ta.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

If you had a max of £1,000 to spend on an upgrade how would you spend it ? I could eke this out a few hundred by selling the current box.

I have all peripherals, but will need another copy of W7 as this is OEM.
As the primary use is Office and gaming I'm thinking that X79 would be a waste of time. Possibly 2700k bundle + FT02 ? My only condition is that the Mainboard must allw both SLI and CF, and have ample space between the GPUs for cooling.

What's the best at this point ? Ta.

See how much your Core i7 920,RAM and motherboard will sell for and how much you is in your pocket after costs.

Now,look at the price of a Core i7 2700K,new motherboard,new RAM and a copy of Windows 7.

Do,the maths and see how much the upgrade actually costs.

TBH,you current setup should be fine for a reasonable time.

Look at how well a Core i7 920 still does with an HD7970:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/A...caling/20.html

The Core i5 2500K is clocked 20% higher for an average improvement of around the same.

The main improvement with the newer CPUs is with power consumption.

You could however,see if you can get a second hand Core i7 970 or Core i7 980X as a CPU upgrade.

[Hoonigan]

I do believe that a quick phonecall to Microsoft can get your OEM W7 license transferred to a new motherboard..

And, might I recommend the build in my sig?

[Saracen]

If you had a max of £1,000 to spend on an upgrade how would you spend it ? .....

Right now, a few more GB of RAM probably. Keep meaning to get around to that. Also, another HD but I'm too tight to pay the prices right now. I was just about to buy when prices shot up. So I'm waiting. I might indulge in an SSD. The prices are coming down, but the cost/GB is still quite high. It's getting close for me, though.

Other than that, right now, I'd save the money for when I really wanted/need something. And for reference, that's from a S775 Quad spec of machine, not even an i-anything.

[Phage]

See how much your Core i7 920,RAM and motherboard will sell for and how much you is in your pocket after costs.

Now,look at the price of a Core i7 2700K,new motherboard,new RAM and a copy of Windows 7.

Do,the maths and see how much the upgrade actually costs.

TBH,you current setup should be fine for a reasonable time.

Look at how well a Core i7 920 still does with an HD7970:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/A...caling/20.html

The Core i5 2500K is clocked 20% higher for an average improvement of around the same.

The main improvement with the newer CPUs is with power consumption.

You could however,see if you can get a second hand Core i7 970 or Core i7 980X as a CPU upgrade.

That might be a better way to go. In fact a new MoBo + 970 might be the best option.

[Phage]

I do believe that a quick phonecall to Microsoft can get your OEM W7 license transferred to a new motherboard..

And, might I recommend the build in my sig?

Really ? I'll have to Google that.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

That might be a better way to go. In fact a new MoBo + 970 might be the best option.

Your current motherboard should be fine AFAIK. I would wait until the socket 2011 Core i7 CPUs are out and have a scout around a few retailers and Ebay to look for some goo deals.

[DDY]

Really ? I'll have to Google that.

It's easier than you think!

You should be able to use your Win 7 key and active as usual, if activation fails for whatever reason you can simply call up MS using the number given to you in the prompt. You'll answer a few questions so that MS know you're not doing this illegitimately and then you'll give MS a line of numbers, MS will then respond with numbers you punch in to the activation screen.

Simple huh?

EDIT: Quick addition; activation may fail because you've made too many hardware changes or have activated too many times, if this is your first major upgrade and have not re-installed Win 7 using your key too many times the activation should complete without a hitch. If activation fails and you haven't breached the license terms (noting; upgrading or activating multiple times on one machine is not prohibited) then a call to MS will fix that, although you'll need to get past the robot you first 'speak' to, i.e. be transfered to a human... I do this by mashing they keypad and getting it mad

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

It seems the Core i7 970 and Core i7 980X go for around £320 to £400 on Ebay ATM. That would be the cost of a Core i7 2600K,decent motherboard and 8GB of DDR3.

[Phage]

It's easier than you think!

You should be able to use your Win 7 key and active as usual, if activation fails for whatever reason you can simply call up MS using the number given to you in the prompt. You'll answer a few questions so that MS know you're not doing this illegitimately and then you'll give MS a line of numbers, MS will then respond with numbers you punch in to the activation screen.

Simple huh?

Hmmmm - all I can find is that it's tied to the MoBo unless it's failed, and being replaced with the same model.

"Generally, an end user can upgrade or replace all of the hardware components on a computer—except the motherboard—and still retain the license for the original Microsoft OEM operating system software. If the motherboard is upgraded or replaced for reasons other than a defect, then a new computer has been created. Microsoft OEM operating system software cannot be transferred to the new computer, and the license of new operating system software is required."

[DDY]

Hmmmm - all I can find is that it's tied to the MoBo unless it's failed, and being replaced with the same model.

"Generally, an end user can upgrade or replace all of the hardware components on a computer—except the motherboard—and still retain the license for the original Microsoft OEM operating system software. If the motherboard is upgraded or replaced for reasons other than a defect, then a new computer has been created. Microsoft OEM operating system software cannot be transferred to the new computer, and the license of new operating system software is required."

I find no such thing in the EULA

The EULA states for the OEM version

One Copy per Computer. The software license is permanently assigned to the computer with which the software is distributed. That computer is the “licensed computer.”

and

Licensed Computer. You may use the software on up to two processors on the licensed computer at one time. Unless otherwise provided in these license terms, you may not use the software on any other computer.

Nothing about motherboards in there, nor is it brought up when you active over the phone.

[Phage]

Right. I'll go through that.
Currently looks like I'd be best off with an upgrade a little later though. Just Oc it and wait.
GPus are still going to need upgrading this year though.

[ajones]

Personally, I look at the system in your sig and wonder why you need to upgrade! I nevermind spend 1k on it!

[Phage]

I made some mistakes in the build. Slots 1 and 2 are right next to each other on the MoBo causing heat issues in the CF unless I have the cards on 50% fans when gaming. Card #1 is a reference cooler and makes a lot of noise.
I'll be up for a new GPU later in the year for BF3 purposes, so was wondering wether it was better to sell the system whilst it's still worth something and upgrade to a better MoBo and GPU, or just hang on.

[Pilgrim_uk]

Well i would spend a third of that money on an SSD then another third on a Graphics card. Damn I need more money.


@DDY
Phage is right about the OEM licence. Even though its not part of the EULA its still part of the agreement when you break the seal on your PC.

Although in reality everybody breaks that agreement and is ignored.

[MiiCK90]

I've reinstalled 4 times with an OEM key and it's been fine every time.
Also wouldn't spend too much on a PC now as you've got a new range of stuff being released sometime soon, I built my 2600k rig in August as I needed a PC then, but if I was needing one about now I'd hold out as it's nearing the new processor's + gfx card release dates, your system will be fine for a while yet, spend money on things you won't lose out on, like 120mm case fans, and then transfer them to your new case when you build, get a good cpu fan (Noctua NH-D14 best cpu fan imo + Noctua NF-S12B ULN best case fans).

You can pick up 2nd hand parts from AVForums that are in good nick and you wouldn't lose much money (sell your mobo and buy one, both 2nd hand would fetch similar prices)..