Next upgrade - what would you do?

[BlueMagician]

I game in 1600x1200 or above, and games are getting hungrier - what do you guys think should be my next move?

S.

[aidanjt]

Lower your resolution if games are starting to drop below 30fps.

I use 1024x768 and games are more than playable even on my 'anchient' 9600XT

[kalniel]

What's your current spec?

edit: ah.. if spec is in the sig I can't see it as I have them turned off Ignore this post.

[Duncan_Mon]

I'd probably stick in another Gig' of RAM. Not to expensive but could make a large difference.

[DeludedGuy]

What would I do?

Keep that system until significant upgrades are available. Everything you have is good for now. I would wait at least another 6 months.

[aidanjt]

I'd probably stick in another Gig' of RAM. Not to expensive but could make a large difference.

Aye, 1Gb is starting to become a bottleneck for modern games, 2Gb does wonders for the likes of Battlefield 2.

[BlueMagician]

I'd probably stick in another Gig' of RAM. Not to expensive but could make a large difference.

Many thanks to all so far.. I must admit - extra RAM is not something that I'd considered. Would it really make that much difference?

What are the implications of adding another pair of modules, for overclocking/system stability etc? Can you still run 1T and puch a Winchester as far, or do you start to have problems?

S.

[ajones]

Think the "Upgrade to SLI and keep 3500 CPU" is not feasible... won't you be horribly CPU bound with that much graphics power?

The extra RAM option gets my vote too , although it's a rare Winnie that can run 4 sticks at 1T. Memory I'm using is awesome if you want an alternative.

[aidanjt]

Yes, an extra pair of sticks will probibly strain your overclock, you'll just have to stress it after getting the memory.

[Smokey21]

Extra memory.

You don't need to upgrade anything else. A Dual Core would be nice, but not worth it IMO.

Sell your current mem, and buy a nice matched 2GB pair, will last you a long time, as more than 2GB of ram won't be needed for a long time.

[Chemical_Ali]

the next gen stuff (R580) is coming out late feb/early march

[ajones]

the next gen stuff (R580) is coming out late feb/early march

Are you sure?.....

[kempez]

I reckon an extra gig would set ya good for a while. I got some Crucial Ballistix and my OC didn't get hurt at all

And it runs at decent timings at 1T

[BlueMagician]

I'm not sure that at 1600x1200 (certainly with a good dose of AF+AA) that I would be CPU bound - hence my uncertaintly as to whether a CPU upgrade would be worthwhile. At those resolutions I think the strain is still on the GPU, but could be wrong.

As for the next generation GFX - I've not really been keeping an eye on NVidia's next move - what's the story there?

Can I have a few more suggestions for a decent overclockable 2GB RAM pair? Is OCZ still the way to go? They have sooooo many products now, it's tough to know what to go for! It's nice being able to run 300+ FSB to get the over clocks that I do with my current sticks, but not essential I guess, if I gain in other areas for having the extra memory.


S.

[RDL]

I would probably go for the RAM, CPU and Leave Graphics for the mean time.

2gb RAM sticks, I'm not sure exactly which product (and don't have time to look right now) but just look for the chips that have the lowest latency, you can get pretty close (if not on) 2-2-2-5 with 1gb sticks these days.

As for CPU either get an FX 57 or 4800+, depending on what you're using it for (providing you have the money of course!)

Graphics cards - obviously the 512mbs versions of the 7800GTs would be nice, but you're two 6800GTs shouldn't struggle with anything at the moment realistically, surely?

As I said, if it were me I'd upgrade it all, I'm actually thinking on doing the same myself with my system (roughly about the same spec as yours, minus one 6800GT). But then I have a tendancy to spend money unnecessarily, simply because I can.

[Chemical_Ali]

Are you sure?.....

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=28228
http://forums.hexus.net/showthread.php?t=62747
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=28227