what if anything should i upgrade in my 3xs build?

[kasavien]

Hi all,

I've ordered a 3xs computer from scan, current spec is i52500, 6950, 8gig ram, 120gig ssd.

Pay day is tomorrow and I got a good bit of overtime so in considering upgrading the spec slightly before scan start to build it.

I was thinking of going for either a i7 2600 or the scanfx 6970.

What do people think, would either of the above be worth it or should I look at getting something else like a new set of speakers?

Thanks for looking,

Andy

[shaithis]

i7 over i5 - I would not bother with. If I was going s1155 (especially if it was mostly for gaming) then I wouldn't even entertain the i7, it really offers nothing of value for the price premium.

As for the 6970 over the 6950.....depends what resolution and games you are planning to run.

[kasavien]

The games i'm going to be playing are mostly skyrim initially, but I'll also be catching up on the Assassins Creed series, Crysis maybe and Fallout 3 New Vegas + expansions.

The monitor I have is the dell U2412 which is 1920*1200 and the higher the settings I can use the better.

Thanks

[shaithis]

No one yet knows how Skyrim will perform....but it seems confirmed that it's a console port....so gfx card shouldn't be as important as other titles.

The other games you list will run perfectly on a 6950. About the only game that won't do 1920x1200 all maxed-out currently is BF3....but then it won't do it on a 6970 either

[kalniel]

What do people think, would either of the above be worth it or should I look at getting something else like a new set of speakers?

Possibly a 6970, but it's not going to make much difference - maybe running the odd taxing game at 16xaa instead of 8x.. nothing you'll be able to easily spot.

I'd go for something that will make a more tangible difference to your experience - speakers would be high on the list as I like good sound, mouse/keyboard are others, perhaps a router or broadband package upgrade.

[kasavien]

Thanks for the replies, think I will stick with almost my current config. I changed from an XFX6950 XXX to an MSI 6950 TWIN FROZR because they seem a bit more reputable than XFX.

Cannot wait to get this system, it's going to be a massive improvement for the games I'm currently playing on my mobile 4570