1. #1
    High Overlord Airin's Avatar
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    Nov 2010
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    What to upgrade first

    I just got my school rebate check in and was having a hard decision on what to upgrade first.

    Current Setup:
    Core i3-530 OC@3.5 Ghz
    Gts 450
    4GB DDR3 1333

    Upgrade Options:
    1155 Motherboard + I5-2500k
    or
    GTX 560 TI/ HD6950

    Now I know for wow the processor+MB would be the obvious choice. But I dont really play wow all that much anymore, this will be for games like BF3 and Skyrim.

    And if I had the money I would do it all right now, but I need to save most of the rebate for extra classes.

  2. #2
    Honestly i would probably hold out on the graphics card for the moment as your motherboard and cpu would still bottleneck your performance in BF3 (Not sure on skyrim graphics) meaning you would not get as much of an increase in performance IN MY OPINION.

    However if you do choose to wait you will probably find getting a good video card will be much easier when the new video cards get released end of this year/start of next year?

  3. #3
    Deleted
    The setup isn't all that bad (very budget, but still) and while you can get something better I would suggest holding off. It sounds to me like you are indeed in school and if the "school rebate check" is your primary income it isn't worth it at this point as students usually tend to be starved on cash. I would save and hold on until Ivy Bridge and Bulldozer is released (sometime next year) and hope for either them being cheap and performing well, or that current hardware dips in price substantially.

    Looking at your spec, the CPU seems to be the primary weak spot. The 450, while last generations mid-range/budget card, is still a decent card to have. It's not the best nor the newest, but it will run all current games on low-medium (and even console-ports on high). So, if you really want to upgrade I would go for the 2500k first together with the MoBo, and then check what happens on the GPU front in a year or a year and a half.
    Last edited by mmoc7c6c75675f; 2011-08-27 at 04:03 PM.

  4. #4
    Deleted
    I'd upgrade to the i5-2500k now and then consider new gpu later on when you have the cash, maybe once the next series of GPU's gets released.

  5. #5
    Deleted
    Go for the 2500k a P67 and a Hyper 212+ CPU cooler.

  6. #6
    For skyrim and bf3 I'd definitely suggest upgrading the gpu. You should wait until one of those games actually comes out first though and you need an upgrade, since prices will be down by then, especially if a new line of gpu's hits the market first.
    BTW I used some of my rebate check to build myself a home theater with a projector (120" screen ftw) xD. Such good academic use we make of our funds.
    If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One... now I am become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds.

  7. #7
    I don't know about Skyrim, but I'd definitely wait and see how BF3 runs before upgrading since not much concrete info is known (afaik) about how demanding it will be on the CPU or GPU. Assuming it's similar to BC2, the GPU will be the main limiting factor, but the CPU will definitely get a workout (and I know the Frostbite engine is good at utilizing multiple cores)

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