First off im not sure if this is the right forum but I didnt see one that fit better. I am not ready to build an entire new computer because they one I have is not that bad, but I would like to try and determine if it would be worth some money trying go get some extra juice out of mine. I play a lot of wow and starcraft 2 and just dabble in other games that come out to check them out. When I built this computer 4 years ago it was amazing and have done a few small upgrades to it over time. These are the current specs as it sits now.
-Gigabyte GA-EP43-UD3L (rev. 1.1) MOBO
-Intel Quadcore Q9400 2.66 (Running at 2.6 but could OC pretty easily to 3+)
-4 Gigs SLI Ready PC 6400 Memory 2.1v
-eVGA GTX 8800 Vid card
-Corsair 650w PSUI
-500 gig sata 7200 hard drive for OS
-1TB sata HDD for storage
-Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit
I upgraded the Mobo when I got the new Processor. Now I wish I could just go ahead and drop 2 grand and build an amazing new computer with an i7 ect but I dont want to do that. When I am playing wow I can quest in outlands with all the settings on ultra and get very little lag and 45-60 fps but when stuff starts happening it can drop to the 20-30s depending on the situation. When I raid 25 mans tho I have to put alot of the settings down to get it at a smooth level. I really would like to be able to run ultra settings all the time and get better performance. I also plan on getting cata when it comes out. I also have to turn down some SC2 Settings and would like to be able to leave them up as well. I havnt installed yet but I expect similar results with Mafia 2.
There is a point I know where it isnt worth upgrading your old computer because you are going to replace so many parts you might as well have just bought a new one. My question is if I had a budget of about ~$600, do you guys see some worth while upgrades? The processor isnt too bad and I know it can be bumped up. My gtx8800 was AMAZING when I bought it 4 years ago but now there are cards for $200 dollars that destroy it. My current mobo now has PCI-E 16x 2.0 which my old one didnt. I have been looking at the GTX 460-470 and both have them have better specs over all, and while the core clock is only slightly higher, the memory, memory xfer, shader ect are all bettter than my current card. They are also GDDR5. Would it be worth it to invest in to a new GFX card or will the difference only be minimal.
The other possible problems I see could be the ram. Maybe I would do better doubling them memory? 4 gigs is a good amount but its not too great now a days while running Windows 7 64 bit. My hard drive may also be a problem being slow.
I have seen memory on new egg for 100 per 4 gig and a gtx 470 for $300.
Basically put simply what kinda of performance increase could I get upgrading my current system and would it be worth it with the way technology gets outdated so fast.
Thanks!