So I haven't upgraded anything since my xfx 7950 in '06. Needless to say, I have been a little out of the loop. I am obviously well beyond the point of needing to upgrade, so here were a couple of ideas for builds I came up with. I have admittedly been an AMD and Nvidia fanboy, but I am definitely open to suggestions...
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: sometime between now and october
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming, internet, school-work, photoshop
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: I honestly don't know right now
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: almost always Newegg.com
PARTS PREFERENCES: Like I said, I have traditionally been an AMD and Nvidia fanboy, but what with market upheavals in the last 3 years, I am open to change
OVERCLOCKING: a bit
MONITOR RESOLUTION: sounds like 1680x1050 is the way to go
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I would like to keep cost down, but understand that building a new system from the ground up is going to cost some dough. I am mostly trying to figure out what my best course is, in order to figure out how much I need to spend, so here we go...
system #1: AMD
AMD Phenom II 720 AM3 BE
ASUS M4A78T-E
4gb G.Skill PC 1333 DDR3 Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBHK
Corsair PSU 750w
Antec 1200 Case
and eventually:
WD 640 Gb HDD
ASUS 21.5 2ms Monitor
a Vid Card (unsure as of this point which to get)
system #2: AMD
AMD Phenom II 955 AM3 BE
ASUS M4A78T-E
4gb G.Skill PC 1333 DDR3 Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBHK
Corsair PSU 750w
Antec 1200 Case
and eventually:
WD 640 Gb HDD
ASUS 21.5 2ms Monitor
a Vid Card (unsure as of this point which to get)
system #3: Intel
Intel i7 920
ASUS p6T LGA 1366 Intel X58
6Gb G.Skill PC 1333 DDR3 Model F3-10666CL9T-6GBNQ
Corsair PSU 750w
Antec 1200 Case
and eventually:
WD 640 Gb HDD
ASUS 21.5 2ms Monitor
a Vid Card (unsure as of this point which to get)
Also looking at possibly an aftermarket heatsink, if necessary, and a new mouse and keyboard, etc. Basically starting over slowly.
I have been reading several reviews for the past week and a half, but I am a little out of touch. This seems like a good place to get confirmation and/or suggestions about what to do instead of what I have posted. I have always had luck with AMD, ASUS, Corsair, Antec, and XFX (before that Gainward until they left us), and Western Digital. I understand that AMD aquired ATI, which hasn't seemed to affect Nvidia compatability to date, but is still worrisome. And Intel has left AMD in the dust as far as general computing goes.
Do any or all of these builds seem okay? Are there any changes that you all would recommend? I am not planning on trying to push the limits of overclocking or be the best gamer. With the exception of Mabinogi, I don't really game online. I will be playing COD 4 and 5, Civ4, and probably several others. Thinking that a 1680x1050 resolution would be nice eventually for gaming. I also photoshop a bit, and I would like the system to be responsive, hopefully while playing music at the same time. In reality, I think that I just enjoy putting my own systems together more than I like playing around on them, and I am very far beyond then need for an overhaul. My current system houses: AMD Athlon 64 3200+, Asrock dual-SATA2 939 board, 1Gb Corsair XMX (2x512), Antec Smartpower 400w PSU, XFX 7950GT 512Mb 256-bit, WD 250Gb SATA2 7200rpm, WD 120Gb IDE, WD 160Gb IDE, Samsung 19" 4:3, Powmax with a handle (case), J&J $10 keyboard, and a cheap optical mouse.
I am also looking to upgrade from my XFX 7950 card, but what with DirectX11 being on the verge of coming out, it seems rather pointless to go all out on a new card right now. I have been looking at 260s and 275s (maybe even as low as a 9800gxt), and even have considered 4870s or 4890s. I have had great luck with XFX, but I think I would be willing to branch out. Gigabyte, ASUS, EVGA, and Sapphire all seem to carry a bit of weight nowadays.
I am hoping that whatever I end up going with will last for a decent while. I am still in college, and paying my own way, so I can't just upgrade whenever I want to. I am looking for something stable that can do whatever I need it to do: casual gaming at decent settings, be responsive, multi-task, and that will last at least a couple of years with the understanding that moderate upgrading along the way is a necessity (especially for someone who loves to build).
Any help would be very much appreciated. I will be traveling all day tomorrow, so if I am not responsive immediately, that is why. Thanks in advance!
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: sometime between now and october
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming, internet, school-work, photoshop
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: I honestly don't know right now
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: almost always Newegg.com
PARTS PREFERENCES: Like I said, I have traditionally been an AMD and Nvidia fanboy, but what with market upheavals in the last 3 years, I am open to change
OVERCLOCKING: a bit
MONITOR RESOLUTION: sounds like 1680x1050 is the way to go
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I would like to keep cost down, but understand that building a new system from the ground up is going to cost some dough. I am mostly trying to figure out what my best course is, in order to figure out how much I need to spend, so here we go...
system #1: AMD
AMD Phenom II 720 AM3 BE
ASUS M4A78T-E
4gb G.Skill PC 1333 DDR3 Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBHK
Corsair PSU 750w
Antec 1200 Case
and eventually:
WD 640 Gb HDD
ASUS 21.5 2ms Monitor
a Vid Card (unsure as of this point which to get)
system #2: AMD
AMD Phenom II 955 AM3 BE
ASUS M4A78T-E
4gb G.Skill PC 1333 DDR3 Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBHK
Corsair PSU 750w
Antec 1200 Case
and eventually:
WD 640 Gb HDD
ASUS 21.5 2ms Monitor
a Vid Card (unsure as of this point which to get)
system #3: Intel
Intel i7 920
ASUS p6T LGA 1366 Intel X58
6Gb G.Skill PC 1333 DDR3 Model F3-10666CL9T-6GBNQ
Corsair PSU 750w
Antec 1200 Case
and eventually:
WD 640 Gb HDD
ASUS 21.5 2ms Monitor
a Vid Card (unsure as of this point which to get)
Also looking at possibly an aftermarket heatsink, if necessary, and a new mouse and keyboard, etc. Basically starting over slowly.
I have been reading several reviews for the past week and a half, but I am a little out of touch. This seems like a good place to get confirmation and/or suggestions about what to do instead of what I have posted. I have always had luck with AMD, ASUS, Corsair, Antec, and XFX (before that Gainward until they left us), and Western Digital. I understand that AMD aquired ATI, which hasn't seemed to affect Nvidia compatability to date, but is still worrisome. And Intel has left AMD in the dust as far as general computing goes.
Do any or all of these builds seem okay? Are there any changes that you all would recommend? I am not planning on trying to push the limits of overclocking or be the best gamer. With the exception of Mabinogi, I don't really game online. I will be playing COD 4 and 5, Civ4, and probably several others. Thinking that a 1680x1050 resolution would be nice eventually for gaming. I also photoshop a bit, and I would like the system to be responsive, hopefully while playing music at the same time. In reality, I think that I just enjoy putting my own systems together more than I like playing around on them, and I am very far beyond then need for an overhaul. My current system houses: AMD Athlon 64 3200+, Asrock dual-SATA2 939 board, 1Gb Corsair XMX (2x512), Antec Smartpower 400w PSU, XFX 7950GT 512Mb 256-bit, WD 250Gb SATA2 7200rpm, WD 120Gb IDE, WD 160Gb IDE, Samsung 19" 4:3, Powmax with a handle (case), J&J $10 keyboard, and a cheap optical mouse.
I am also looking to upgrade from my XFX 7950 card, but what with DirectX11 being on the verge of coming out, it seems rather pointless to go all out on a new card right now. I have been looking at 260s and 275s (maybe even as low as a 9800gxt), and even have considered 4870s or 4890s. I have had great luck with XFX, but I think I would be willing to branch out. Gigabyte, ASUS, EVGA, and Sapphire all seem to carry a bit of weight nowadays.
I am hoping that whatever I end up going with will last for a decent while. I am still in college, and paying my own way, so I can't just upgrade whenever I want to. I am looking for something stable that can do whatever I need it to do: casual gaming at decent settings, be responsive, multi-task, and that will last at least a couple of years with the understanding that moderate upgrading along the way is a necessity (especially for someone who loves to build).
Any help would be very much appreciated. I will be traveling all day tomorrow, so if I am not responsive immediately, that is why. Thanks in advance!
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram