At an impasse- to upgrade the CPU, Graphics chip, or both?

[calvinstence]

Hello everybody! I hope this is the right category.

Currently, my system is as follows-

Phenom II 1090t @ 3.7 GHz cooled by Corsair H50

ASUS Crosshair IV Formula

XFX 6870 Black Edition xfired with a normal XFX 6870

128gb SSD

3 1080p monitors (which I currently do not use in eyefinity because my system does not play games well at that high of a resolution)

850W PSU

And blah, blah, blah. All that matters in there are the CPU, mobo, and GPUs. I am dissatisfied with the current performance of my machine, and am at the point in my PC building life where I want to buy only the best components for my needs that will last into the future. I want to upgrade and smooth out the performance of my machine, as the crossfired 6870 stutter much too much and too many games that I play don't work very well with crossfire (BF3, Skyrim, and the list goes on). I have about $1000 to spend on an upgrade, and know what I could get best with that money- a GTX 680, an i5 3570k, and some decent Z77 motherboard.

The question is- should I leave my motherboard and processor in its current configuration, and simply slap a 680 (or, for that matter, a pair of 660 Ti's might be better) in there, or should I just replace my CPU and motherboard, or should I replace them all? What would do the best for my money, in all of y'all's honest opinions? Any help or consideration at all is greatly appreciated.

 

[lt_dan_zsu]

I would stick with the mobo and cpu you have now. I would get a 7970ghz edition. You have enough left to still get a 3570k and good z77 mobo. But I don't think you will notice a justifiable performance boost for that extra $330-400 you would be spending.

 

[StrangeInstance]

i7 3770k with like dual 7950s , each 7950 is around 300, so your at 600, the 3770k is around 300, so your at 900, spend the $100 on a mobo, and your good

 

[lt_dan_zsu]

That suggestion, while doable, makes wouldn't be sensible. Also, it would be pretty hard to find a $100 mobo that would cfx well, especially with that card.

 

[calvinstence]

I don't know about the 7970. It seems to have very high failure rates. 17 percent of reviews for the XDX Double 7970 are 1 star. Others are as high as 30 percent. I can't even find a 7970 with 5 stars on newegg. Also, while some may see it as a plus that it has 3 free games that come with it, I can only see it as AMD goading you into buying something that's grossly overpriced. Those things make me shy away from it. I may be delusional, and the grass may be greener on the other side since I have been disappointed by the AMD products I have, but it seems to me that the 680 is just as good if not better for a bit more money, as well as being stable and reliable.

 

[maxalge]

Hello everybody! I hope this is the right category.

Currently, my system is as follows-

Phenom II 1090t @ 3.7 GHz cooled by Corsair H50

ASUS Crosshair IV Formula

XFX 6870 Black Edition xfired with a normal XFX 6870

128gb SSD

3 1080p monitors (which I currently do not use in eyefinity because my system does not play games well at that high of a resolution)

850W PSU

And blah, blah, blah. All that matters in there are the CPU, mobo, and GPUs. I am dissatisfied with the current performance of my machine, and am at the point in my PC building life where I want to buy only the best components for my needs that will last into the future. I want to upgrade and smooth out the performance of my machine, as the crossfired 6870 stutter much too much and too many games that I play don't work very well with crossfire (BF3, Skyrim, and the list goes on). I have about $1000 to spend on an upgrade, and know what I could get best with that money- a GTX 680, an i5 3570k, and some decent Z77 motherboard.

The question is- should I leave my motherboard and processor in its current configuration, and simply slap a 680 (or, for that matter, a pair of 660 Ti's might be better) in there, or should I just replace my CPU and motherboard, or should I replace them all? What would do the best for my money, in all of y'all's honest opinions? Any help or consideration at all is greatly appreciated.

For a nice triple monitor system like that, 3570k with dual sapphire 7950's. About 220 + 600 = $820,

which leaves about $180 for a nice z77 mobo.


That's what I would do personally.

 

[calvinstence]

For a nice triple monitor system like that, 3570k with dual sapphire 7950's. About 220 + 600 = $820,

which leaves about $180 for a nice z77 mobo.


That's what I would do personally.

That seems like a good idea- the 7950s appear to have a better track record of not being DOA 25% of the time. I like the looks of the HIS IceQ one- massive overclocking headroom right there.

The question now is, do I NEED to upgrade my CPU and mobo to reap the benefits of these cards? I will if I need to but if I can avoid spending the extra money for now that would be nice.

 

[StrangeInstance]

Get the DD version, I have the single right now and it runs cooler then me.

 

[calvinstence]

Best answer selected by calvinstence.