Born again gamer

[laingy]

Hi folks, looking for a little help here. I bought my gaming rig 6 yr's ago.
<System specs>
Motherboard> Nvidia nforce 790i ultra sli
CPU> Yor,intel q9450 2.6ghz
Graphics> Nvidia geforce 8800gt 512mb x2
Memory> Elpida 1gb DDR3 1067mhz x2
PSU> 750W

After about 4 yr's of gaming & general web surfing, one of the graphics cards died & the second one a year after. My system lay in the corner for a year doing nothing while i had a child, but now i need my gaming fix. If i was to go sli again.What would be the best choice or would i be better sticking to one card . I would prefer to spend in the region of £200-£300 Or would i be better saving my cash longer & upgrading my mobo & cpu to something more modern. Thanks

 

[dustinhunt78]

Hi folks, looking for a little help here. I bought my gaming rig 6 yr's ago.
<System specs>
Motherboard> Nvidia nforce 790i ultra sli
CPU> Yor,intel q9450 2.6ghz
Graphics> Nvidia geforce 8800gt 512mb x2
Memory> Elpida 1gb DDR3 1067mhz x2
PSU> 750W

After about 4 yr's of gaming & general web surfing, one of the graphics cards died & the second one a year after. My system lay in the corner for a year doing nothing while i had a child, but now i need my gaming fix. If i was to go sli again.What would be the best choice or would i be better sticking to one card . I would prefer to spend in the region of £200-£300 Or would i be better saving my cash longer & upgrading my mobo & cpu to something more modern. Thanks

With that big of a gap, you would be so much better off just saving a bit more and upgrading the CPU/motherboard first. A LOT has changed in 6 years. A WHOLE lot. After 6 years, your once modern and possibly even state of the art computer has all but become a dinosaur. That's the only big downside to being into computers. 🙁 You have to update and stay with the times or you are left in the dark. If you need help/advice in parts selecting, please call on me. I'll be glad to help!

 

[dustinhunt78]

The parts to my rig are listed in the "signature" of each of my post. Granted, it's definitely a high-end build that I completed at the end of this past summer, but compare it to what you have now. It's a good indicator of how things have progressed in the technology of parts.

 

[laingy]

Thanks for your reply bud, 6yr's is defo a long time in computer terms. I was hoping to upgrade my ram to 8 gb & maybe sticking in a EVGA GeForce GTX 760 Superclocked ACX Nvidia Graphics Card - 2GB to get me a quick fix

 

[dustinhunt78]

Thanks for your reply bud, 6yr's is defo a long time in computer terms. I was hoping to upgrade my ram to 8 gb & maybe sticking in a EVGA GeForce GTX 760 Superclocked ACX Nvidia Graphics Card - 2GB to get me a quick fix

That will do it. And you can always transfer the parts to a new CPU/motherboard in the future.

Out of curiosity, I ran a benchmark search on your current CPU just to see how out of date it has become. It scored very close to the i3-390M that is in my laptop. 🙁 But with a shot of RAM and a decent graphics card, you can at least get off the ground and get into gaming again. Here is the result of the benchmark search:

Intel Core2 Quad Q9450 @ 2.66GHz Average CPU Mark
Description: Socket: LGA775, Clockspeed: 2.7 GHz, No of Cores: 4, Max TDP: 95 W
Other names: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q9450 @ 2.66GHz
CPU Launched: Q4 2008
CPUmark/$Price: 10.33 Overall Rank: 377
Last Price Change: $369 USD (2013-02-13)
3813

Single Thread Rating: 1132
Samples: 198

Intel's latest, greatest (without going into the realm of their "Extreme" CPU's is the i7-4770k. This is the benchmark for it. Comparing the two lets you know about where you stand. Granted, the 4770k isn't necessary to have a great build, but it's a good reference for where the top is.

Intel Core i7-4770K @ 3.50GHz Average CPU Mark
Description: Socket: LGA1150, Clockspeed: 3.5 GHz, Turbo Speed: 3.9 GHz, No of Cores: 4 (2 logical cores per physical), Max TDP: 84 W
Other names: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770K CPU @ 3.50GHz
CPU Launched: Q2 2013
CPUmark/$Price: 33.46 Overall Rank: 30
Last Price Change: $309.99 USD (2013-06-04)
10373

Single Thread Rating: 2293
Samples: 2670

 

[laingy]

Thanks for the info There is a Intel Core2 Quad extreme edition but! 1. Nobody stocks them anymore 2. The prices are a joke. If i was a single guy with no kids. I'd be gaming with the new tech, but money's a bit tight nowadays so it'll take me longer to get there. I was looking at the i7's & if i save around £600 It should give me a good mid range build.

 

[dustinhunt78]

Thanks for the info There is a Intel Core2 Quad extreme edition but! 1. Nobody stocks them anymore 2. The prices are a joke. If i was a single guy with no kids. I'd be gaming with the new tech, but money's a bit tight nowadays so it'll take me longer to get there. I was looking at the i7's & if i save around £600 It should give me a good mid range build.

I helped a guy this afternoon whose situation is very similar to yours. My theory on buying something that you really don't want because you want a better product is: Never "settle" for something. You will regret it. It's far better to save you money, then buy EXACTLY what you want. No regrets if you do that.

 

[laingy]

Good advice. I was hoping someone would say ' stick a couple of these cards in, some memory & you'll be rocking ' but i knew she was an old rig in need of a full overhaul. I have a feeling £600 is going to turn into £800/£900/£1000...... Here we go again!!! Thanks again for the info bud

 

[dustinhunt78]

Good advice. I was hoping someone would say ' stick a couple of these cards in, some memory & you'll be rocking ' but i knew she was an old rig in need of a full overhaul. I have a feeling £600 is going to turn into £800/£900/£1000...... Here we go again!!! Thanks again for the info bud

Oh HECK yeah. It'll be expensive, but if you build it like you really want to, you will be happy with it. Don't compromise. Save and get what you truly want. 😉