Gaming Computer Upgrade

[LordZultair]

Hi all.

I was just curious as to what the best upgrade to a gaming computer was as opposed to just buying an entirely new rig. I've always heard that more or faster RAM was helpful for productivity but im hardly ever using more than 40% of my RAM, even when doing something strenuous like ripping a DVD. So would a $300 graphics card be the only thing I could do to squeeze 60fps out of Skyrim on ultra?
My specs are:

intel i5-3570 ivy bridge @ 3.4GHz
8GB G.Skill 1600MHz RAM
Sapphire HD 6970 2GB
1TB 7200rpm Samsung HDD
ASRock Extreme4 Gen3

 

[LordZultair]

Oops, scratch that. I actually have a 6950* graphics card. Not sure if that makes a difference though.

 

[l0v3rboi]

Check out this link: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/509

Your 6970 should be able to squeeze out more than 60 fps at ultra even if you are playing at 2560 x 1600.

The way your build is looking right now, I would say it is still a capable PC. In my opinion, the only upgrade I would do right now is adding an SSD. Though it will not help with graphics, it will significantly improve load times and such.

 

[l0v3rboi]

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/510

The 6950 should still be able to squeeze out close to 60 fps of Skyrim on Ultra assuming your playing at 1920 x 1080.

 

[LordZultair]

Thanks for the advice. I actually don't own Skyrim but was contemplating buying it via Steam if i had enough power to run the beautiful visuals. My goal is at least 40 fps on ultra; But i recently played Ghost Recon: Future Soldier and only got about 20 fps on max settings so I had to tone down most settings to medium to get around 45 fps on average. Is Ghost Recon just poorly optimized or is it generally a more demanding game?

 

[l0v3rboi]

I don't own the game so I can't tell you for sure. From what I gather, it is one of the more demanding games. If you check out the link however, you would see that the 6950 should be able to play Battlefield 3 at Ultra Quality with some settings toned down and still get 40+ fps. I'm not sure why that would be the case for you.

 

[LordZultair]

Ok thanks. Also one more thing: how would 2 6950s preform in Crossfire? Will it double the frames per second in games or provide some sort of significant advantage? Because I assume that Crossfire would be a cheaper way to upgrade instead of buying a $350 card and just throwing the old one away. What are your opinions on it?

 

[l0v3rboi]

No, you would not get double the FPS. According to this review: http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=778&Itemid=72&limit=1&limitstart=17 you would get 45.2% better performance. This means the performance gain is about 1+1 = 1.9 (not quite 2). That is as good as a Crossfire setup (in terms of scaling) as you never get 100% performance from both cards in either Crossfire/SLI. So yes, buying another 6950 for Crossfire is a route I would recommend.

Some things to note, do you have a strong enough PSU? Please post brand and wattage. Also, does your case have good enough airflow. You might want to consider adding a few fans. What is your Case?

 

[LordZultair]

Ok thanks. I have a seagate 500W modular power supply so how many watts does a crossfire setup require? And I've got a Rosewill Blackhawk ATX midtower which I specifically bought since it came with 5 fans and has mesh all over the place so I dont think airflow will be a problem. Usually whenever I rip a DVD for example, I'll only get about 42 degrees C at the most on my GPU so I don't think cooling is an issue but power might since my PSU is quite small for a gaming PC. What would you recommend? Also I have considered Crossfire before and when I looked through mu catalyst control center, I couldn't find a button for enabling crossfire so it it even supported or does the button appear once the software realize another videp card has been installed?

 

[l0v3rboi]

ooo.. PSU definitely do not have enough juice to power two cards. I suggest a good 750W PSU. Something like the Corsair Tx750 or the XFX Core Edition 750W.

Hrmm.. Heat might not be an issue then. Do, monitor your temps though just to make sure.

 

[FinneousPJ]

If you can still find a 6950 somewhere that would be good, but you will need a new PSU as well.

 

[LordZultair]

Ok I checked out both the Corsair and XFX PSUs you recommended but neither of them are modular. Obviously when I upgrade my modular PSU I want to be able to replace it with another modular PSU so I can just unplug the cables from the original one and slide the new one into its place. Any modular enthusaist SLI/Crossfire PSUs youd recommend? And also how would I enable Crossfire once all the hardware is installed? Thanks

 

[FinneousPJ]

Ah, but it isn't so obvious the new PSU's plug ins are the same as those of the old one. I do understand your desire, though.

This might please you more http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182133

 

[l0v3rboi]

Ah, but it isn't so obvious the new PSU's plug ins are the same as those of the old one. I do understand your desire, though.

This might please you more http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182133

+1 to this PSU. That is a very good price considering its modular and is reliable. Here are other modular PSU's that might peak your interest if the sale on that one ends:

Seasonic M12II
XFX Pro 750W (Not the Core Edition)
Corsair TX750M

 

[LordZultair]

So I am able to simply replace the old PSU with the new one without completely replacing every cable?

 

[LordZultair]

Okay that Rosewill PSU looks pretty promising, but I was also considering this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171057 Its got more wattage and its more expensive but it would be helpful when I inevitable upgrade my system even further and require more power. What do you guys recommend?

 

[l0v3rboi]

For that price I would much rather get the Nzxt Hale 750W. Its gold rated and is also modular. Cooler Master puts labels on their PSU's that do not necessarily represent what the unit can do.

Yup. Cables are supposed to be universal so I don't foresee any problems there (at least I hope not).

 

[LordZultair]

So are there any benchmarks to show the performance of two 6950s relative to higher end cards such as the 7970 or the GTX 680?

 

[l0v3rboi]

Haven't seen those benchmarks yet. You can google though 6950 crossfire benchmarks and compare them to 7970/680 benchmarks.