Looking for computer upgrade advice

[carbonfountain]

Hi everyone, I'm looking for some advice on what (if anything) I should upgrade from this desktop that I built in December '08.

The core components of the desktop are:
-Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0 Ghz CPU
-Radeon HD 4850 512MB GPU
-Intel P45 Motherboard

I play on a 1440x900 monitor.

With this setup I have been able to play almost all the games that's been out since 2008 smoothly. That changed recently when I played Deus Ex: Human Revolution. With this game, even on the lowest settings, I would run into frequent stutters and intolerable framerate drops during certain "heavy" areas.

Looking to the future, the two games I'd be interested in playing are Diablo 3 and Skyrim. I know neither game is out yet, but given the age of my machine I thought maybe it's time for an upgrade.

Rather than building a machine from scratch (one expensive option), I was wondering if there are any individual components I can upgrade for an immediate and noticeable performance boost. I heard that CPUs don't really matter much for gaming. What are your opinions?

Thanks!

 

[sardonicjester]

What is your budget?

 

[carbonfountain]

If I'm building a new system from scratch, I'm looking for something between $1000 to $1500.

I should note that I'm not a big stickler for high-end graphics. The thing that irked me about Human Revolution and that made it almost unplayable was the stuttering and framerate dips.

Therefore, as long as a suggested upgrade can run new games for the next two years at *lowest* settings maintaining stable FPS, I'd be happy with that.

Thanks!

 

[sardonicjester]

If I'm building a new system from scratch, I'm looking for something between $1000 to $1500.

I should note that I'm not a big stickler for high-end graphics. The thing that irked me about Human Revolution and that made it almost unplayable was the stuttering and framerate dips.

Therefore, as long as a suggested upgrade can run new games for the next two years at *lowest* settings maintaining stable FPS, I'd be happy with that.

Thanks!

Well if you don't care too much about graphics quality, then I'd think a HD 5670 or 6770 (Both can be found for under $150) would work just fine.

Just make sure that your PSU can handle the increase.

But IMO, your setup is all pretty dated. If you have the funds I think you should go ahead and build a new system.
You can make a pretty BA gaming PC for the budget you set.

 

[carbonfountain]

Thanks for the advice!

I think you're right about building a new system from scratch. Tom's lists the 6770 as just one step above the 4850 (making the 6770 essentially equal to a 4870) and imo that's not worth the $120 price tag it carries.

Also I learned after some research that my PSU (Raidmax 630W) might go up in flames if I pushed it harder, making a new system even more attractive. Appreciate your input

 

[carbonfountain]

Best answer selected by carbonfountain.