New i7 build, Opinions wanted =)

[markmarkmark]

Alright.. its that time of the year again for us alaskans and our PFD checks. Every year i upgrade my computer with it and pay bills with the left over.
my current build;

MSI K9A2 Plat
Phenom II X4 940 BE 3.0
MSI GeForce GTX 260 896Mb 192 cores not the new 216 Cores
CORSAIR DOMINATOR 2x4GB DDR2 1066
Creative X-FI Xtream Music
Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb
ZALMAN ZM850-HP 850W Continuous (Maximum Continuous Peak: 1050W
Zalman 9700 CPU cooler
Zalman VF900 Cooler for the graphics card
All of this sits in a Antec 12Hundred case.


The reason i am putting my current specs is also to as the question, is this upgrade i am
proposing worth it ? Should i wait for another year to upgrade?
let me know your thoughts and Opinions! i am most eager to hear from you all. 😱
Here is the list i have compiled..

EVGA E758-A1 3-Way SLI with possibility to actually use SLI at a later date.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16813188039

Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16819115202

EVGA GeForce GTX 275 896MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16814130475

CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820145224

I will be using the same Zalman cooling, the same Sound card, and the same Hard Drive with these new parts.
Let me know what you guys think

 

[wiinippongamer]

you have a good mobo and a pretty good processor and good cpu cooler, it's no worth to spend 780$ for upgrading a pc that is still good enough for playing anything on max.

your processor overclocks pretty good, you would OC it to about 3.8ghz pretty stable with that cooler.

just by upgrading your graphics to a 285(which overclocks pretty damn good) you should be able to keep on heavy gaming for about 2 more years. then upgrade to a new PC 😉

 

[markmarkmark]

you have a good mobo and a pretty good processor and good cpu cooler, it's no worth to spend 780$ for upgrading a pc that is still good enough for playing anything on max.

your processor overclocks pretty good, you would OC it to about 3.8ghz pretty stable with that cooler.

just by upgrading your graphics to a 285(which overclocks pretty damn good) you should be able to keep on heavy gaming for about 2 more years. then upgrade to a new PC 😉

Thanks for the reply! Maybe i'll just get a new Gpu and keep things as is then

 

[anamaniac]

Your processor is not to be underestimated.
The Phenom II 940 is actually nearly comparrable to a i7 920.

Sure, I could have spent half as much for a phenom II instead of my i7 system, but fanboyism alone can be very costly...

Instead I'd rather get a dual socket AMD board upon reflection. Who needs hypertransport when you can have 8 real cores? Maybe even a dual socket LGA 1366 board.

Myself, the only thing I'd upgrade now is your storage (a SDD or another HDD. If HDD, maybe two more 500Bs for a raid 0 or something else for redundency).

I suggest waiting for the new ATI line coming soon instead of buying a 275.
There's rumors the 5870 will be released two months from now, but also rumors on a release on the 22nd this month. I'm hopping for September 22nd release myself. Once released, Nvidia should soon follow suit.

Also, what monitor are you using?
Still using a 17"? If so, spend the money on a 23/24" (or maybe even a few, as ATI is now bringing back multimonitor support with the release of its new GPUs).
Using a 20"-24"?
If so, upgrade to a 2560x1600 30" monitor (would cost abbout $1000 for a low end 1600p, or $2000 for a good one).

OR
You could upgrade to a high-end liquid cooling setup.
Being in Alaska, you could have your radiator outside, and use a coolant that doesn't freeze easily (antifreeze would work). You would have a constant subzero cooled CPU and GPU, allowing for some mad clocking. (I brought my old Pentium D CPU to 10C on cold outside air alone, the Pentium Ds have a TDP comparable to a i7).



By the way, if you're interested in the dual socket thing...

Dual socket LGA 1366 board. $450
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813151201
Two i7 920s. 2x$280= $560
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202
36GB of DDR3 2GB dimms (4GB DDR3 dimms do exist, but at $100 per GB...) 6x(3x2GB)= 6x$110= $660
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148247

You could get away with using your current HDD, GPU, DVD, and even your PSU. Likely your old case too.
2x i7 920 2.66GHz
36GB DDR3
Total cost: $1670
Would be one hell of a powerhouse with a RAMDISK the size of some SDDs...
... actually wish I went for this setup instead...


OR
Quad socket AMD option. Bye this from Newegg.ca instead of Newegg.com, because apparantly quad socket boards cost half as much to Canadians. $350
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813151085
Opteron 2345E 1.8GHz quad core. Only 55W TDP, which could be quite useful. 4x$170= $680
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819105186
32GB of DDR2 2GB dimms (yet again, 4GB dimms are available but still around $100 per gig...) 8x(2x2GB)= 8x$50= $400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145238

Yet again, your current psu/gpu etc. would work.
This board may actualy use less power than the previously stated Intel setup.
You may be able to use AM3 chips in a Socket F board, but I don't know too much about that.
4x 1.8GHz AMD quad core.
32GB DDR2.
Total cost: $1430
16 cores of goodness, with lots of memory to boot.
Who needs hardware accerleration when you have this?


COincidently, both of these steller options only cost about 2xas much as your proposed upgrade. I'd take either.

 

[markmarkmark]

thanks for your in depth reply Anamaniac!
My monitor is a 226BW Samsung.
I only have about 1400 to spend, i cannot go any higher on that.

I have lots to stew over.

 

[anamaniac]

I say go for the dual socket LGA 1336 and only put 12GB in it...
We mortals and our pathetic single socket boards will bow below your radiating awesomeness (though a Foxconn bloodrage is only like $100 cheaper than a dual socket... so much regret... awesome board though).

Get a 5xxx series card and a 2650x1600 monitor.
Your monitor has a 700:1 static contrast and is only 1650x1050. A 30'' can be found for less than $1000 if you look hard enough.

OR
Get a hooker. That'll help with your cold Alaskan nights.