I pegged this year as a year to upgrade my comp, and would like to do it anytime between now and early Summer. Main things I had been waiting on was Sandy Bridge so my comp was a little more outdated by comparison as well as SSDs to come down and become more reliable which seems to have largely occurred over the last 12 months. I have about $1,300, but it's a soft budget. Here's my current system as well as my computer use and goals...
Current:
-Intel Q6600@3.0Ghz
-4GB of RAM
-GeForce 8800GTS 640MB (My weakest component)
-550w PSU
I can probably scrounge the DVD drive from my old comp, as well as external components (Monitor/Keyboard/Mouse/Speakers), but that is about it. I would really like to try an SSD that can handle my system files as well as my major games WoW, SC2. I would also like to do Sandy Bridge because if I understand correctly I will be able to plug in an 8-core ivy bridge possibly down the line? I would also like a strong single GPU and a mobo capable of SLI/Xfire so I can upgrade that path later as well.
Computer usage is largely WoW and SC2 as well as other FPS/RTS games at times. Also dual-monitor workstation type stuff largely excel/word 10-20 tabbed internet browsing etc. Not much photo/video editing or encoding though.
Can this all be done for around my budget? Will I get good value now or are Spring/Summer a vastly better time to buy for some reason? I will do a build thread later assuming building makes sense. Thanks for your help!!
Current:
-Intel Q6600@3.0Ghz
-4GB of RAM
-GeForce 8800GTS 640MB (My weakest component)
-550w PSU
I can probably scrounge the DVD drive from my old comp, as well as external components (Monitor/Keyboard/Mouse/Speakers), but that is about it. I would really like to try an SSD that can handle my system files as well as my major games WoW, SC2. I would also like to do Sandy Bridge because if I understand correctly I will be able to plug in an 8-core ivy bridge possibly down the line? I would also like a strong single GPU and a mobo capable of SLI/Xfire so I can upgrade that path later as well.
Computer usage is largely WoW and SC2 as well as other FPS/RTS games at times. Also dual-monitor workstation type stuff largely excel/word 10-20 tabbed internet browsing etc. Not much photo/video editing or encoding though.
Can this all be done for around my budget? Will I get good value now or are Spring/Summer a vastly better time to buy for some reason? I will do a build thread later assuming building makes sense. Thanks for your help!!