Upgrade Help

[cook10]

Hello,
I am new to this forum and will try to keep it short. I am looking at going to the next generation CPU but need some help deciding what to purchase. Currently my rig has a C2D E7500 2.93GHZ clocked at 3.6GHZ, 4GB DDR2 1066 Ram, and a EVGA GTS250. My thought was to go right up to the i5-750 and by pass the dual core model of the i5. I'm not in need of the built in IGP that the dual core holds. A new board and ram would be required and possibly video. Do you think that going to this i5-750 would be a reasonable upgrade? Currently I am playing Batman, GTA, and Ghost Busters. I do a bit of video / audio editing as well. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[enzo matrix]

Yes the i5 would be a very reasonable upgrade.
However, if you do not replace your graphics card aswell, you will notice little to no difference in those games except perhaps a bit in GTA4 (if that is the GTA you were referring to). Since the games will be more GPU dependent.
Your CPU is not holding back your gaming at all. Personally, I would wait. You have an excellent system and although a dual core, it is high end and will last you for the most part until there are major gains from quad cores in gaming. If I were in your situation, I would wait a year, maybe two for prices to go down and to save up some more money. Next year, AMD will come out with their 32nm Bulldozer desktop variants and hopefully this will lower the cost of the Intel competition. Not to mention Intel's "Sandy bridge" 32nm processors are due in 2011 aswell.
But like I said, if you want to get something now, the i5 is a very good option and will last you a while. You don't need a new video card as it will work fine but if you want to improve gaming performance, it is a must. Generally cards priced at $200 and above I would consider worthwhile upgrades. As for the audio and video editing I am unsure, but I believe there is a significant increase in performance with a quad core.

 

[cook10]

Thank you for the information. The main reason I am upgrading is my wife needs a new machine and I thought because my hardware was decent it would be fine for her. I have thought about going to SLI with the new system and adding a second GTS250. If this card is not quite where I want to be than maybe a new video card is in order. My games to play quite well and do have my resolution set to 1920 X 1080. I just figured by swapping my board and what not now, if a newer CPU comes out with the same socket I would be ready. The price is the same for the i5-750 when I looked at the dual core i5-660/661. What do you think would be the overclocking abilities with the i5-750? I never use the stock cooler, but I do run air coolers. Picking up an after market is a must for any build I do. Also, what video card would you suggest? I'm still in planning mode so things can be changed before I purchase. Thanks again for the information.

 

[jonpaul37]

what are ya willin to spend?

 

[cook10]

I'm looking for something reasonable that isn't too pricey....

 

[Raidur]

Max budget? Most cards today are priced well according to performance, and the i5 can handle any of them with room to breathe. At your resolution I wouldn't go with any less than a 5770. 5830/5850 is probably the sweet spot.

I5 750 overclocks great (caps out around 4-4.2 with good air cooling).

 

[cook10]

Honestly I'm looking to spend around $150 or so. I was doing some looking around and some people are saying that (2) GTS250 are equal to (1) 5850. I am wondering if this is true. Seeing how I already have one GTS250 and the new board I am looking at has SLI I was thinking of just picking up a second card. I have a decent card that will work for my wife and daughters game. They don't play anything to high end. I'm only looking for some insight on the SLI situation. Thanks for all the help.

 

[jonpaul37]

It is true, 2 x GTS 250's in SLI is about equal to the 5850. My opinion would be to just buy another GTS 250 and go SLI. Keep in mind that some games scale SLI better than others, and some games do not benefit from SLI at all.

 

[cook10]

Thank you all for your input. I think now I know what I am going to go with. I've always thought of going SLI and at the moment thought it would be more reasonable to add the second GTS 250. The one I have now is less than 6 months old, that was my main reason for wanting to keep it. Now all I have to do is round all the gear up and get it on order. Thanks again to everyone for all your input, it is greatly appreciated.

 

[cook10]

Best answer selected by cook10.