Upgrade to existing? or New Built instead?

[spitfire6000]

CyberPower Inc.
5175 Commerce Dr.
Baldwin Park, CA 91706

DATE
8/6/2009
SHIP VIA
GROUND
INDICATOR
AUTOSO
TERM
BILLMELATER PROMO
CUST REF NO
-
ORDER ON
7/29/2009
SALES
SD
ORDER NO

ITEM DESCRIPTION UNIT PRICE QTY PRICE
ID-INFO 194016 SP3Z 0.00 1 0.00
MODEL2 MEGA 0.00 1 0.00

CU-189-405 INTEL CORE 2 DUO E8500 3.16GHZ RET. 629.00 1 629.00
HD-403-106 500 GB SATA II 3.0 GB 16MB 7200RPM 28.50 2 57.00
RM-312-119 2 GB PC6400 DDR2 800 19.75 4 79.00
FA-212-102 XTREME GEAR HP-9310 INTEL I7 /AMD CPU FAN 13.00 1 13.00
CS-130-139 BLACK COOLERMASTER SCOUT CASE NO POWER 58.00 1 58.00
CD-141-101 BLACK SAMSUNG 22X DVDRW 0.00 1 0.00
CABLE-201-101 24" IDE ROUND CABLE WITH 3 HEADS 0.00 1 0.00
CD-141-101 BLACK SAMSUNG 22X DVDRW 30.00 1 30.00
CABLE-201-101 24" IDE ROUND CABLE WITH 3 HEADS 0.00 1 0.00
MR-104-101 12-IN-ONE INTERNAL CARD READER 0.00 1 0.00
MB-326-101 EVGA NFORCE 780I 775 MOTHERBOARD 84.00 1 84.00
PS-120-101 SIGMA SHARK 635WATT POWER SUPPLY 34.00 1 34.00
NC-114-101 ZONET ZEW1642 IEEE 802.11B/G/N DRAFT 2.0 WIRELESS 29.00 1 29.00
RAID-0 RAID-0 STRIPING 0.00 1 0.00

I recently replaced the GTS 250 with a EVGA GTX 560ti Superclocked.

But i still want more gaming performance.

I am getting a 3d vision monitor, and i suspect I need another gtx560ti to run in SLI with the current one.

I DO have the sli strip that comes with the evga motherboards.

My power supply is only 650W so I will have to replace it with a 800-1000 watt PSU, and another GTX560ti will cost me another 220 bucks, the price did not drop since i got the first one in may.

Heres my question:

Is it worth me getting a new PSU and 2nd GTX 560ti superclocked 1gig to make my rig able to run BF3 and other games in 3d with great ultra setting performance?

Or should i just get a brand new rig altogether?

My Core2duo is overclocked to 4.1-4.2ghz, so will this bottleneck a 2 SLI evga gtx 560ti setup?

My 2 options are:
1. Get a brand new pc altogether for approx 700-1,000 dollars, and put my gtx560ti superclocked into that one to run sli with another gtx560ti sc.

OR

2. Buy a gtx560ti sc for 220 dollars, and a 1000 watt psu for 140-180 dollars (not sure which one to get suggestions?)

Basically I want to prolong the life of my GTX560ti that i got this may, while getting the most i can from this existing rig, but if 2x gtx560ti sc and replacing the psu is going to cost me like 370 dollars...is it worth just getting a new pc altogether?

 

[geofelt]

I suspect that your E8500 will hurt you for gaming.

But, I suggest you try a third option:

Since you want a second gtx560ti and a suitable psu, why not do that first, and see how you do?

The parts can be transferred to a stronger cpu/motherboard/ram later. Currently a 2500K is about as good as it gets as a upgrade.
If your wait is to about March, ivy bridge will be available.

 

[spitfire6000]

Genious! you are absolutely correct, why didn't i think of that? >.<

How about I propose a 4th option?

Do you think it would be wise for me to sell my 560ti sc maybe on ebay or to some other gamer on these or other forums?

I bought it for 250 with 30 dollar rebate, and I've only been using it for about 4 hours a week since may...so it hasn't seen much use at all. Thing is, I already registered it with EVGA for the lifetime warranty. =(

Will EVGA let me return the card to them and buy a new one perhaps?

Any idea as to when the 560ti sc will drop in price? I know that the newer version of this card is coming out soon with much more processing cores inside of it.

My E8500 e0 stepping is overclocked right now at 4.155 ghz, and barely any voltage increase (actually below vid voltage).

For games like BF3, my main limiting factor seems to be the GPU more than anything, but also i think my 8 gigs of 800mhz ram is also hurting me.

Basically my systems weakness lies in 3 things:
1. 2x500gig hard drives in Raid0 (5.9 score in windows 7 64 bit)

2. 8gigs of 800mhz ddr2 ram (not overclocked, but timings UNDER recommended 6-6-6-18) timings are set to 5-5-5-15

3. 3.2ghz E8500 core2duo e0, OCed to 4.2ghz with minimal voltage increases on cpu, FSB, and northbridge

 

[geofelt]

I am not much in favor of sli when a great single card will do the job.
EVGA does have a step up program, but it is only for 90 days.

If you upgrade, you want it to be a meaningful jump, or you will be disappointed.
That , to me means a GTX580 if you want something now. A GTX580 needs 600w with 42a on the 12v rails plus one 6-pin and one 8-pin PCI-E power lead.
It is unclear to me if your psu is of sufficient quality to do the job. Check the data plate on it for the combined +12v amps or wattage.

In general, the speed of the ram has minimal impact on cpu power, particularly for newer nehalem and sandy bridge cpu's. Not so certain on older cpu's with separate ram controller chips.

To fix your hard drive concerns, the only real solution is a ssd, at least for the os and some apps. Look for a 60-120gb unit.

Your E8500 is doing as well as it can. Your next logical upgrade is to a 2500K.

 

[spitfire6000]

What is bad about SLI? I am unsure because i have never tried it before.

A GTX580 is $380, while a GTX560ti superclocked is $220.

$440 vs $380

Its a $60 difference, for 2x 560ti, but i think that kind of gpu power is what i will need to run 3d vision 2.0 effectively in all the newest games.

I would've loved to get a 580 instead, but 2x 580s will run me almost 760 bucks!

440 seems alot more reasonable and is a very small performance drop from the 580 i think.

I think i will hold off on getting a gtx560ti for now, because i figure the prices on them will drop very soon (hopefully!)

Speaking of 560ti SC 1gig...

If i already have a EVGA 560ti 1 gig superclocked edition, is it best if i get a 2nd one exactly the same type? Or can i go for a MSI frozr or a different company's 560ti?

The clock speeds are different but the memory amount is the same, but from anyone who knows what SLI behaves like...is it best for compatibility and performance to have the same exact 2 cards or is there absolutely no difference?

 

[geofelt]

Sli is not bad. It may be necessary for triple monitor gaming or for professional gamers. But, you will need a stronger psu to run two GTX560ti cards, so you need to add in that cost. A quality unit will cost $70 or so.
Also, you may need better case cooling.
There is also the possible negative of microstuttering which is more prevalent on less than top end cards. sli will give you very nice fps numbers in benchmarks, but may show momentary delays while the two different cards render the frame in different times, and need to get in sync. It can be annoying.
You can read a good article on the issue here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-stutter-crossfire,2995.html

To run sli, you need two comparable cards, but the vendors can be different. If the specs are a bit different, sli will run based on the lower spec card.

When the new version of GTX560ti launches, or even kepler or 7xxx, you might expect the price of the current card will drop. Not so. The new price tends to stay the same to accommodate the needs of those who are upgrading by buying a second copy of their older, more obsolete card. One of the pitfalls of that strategy. But, on the USED market, the price of older cards will drop, maintaining their proper price/performance ratio.

What to do??

My take is to get the card that satisfies your needs now, preferably a single card if it will do the job. In time when it comes time to upgrade, plan on selling that card and replacing it with the next best thing.