Whether to upgrade RAM or full System?

[swalker91]

Hi,

I've been thinking about upgrading recently and I'm not sure whether to take the plunge on the Ballistix RAM currently listed, so any advice would be much appreciated?

My current system is about 6 years old:
-i7 920 2.6GHz (haven't overclocked and also wondering about age now in terms of how long it may last?)
-ASUS P6T SE motherboard
-3x2GB RAM (can't remember the full details off the top of my head - will update when I can)
-ATI Radeon HD5850

So would it be a waste to get the 16GB of memory in dual channel, if I then upgrade? Or is the norm now dual channel/quad channel? In which case I could order 2 sets of 2x8, and have 32 on a new system in the future.

Is it time to replace the processor, which in turn would mean replacing the motherboard also.

And I know my Graphics aren't what they were but is it worth getting another 5850 for Crossfire, or to buy a new card altogether, like a GTX970 which I've been eyeing.

Any advice will be much appreciated!

Thanks,
Shaun

 

[advancedmixedgaming]

Might be worth just saving up and getting a new CPU (and motherboard), and the single GTX 970. Some games don't support Crossfire very well.

 

[Barty1884]

After the GPU (which you've already identified), the biggest bottleneck I see is actually your motherboard, not necessarily your CPU.

The current CPU should still serve it's purpose pretty well, the i7's have pretty good longevity. It's not going to be as fast as later generations, but it's still a decent CPU.

Replacing the CPU/Motherboard wouldn't be a bad thing (motherboard would provide numerous improvements from SATA to USB 3.0, PCIe 3.0 etc).

Your board natively supports up to 24GB (6x2GB) at 1333MHz. 16GB would be overkill, 8GB should be sufficient - especially when you have to do it with 2GB modules!

1. If you stick with the current CPU/Board, I would try to find another 2GB RAM module - I don't recommend mixing & matching brands etc, but it wouldn't hurt to try if you can find a 2GB module.

2. Replace the GPU (either way, you can use a new GPU on that board, or if you go with a new CPU/Board, you can use it too.

3. Replace the CPU/Motherboard (and likely OS)