Would it be worth it to upgrade my 3 year old rig?

[SecretCobraz]

Ok so I might not be able to afford the rig I wanted to build this year, and I am considering upgrading my current Rig. I am running a Core2Quad 2.66Ghz, 4GB or ram, and a single EVGA 9800GTX+. I am also running a 680w PSU so it should be fine.

The best deal I could find on this 3 year old GPU is a USED card on ebay for $70 buy-it-now, with shipping.
"This card is over 2 years old and has gone through rigorous benchmarks."

My card has been tested to it's limit as well over these years. I can barley run the BF3 Beta at Low settings. The upside is he will throw in an SLI Bridge so I will not have to buy one and pay extra for shipping.

It seems like a good way to slightly extend the lifespan of my system while just generally increasing performance.

Do you guys think this would be worth it? I have looked at replacing the GPU itself but the best deal in that price range is the 550 TI, and it is still $140.

 

[king smp]

Have you thought about a GTX 460?
they are some nice models in your price range

 

[SecretCobraz]

Have you thought about a GTX 460?
they are some nice models in your price range

Yea but I already have a 9800GTX, 2 in SLI would be better than that

here is the ebay listing http://www.ebay.com/itm/220873558626?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_750wt_1185

 

[king smp]

Didnt know that
then that sounds like a great deal

 

[SecretCobraz]

Didnt know that
then that sounds like a great deal

Yea that is what drew me in. Biggest thing is that the seller includes all the original power cables and stuff, + an SLI Bridge (That's $10 +Shipping saved right there).

 

[nordlead]

Just looking at the hierarchy charts, if the 9800 SLIs as good as the 4850 Crossfires, then going that route would put you on par with a 560Ti. Only downside is you might get micro-stuttering which you can read about in Tom's article. For $70 it is probably worth it, but you also won't have DX11 support.

For $140, you can do slightly better than the 550Ti. I've seen the 6870 as low as $140 on Amazon after rebate (granted that sold out fairly fast), and 6850's are generally around $140 and you can sometimes get the factory overclocked ones at that price.

 

[SecretCobraz]

Just looking at the hierarchy charts, if the 9800 SLIs as good as the 4850 Crossfires, then going that route would put you on par with a 560Ti. Only downside is you might get micro-stuttering which you can read about in Tom's article. For $70 it is probably worth it, but you also won't have DX11 support.

For $140, you can do slightly better than the 550Ti. I've seen the 6870 as low as $140 on Amazon after rebate (granted that sold out fairly fast), and 6850's are generally around $140 and you can sometimes get the factory overclocked ones at that price.

Not really intending this rig to ever support DX 11. Just wanted to prolong the gaming lifespan of the system. Also it is better when I eventually hand the system down.

For $70, I would be getting another EVGA, 9800GTX + and an SLI Bridge for Free. It seems like a much better value to get SLI Performance which is till better than a single budget card like the 550Ti. The "+" means it is already factory overclocked or Super-clocked according to EVGA.

 

[monsta]

For 70 bucks I would def get the another 9800GTX+ and SLI it, it will keep you happy till your next pc upgrade, I would give the cpu a bit of overclocking and you will be sweet. That would be the cheapest and smartest upgrade for you right now.

 

[bwilliams83]

As monsta stated this is your best route for now. Go with the second 9800gtx and do a small overclock on your cpu and you will be just fine until you can build a new system.

 

[SecretCobraz]

Best answer selected by SecretCobraz.

 

[SecretCobraz]

Thanks for your help guys.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey