I've kind of fallen out of the currents on cutting edge hardware (having a new baby will do that, research time is high on the best highchairs) and have started noticing an fps drop on newer games. I built my current system a few years ago and really only want to upgrade cpu/gpu rather than a complete rebuild.
I'm not really sure if it's the cpu holding me back right now or a combination of it with the gpu so any tips on where the $$ would be better spent first for the best value/performance ratio.
Current build:
Core I7 860 cpu
eVga GeForce GTX 470oc
12GB Corsair DDR3 1600 ram on a Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3 mobo
Twin Toshiba 1TB HDDs in a Raid 0 configuration. (I know, I'm moving to SSDs for performance soon)
FWIW I only game on a 42" LED LCD so super high resolution performance is pointless as I'm never above 1080p rez. I was thinking swapping the cpu to a newer I7 would give me better gains as the gpu isn't that out of date is it?
I really won't spend over 500 if I can help it as I'll be going out of town for most of this summer and my new Qosmio will be going with me. Should I just wait and sit on this build for another year to drop $1000+ next year or is it pointless building a top shelf system that will never go above 1080p?
Any input or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
i7 860's still aren't terrible and handle modern games perfectly fine. I'd say upgrade your GPU, anything from a 7850-7970 depending on how much you want to spend on it. So just look at he pricing on those and whichever you feel most comfortable with go for.
Drive that cpu till it drops dead, that what I can say...
Changing cpu is pointless and you wont gain anything in game performance (but if you know an idiot to whome you can sell that for a ridiculously large sum of money that go ahead ), you might wanna change that gtx stove for 7950 or (if Nvidia is a must) 670 gtx
take Samsung SSD 840 pro 128/256gb and you are good...
I have a similar build, i replaced my 465 with a 7950. Going to recommend you do the same, but the gpu came after i bought an SSD. If you only have to drop $400 on a build to keep it current I consider that a smart move. The way i'm going to update this rig is memory/gpu together, then mobo/cpu when they are bottlenecking/incompatible.
It isn't your CPU, because i is your GPU now falling behind most upper mid-level graphics cards. And your CPU would actually require a motherboard update to upgrade, so save up another $500 after this one and buy yourself a 3770k and an ASrock Z77 Fatal1ty Professional or their Z77 Performance. It depends on whether you think you'll ever look towards multiple GPU setups. If not, the Z77 Performance is more than enough board for you.
maybe I'll add an aftermarket CPU cooler and OC the I7 as i never bothered before, then grab a gtx680. Just don't tell the wife cause we just spent over $1k the qosmio and $800 replacing her tower's guts. :0