Is an upgrade worth it?

[pooch]

I am thinking about upgrading to an Asus P8p67 core i7 2600 (circa €400) is it really worth it? I am not interested in overclocking and am wondering if I would be better off improving what I have, ie new Graphic card HD 6870, doubling my Ram and an SSD for my laptop.
All opinions welcome

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I'd say it isn't worth it.

But I'd guess you have upgrade-itis and MUST DO SOMETHING.

So I'd go ahead and get the SSD and maybe the video card.

But I wouldn't upgrade the processor or RAM.

 

[Commodore Pet]

Go with the SSD for the laptop, they are a great upgrade an will give you an overall speed boost, but unless you are doing something pretty demanding with your machine, what you have is more than enough.

 

[Zepher]

Line up a buyer for your old proc and mobo and it can be worth it.
Ideally though, a better video card will help you out more than the 2600 setup, since you will still have a 5770 after the upgrade.

 

[pooch]

I'd say it isn't worth it.

But I'd guess you have upgrade-itis and MUST DO SOMETHING.

So I'd go ahead and get the SSD and maybe the video card.

But I wouldn't upgrade the processor or RAM.

You have hit the nail on the head lol I dearly want the new processor, no other reason, but then again the laptop is maybe more important to me. I had a SSD in there already, but gave it up to my daughter as her laptop was really slow and now I miss it

Go with the SSD for the laptop, they are a great upgrade an will give you an overall speed boost, but unless you are doing something pretty demanding with your machine, what you have is more than enough.

True words its just my ego

Line up a buyer for your old proc and mobo and it can be worth it.
Ideally though, a better video card will help you out more than the 2600 setup, since you will still have a 5770 after the upgrade.

Also true and as I only get about one shot a this each year. I normally end up giving my old builds away to family and friends so selling it is not really an option.

Thanks for the answers I think I already knew this, but temptation is great lol

 

[mrdemon]

Another View on this topic, while im here.

I had a i7 920 C0 and 6 gig of ram. And too everyone amazement I (now wait for it) DOWN graded, I was with AMD since 10 years ago and fancied a intel so I did that (I got the i7), I also had Nvidia for some time too and fancied AMD's ATI's HD4800 card but I had run out of cash and could no longer afford the GFX card I wanted, so I looked at the PC and thought Hold on I'm not using the POWER thats in this butie and sold the MB CPU and MEM in one hit and had enough too get the Items I have now inc the HD4870. Now once it was all installed (XP) i really didn't notice that huge amount of Change.

I guess my point is, What you use it for, will it be faster (prob not) The only upgrade I want now is a SSD for my Tower and thats about it. Its a nice system and Runs all games I play and any newer ones, Yes I know FPS will be better but I can only see what I see, I will never see 3 million frames in a second, lol...

 

[pooch]

If instead of upgrading my graphic card I was to get a second HD 5770 and run it in Crossfire would this be a better option than getting a HD 6870? which option would give me a better bang for my buck? (performance and running costs)
At the moment I am running an Asus Radeon HD 5770 would Crossfire work OK if the second card was a Power Color HD 5770 or do the cards need to be identical?
Again I appreciate all input as this is new ground for me.
TIA
Brian

 

[gazz9496]

as long as it's a 5770 regardless of manufacter it will work, that being said i'd probably go for the identical card...purely for how it would look in the case and a smidge of idle cautiousness regarding compatability.

but the 6870 will wipe the floor with them anyway as a single card it's far better, but for an extra £20 or 25 euro you could source a 6950 2gb which is just mmmmmmmm

if i was you i'd take it in stages, you already have the i7 and mobo/ram so you can afford to take your time upgrading looking for the best deals as you'll always have a working system so your in a prime place to really focus on what will work.

 

[pooch]

as long as it's a 5770 regardless of manufacter it will work, that being said i'd probably go for the identical card...purely for how it would look in the case and a smidge of idle cautiousness regarding compatability.

but the 6870 will wipe the floor with them anyway as a single card it's far better, but for an extra £20 or 25 euro you could source a 6950 2gb which is just mmmmmmmm

if i was you i'd take it in stages, you already have the i7 and mobo/ram so you can afford to take your time upgrading looking for the best deals as you'll always have a working system so your in a prime place to really focus on what will work.

Thank you Gazz,
The 6950 is €65 more here at €225 a bit more than I wanted to give out but it is still worth a thought.
Once a year when I get my tax refund is when I get to think of ME!! and upgrade my PC or do anything else that I need to do, it is a sort of a second birthday and almost a tradition lol

 

[pooch]

Ok I went out today and got some bits. The SSD is now fitted and running in my lappy
I bought the HD 6870 as I decided after looking at a few reviews that the 6950 just wasn't worth the extra
Lastly I got more RAM I realise that it isn't really necessary but I am working on the idea that when I eventually do upgrade that I have then enough RAM to split between two PC's lol Maybe it is just upgrade-itis
So far I am very pleased with what I have got and after a few teething problems my system is back up and running again

 

[Commodore Pet]

Enjoy! I am the same way, I don't need to keep upgrading but I always seem to do it anyways.

 

[gazz9496]

indeed upgrading is almost as much fun if not more so for some of us than actually using the machine, always get fuzzy head when i'm doing alot of upgrades

hope you enjoy the graphics card

did you decide on a new cpu or are you going to stick with your current one pooch?

 

[GeneO]

I'd say it isn't worth it.

But I'd guess you have upgrade-itis and MUST DO SOMETHING.

So I'd go ahead and get the SSD and maybe the video card.

But I wouldn't upgrade the processor or RAM.

+=1 What you have looks pretty good.

For the SSD, effectively your only gain will be boot-up time. Is that important? With 8GB of memory, starting programs may be a little slow the first time, but will run at memory speeds (much greater then SSD speeds) the second time you open them. Maybe even the first with superfetch.

I think you are good to pass by this round of technology upgrades and skip to the next.

 

[essenbe]

I think upgrading is an affliction most of us have. My wife told me recently that she had figured out that my favorite pastime was waiting for the UPS truck. I think she is right. Now, back to Newegg.

 

[DocBrown]

Yep, those NewEgg eMail ads are like an addiction. Just placed another order, today

 

[GeneO]

+=1. Damn you newegg and UPS! I'd be able to retire by now if not for you.

 

[essenbe]

+=1. Damn you newegg and UPS! I'd be able to retire by now if not for you.

That's my problem. I am retired. If I was still working I'd have a lot more money to spend at Newegg.

 

[GeneO]

Or B&H if you include photography! LOL Got much more invested there!

 

[pparks1]

I'm not a super frequent upgrader. I tend to buy/build a system every 24-36 months. It's rare to change anything except maybe add a hard drive.

I work with a guy who just replaced his Core i7 920, Nvidia 285GTX card, 6GB of DDR3 RAM and an 80GB Intel SSD. He now has a Core i7-2600k, on a new MSI board, with 8GB of DDR3 RAM, 2 x ATI Radeon 6950 video cards, with a 120GB OCZ Vertex 3 SSD. As he brought his old rig into work to sell it, he sat there wondering why he even bought a new computer. Like I told him, the one he was selling was better than the best thing that I have at home..which I am on now (Q9650, 8GB RAM, 9800GTX+ GPU, with 80GB Intel SSD). My box will be 2 years old next month...and I don't see any benefit to gain from building a new box. I barely tap into the power that this thing provides as it is.

 

[pooch]

Enjoy! I am the same way, I don't need to keep upgrading but I always seem to do it anyways.

Yeah I know that feeling lol

indeed upgrading is almost as much fun if not more so for some of us than actually using the machine, always get fuzzy head when i'm doing alot of upgrades

hope you enjoy the graphics card

did you decide on a new cpu or are you going to stick with your current one pooch?

Not quite sure The new CPU has just gone down in price and is sitting there tempting me

I'd say it isn't worth it.

But I'd guess you have upgrade-itis and MUST DO SOMETHING.

So I'd go ahead and get the SSD and maybe the video card.

But I wouldn't upgrade the processor or RAM.

+=1 What you have looks pretty good.

For the SSD, effectively your only gain will be boot-up time. Is that important? With 8GB of memory, starting programs may be a little slow the first time, but will run at memory speeds (much greater then SSD speeds) the second time you open them. Maybe even the first with superfetch.

I think you are good to pass by this round of technology upgrades and skip to the next.

The SSD was for my laptop big gains at boot up and opening programs

I think upgrading is an affliction most of us have. My wife told me recently that she had figured out that my favorite pastime was waiting for the UPS truck. I think she is right. Now, back to Newegg.

:roflmao:

Yep, those NewEgg eMail ads are like an addiction. Just placed another order, today

I have never ordered through the post. It takes too long lol

+=1. Damn you newegg and UPS! I'd be able to retire by now if not for you.

That's my problem. I am retired. If I was still working I'd have a lot more money to spend at Newegg.

Still got a few years maybe the addiction will wear off by then

I'm not a super frequent upgrader. I tend to buy/build a system every 24-36 months. It's rare to change anything except maybe add a hard drive.

I work with a guy who just replaced his Core i7 920, Nvidia 285GTX card, 6GB of DDR3 RAM and an 80GB Intel SSD. He now has a Core i7-2600k, on a new MSI board, with 8GB of DDR3 RAM, 2 x ATI Radeon 6950 video cards, with a 120GB OCZ Vertex 3 SSD. As he brought his old rig into work to sell it, he sat there wondering why he even bought a new computer. Like I told him, the one he was selling was better than the best thing that I have at home..which I am on now (Q9650, 8GB RAM, 9800GTX+ GPU, with 80GB Intel SSD). My box will be 2 years old next month...and I don't see any benefit to gain from building a new box. I barely tap into the power that this thing provides as it is.

Its just another addiction just like smoking or alohol I don't need to upgrade but I get the itch and need to upgrade, normally once a year but not always the complete system. I console myself in that I pass all my old models to family and friends who are in need