Upgrade suggestions

[Dewey]

I have the following all running stock. 1920x1200 LCD

Q9450
8800GTS 512
8GB 800 RAM
Corsair 620W PSU
WD6400 drive

I wast thinking of upgrading for playing games. Specifically MW2 and Bad Company 2. Should I just throw a 5870 in there or is it time to do the whole CPU/mobo/RAM upgrade?

Thanks

 

[MisterDonut]

Upgrade your video card. Everything else looks fine. You already have a quad-core, and you're only going to play games on it. You probably won't feel the difference between this and an i5/i7 build (at least you won't feel like your 500 bucks is going anywhere). Pick up a 5850 or 5870, whichever fits your budget better. For games that are currently out, an OC'ed 5850 is your best bet. OC'ed is only a few % slower than the 5870 at stock, or so I've read. Otherwise you can wait for Fermi, but I warn you, I have never been impressed with NVIDIA prices...does your motherboard have CFX?

 

[mfenn]

Do current games feel slow to you? A G92 8800GTS should absolutely destroy MW2 at all max and BFBC2 isn't out yet. Wait until a game isn't performing as well as you would like, then upgrade.

 

[Dewey]

The mobo is the Gigabyte GA-EP35C with a single PCIx16 slot.
MW2 does well native at 2x AA, at 4X its dropping below optimum. I read that BC2 was going to be demanding.
Thanks for the replies.

 

[MisterDonut]

5850/5870. No need for more beef on the cpu unless you really want one, but there's nothing wrong with what you have. I think ATI's price dropping soon, so you can wait until then, or satisfy the itch now and shop!

 

[jae]

Definitely just buy a 5850 when prices drop or good deal comes around, because the difference between i5/i7 won't be much at all. Im guessing youre not open to O/C'ing the quad? The only two upgrades you can really do to your PC in general is GFX and SSD.

 

[MisterDonut]

I wouldn't justify an SSD upgrade for just gaming purposes. Especially if you have a budget and other parts needing an upgrade (not like you do). You can't put a lot of stuff on a budget SSD...or you can pick up that newegg deal (Agility 60gb for $130 ? + 10% coupon if you have it).

 

[betasub]

OP should see how his current system handles BC2 before upgrading, rather than buying hardware in anticipation/advance.

 

[mfenn]

I wouldn't justify an SSD upgrade for just gaming purposes. Especially if you have a budget and other parts needing an upgrade (not like you do). You can't put a lot of stuff on a budget SSD...or you can pick up that newegg deal (Agility 60gb for $130 ? + 10% coupon if you have it).

Agreed. SSDs are wonderful for general use, but they don't do crap for gaming.

 

[MisterDonut]

Agreed. SSDs are wonderful for general use, but they don't do crap for gaming.

Especially for multiplayer games like DoTA, etc. You can load super fast and pat yourself on the back, but you still gotta wait for that SOB who's operating in the 19th century....