Help! Thinking of upgrading, totally out of the loop re: GPUs/CPUs nowadays

Hey all,

I built my system years ago, and it's ran like a dream ever since. That said, I feel it's time for an upgrade. Unfortunately, I've been busy as f*** with med school and no longer have a single clue what's good out there. I tried browsing on Newegg and just got confused as hell. Damn this industry changes fast! So, begging a favor: can you guys throw some suggestions at me?

I'm mainly looking to upgrade motherboard/CPU/graphics card/RAM at the moment. The bottom line is, I'd like a solid system that would last me another few years, but not necessarily the best of the best. 2nd or 3rd tier would be fine for me. My approximate budget would be something like this:

$150 mobo
$200 CPU
$200 GPU (single card please - no SLI/Xfire/etc)
$50 RAM (Is it possible to get 8gigs of DDR3 for <$50 these days?)

There's a bit of flexibility in price ranges for me, but I'd like to stay around the $600 mark total. My current, aged setup is in my signature, just so you know where I'm starting out. Thanks in advance!

What do you plan on doing with the computer? Without that information, its hard to give recommendations that make sense..

Sorry for not suggesting exactly what you are asking for, but I see another way of doing this, in fact, I did it myself with a PC that I built with a Q6800 and all the stuff inside, and instead of upgrading, I bought a ready built Dell for the same price as upgrading, and had the old one to sell, which I did, so I came out ahead financially and the Dell is rock solid.
Here is an example of a deal from a couple of days ago for $624 that came with an i7-2600 3.4GHz Sandy Bridge quad-core processor, 4GB RAM, 500GB 7200 rpm hard drive, DVD-ROM drive, and Windows 7 Professional 64-bit. The graphics from the i7 are even a bit superior to your present GPU and the processor is 3 times more powerful.
If you decide to add in a couple hard drives, you'll have room for that and should you decide to get a dedicated GPU at some point, you could add that in too.
There may not be as many upgrade options in a ready built, but how many does one need.
A unit such as the one described above, would be blistering fast, graphically good (good enough for gaming, but not at the highest settings) and the price is similar to your upgrade estimates, leaving you the possibility of selling the old one, perhaps after removing a few things like the extra hard drives, the bluray player, etc.

Naturally, if the idea interests you, you'd have to watch for the super sales from Dell and HP.

Quote from elemental : $150 mobo $200 CPU $200 GPU (single card please - no SLI/Xfire/etc) $50 RAM (Is it possible to get 8gigs of DDR3 for <$50 these days?)

I'd recommend a Sandy Bridge build:

Motherboard: ASRock Z68 Pro3 [newegg.com] $105
CPU: Intel i5 2500K [newegg.com] $220, or $205 if you buy it before May 7, 2012. $170 at Micro Center [microcenter.com] if you have one near you.
Ram: G.Skill 2x4GB DDR3 1333 [newegg.com]. $42 Ram is super cheap nowadays.

I'm not up to speed on Video cards at the moment. I usually stick with Nvidia because of the ease at which I can use Autodesk applications. Here's Tom's Hardware's Best Graphics Cards for the Money [tomshardware.com]

You may also want to consider one of Antec's "Gamer" or "Earthwatts" power supplies. Both tend to be certifiably efficient (80plus Bronze) and have good prices.

Lastly, you may want to consider an SSD too. SSDs are definitely one of the best ways to provide noticeable performance gains in day-to-day computing.

I've been researching GPU's for a few days thinking of upgrading our "gaming" PC which now has a 4850.

For around $200 it seems the best all around card is... An ATI HD7850

Seems to have great performance PLUS lower power use (vs most high performance cards). Here's a deal for $219 AR

http://slickdeals.net/f/4314400-H...-after-MIR

Like RockySousa said if you don't need to max out gaming the new i7's have very decent built in graphics. You can always upgrade to a dedicated GPU later.
Perhaps wait for Black Friday on the GPU.

Thanks for the suggestions, guys! To answer some questions:

* My computer is really mixed-use. I use it for homework (all my notes are on PDF), internet surfing, moderate gaming - nothing more graphically intensive than Portal 2, Mass Effect 3, etc.

* I actually have an 850W PSU right now and a 120GB SSD that I store my OS and most often used programs on, so I'm probably not going to upgrade to a larger one anytime soon.

* Kakomu's suggestions on mobo/cpu/ram look great though -- I'll probably take a look at those and leaf around a bit more. I used to like Gigabyte mobos a lot in the past. Are they still pretty solid?

* I've considered just building off a Dell, but they don't overclock easily (at least in the past). Plus I feel like I have about half the build already that I'm not going to change - optical drives, PSU, fans, stacks of HDDs, sound card - so I might stick to self-built for the rest too.

- What's the diff between i5 and i7? Last time I looked at CPUs was before the i's even came out.

Thanks again guys!

Quote from elemental : * Kakomu's suggestions on mobo/cpu/ram look great though -- I'll probably take a look at those and leaf around a bit more. I used to like Gigabyte mobos a lot in the past. Are they still pretty solid?

To be honest, i've not been particularly impressed with either of the Gigabyte boards I've purchased in the past few years. I did, however, purchase the ASRock board I mentioned above and really like it.

Quote from elemental : - What's the diff between i5 and i7? Last time I looked at CPUs was before the i's even came out.

The biggest differences between i5 and i7 will be in the amount of on-processor cache (1.5mb of cache per core for i5 and 2mb of cache per core for i7) as well as processor threads (i5 series has 1 thread per core and i7 series has 2 threads per core). Plus i7 processors are generally faster than i5 processors.

Quote from elemental : Thanks for the suggestions, guys! To answer some questions: * My computer is really mixed-use. I use it for homework (all my notes are on PDF), internet surfing, moderate gaming - nothing more graphically intensive than Portal 2, Mass Effect 3, etc. * I actually have an 850W PSU right now and a 120GB SSD that I store my OS and most often used programs on, so I'm probably not going to upgrade to a larger one anytime soon. * Kakomu's suggestions on mobo/cpu/ram look great though -- I'll probably take a look at those and leaf around a bit more. I used to like Gigabyte mobos a lot in the past. Are they still pretty solid? * I've considered just building off a Dell, but they don't overclock easily (at least in the past). Plus I feel like I have about half the build already that I'm not going to change - optical drives, PSU, fans, stacks of HDDs, sound card - so I might stick to self-built for the rest too. - What's the diff between i5 and i7? Last time I looked at CPUs was before the i's even came out. Thanks again guys!

I only build with Gigabyte (for other myself and my family)... they seem really solid.

If you don't "game" why do you feel the need to upgrade to a new computer? The system you have now seems good for the things you are talking about.... just curious.

I myself have an E6600 with 4GB and an SSD.... I've played with many newer systems including i7's and Amd's latest Phenoms (I'm around new systems a lot). I myself can detect very little difference between my 5 year old Core2Duo system and the brand new ones for day to day tasks. The SSD was a huge upgrade for my five year old system. In fact my system is faster than some new ones with only regular HDD's.

So personally I see zero need to upgrade the motherboard or CPU or GPU (Current 7900GS).... It seems to me the stuff you do is similar. Unless you become a true gamer why is it you feel the need to upgrade?

Unless you are gaming or doing heavy video editing your current system is pretty decent for all the activities you list.

I think long gone are the days where it was necessary to re-build every two years or so. Especially for non-gamers or mild-gamers.
Most systems Core2Duo and later are great for day to day. That won't change for a while.

Don't get caught up in the "marketing" yes i5 and i7's are cool but DO YOU NEED THEM???

Personally I'd wait for the next generation or two or when my computer dies. Guess I like getting the full value out of my original investment.

Honestly, Boltman, you make a really good point and I've wrestled with that myself. The truth is all this came up because I noticed my CPU cooling system (a cheap all-in-one liquid cooler from Corsair) has been making a worrisome clicking noise, and I started looking at new CPU coolers. Then I started considering a new CPU, and ... yeah.

Also, I've had a chance to play around on my cousin's computer, and while for the day-to-day stuff it does indeed feel very similar, his system boots in about 30 seconds on a standard HDD and mine takes a little under a minute, even after I upgraded to SSD (before that, closer to 2 min). What can I say, I'm horribly impatient and attracted to "cool new things"

All that said, there is a possibility I'll just replace the CPU cooler, leave the CPU/mobo/gfx card, and wait for the next generation of Intels. i5 and i7 are still all Nehalem cores, right? I remember when I built my Q6600 the Nehalems were right around the corner. I figured it couldn't hurt to get re-informed and start watching the trends again now, though!

Quote from elemental : i5 and i7 are still all Nehalem cores, right?

No, Nehalem was replaced by Sandy Bridge, which was replaced by Sandy Bridge-E, which has recently been replaced by Ivy Bridge.

Quote from elemental : Honestly, Boltman, you make a really good point and I've wrestled with that myself. The truth is all this came up because I noticed my CPU cooling system (a cheap all-in-one liquid cooler from Corsair) has been making a worrisome clicking noise, and I started looking at new CPU coolers. Then I started considering a new CPU, and ... yeah. Also, I've had a chance to play around on my cousin's computer, and while for the day-to-day stuff it does indeed feel very similar, his system boots in about 30 seconds on a standard HDD and mine takes a little under a minute, even after I upgraded to SSD (before that, closer to 2 min). What can I say, I'm horribly impatient and attracted to "cool new things" All that said, there is a possibility I'll just replace the CPU cooler, leave the CPU/mobo/gfx card, and wait for the next generation of Intels. i5 and i7 are still all Nehalem cores, right? I remember when I built my Q6600 the Nehalems were right around the corner. I figured it couldn't hurt to get re-informed and start watching the trends again now, though!

Good idea... of course things will always get better and better. Its cool to have the latest then its replaced by something else.

I think what you say you might do is sound....Replace the cooling system as that can later be used in a new build. If the upgrade bug is really bad... give yourself until Black Friday and keep an eye on new tech coming out when you have time. Then at least you get the anticipation and the best deals of the year.... win/win.

Its like buying a new car or going on a trip... its the thrill leading up to it that's fun. Afterward kind of a letdown. Then the bills come.

I usually like to run my cars into the ground and my computers...then when I upgrade its a HUGE difference. Because at that time I get the best or near best so it lasts.

Haha, I'm still on my first new car Acura RSX-S, 7 years and still running like new! The one I drove prior to this was a hand-me-down from my parents. Anyway, digression...

Okay, I just checked out Intel's timeline - looks like the next cores are coming out in 2013 (Haswell), followed by the die shrunken version (Broadwell) in 2014. So I'll probably at least wait for Haswell.

Sorry if I wasted anyone's time with this! For what it's worth, I do feel a little more caught up now, and really appreciated both the feedback and the information. I hadn't realized that i7's built-in graphics were now comparable to 8800GTs from a few years back, for example - that's sort of stunning to me, since the last time I built a computer I don't think CPUs even handled graphical processing. You could get an on-board GPU, but even those were pretty meh.

Thanks again, guys!

Quote from elemental : Haha, I'm still on my first new car Acura RSX-S, 7 years and still running like new! The one I drove prior to this was a hand-me-down from my parents. Anyway, digression... Okay, I just checked out Intel's timeline - looks like the next cores are coming out in 2013 (Haswell), followed by the die shrunken version (Broadwell) in 2014. So I'll probably at least wait for Haswell. Sorry if I wasted anyone's time with this! For what it's worth, I do feel a little more caught up now, and really appreciated both the feedback and the information. I hadn't realized that i7's built-in graphics were now comparable to 8800GTs from a few years back, for example - that's sort of stunning to me, since the last time I built a computer I don't think CPUs even handled graphical processing. You could get an on-board GPU, but even those were pretty meh. Thanks again, guys!

Yeah those i7 graphics are pretty darn good now. Those future CPU's will rock.