Weekend Open Forum: Your next hardware upgrade will be...?

[Jos]

Looking past the troubled economy, 2009 was actually a good year for the tech industry -- and in particular for PC enthusiasts. It marked the arrival of much-anticipated standards like USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbps, a deluge of faster, larger and more reliable solid-state drives, the first DirectX 11-capable graphics cards and Microsoft's successful launch of Windows 7 after a troubled run with Windows Vista.

Intel remained unchallenged in the high-end processor segment with its Bloomfield Core i7 lineup and further cemented its position by launching the mainstream Core i5/i7 Lynnfield parts. Motherboard makers had a serious range of quality and reasonably priced products on offer, DDR3 memory prices came down a bit and, well, you get the picture. Things don't seem to be slowing down in 2010, either, now that Intel has launched its 32nm Clarkdale processors featuring built-in graphics and Nvidia looks ready to finally go against AMD’s ATI Radeon HD 5000 series with Fermi.

There won’t be any shortage of games to throw at these cards, that's for sure. With all these great advances, at some point many of you will consider updating your rig to keep up with the latest technologies. In this edition of our Weekend Open Forum we want to know what your next upgrade will be. Perhaps a new graphics card to play games in their full visual glory? An SSD to speed up your OS? Or maybe build an entire system based on a new platform for good measure?

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https://www.techspot.com/news/38308-weekend-open-forum-your-next-hardware-upgrade-will-be.html

 

[Archean]

I just did my final component upgrade for this system; and that will be that for this machine. I hope it will last couple of years, and by the time sandybridge would have matured as a platform; perhaps that will be the time to get a new system, also may be Intel would have a discrete graphic solution out in the wild as well, just to add things up in the mix.

 

[Jos]

What did you get? (That's kind of the point of this thread =P)

 

[Clrabbit]

Not to long ago I maxed out the Ram and it's already running the best CPU for the sockettype.... all my SATA and both PATA ports are taken... I'm out of firewire and USB connects, I may get a USB3.0 PCI-x Card or something, If I'm still using this system when ultra fast USB 3.0 Flash drives really start hitting the market. Maybe one of the SSD Raids on a PCI-x card would be cool once there $500 cheaper.

That's really about it, I'll buy a new system when Good 8xCore CPUs hit the market. So depending on how long that takes maybe a new video card in a year and half ~ two years. I mean I have a 5850HD and I never play on any thing above a 20" screen. So I really debt I'll be pushing it's limits for gaming any time soon.

 

[Thompson]

It's going to be a fairly long time till my upgrade, it will probably be a whole new computer when it happens.

 

[slh28]

I'm waiting for SSDs to come down to an affordable level, probably near the end of this year. Hopefully by that time USB 3.0 will be more common and Intel will have lowered their prices for their i7 processors (wishful thinking I know!)

 

[Archean]

Jos said:
What did you get? (That's kind of the point of this thread =P)

Well Jos:

I replaced my good old E6600 with Q8400 few weeks ago; and in the last week I've replaced EVGA 9600GT with MSI 5770 (I installed it in my younger brother's computer, and now have a 7600GT lying around from that machine). Although I haven't bothered replacing one thing, i.e. one of my RAM modules went bad and I just chucked it out.

I guess I have enough RAM for what I do any way.

Edit:
Alright for some weird reason smiley isn't being displayed hmm.

 

[Guest]

Bought a 5770, should arrive by tuesday. And that will be it for this system, maybe I'll get sandy bridge when it becomes available.

 

[Puiu]

If things go well i might end up building a new rig. specs i want (now): core i5 750, 4gb ddr3 1600MHz (upgrade to 8gb latter), Radeon HD 5830, ~75$ sound card,1TB WD Caviar Black, Samsung XL2370.
It's a pretty expensive rig so i don't know if i'll be able to buy it before the end of this year. It depends on my income and prices.

 

[UT66]

4770 holding up. no reason to upgrade. i could use a notebook, but honestly i think im never going to buy one, why? i like to control my hardware, if something is wrong with my pc ( big if) i can fix it, with a notebook? i have to call dell, hp, acer, etc. no thanks

 

[Chazz]

I'm waiting for sandy bridge and the new bulldozer apu systems come out. I was gonna build a rig in 2009 but I put it off untill 2010(since that's when they were supposed to come out.)

Since both AMD's new apu and Intel's sandy bridge should require a new socket I can't really get much outside of a case/gpu right now. I also figure SSD's should be more affordable by the end of 2011.

Processor= whichever next gen gives the best price/performance

Video card= crossfire 5850, unless nvidia's chips lower the 5970. I believe new cards will be out in 2011 but if it's not anything revolutionary I won't pick them up.

Storage= 128-256 SSD for my OS, and performance demanding programs. 1TB HD for my movies/music/pics and other crap.

OS= windows 7,of course. With a linux partition.

For everything else I'll need to wait and see what comes out.

 

[Guest]

My most recent revisions were completed back in November, and the system is pretty maxed out -- at least for my needs: GA-EX58-UD5 mobo, i7-960 cpu, 12GB DDR3 1600 ram, passively cooled HD4850/1GB video, dual 150GB VelociRaptors (RAID-1, system & apps), dual 1TB Caviar Blacks (RAID-1, primary storage), 8 1.5TB Caviar Greens (RAID-6, secondary storage, w/ Adaptec 5805 controller), Lian Li PC-V2010 case, PCP&C Silencer 750 PSU, additional hard drives for off-line backup storage, a pair Dell U2410 monitors, a Filco keyboard (Cherry "brown" key switches), a Logitech MX-518 mouse, a Brother MFC-8480dn multi-function laser printer and an Epson R2880 photo printer. I'm hoping it will last a couple of years. Primary use: photography.

 

[lmanlo]

I already got my 5770 and that's the last upgrade I needed for my computer.

 

[skitzo_zac]

I need to get a whole new system. Hopefully I will be able to afford one by the end of the year.

Basially I want an i7 system, probably with an SSD and then a couple of 1.5TB drives for storage. I have decided that I want an eyefinity setup with a 5870 probably a 2GB model if they don't have a huge price increase over 1GB models. To go with the 5870 probably 3 cheapish 22-24" monitors with the thinest bezel I can find.

 

[Reloader2]

I think I'll by a new monitor.

Oh yeah, my favorite hardware store has an offer. I don't know it yet it will be unlocked 26. March at 13.37 (Yahoow 1337!). Maybe I will buy that.

Last time they did this they offered an AMD Phenom II X4 965, half it's normal price!

Here we go
http://www.komplett.dk/k/kcf.aspx?id=3903&utm_source=komplett.dk&utm_medium=mar10w11fb02_1337w33k

 

[LGraves]

Just ordered my GIGABYTE GA-770TA-UD3 MB. Putting it inside an Antec 900 that I just got. This will be the start of my new quad core/Windows 7 machine.

 

[bigclick]

I've put everything into my system and extended its life. I don't have a great reason to move to a newer bigger system but its always in the back of my mind. I'd go for it if the "right" trackball came along fully supported in the extra button software. The processor and ram will be more than a goodly amount when the time comes.

 

[Guest]

Since I'm still using old 6600GT my next upgrade will feature a DX11 card. That's basically everything for this year - next year, nex build.

 

[rskapadia2294]

may be an entire system with ATI 5000 series GPU !
core i3 or i5! and one SSD!
forgot to mention - DDR3 ram!

 

[Richy2k9]

hello...

i think i'll need to rob some banks for my next gaming rig (jk jk!)

In the immediate, i need a new PC monitor, but i also intend to use it with my console for 3D gameplay after some updates. so i'll probably go for something with decent resolution (HD or near HD & better) with at least 120Hz refresh rate & DVI or HDMI input.

I've talked about a new gaming PC or MAC in former posts, i just can settle on the specs for things just come out every month.

As i was waiting for Diablo III to come out to build the PC, i may do so earlier when Crysis 2 will be out, unless that 1 looks better on my console (which i doubt!) ...

CPU: would be intel based, i5/i7
RAM: minimum 4 GB
GFX: nVidia based, something middle range
Hard-disk: 1 SSD for the system (the 40 Gb will do, but i'm much after a bigger one, will use multiple os) + 1 tera mechanical one for the multimedia (could be external)

If i don't get the money soon to build that system i may go for a laptop, maybe a MAC then for my actual games are from steam & blizzard (older ones that are compatible MAC too)

will go though some of the latest reviews here on techspot (nvidia GFX, some Mobo & CPUs) & hope to have a big idea of what i need, for what i want seem to be quite out of bound

cheers!

 

[BlindObject]

I'm going for a i7 set up with the 920, ASrock Mobo, 6gbs of ddr3 Gskill, either a gtx 260 or a 4890. Can't wait, I'm coming from a C2d e8500 with 4gb Ddr2 crucial ballistix. The duo core is really fast but I'm ready for a quad.

 

[Technochicken]

My next upgrade will definitely be my video card, especially since I have a 1920x1080 monitor. I have a copy of Windows 7 64 bit that I will install at the same time as the new video card, whenever I get around to it. After that, the next upgrade will probably be my ram, to 8 GB. That may sound useless, but as it is now I eat through my ram rather quickly while using PS CS4.

 

[Decimae]

My monitor, especially with the system I own now. I have a 4870, athlon(I) 64 X2 at 2.7 GHz, a 1 TB Samsung Spinpoint F1 and a damaged HP 17 inch VGA monitor. After that probably my CPU.

 

[Serag]

My next hardware upgrade will be in the summer, and hopefully it will be an entire new build from scratch

 

[TomSEA]

Ooooh...my favorite subject! I've been doing piecemeal upgrades since my last major one about 18 months ago. My most recent addition being a 26" ASUS 1900x1200 monitor.

My next major upgrade will be next spring. I love my Antec 900 case, so am keeping that. Otherwise I'm planning on going with the i-7 975 Extreme, a Gigabite board (won't know the model until the time comes as they continuously release new boards), minimum 6GB DDR3 memory (probably Gskill - have had a lot of luck with that brand) and a new video card. Again, won't know whether to go with nVidia or ATI, but the dust will have settled by next spring and an obvious choice should be apparent. But it will be whatever the top-of-the-line card is for that manufacturer. I'm stashing away about $2,500 to do this upgrade. Can't wait!