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

[gwailo247]

For my main computer, I'd like to get a 5850 or 5870 with two more 24" monitors, for a nice eyefinity setup.

But realistically I'll probably retire my second computer and replace it with a Clarkdale HTPC setup.

Cost is about the same, and I can probably only swing one this year.

 

[CodePhoeniX]

Either some HD's and windows7, or new processor/mobo/ram. (phenom II [x6 or x4])

 

[Timonius]

For hardware I'm looking at upgrading my motherboard and cpu (and probably ram to, as the technology is tied to whatever motherboard i purchase). Which is pretty much right next to a complete system overhaul/replacement. Other than that, if I can acquire a full copy of win7 ultimate for cheap I'll be doing that first.

 

[mattfrompa]

Pending an "upgrade" in my career, my next computer upgrade will be building a Core i7 system, likely with at least 6 GB of DDR3 RAM, and a couple of Raptor drives. Beyond that I'm not sure what the configuration will be.

 

[mattfrompa]

Forgot to mention I do already have a copy of Win 7 ultimate x64 ready for my next computer, and an Acer 24" 1920X1200 monitor (sadly not 120Hz)

note: this is not a grab for an extra post, I did forget and I'm not in the contest anyways!

 

[Adhmuz]

Seeing as I already went ahead and upgraded to i7 back in august my core is pretty good for a couple years, I really don't see a 4 GHz i7 being a bottle neck for a while. The only thing I have left to upgrade is my video card solution, my 8800GTs are starting to show their age. I've been waiting to see what Fermi actually had to offer and depending on what kind of numbers it puts out will determine my upgrade path, IE 480s or 5870s. I'll know next week. after that I will get a new 1K watt PSU and eventually get a Bluray drive or a SSD solution of sorts.

 

[seefizzle]

I just recently built a pretty nice computer. AMD Phenom X4 964, awesome gigabyte motherboard with usb 3 and sata 6gbps. The only thing I skimped on was the graphics card. I had most of the computer together and I just wanted it working, so I bought a bullshit ATI 4350 card. My board doesn't support any graphics whatsoever, so I had to throw something in there.

So that's my next upgrade. I will probably get two graphics cards and throw them in there in crossfire. Two 200 dollar ATI cards of some sort. The **** is a bit confusing so I don't know exactly which cards I'm going to get.

 

[mystic420]

Wow! What a question... I have spent the last year upgrading my system and I figure it will take another 3-4 months to finish. I'm very particular about the equipment i put into my system, so on that note...

Current system config...

Case= Cooler Master Sniper
Case cooling= 2@ 200mm fans and 2@ 120mm fans
Power Supply= Antec 1000Watt W/ 2@120mm fans
Motherboard= Asus M3N-HT Deluxe with Nforce 780a chip set
CPU= AMD Phenom2 X4 940 @ 3Ghz running at 10% OC'd to 3.3Ghz
CPU Cooler= Cooler Master Hyper Z600 with 2 120mm fans
Video= 3X BFG GTX275OC's running 3-way SLI
Boot Drive= WD VelociRaptor 300GB
Internal Storage= 4 WD drives totaling 2.5TB
Keyboard= Logitech G15
Mouse= Logitech G9
Monitor= Samsung 22" Flat panel

Future upgrades...
CPU/Chip set liquid cooling= 120x240 Radiator
GPU liquid cooling= 120x240 Radiator with Swiftech Komodo GTX275-P897 Full Coverage VGA Liquid Cooling System X3
Monitor= ViewSonic FuHzion VX2268wm 120 Hz LCD display for Nvidia 3D Vision
Beyond that I think I'm set... What do you think???

 

[Obakemono]

Since BattleField Bad Company 2 came out my current hardware just does not cut it any more! (AMD athlon X2 4200, 2 7950gt vidcards, 2gb mem, Foxconn 939 SLI mobo, 4 WD raptor 36gb HDDs). So I shopped around and decided to get a bit more current hardware:
Foxconn A79 AM2+ mobo, 2 Sapphire 5770 vid cards, 4 gb of Crucial DDR2, AMD 9850 X4 black cpu
I know these are not bleeding edge items but having such an older system I needed a refresh. I plan on selling the old stuff on ebay and get some AM3 items for my internet browsing computer.

I think that this year was a good one. All the advances that are happening in the computer industry is just amazing. I'll consider a SSD if the prices come down on them, but have to see on that one. So, who cannot wait until Windows 8, office 2010 comes out? And AMD's 6,8 and 12 core cpus?

Meh

 

[Davidoff]

it'll be a new COOLER MASTER 460W extreme power plus PSU for me.....i have been waiting for it for quite some time

 

[mystic420]

davidoff said:
it'll be a new COOLER MASTER 460W extreme power plus PSU for me.....i have been waiting for it for quite some time

That's too bad I just sold a 2 month old RaidMax 630 watt Power Supply for $45 on craigslist...

 

[mystic420]

mystic420 said:
Wow! What a question... I have spent the last year upgrading my system and I figure it will take another 3-4 months to finish. I'm very particular about the equipment i put into my system, so on that note...

Current system config...

Case= Cooler Master Sniper
Case cooling= 2@ 200mm fans and 2@ 120mm fans
Power Supply= Antec 1000Watt W/ 2@120mm fans
Motherboard= Asus M3N-HT Deluxe with Nforce 780a chip set
CPU= AMD Phenom2 X4 940 @ 3Ghz running at 10% OC'd to 3.3Ghz
CPU Cooler= Cooler Master Hyper Z600 with 2 120mm fans
Video= 3X BFG GTX275OC's running 3-way SLI
Boot Drive= WD VelociRaptor 300GB
Internal Storage= 4 WD drives totaling 2.5TB
Keyboard= Logitech G15
Mouse= Logitech G9
Monitor= Samsung 22" Flat panel

Future upgrades...
CPU/Chip set liquid cooling= 120x240 Radiator
GPU liquid cooling= 120x240 Radiator with Swiftech Komodo GTX275-P897 Full Coverage VGA Liquid Cooling System X3
Monitor= ViewSonic FuHzion VX2268wm 120 Hz LCD display for Nvidia 3D Vision
Beyond that I think I'm set... What do you think???

Ooppps. forgot to mention my RAM...
Current RAM= 8GB of Corsair @800Mhz

 

[matchu]

I'd like to get an SSD. But that's expensive. Maybe I'lll get a second HDD and do a raid0 setup

 

[IvanAwfulitch]

In all likelihood? I'd be building a new system entirely. I did a good job building my current one, and I'll likely keep a few parts. But with all the new stuff and the standards we're moving to, I can't see myself upgrading my current system and having it last long. I'm working with an E6750, a 9800gtx+ 512, 2 gigs of DDR3 1066, and a 150gb hard drive 7200 rpm, and my motherboard is an MSI P-35 neocombo.

I'd like to move to an i5 or i7, a motherboard with a PCI 2.0 slot or two, 4 gigs of ddr3 1066 or better, a new FERMI 470 or 480, a solid state drive with at least the twice the space of my current drive, and a bigger power supply to handle all the new equipment. My case and my peripherals are pretty much all I would keep. Such a move though will have to wait quite a while as I'm unemployed and have practically 0 income being a college student.

 

[Whiffen]

My PSU blew out not to long ago and I have replaced it with a much better Corsair HX750.

I also have a Phenom II X4 955 that I am happy with and wanting to OC.

However my current motherboard is a pretty cheap Nvidia chipset (M3N78 Pro) so I'm hoping to get a nice ASUS Crosshair IV Formula when it hopefully arrives in April. That paired with some good Corsair DDR3 memory and either the 5870 2GB or 5970 2GB. Also looking out for a new case and blue ray burner.

Should last me a long time I hope And I might jump on a bulldozer to replace my phenom depending on how much of an increase there is in performance and the price is right.

 

[Geek4life]

Just upgraded to a Q9550 and could not be happier now all I need is a "5870". I am still using my 8800GTX but it is getting long in the tooth. Sign me up for a ATI 5870

 

[Guest]

I'm a computer enthusiast and in no way work for them but I found this very interesting especially since I am old enough to remember the Amgias but to young to have a job at the time

http://www.a-eon.com/6.html

 

[dividebyzero]

My next upgrade will be a downgrade. Selling the Obsidian 800D and replacing it with the 700D - no preinstalled window so I can get some custom etching and CNC work done. Will probably retire the Armor+ for a Lian Li PC-A77F in my secondary system.
Will leave the CPU/GPU upgrades for the foreseeable future- the next gen (2011) might offer better functionality, but haven't run into anything at present my present setups can't handle. Haven't seen or played a DX11 game yet worthy of the hoopla (just another variation of over-hyped eye-candy at present in the same vein as 8+ AA and PhysX).
I'll also wait awhile on the SSD tech until the process is a little less rough around the edges...although if someone made this affordable I think I might re-consider.

 

[seefizzle]

Can anyone tell me about putting an Nvidia card in an AMD system? Does it work well? Are there problems with that? Or should I just stick with an ATI card?

 

[dividebyzero]

Can anyone tell me about putting an Nvidia card in an AMD system? Does it work well? Are there problems with that? Or should I just stick with an ATI card?

This is the same question you asked yesterday…
https://www.techspot.com/vb/post866537-22.html
that was answered by ET3D…
https://www.techspot.com/vb/post866556-25.html
Did you not like ET3D’s answer? or maybe the answer was bewildering to you in it's complexity ?

 

[Zenphic]

I might get myself a new AMD processor. My current 5000+ BE has been giving me headaches with undervolting. For one, it's incompatible with RMClock. And I haven't been able to get it stable with CrystalCPUID under Windows 7 x64. I might get myself one of those AMD X3 440 or X4 630 and hopefully undervolt them with K10Stat!

 

[mrtraver]

I probably won't do much else to my rig except replace the 92mm side intake fan with a quieter 120mm one. My max resolution is 1280x1024, and i can play Crysis at "gamer" settings with my E8500, 260GTX, and 4 Gb DDR2 RAM. Maybe someday i will get a bigger monitor, then a new mobo, CPU, GPU, and memory sometime after that.

I would like to build a new rig for my stepson, who is saving up for a PS3. I can't convince him that for $200 I can upgrade his motherboard, memory, and CPU to let him play any modern games (i'll steal the 8800GT form my wife's computer) and that he will still have money left over to buy a few games. He is currently using a 3.06GHz P-IV with a 9600PRO AGP card.

 

[yorro]

Whole new computer, probably a highend i7 with a highend ATI 6 series.

 

[unrealmp3]

Possibly a new CPU and water-cooling system. I already have 8GB of RAM, a GeForce GTX 275 and 1TB of storage. My AMD Phenom X4 isn't bad, but I wouldn't mind having a Phenom II X4.

 

[JMMD]

My next upgrade will be all the core components, CPU, GPU, Mobo and RAM. My system is a few years old now but is still plenty fast for what I need right now. At some point I'd like to upgrade to an i5 system with a newer GPU and DDR3.