Should I upgrade, buy a new desktop PC or gaming laptop?

[browncoat1984]

So lately my 5-year old PC has been starting to show its age with the new generation of console games coming out. I've been considering my options - should I upgrade, buy a new desktop PC or a new laptop PC? If I go the route of buying a new desktop PC I'll probably get something that's pre-built so would be looking for recommendations on who to go with.

Here are my current specs:

Motherboard: AS Rock X58 Extreme
CPU: Intel Core i7 920 2.67 ghz
Ram: 6.00 gb ddr3 ram
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

If I upgrade I figure I would probably just need to ugprade my video card and install an ssd drive.

I'm basically looking for something that will laste me through the next generation (at least) of consoles so probably the next 5-6 years or so.

[_I_]

thats getting there

i7 920s are good overclockers
get a good cpu cooler, 212evo or h80+
and overclock the cpu to around 3.8-4ghz (before the point where it throttles)
you can disable ht on it, to help lower temps so it can oc higher

good guide here
http://www.overclock.net/t/538439/guide-to-overclocking-the-core-i7-920-or-930-to-4-0ghz

if you do want to spend more on a cpu/mobo upgrade, going to an i5 4690k /w z97 board will last a long time

[Rove]

If you are using Intel HD integrated graphiucs then yes upgrade is what you need.

You may also need to upgrade your PSU.

I suggest a AMD R9 series (starting at R9 270 and going up) or a Nvidia GTX 760 or higher.

PSU is going to need to be 500W 80 Plus Bronze or higher depending on card.

A RAM upgrade might also be a good idea. If you have 3*2GB now then adding in another 3*2 or 3*4 would boost your total substantially.

Also you should get a good high performance CPU cooler for the CPU. It's on a nice motherboard and as has been mentioned can probably overclock well. SSD or SSHD or even new HDD probably wouldn't hurt either.

If you have a specific budget for upgrades and can tell me your current PSU I'd be happy to help put together a shopping list.

[_I_]

i7 920 does not have an integrated gpu

[Rove]

Right....
So OP what's your graphics card?

[Renegi]

haha yes, if you provide budget and full list of your current specs then that will help so much more (start->search->dxdiag). this is definitely the time to buy. Amazon has ran some crazy sales over the past few weeks. They had 250GB Samsung 840 Evo for $99.99 a couple weeks ago. If you decide to go with Amazon for most product buys, I recommend camelcamelcamel (Amazon price tracker). I trust Amazon (bought and shipped from Amazon) much more than Newegg now. Their restocking fees, etc are getting ridiculous these days :/

[Mr.Jarvis]

Boxing day would also be a good time to rack up on sales, it's coming pretty soon too

[browncoat1984]

Oh sorry I forgot to mention that my video card is a Radeon HD 5870.

[browncoat1984]

My main hdd is a 1TB Western Digital 7200RPM and secondary hdd is 500gb Western Digital 7200RPM.

[_I_]

5870 isnt horrible
but a better card will help

gtx 760+ or r9 card will be a good improvement


http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html
up 2+ steps is good, more is better

when buying a new card, aim for the top 4-5

[Jamebonds1]

I would going for GTX 760 Ti.

Escrito originalmente por _I_:

5870 isnt horrible
but a better card will help

For BF4 on ultra setting? I don't think so. There will be dipper in that game.

[100% Recycled Awesome]

Escrito originalmente por browncoat1984:

If I upgrade I figure I would probably just need to ugprade my video card and install an ssd drive.

I'm basically looking for something that will laste me through the next generation (at least) of consoles so probably the next 5-6 years or so.

What's your budget?

Spend the money on a quality GTX 970 which will last you another 5 years, get a solid CPU cooler and overclock your processor. That will probably buy you maybe another 3 years tops to which you can then save money for a better computer that can reuse the SSD and the GTX 970. The best way to defray computer costs is to reuse parts from build to build.

[Rove]

HD 5970 is still a fairly nice card. It should be able to keep up to the R9 270 or R9 270X depending on use according to the stats.

I suggest that the only cards that would be a substantial upgrade (like x2 or better) would be a R9 290 or above or a GTX 780 or GTX 980 or above.

Currently your system actually looks pretty good and I don't see a reason for you to upgrade except maybe to add mroe RAM.

6GB is low as some games now recommend 8GB and I've even been able to push them into using more than that on really big maps or with mods.

I suggest that the RAM is your system's current weakpoint, maybe that and the HDD.

Add a 120GB or larger SSD for the OS & +6 or even better +12 GB more RAM and see if that feels better.

Odds are more RAM & the SSD will fix you up nice for the next several years at least.

[Anime8ted]

In regards to Desktop vs Laptop, in the event you do go with a new pre-built rig. I would definetly go for a Desktop. Unless you are realllly wanting to game on-the-road, I would not spring for a laptop as they are inherently inferior in terms of upgradability and heat control.

That's not to say that Gaming Laptops are a bad thing, just inherently bad as an investment of money over time.