Upgrade or New PC?

[leegund]

Ok then, the time has come when I feel I may need to upgrade my trusty PC. I'm currently running:

CPU: AMD 4600x2
Mobo: Asus M2N4-SLI
GPU: 7900GTX
PSU: 550W
RAM: 2GB DDR2 800MHz

I'm thinking immediate upgrade would be GPU - I like the way the new GTX280 looks, even if it is pricey and not really necessary, but would it be worth be sacrificing graphics at the moment to switch to an Intel-based system and taking advantage of the increasingly cheaper Q6600? I know that not many games are currently taking advantage of four cores, but it couldn't hurt right?

Alternatively, if I stuck with my CPU for the time being and just bought a new card, are we thinking new mobo and PSU?

And therein lies the problem... either way I don't think I'd be updgrading a single component and, depending on costs, would it be easier to wait a little longer and start from scratch with an entirely new PC?

Thoughts, comments, suggestions etc...

Cheers guys!

[SoBe Green]

Just a couple hundred into that thing and you could easily upgrade it. If it is SLI capable I'd just buy another 7900GTX and put in there. But thats just one of your options. Give us an idea of what you want it to do better.

[leegund]

Thanks for the reply SoBe, but 7900's are hard to come by these days...

Ideally I just wanted your opinions as to whether or not you would upgrade the graphics first, switch to Intel or go with a whole new PC.

I use my PC to play games for the most part - I'd say that was the most demanding use it gets and I don't have any problems running games at the moment so there's nothing I really need it to do better, but at some point in the future when there is a game that won't run so well I'd rather be prepared for it than to suffer at the time.

Cheers

[Kenpachi]

Depends on a few things, how much money have you got to spend? Are you happy with what you have at the moment?

The only thing that would make me start over if i was you, was if the mobo only supported dual core, and you wanted quad core, things like that. If you're motherboard supports all the upgrades you wanna make on it, then you should be fine with saving your money and just upgrading.

Just had a look at your motherboard, it supports up to dual core, and only up to 800Mhz RAM, you've pretty much got the best CPU and RAM you can put in there.

Rather than upgrading, i think the best option if you want a better PC, would be to get a new mobo, get something that can take quad core, faster ram, and possibly PCI Express 2.0. Then you have a wide choice of hardware you can choose for your CPU, RAM, and GFX card. A lot of people say quad core is not necessary, and most programs/games are not optimized for quadcore anyway, but it's my belief to be forward thinking. I'm sure they will start coming out with optimized games, then who will be laughing?

As for Intel vs NVidia, i would go for Intel. Most probably personal preference, but in general the build quality of Intel motherboards are much better than NVidia ones. GFX card, i would go for ATI rather than NVidia, because of the price/performance ratio is dominated by ATI at the moment.

As for specifics, i need to know what type of PC you're looking for, and what your budget's like.

[leegund]

I've got a flexible budget to a degree. I don't really want to have to spend out more and do a complete rebuild so my two options for upgrading I see are either:

a) GTX280 (approx. £250-£300) and a possibly a new CPU for my existing mobo - a 6000x2 (approx. £65)
b) Q6600 (approx. £120) and Striker II mobo (approx. £175). I may even through in some new RAM - probably TwinX 1066MHz

I'd rather stick with Nvidia despite what you've mentioned about ATI - personal preference and I've heard some bad things about ATI compatibility from friends recently (probably unfounded but you never know).

My only worries with my choices above are, for a) will my PSU suffer and subsequently will I need a new one anyway, b) although I can make the switch would performance by hampered by me having a third gen GFX card?

Thanks for your help.