!!!upgrade!!!

[Cornuto]

Looking to upgrade my pc as it hasn't gotten new stuff in a few years...

Currently
--------------
P5N SLI Motherboard
Intel Core 2 CPU 6400 2.13GHz
550w power supply
9500GT Video card.


Any tech-folks have suggestions on how to best blow $1000-$1500 over at Newegg?

[Cornuto]

This looks shiny!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130587

[Standur]

I'd make sure your power supply can handle the video card if you are not planning on upgrading it also.

[Saulus]

Do you really want it right now, or can you wait 3 months? Intel ivybridge should be coming out around the first quarter, and the prices (because of the shitty economy) actually shouldn't be at a real premium at release.

Not to say that it will be too immense of a leap in performance (PCIE 3.0 looks interesting in addition to the soutbridge improvements)... but its defiantly a 'leap'.

By that time there may even be the next videocard generation.

Or if you just want whats good right now that can get an easy light OC, I can do that...

CPU

Core i7 2600k

Mobo

EVGA P67

Ram

G.Skill Ripjaw Series (2 x 4GB Dual Channel)

Videocard

EVGA GTX 580 (they have a promo you get the new batman game free)

PSU

Corsair HX1050 Modular PSU (80 Plus Silver Certified)

Harddrive

Vertex 3 120GB (Windows 7 x64) (This will utilize the 6GB SATA port on the mobo, vroom vroom!)

Data
Western Digital 2TB Green (64mb cache)



Now the real question is what size/res is your monitor and is it part of the upgrade? That changes the videocard heavily. Do you have a full tower case? If the answer is no I recommend a good ~200 dollar one like the Antec 920 to put it all in.

EDIT: It's $1600 for all that, so you may be able to change a few things, but that is a dream rig so the extra 100 outside your budget would be worth it.

[TakenByTheStormX]

Mobo - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128510

Ram - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231445

CPU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103808

HDD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136533

Graphics - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102945

PSU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139010

Case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811133192

$1115, will run and look brilliantly.

You could also sub in the card you posted, Cornuto; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130587 , and it would be right around $1500 before taxes and you'd have more graphics than anyone ever needs.

[Saulus]

^ Thats gaming on a budget which is fine, you said "Blow money" thats what I suggested.

[TakenByTheStormX]

But it would look so beautiful, and aesthetics are key. Also, when I buy, I get what was top of the line about a month ago, because it's not going to harm performance noticeably, and it will most certainly help out your pockets.

[Saulus]

Thermaltake cases are shit, but thats just my experiences.

[TakenByTheStormX]

Could always sub for a coolermaster HAF; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119233 , I've been using mine fine for over two years now. Also strips about 200 bucks from the price.

[Cornuto]

I can wait a few months, which if I put away some out of several paychecks will actually give me a higher budget then just blowing a huge chunk in one month.

I've got a full Antec tower so space/cooling shouldn't be an issue.

Running 2 monitors, both samsung, a SyncMaster 2233sw (23" 1920x1080) and a SyncMaster Sa300 (20" 1600x1080)

(I'm assuming I'd need to buy 2 packs of RAM?)

[Saulus]

Then yeah, I'd wait and probably most items on that list would be similar but it would be a new cpu/mobo, possibly different card.

[Maevan2]

Vertex 3 120GB (Windows 7 x64) (This will utilize the 6GB SATA port on the mobo, vroom vroom!)

I probably wouldn't buy a SATA3 Sandforce based SSD these days. There are too many compatibility issues for my taste. Mine seems to be stable with the latest firmware (after 5 months) but if that thing should crash one more time i'll replace it with a Crucial m4.

But if you can wait a few months and get a new Ivy Bridge system them things might look different again.

[Saulus]

(I'm assuming I'd need to buy 2 packs of RAM?)

One dual channel kit will have two sticks... and if it's a dual channel board I would recommend 2 x 4GB... 8GB is plenty of memory right now for gaming and high performance applications.

[TakenByTheStormX]

I have to agree, 16 GB is way too much.

[greendragon]

Xion case w/ 750 watt power
i7 960 3.2Ghz quad core w/ liquid cooling
Motherboard: Gigabyte G1.Guerrilla w/ Killer Network Technology)
12 GB RAM
AMD Radeon HD 6950 - 2GB - HIS IceQ X Turbo gfx card
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 w/ 5.1 surround
60 GB SSD Primary drive
500 GB Hard Drive
DVD burner
Card Reader

I had this custom built mainly so I can play Skyrim (when it comes out) with MAX graphics. It arrives Tuesday.