Hi guys, new member, long time player, and LONG TIME PC builder/tweaker.
I tend to buy parts that i KNOW will last years. I haven't upgraded anything substantial (added more ram, another HD) in 4 years. 4 years my parts have lasted and played everything maxed out.
Until last month.
BF3, Skyrim, all these goodies, and the 8800gt doesn't cut it anymore. I"m lucky that i dont play on some HUGE monitor with a ridiculously high resolution (1280x1024 what i use) but i'm still hesitant to even buy BF3 (i know an 88gt is like the minimum specs, i've never had minimum specs before
) and skyrim, while i can get it to high, does experience bouts of lag that just make it not hugely enjoyable. SOOO my questions:
If i upgrade JUST my gfx card, will my cpu now be the bottleneck? I was looking at 560tis, they seem like the NEW 88gt, and as i said i like to buy parts that will last me a longgg time. I dont like dropping $ to upgrade every year anymore (i used to
) but no more. I'd rather drop some extra $ for something real solid then save myself some $ now only to n eed to spend more a year from now.
Specs:
core 2 duo E6420 oc'd @ 2.6ghz
8800gt 512mb OC@d to bah i cant remember but its oc'd haha
4gb kingston ram
gigabyte 965p-ds3 mobo
250gb WD 2500ys
soundblaster audigy 2 zs
Will my system be able to run these games at high since my resolution is (relatively) lower? As I said i got skyrim at high for the most part (not maxed, not ultra, but high) but every now and then it sticks up for a bit, mostly around intense particle effects (water, fire, etc, though not all the time it seems random).
Also i know i know i was stupid my mobo doesn't support SLI. But at the time (4 years ago) i figured that a single card would always be better/cheaper than SLI. Since i dont have huge resolutions i dont NEED IT, BUT! I DO run dual monitors on occassion. Dual monitors not currently hooked up, i had to put the 1 in storage in the summer and just never hooked it back up. i use it for desktop stuff, you know, typing a paper and reading info side by side, comparing two things on chrome, looking at itunes while a game is open etc etc etc.
However when i run dual monitors I only game on 1, i dont extend it across both of them. I find the gap in the middle to be pretty annoying, since the middle of the screen is where my vacant 1000 yard stare is aimed lol.
Sorry for the long post just wanted to give the necessary info about my system, how i use it, etc.
If i do upgrade the CPU as well, i'm lookin at those 2500k intels. Those seem like they will last me a few years easily. Theyre so powerful its insane. kinda like the core 2s when they FIRST came out, comparitively. And the 560TI is BETTER than the 560 right? Because i've read on a few review sites (tomshardware for one) that the new REGULAR 560 is better (like when the 8800gts was bested by the 8800gt, not in total performance, but the 88gt TOTALLY owned price/performance wise, being almost as good as the GTS for a substantially less price).
I've been outta the loop for a long time guys, since my PC has been playing games maxed out for the past 4 years. Also just a note: i have a preference for Intel and Nvidia. I dont think i'll EVER get an AMD proc, BUT i dont mind ATI. I had a 1900xtx 512 when they came out that thing was a beast (loud and hot but a beast). I still have it actually, probably gonna put it in my media center (unless someone wants to buy it lol)
I tend to buy parts that i KNOW will last years. I haven't upgraded anything substantial (added more ram, another HD) in 4 years. 4 years my parts have lasted and played everything maxed out.
Until last month.
BF3, Skyrim, all these goodies, and the 8800gt doesn't cut it anymore. I"m lucky that i dont play on some HUGE monitor with a ridiculously high resolution (1280x1024 what i use) but i'm still hesitant to even buy BF3 (i know an 88gt is like the minimum specs, i've never had minimum specs before
) and skyrim, while i can get it to high, does experience bouts of lag that just make it not hugely enjoyable. SOOO my questions:If i upgrade JUST my gfx card, will my cpu now be the bottleneck? I was looking at 560tis, they seem like the NEW 88gt, and as i said i like to buy parts that will last me a longgg time. I dont like dropping $ to upgrade every year anymore (i used to
) but no more. I'd rather drop some extra $ for something real solid then save myself some $ now only to n eed to spend more a year from now.Specs:
core 2 duo E6420 oc'd @ 2.6ghz
8800gt 512mb OC@d to bah i cant remember but its oc'd haha
4gb kingston ram
gigabyte 965p-ds3 mobo
250gb WD 2500ys
soundblaster audigy 2 zs
Will my system be able to run these games at high since my resolution is (relatively) lower? As I said i got skyrim at high for the most part (not maxed, not ultra, but high) but every now and then it sticks up for a bit, mostly around intense particle effects (water, fire, etc, though not all the time it seems random).
Also i know i know i was stupid my mobo doesn't support SLI. But at the time (4 years ago) i figured that a single card would always be better/cheaper than SLI. Since i dont have huge resolutions i dont NEED IT, BUT! I DO run dual monitors on occassion. Dual monitors not currently hooked up, i had to put the 1 in storage in the summer and just never hooked it back up. i use it for desktop stuff, you know, typing a paper and reading info side by side, comparing two things on chrome, looking at itunes while a game is open etc etc etc.
However when i run dual monitors I only game on 1, i dont extend it across both of them. I find the gap in the middle to be pretty annoying, since the middle of the screen is where my vacant 1000 yard stare is aimed lol.
Sorry for the long post just wanted to give the necessary info about my system, how i use it, etc.
If i do upgrade the CPU as well, i'm lookin at those 2500k intels. Those seem like they will last me a few years easily. Theyre so powerful its insane. kinda like the core 2s when they FIRST came out, comparitively. And the 560TI is BETTER than the 560 right? Because i've read on a few review sites (tomshardware for one) that the new REGULAR 560 is better (like when the 8800gts was bested by the 8800gt, not in total performance, but the 88gt TOTALLY owned price/performance wise, being almost as good as the GTS for a substantially less price).
I've been outta the loop for a long time guys, since my PC has been playing games maxed out for the past 4 years. Also just a note: i have a preference for Intel and Nvidia. I dont think i'll EVER get an AMD proc, BUT i dont mind ATI. I had a 1900xtx 512 when they came out that thing was a beast (loud and hot but a beast). I still have it actually, probably gonna put it in my media center (unless someone wants to buy it lol)
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