Upgrade Decisions... Hmm

[Triz08]

Current System is in my sig and just got some extra money for upgrades!

Ok, im deciding between 2 paths.

1) CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
MoBo: ASUS P5N32-E SLI Plus
Ram: BUFFALO Firestix 2GB
Total Cost: $703

2) Video Card: A 2nd EVGA 8800 GTS 640 to run in SLI
Sound Card: Creative X-Fi Xtremegamer
Headphones: Sennheiser HD555
Total Cost: $570

I use the computer for massive amounts of gaming.

My fx-55 is only 3 months old and have that baby running at 3.0 ghz.

What do you think would benefit me more?

Do you think it would be better to get 8800 GTS SLI now and hold of for the complete new cpu, mobo, ram rebuild?

Will be impatiently waiting for your thoughts =D

 

[J Macker]

I don't think you're going to see much (if any improvement) at all.

If you are running at > 1600x1200, then I think that # 2 would be better.
save your money, a 3.0Ghz FX-55 is still a pretty good chip for gaming. Remember that games aren't benefitting from dual-core at all.

 

[Triz08]

I was originally leaning towards path # 2 also.

I game at 1680x1050 with all AA and AF cranked up.

My plan a while back was to upgrade my mobo/cpu/ram when the next generation of hardware comes around. As of now, I know that C2D is clearly a revolutionary peice of hardware, but im hoping theres something else around the corner worth waiting for.

 

[engiNURD]

I doubt it will blow the C2D out of the water, whatever it is thats around the corner. It may slightly outperform it, but not by much. I'm just guessing here. If you look at the trend of CPUs, you'll notice there are very few LEAPS of performance, and many many small/medium jumps. I think it'll be a little while before another huge leap comes along. The main move right now is towards multi-core computing... but hardware (quadcore) is so far ahead of software, that its just not worth the price unless you absolutely need it.

I think the SLI path would serve your needs best... and it should last at least a year or so.

While not many games benefit from dual core CPUs, there are a few (the source engine), and many more to come.