Upgrade suggestions

[J W]

Hello all! I've been looking to upgrade my PC to something that can handle gaming a little better. My current rig has e4500 CPU, IP35-E MOBO, 9600 GT gfx card, 4 gigs of RAM, 550W corsair PSU. I'll fill out the FAQ:

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming. I mostly listen to my music through my PC. School work. Internet.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Budget varies greatly. I'm planning on traveling quite extensively (hopefully) next year so I may end up selling it all then (1 year from now). I'd like to spend no more than $800.
3) Where do you live?
Oklahoma
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific. CPU, Mobo (maybe), RAM (maybe), Video card, PSU (maybe).
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model. I can reuse my HD, keyboard, mouse, case fans, case, dvd drive, and possibly PSU.
6) Will you be overclocking? Sure, why not?
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have? 24"
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? ASAP
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc. No special features, unless it is absolutely recommended that I have one with special stuff on it.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? Yes. I have Vista x64.

I'm really wide open on what I should do. Should I just upgrade my e4500 to a e8400 or something similar and get a new video card? Or should I build an AMD rig? I'm also open to building an i7 rig.

Would an e8400 and nice video card play everything out now well (specifically, Empire: total war, mass effect, Witcher, gta iv, Crysis, and Stalker clear sky) at high resolutions? I know GTA IV really needs more than 2 cores to run well, but do any others?

In short, I'm looking for the best gaming experience right now (I dont care about "future proofing" at all) for the cheapest amount of money.

 

[Dangman]

Really no need for a new build entirely. Just upgrade your CPU and GPU and you should be set. That's definitely more cost effective than getting a new build entirely.

As for which CPU you should go with, Mass Effect, Empire Total War, and GTA4 do scale really well with quad-core CPUs. Considering that future games will take advantage of quad-cores, I recommend getting a quad-core CPU just for the hell of it. The Q6600 is a good choice and is capable of at least a 3Ghz OC

GPU wise, the GTX280 can be had for $290:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143141

So for a total of $500 in upgrades, you'll get a significant boost in gaming performance. However if you want to save some cash and don't need the absolutely highest settings, just drop the GPU down to the GTX260:
BFG Tech BFGEGTX260MC896OCE GeForce GTX 260 896MB PCI-E Video Card - $180

 

[engiNURD]

I agree Danny... just upgrade the CPU and GPU.

If you really want to save money, you probably don't need to upgrade your CPU. Is it OC'd right now? If so, what speed?

 

[J W]

I agree Danny... just upgrade the CPU and GPU.

If you really want to save money, you probably don't need to upgrade your CPU. Is it OC'd right now? If so, what speed?

Well I already have a friend who's willing to buy my CPU so i'm pretty set on something new.

Also, how well will the ip35-e work with a q6600? Some people across the internet have indicated that it isn't the best board for overclocking quads. Do you guys know if there is any truth to this? I suppose I could get a GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R if I needed to.

Would my corsair 550W power supply be enough for a GTX280?

Thanks guys.

 

[Dangman]

Also, how well will the ip35-e work with a q6600? Some people across the internet have indicated that it isn't the best board for overclocking quads. Do you guys know if there is any truth to this? I suppose I could get a GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R if I needed to.

Would my corsair 550W power supply be enough for a GTX280?

Thanks guys.

The Ip35-E is good enough for at least a 3Ghz OC with the Q6600. Can't vouch for any here overclocking. A new mobo isn't really worth the extra costs just to gain an extra 200Mhz to 600Mhz in clock speed.

Yes your Corsair 550W would be enough for any single GPU videocard/setup.

 

[J W]

Thanks.

One more quesiton, though: How does the Q9400 compare to the Q6600? I saw where the Q9400 is $180 at microcenter while the Q6600 is still $200 at newegg. Do you guys suggest I take the Q6600 (better overclocker?) over the cheaper Q9400?

 

[Dangman]

Thanks.

One more quesiton, though: How does the Q9400 compare to the Q6600? I saw where the Q9400 is $180 at microcenter while the Q6600 is still $200 at newegg. Do you guys suggest I take the Q6600 (better overclocker?) over the cheaper Q9400?

No. If the Q9400 is cheaper, then get the Q9400. It outperforms the Q6600 by about 7% clock for clock. In addition, the Q9400 is capable of at least a 3Ghz OC, just like the Q6600.

 

[engiNURD]

For a 3Ghz OC, the IP35-E will be fine.... probably even 3.2-3.4Ghz. YMMV, of course.