Help with Upgrade again

[gtr135]

Hello, Back in 2006 I was given advice here on building a PC, which I took, then again in 2008 to help with upgrade of a damaged PC. The 2008 build has been perfect but I am looking for ideas to maybe upgrade a component or two.

Current Build

1 x COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
1 x BIOSTAR TPower I45 LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
1 x SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
1 x Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor BX80570E8400
1 x Patriot Viper 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory w/Futuremark 3DMark Vantage Key ...
1 x G.Skill 2GB (2x1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit
1 x Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
1 x SAMSUNG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223Q LightScribe Support - OEM
1 x Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM
1 x Tuniq Tower 120 Universal CPU Cooler 120mm Cooling Fan and
1 x NEC 16X DVD+R DVD Burner black
1 x OCZ GameXStreme OCZ600GXSSLI 600W ATX12V SLI cetrfied...Power Sply
1 x ASUS LS221H Black 22" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail


I mainly use the computer for mmorpg's and games such as Skyrim, which the computer does amazing at high settings (I think) for its age. I think the CPU is OC'ed to about 3.3-3.4 GHz(its been so long) and I am sure I tweaked the GPU also back in 2008/2009.

What would be the biggest performance gain for the money ($50-$300), changing the CPU and/or mobo or get a new GPU like a HD6950/70? Actually I'm up for any and all suggestions.

I will add I am deployed again at the moment so the upgrade would not be needed until after start of year.

GTR135

[Transnone13]

GPU

Remember the higher the res the more reliant on the GPU. The lower the res the more CPU it uses.

BTW Stay safe!

[Namtaro]

GPU for sure.

I'd also say upgrade the harddrive to an SSD if you can afford it... but I'm sure by the start of 2013, SSD's will go even lower in price so maybe a 100Gb drive + GPU upgrade?

The responsiveness and overall 'snappiness' was amazing when I popped an SSD in!
A large SSD isn't needed. All you need on the SSD is your OS and main programs.

[Transnone13]

Originally Posted by Namtaro

GPU for sure.

I'd also say upgrade the harddrive to an SSD if you can afford it... but I'm sure by the start of 2013, SSD's will go even lower in price so maybe a 100Gb drive + GPU upgrade?

The responsiveness and overall 'snappiness' was amazing when I popped an SSD in!
A large SSD isn't needed. All you need on the SSD is your OS and main programs.

He has a point too. I run my OS off a 120GB SSD, have 4 1TBs in RAID 0 for storage, and a 240GB PCI-E SSD to install my games on. Very quick.

[Namtaro]

4x1TB in Raid0... I hoped those files are backed up !

[Transnone13]

Originally Posted by Namtaro

4x1TB in Raid0... I hoped those files are backed up !

They are .

[gtr135]

Thanks for the advice. Ill get a GPU and do some research on SSD's.


GTR135