Upgrading on a Disabilty Budget

i want to upgrade my my pc but not sure how too on my tight budget i have $160 to spare most months sometimes less. my current build should be upgradeable. im currently getting universal parts till i can decided if a new build is way to go or max out my existing.

my curennt build:
evga p55 ftw 200
i7 860 oem style silverstone cooler
dual sli gtx 280's
silverstone st1500
ram is shorted or something and reed anywhere from 1gb to 8gb

universal upgrade plans:
corsair 800d (will arrive 12/8/11)
corsair h100
corsair dominator gt with fan kit
corsair airflow pro led display.

now here is the part i need advice on. do i just upgrade to tri sli 80 with dedicated physics gtx 280. or go tri 580s, or get a new z68 mobo and chip like the EVGA Z68 FTW 160-SB-E689-K2 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Extended ATX Intel Motherboard or the ASRock Z68 PROFESSIONAL GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with a Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I72600K. evga been really good for me with my unstable ram but the asrock board has gen 3 pcie and 6 sata iii connectors. it spaces cards for beter air flow but only can run dual sli.

TY in advance for advice on this mater and a big thanks to Visa Declined from the EVGA Forums telling me about this here for us Okies

For gaming or work?

Looking at your mobo, it looks like it will only take 1156 socket cpu's, and on newegg I only see 1 quad core i5:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007671%20600005864%20600030236&IsNodeId=1&name=Quad-Core

i7 for gaming is useless as no games can use the huper threading.

I think your mobo is good for a few more years, no devices out there right now can really max out the 3gb SATA you have, USB 3 isnt taking over yet and your mobo will do SLI.

1) Get i5 quad core CPU $200 (looks like the one linked can do 3.8-4ghz)
2) Get good 8gb of RAM DDR 3 $50
3) GTX 560 2GB card $230

I have a 2GB 5660 and it runs anything in 1080 at max settings. Get a 2nd one in 3-6 months when they really start dropping in price and you will be set for a few years of play at 1080 and be fine.

As to the H100 - I would only reccomend it if you plan on some SERIOUS OC'ing, otherwise the H60/70 are more than sufficient. My i5 3.3 runs at 3.9 on my H60 at 40c under full BF3 load.
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K-SWISS Power cologne. Who knew you could bottle the scent of boner?

i have a 860 curently the poceesor upgrade would be if i upgrade my mobo. but thinking of tring to find a used 280 and 240

gaming and media server forgot to mention

I would only upgrade the vid card then......and get new RAM if yours is flaky. Get a GTX 570 and you will be set.

Also - we don't allow images in signatures FYI.
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K-SWISS Power cologne. Who knew you could bottle the scent of boner?

Welcome to the OKGG forums, thanks for joining us.

With a strong i7 setup like yours, I really doubt you will see significant improvement going with Sandy Bridge. I have a 2600k setup and it is damn fast, but your setup should be pretty close as is and wouldn't be worth "starting over" for the small performance gain you'd see. I would drop some $ into new ram, something you could use in the future if you decide to go Sandy Bridge down the road. I'd also upgrade off those 280's into a 560/570/580 with intent to add a second one down the road. Adding a 3rd 280 just doesn't seem worth the expense, increased heat, or increased power consumption.

i have a st 1500 silverstone psu im debating on upgrading to a corsair ax1200 though because my cables are dated but getting a 580 better then a temp 3rd 280 till the new 600 series comes out huh. sorry about sig dint relize i removed it and apoligize

No biggie. My mantra has always been: if it aint broke, dont upgrade it. Squeeze every ounce out of your set up you can to maximize your investment.

I think the 580's are overpriced, 570 is the highest I would go. If you game at 1080 then the 560 is best bang for the buck, and 2 560's are one hell of a combo down the road. I just put a 2gb 560 in my new build and plan on adding another in 2-4 months.

Like 7 said, with an i7 now, you honestly would just be pouring money in a hole by changing anything other than your vid card and some new good RAM.

Oh and post some pics of that 800D - I hear they are awesomeness!
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K-SWISS Power cologne. Who knew you could bottle the scent of boner?

is there a section for a persons build??? i can post pictures there of the build i bet. should get my new case tomorrow.

You're welcome to link them in in this thread.
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Advocating the end of the world since July 1995.

This thread or if you want a new thread, put it in this forum.

I did some research on the 560 ti and 560 ti 448 cores. The 448 core seems interesting but don't buy one with plans to SLI down the road, they will likely be very hard to find as they look like a temporary product offering. For the $, I would consider 2x 570s instead of a 580. I checked AnandTech's bench and the dual 570s will murder a 580: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/305?vs=307. You'll have about $660 in them compared to $500 but it might be a good option for you.

Newegg has the Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory (PGD38G1333ELK) for $36 - $15 rebate [Exp 12/15] = $21 with free shipping. Features timings of 9-9-9-24-2N

Here
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For with what measure you measure it will be measured to you.

Niiiiiice find man.

I love how cheap RAM is now.

I got a EVGA 560 2gb (non ti) for like $239 at best buy. With the 600 series coming soon, I will buy another when they drop. 2 560's will also beat a 580.
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K-SWISS Power cologne. Who knew you could bottle the scent of boner?

I've been on the fence of upgrading my single MSI GTX 460 TwinFrozen to either SLI or selling it and buying a 560/570. I haven't been able to find a good match to my card on Newegg (or anywhere else new) but I just found a few on eBay for about $100. I checked on the bench at Anandtech and 2 of my cards in SLI will hang with or beat at 580!! eBay here I come...

if i did only dual sli id want a ftw or classified card if u want see the pqarts im looking at they are linked in this post here. when i get a new mobo when its economical i want red/black evga but wan to do when makes sense lol.

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=15641451

was surprised to see a gtx 270 with display port that would allow for my dream monitor setup with the Samsung MD230X3.

well thaught id give u all a idea what my stem is like now. you can see here.

Gosh, your current system that you want to upgrade puts mine to shame, and I'm still happy with it 5 years down the road. heh (4GB conroe based system OC'd to 3.2GHz and 8800GTX)
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For with what measure you measure it will be measured to you.

Brules wrote: For gaming or work?


http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007671%20600005864%20600030236&IsNodeId=1&name=Quad-Core

Geeze with a $3k budget...

This + This + This and something from Here = A good start...

Personally I dont buy into the whole SLI deal... too complicated to get running, its never really smooth, costs a bunch not just for the cards, but electricity, PSU's, cases, heat, etc... *shrug* sometimes simpler is better.
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For with what measure you measure it will be measured to you.