Is It Worth The "Upgrade"?

[RubyRoks]

My current machine is doing fine, but having a newer platform to work with would be nice. My Q8300 and DDR2 RAM are old, slow, and potential bottlenecks for future GPUs. I'd like to keep the cost of the upgrade under $200 USD, but going a little over is fine. This machine is meant to play games at 1366x768. Details aren't going to be very high in modern games thanks to my GTX 560, but i'm more worried about minimum frame rates at this point. I play a lot of CS:GO, BFBC2 (Wanting Hardline), AA:PG, Skyrim, Minecraft (with shaders), ArmA (i don't expect higher than 45 FPS at all), and i would like to record these (Not ArmA), but i know my limitations.

Proposed Build: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/TheQRoks/saved/vnqrxr
I already own the MoBo, SSD, Case, GPU, and PSU. The PSU is iffy, so a low power draw system would be nice. It'd be nice if CPU and RAM were the only things changed, but feel free to suggest an even newer platform if it's in the $200 to $215 budget.

No need to include monitors or peripherals.

[Firearm2112]

I would diffidently spring for a better PSU

[dizmo]

I wouldn't.

I'd just save up and upgrade to Skylake next year, especially since your very first words were "my current machine is doing fine".

Others will say upgrade, but the CPU you chose isn't that great and you can find DDR2 RAM quite cheap if you want more of it.

 

My dad plays most games at 720p on a 50" tv, and he has a 560Ti. I'm sure you can hit pretty decent frame rates.

[RubyRoks]

-snip- you can find DDR2 RAM quite cheap if you want more of it.

I want to upgrade to DDR3.

[dizmo]

I want to upgrade to DDR3.

For what reason?

[YoyiSkill]

A very nice upgrade for just under 128$, would you consider upgrading to a better graphics card? like a 760, 770 or higher?

[RubyRoks]

For what reason?

Newer standard. It's likely higher performance. Ability to upgrade to 16GB if needed in the future. Carries over for future upgrades (such as skylake)

 

A very nice upgrade for just under 128$, would you consider upgrading to a better graphics card? like a 760, 770 or higher?

For now, i'm fine with the GTX 560, but i do intend on picking up a GTX 960 when they're available and when i have the money for a FULL system upgrade.

[dizmo]

Newer standard. It's likely higher performance. Ability to upgrade to 16GB if needed in the future. Carries over for future upgrades (such as skylake)

 

For now, i'm fine with the GTX 560, but i do intend on picking up a GTX 960 when they're available and when i have the money for a FULL system upgrade.

SkyLake is likely going to use DDR4. So it won't carry over. Depending on the speed of your DDR2, it might be just as fast as DDR3, if not only slightly farther behind.

"Ability to upgrade in the future." Buy for what you need now, not for what's in the future. The tech moves so quickly that it's not worth it.

You asked for opinions, I'm giving you mine. Just save your money and wait until Skylake comes out. DDR4 will be cheaper by then, SSD's will be cheaper, etc.

 

FWIW your cpu actually beats the one you want to upgrade to in most areas.

[RubyRoks]

SkyLake is likely going to use DDR4. So it won't carry over. Depending on the speed of your DDR2, it might be just as fast as DDR3, if not only slightly farther behind.

"Ability to upgrade in the future." Buy for what you need now, not for what's in the future. The tech moves so quickly that it's not worth it.

You asked for opinions, I'm giving you mine. Just save your money and wait until Skylake comes out. DDR4 will be cheaper by then, SSD's will be cheaper, etc.

fair enough. Thanks for the input

[JuTheBarbarian]

I'd at least upgrade you RAM if nothing else... You may want to look into getting maybe an AMD processor if your budget is low. They seems to have better performance per dollar in the low end market...

[RubyRoks]

I'd at least upgrade you RAM if nothing else... You may want to look into getting maybe an AMD processor if your budget is low. They seems to have better performance per dollar in the low end market...

I was looking at that, but at least from what CPU-World says, the X4 760K is only a little better than my CPU. And (also from what they say) the FX chips are similar, but with higher power draw.

[JuTheBarbarian]

I was looking at that, but at least from what CPU-World says, the X4 760K is only a little better than my CPU. And (also from what they say) the FX chips are similar, but with higher power draw.

 

Yeah I don't know much about the lower end processors so I can't say much about them. But I really really suggest that if you upgrade, start with upgrading your RAM. It seems like PCs are getting to the point where ddr2 just is not enough and many programs seem to require ddr3 and not ddr2.