Biting the bullet after newest patch- I need to upgrade.

[ATAG_Dutch]

Originally Posted by jamesdietz

I don't have the bucks to go first cabin , but want to buy something with staying power fot the next few years or so.

Hi JD.

It might be a bit easier for the chaps to advise if you could give a ball park budget (obviously you'll save some $ if you fit it yourself, which is really easy).

I bought the card in my sig about a year ago and still find it runs Cliffs very well. Also the old benchmark Crysis can be run on very high settings.

It's about $300 currently through amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Supercloc.../dp/B004EYSMGW

[bobd]

Like Luftwaffepilot is pointing out. Just a faster gpu may be a waste if you don't have a adequate system.

[CWMV]

Seriously system specs please

[BigC208]

James, you can take your rig to the geeks at Best Buy and get a $500 graphics card. If the rest of your system is as archaic as your graphics card it will not do you much good.

You'll want at least an Intel I5-2500k overlocked to at least 4-4.5Ghz. This will push the GPU to it's maximum performance. Post your full specs and then we can advise you on what to keep or throw out.

[MB_Avro_UK]

Last week I spent over £900 on an upgrade. ($1,350 US).

With every game setting at maximum, I achieve 60 fps.

Best Regards,
MB_Avro.

[Blackdog_kt]

A lot depends on what settings you want to achieve.
I'm running the sim fine on mostly medium settings on this:

i7 920 @ 2.7 GHz (the very first that came out, no overclocking at all)
Ati 4890 1GB
3GB RAM
Windows 7 64-bit.

I'd say my main issue the low RAM. There was no win7 when i got it and i didn't want to install xp 64bit or vista, so i stayed with xp 32 bit and got just as much memory as it could utilize.
I think that installing another 3GB of RAM would cure a few small problems and help loading times.

Apart from that, if you want to run higher settings then of course you will need a new graphics card.

Just like everyone else pointed however, the system components must match each other. You don't want to spend money on a fast card if it's going to be held back by the rest of your system, or if your OS can't utilize at least DX10.

As also pointed out already, make sure you have a good power supply. Graphics cards can be very power hungry beasts when working at full load and if your PSU isn't up to it, it could lead to crashes.
In my experience, looking only at the nominal wattage for a PSU isn't enough. It's best to get a unit with a slightly lower nominal wattage from a reliable manufacturer and be sure that it achieves it, than get one of dubious quality just because it quotes more watts on the box.

Also keep in mind that bigger wattage doesn't necessarily mean bigger power bills. In fact, it's usually the other way around because most PSUs start to have increased thermal losses the closer they are to their limits. For example, if you have a PC that requires 400Watts and you try it on a 500Watt and a 700Watt PSU, most of the times the 500Watt PSU will waste more power because it's operating closer to its limits.

Generally speaking, most of the PC components can be upgraded with budget solutions, but there are three things you should generally not skimp on: motherboard (for upgradeability), PSU (for optimal power delivery and fail-safe features) and monitor (for easy and tireless viewing).
These are not only important for your day to day PC usage, but also don't require as frequent upgrades as other components, so it makes sense to pay a bit extra and be set for a longer time. I've had a case where my PSU saved my system, when a power surge/spike occured. The PSU died and got replaced thanks to warranty, but everything else in my system survived.

[SlipBall]

Originally Posted by Blackdog_kt

A lot depends on what settings you want to achieve.
I'm running the sim fine on mostly medium settings on this:

i7 920 @ 2.7 GHz (the very first that came out, no overclocking at all)
Ati 4890 1GB
3GB RAM
Windows 7 64-bit.

I'd say my main issue the low RAM. There was no win7 when i got it and i didn't want to install xp 64bit or vista, so i stayed with xp 32 bit and got just as much memory as it could utilize.
I think that installing another 3GB of RAM would cure a few small problems and help loading times.

Apart from that, if you want to run higher settings then of course you will need a new graphics card.

Just like everyone else pointed however, the system components must match each other. You don't want to spend money on a fast card if it's going to be held back by the rest of your system, or if your OS can't utilize at least DX10.

As also pointed out already, make sure you have a good power supply. Graphics cards can be very power hungry beasts when working at full load and if your PSU isn't up to it, it could lead to crashes.
In my experience, looking only at the nominal wattage for a PSU isn't enough. It's best to get a unit with a slightly lower nominal wattage from a reliable manufacturer and be sure that it achieves it, than get one of dubious quality just because it quotes more watts on the box.

Also keep in mind that bigger wattage doesn't necessarily mean bigger power bills. In fact, it's usually the other way around because most PSUs start to have increased thermal losses the closer they are to their limits. For example, if you have a PC that requires 400Watts and you try it on a 500Watt and a 700Watt PSU, most of the times the 500Watt PSU will waste more power because it's operating closer to its limits.

Generally speaking, most of the PC components can be upgraded with budget solutions, but there are three things you should generally not skimp on: motherboard (for upgradeability), PSU (for optimal power delivery and fail-safe features) and monitor (for easy and tireless viewing).
These are not only important for your day to day PC usage, but also don't require as frequent upgrades as other components, so it makes sense to pay a bit extra and be set for a longer time. I've had a case where my PSU saved my system, when a power surge/spike occured. The PSU died and got replaced thanks to warranty, but everything else in my system survived.

Adding some flash drives devoted only to memory helped my system...I bought them when at 1/2 price, BestBuy.

[Stublerone]

Originally Posted by BigC208

James, you can take your rig to the geeks at Best Buy and get a $500 graphics card. If the rest of your system is as archaic as your graphics card it will not do you much good.

You'll want at least an Intel I5-2500k overlocked to at least 4-4.5Ghz. This will push the GPU to it's maximum performance. Post your full specs and then we can advise you on what to keep or throw out.

Right, you need to state all your stuff and your budget. 4-4,5 Ghz is a bit too high, but for sure appreciated CPU isn't a big problem, if it runs slower. Some guys really overestimate the influence of the cpu. Bit a 2500k is a good upgrade so far. You can do a lot with it, but you don't need to put 4,5ghz on it. The good point is: You can do it!

First you should state your whole system (cpu, gpu, mainboard, ram and your hdd specs). These are the main components to influence the performance. And you can configure best, if you know the budget. It doesn't help you a lot to speak about only 1 component!

[tanker 21]

All 2500k will do at least 4.2 on stock cooling with just upping the multiplier in bios . You would be foolish not to

[kendo65]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...k,2738-16.html

Above link dates from almost two years ago, but they concluded that in most cases overclocking CPU did not achieve noticeable improvements in most games.

Expect that situation is somewhat similar today, but would be interesting to see tests repeated.