Update 955BE / GTX460

[Greenthy]

Hope you don't mind if I pick your brains with this upgrade question and jump right into the template.

1. What is your budget and does that include shipping/taxes?
roughly 500 EUR but willing to spend more if it's worth it or less if I don't have too :)
(So Basicly best bang for buck and playability)

I'll probably go pick up the parts so that would be incl BTW (taxes) and no shipping.

2. Where do you live?

Belgium -> I'll be buying from www.alternate.be most likely

3. What do you need this computer to do (like gaming, Photoshop, and so on)?

Planetside 2 ofcourse!

4. What parts will you need for the computer? Please list what parts.

Probably: CPU (+Cooler) + GPU

5. Are you reusing any parts for this computer? If so please say what parts specifically.

Think I'll mostly be upgrading my CPU and GPU
Rest:
2x 4GB DDR 1600 MHz
ASrock 880G Extreme3 (http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/880G%20Extreme3/?cat=CPU)
1TB HDD
Antec Truepower TP-650

6. What kind of monitor/resolution do you have or want to get to use for the computer?
I have two screens:
1x 27inch 2560 x 1440 (Would be nice to be able to play on this one)
1x 23inch 1920 x 1080

7. Do you have a legit OS? If so what OS and is it 32-bit or 64-bit?

I have Windows 7 Home 64-bit already.

8. What are you looking for the motherboard to have feature wise? Like SLI, Crossfire, Firewire, USB 3.0, Sata 6.0 Gb/s, and so on.

/ : I'd prefer to re-use the 880G Extreme3 for ease of upgrade

9. Any plans to overclock the CPU or GPU?

Yes if I can, my 955BE could only go from 3.2 to 3.4 before having stability issues: Might need a better cooler
(Mugen II on it now)
Would just do it slightly though, I'm not planning on going heavy on the voltage/cooling/...

10. What time kind of time frame are you planning on ordering these parts?

Within a week preferably, so I can get the parts by next weekend :D


Cheers,
Greenthy

[Goku]

First you will not be able to reuse that motherboard. To really get a upgrade you need to move onto an Intel processor. PS2 is extremely CPU bound and Intel having the faster processor out at the moment helps for getting every FPS you can get. Their next gen processor Haswell is coming out at the end of May, so if you can wait I recommend getting that. Especially if you intend to overclock as I'm hearing it should be a extremely good clocker, like around 5GHz.

Second how do you feel about getting an AMD video card? 2560x1440 is a huge resolution to push. Given your budget I would say to get a 7950 3GB would be the best option as it gives you the best performance for around 300 Euros. Next closet priced Nvidia card is the 660 Ti and it will be around 15% to 20% slower than a 7950 at that resolution. Depending on the game of course. If you are interested in running PhysX you can do a driver hack to allow your current GTX 460 to actually run as a PhysX processor and I think your PSU maybe to handle the load as well. I'll have to double check that though.

Really from what I can tell right now you need a CPU, motherboard, and GPU. Everything you have listed besides that mobo is usable in a new build. Although what case do you have?

[Ailos]

Holy crap graphics cards are balls-expensive in Europe. Dafuq? They're basically the same number as here in the US, except in €, not $ - that's a 30% markup. (I hope these prices are tax incl., otherwise... damn.)

In any case, there's some good news and some bad news.

The good news is: your MB can get you up to piledriver without any issues (as long as you update the bios) and I recommend sticking an FX-4300 in there, which is only ~110€.

The bad news is: the 4300 isn't that much higher above your Phenom 955 BE. You could probably even get the 955 to perform on the same level if you give it some juice (voltage), but it'll obviously also turn it into a very fast space heater. You'd have an easier time giving the 4300 a bump up or two.

Now, here's the really bad news: If you really want to play this game at 2560x1440, you're going to need two things - a GTX 670 or Radeon 7950 and a DDR3-1866 kit. In fact, the memory is the more important bit here, doubly so on an FX chip.

But if you go for the lowest-priced 7950 on that site (http://www.alternate.be/html/product/SAPPHIRE/HD_7950_3GB_with_Boost_(11196-19-20G)/1060525/?) and the 4300 rather than an 8300 (http://www.alternate.be/html/product/AMD/FX-4300/1038197/?), you can get an 8GB -1866 kit that'll still fit in your budget
(http://www.alternate.be/html/product/Kingston_HyperX/8_GB_DDR3-1866_Kit/1027486/?).

EDIT: Yes, if you really want a massive step-up, you'll need to go to an Intel processor... and given how close Haswell is to release, you should wait for that.

[Greenthy]

More like balls expensive in Belgium :)
(Should order my parts from the german site or dutch one, except the shop is soo bloody close)

With the advice here I guess I'll go and wait for the next gen intels.
Hope my PC can pull PS2 for a bit longer :)

Thanks guys

[Goku]

You're welcome. When you are ready to do the update once it launches just bump this thread and we'll make something up.