Upgrade now, or later? - Mobo suggestions needed

[Musthavename]

I've been using my current PC for the last 3 years or so, and it's served me well. But it's been showing it's signs of age, and I had some graphics overheating problems this summer which I solved by getting a better case. Before the end of the year, i'd like to build up a new machine, but i'm simply not sure when to.

Currently i'm using a Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz (6600), 2GB 800mhz RAM and a x1950 Pro 256mb. I can reuse my case (an Antec 300), aswell as monitor, optical drive etc... I'm also sorted for the OS. Budget is around the £500 mark, though considering i'm currently using a no name 570W PSU, i'd be putting an extra £50 on for a better one, so £550 is max, but ideally i'd like to do it for around the £525 mark.

This is what i've currently got lined up if I were to buy something today. Primary usage is a gaming build. Currently it'd be played at 1280x1024, though i'd like to move to a 1920x1080 monitor at Christmas. Not bothered about maxing everything at that resolution or flinging massive AA on everything, just enough to play most things on High at 25-30 FPS would be fine, and considering what a friend of mine has achieved with a 5770 build I think that's do-able on this budget.

AMD Phenom II 965 Black Edition (3.4 GHz) £129
Asus M4A77TD Pro 770 Socket AM3 £65
Palit GTX 460 Sonic 1GB £165
Corsair 2x2GB 1333mhz RAM £75
Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB £48
OCZ Stealth Xtream 500W £45
Total: £527.18
(Left the pennies out of the components for convenience)

I'll confess that i'm not very knowledgeable on motherboards at all, and i'm not much of an overclocker, though I may eventually be interested in doing some mild overclocking, but nothing major. Went for AMD simply because its £30 cheaper than the i5 760 and i'd be paying more for a motherboard, and I don't really see any real gaming gains here. The 460 seems to be the best value card right now, and I wouldn't purchase a 5770 right now when the 6000 series is looming. I'd presume that PSU is enough considering I have no interest in SLI/Crossfire, if not I can bump it up to a 600W for another £15 or so.

Anyway, this is what i'd build today. The real question is would it be beneficial to wait. I know ATI have the 6000 series coming soon, but I don't know quite when new CPUs or anything are scheduled. If there's anything really beneficial that should be out before December, which is the latest i'd want a new build by, i'd definetly hold off. I just get thoughts of an upgrade and it keeps niggling away at the moment, so I figured i'd ask around for some other views.

Thanks in advance.

[mrcrusty]

Both AMD and Intel are expected to launch new processor lines next year, so if I were you, I'd wait until they come out. It's a long way off computer wise, but I mean if you're gaming on 1280x1024, then really, you're not really requiring much. The 6000 series is due (rumor mill only) to come out around November, so I'd think that just after Christmas would be a nice time to buy a 5000 series ATI card (price cuts galore).

If you're unwilling to wait until next year for a new CPU/mobo, well that's your choice. However, although a Core 2 Duo is considered outdated now, I can't imagine that it would really be pushed too far in too many games. It's not the best gaming choice, but if the Athlon II's can cope for a budget gaming rig, then Core 2 Duos wouldn't do a terrible job, especially in older, single threaded games.

That's just my opinion though, here's what I would build:

AMD Phenom II x4 955 - £110
Only difference between the 955 and 965 is a higher default clock speed and more overclocking headroom. However, 4.0 Ghz vs 4.2 Ghz overclock limits isn't something worth considering in your build. You save £20.

Asus M4A78TD-V Evo - £68
Only a couple of pounds more expensive but a much better board.

Palit GTX 460 Sonic 1GB - £165
Good card, good price, no arguments.

RAM and Hard Drive are okay.

PSU is okay but it's not of the highest quality. Some OCZ units are really good and last for years, others, not so much. I'd recommend an XFX 650w Black Edition, it's on sale - £70
It's quite a bit more than the OCZ PSU but the watts isn't the concern for me. It's a top quality product, and really, it's good value for money if it's being reduced from £85. If the money increase is a bit much, then you'll do okay on the OCZ.

[Musthavename]

Thanks for the advice. I'll take your word that it's worth saving the money on the processor, but bear in mind i'm not planning on overclocking anything initially, and if I do, it'd be pretty mild, just what I can achieve on stock coolers (or cheap coolers) and air cooling. Is that MOBO really worth it? I've been completely ignoring anything with an integrated graphics chipset thus far, just because I just see it as a risk that the computer might do something daft and suddenly decide to want to use the onboard chipset. How would I go about disabling it and such? Also, what do I actually gain (as I said, motherboards are always a big unknown to me, considering i've never overclocked anything before).

With regards to the PSU, i'm only going to be running one hard drive and the one graphics card. If there was an overwhelming response from people here that there's better options than that OCZ, I can put more money to the PSU.

I probably shouldn't have mentioned the 1280x1024 thing, as it'd only be temporary. So if people could please give advice on the assumption of playing on 1920x1080, that'd be better.

December is the latest i'm prepared to wait, and I like to build things all at once. That's just where i've decided to draw a line in advance, or I could go on and on about waiting for each new component that comes out.

Edit: One other thing with regards to the PALIT. There's also this Gigabyte model that's going in and out of stock. Considering it's £7 for what looks like a better cooler allowing a slightly higher clock, worth it?

[Zerosliver]

What's your gpu budget?

[Musthavename]

Whatever fits into the total budget. The 460 is already at the higher end of that.

[Zerosliver]

For that money I'd take a ATI HD 5830, but thats just my opinion.

[Big Boss]

For that money I'd take a ATI HD 5830, but thats just my opinion.

Got something against nVidia?

[Doono]

I tell this to everyone who asks if its worth waiting to upgrade, unless the new hardware is due out very soon as in the next month or so, don't bother waiting because when you reach the time you were planning on waiting till, new hardware will be due out 'Soon' as well. Computer hardware market moves way to fast to play the waiting game in my opinion.

[Musthavename]

For that money I'd take a ATI HD 5830, but thats just my opinion.

From everything i've read, the 460 outperforms the 5830, and it's the same price or less. If I was wanting an ATI card, i'd wait anyway, due to pricecuts or potential improvements.

I tell this to everyone who asks if its worth waiting to upgrade, unless the new hardware is due out very soon as in the next month or so, don't bother waiting because when you reach the time you were planning on waiting till, new hardware will be due out 'Soon' as well. Computer hardware market moves way to fast to play the waiting game in my opinion.

True, and i've considered that, but i'm not too bothered about having my new machine until December. If there's nothing coming out that'll be significant before that point, i'll buy now, otherwise, i'll hold off till then, but no longer. Hence, holding off for the new AMD/Intel CPUs next year is out of the question. Holding off for the 6000 series is very much in question (or anything else coming this year), and why i'm asking.

[Freddie]

If you want to buy a video card on the cheap get the GTX460 768mb, there retailing for as low as £117.50 at overclockers.co.uk. The 460 768mb is faster then the HD5770 and cheaper frankly it's a no brainer in terms of the value it offers and you have to wonder how Nvidia can sell it so cheaply (well it's clearly being sold as a loss leader to get back market share but what does it matter get it before the sell out).

[Musthavename]

The 1GB version fits in my budget, and i'd rather have the extra memory and clock for the resolution i'm planning to move to.

Could I get some MOBO advice? That's really the area where i'm really unsure on. I wouldn't mind some input on using ones with integrated chipsets as per mrcrusty's suggestion, as i'm simply worried about potential conflicts or problems with disabling it. Really just any AM3 mobo you can recommend that takes 1333hz memory and is ATX form factor.

[mrcrusty]

Integrated chips are automatically disabled when you have a discrete graphics card. I'm currently using a motherboard with an integrated GPU and it works fine. It's good to have it there in case my graphics card goes belly up though.

There won't be any conflicts with using integrated chipsets with discrete GPU's.

What's your budget on the mobo btw? I'd recommend the Asus 785g mobo I already posted if you want to keep your budget as tight as possible, but if you have leeway with that area, then I could find a motherboard with USB 3.0 and SATA III that can overclock decently. Like say, this.

[Musthavename]

Integrated chips are automatically disabled when you have a discrete graphics card. I'm currently using a motherboard with an integrated GPU and it works fine. It's good to have it there in case my graphics card goes belly up though.

There won't be any conflicts with using integrated chipsets with discrete GPU's.

Thanks, that's good to know.

What's your budget on the mobo btw? I'd recommend the Asus 785g mobo I already posted if you want to keep your budget as tight as possible, but if you have leeway with that area, then I could find a motherboard with USB 3.0 and SATA III that can overclock decently. Like say, this.

Again, it's whatever fits into the total budget. USB 3.0 really doesn't matter to me, so i'm not inclined to spend the extra bit on getting it. I'll take the suggestion on the earlier board though.

Mr MM, December is the latest i'd plan to hold off, and i'm not going to hold off half the build either.

[karamazovmm]

I would still wait for the next year....

For now I would just buy the GPU and the PSU...

for the RAM, mobo, and CPU I would still wait for the next line.

As far as I could see, the benches of the replacement of the i5 760 is 20% faster than it, without the turbo boost.

Amd news about performance I dont have, but Im expecting something along the lines of a major improvement against the phenom II line

[karamazovmm]

Whats the rush? you still dont have a name!

oh well....

[Musthavename]

I'd say being willing to hold off for four months is more than most, considering i've been thinking of doing this since June.

[karamazovmm]

the problem is when a launch of new chips is so soon.

get your gear near xmas at least, by then you will have a bigger bang for the buck

[Ishan]

the problem is when a launch of new chips is so soon.

get your gear near xmas at least, by then you will have a bigger bang for the buck

And what if something new comes out by then?

I think wait until march or April and then buy the damn thing already coz this is a vicious circle my friend they always come around with bigger and better.

[karamazovmm]

of course!

but intel is becoming wiser, they launch new platforms every year... so since we are only 3 months away...

[mrcrusty]

of course!

but intel is becoming wiser, they launch new platforms every year... so since we are only 3 months away...

If only they were backwards compatible...

Come to think of it, if you buy at Christmas, then wait until Christmas to make your decisions. Regarding the new processor lines, "2011" is too broad to make a decision on. If they were say, releasing in January or Februray, then it would be worth waiting for. If it's like, June or August next year, then it's not worth waiting for.

I would buy the HDD, RAM, PSU and GPU at Christmas, and wait to see what will happen with the CPU and Motherboard, though I think it would be better to buy the whole thing at once.