Price vs performance and longevity.

[abasers]

Hey,

I bought my computer about a little over 8 months ago and didn't really have much money to spend so here is what I got.

Case - Cooler Master Elite 430 / X4 Bit Fenix spectre 120mm
PSU - Corsair CX600X2
Motherboard - MSI Z77A-G45
CPU - Intel Core i3 2120 @ 3.30GHz / Cooler NZXT Havik 140
GPU - AMD Radeon HD 6870 / Cooler XFX DoubleD
HDD - 500GB Western Digital Blue

I have a couple of questions.

Do you guys think that I need to upgrade anything as mostly I play starcraft 2 which isn't really the most demanding only being able to use 2 cores and 1 gpu.

But sometimes when I don't feel like playing starcraft I play some newly released games and often have fps drops, lagg and need to lower the graphics a bit. I was wondering what is it that causes the lagg because when I check the stats both cpu and gpu are at about 80-100% usage but the gpu is a lot hotter at 70 degrees C.
Is it possible that the heat is making the gpu lagg?

What I was mainly wondering is if you would change anything what would it be and why?

If i'm going to change anything I would be looking to spend about £150-300.

Thanks for reading.

 

[seumasbeathan]

70c for a gpu isn't hot. As I said in your other thread, get a 7870 Tahiti LE from aria for £172, and then I would recommend you wait until Haswell to uppgrade cpu/motherboard

 

[WYP]

the 7870 tahiti le would be the most meaningful upgrade you could make.
but more cores could help you with those lag spikes

 

[Mathius]

If you really wanted to make a decent jump, it'll cost around £320

See if you can get a 'Processor Only' i5-3570K (I paid £140 for mine) and the mentioned Tahiti LE 7870...

Agreed, you could wait for Intel's new line of CPU but that will mean a motherboard change and windows install...etc ..ergh!

 

[alpenwasser]

Do you guys think that I need to upgrade anything

Well whether you need to upgrade anything is really for you to decide.

However, if you are unsatisfied with the performance of your current system I would also recommend upgrading to an i5 or an i7 1155 CPU and a more powerful GPU. Possibly an SSD, although that should not really affect fps (?, not an expert on that ).

To be perfectly honest, you have a pretty good motherboard there (allows also for nice overclocks with a 3570k or 3770k CPU) and I doubt Haswell will be that much of an improvement over the current generation for general computing things and gaming. If you really wait for Haswell and intend to upgrade then you're looking at quite a bit more money to spend.

The current LGA1155 Ivy Bridge platform should be quite good for the foreseeable future, so for best bang/buck I'd recommend CPU/GPU upgrade as mentioned and not change platforms.

EDIT:
As a side note, for gaming I would recommend the i5 3570k. The i7 offers little performance benefits in current games (and probably not that much in the near future) and costs quite a bit more. And if you get a proper cooler at some point you can get a very nice overclock out of that CPU with your motherboard.
If you can get one for a good price, a Sandy Bridge CPU (2500k, probably) would also not be a bad investment.
/EDIT

 

[seumasbeathan]

The simple fact of the matter is that going from an i3 to an i5 or i7, in gaming is going to have very little effect, most games it will probably be only around 1-5%, where as going form a 6870 to a 7870 Tahiti LE is going to give at least a 50% increase

 

[alpenwasser]

The simple fact of the matter is that going from an i3 to an i5 or i7, in gaming is going to have very little effect, most games it will probably be only around 1-5%, where as going form a 6870 to a 7870 Tahiti LE is going to give at least a 50% increase

Yeah, that's true. I would definitely prioritize the GPU upgrade over any CPU upgrade, let alone a platform change. But if the CPU is upgraded I would most likely not change to Haswell.

 

[NeverBackDown]

The upgraded cpu will give you higher minimums and not much else where as the higher end gpu gives an overall boost to every game. I would only ever recommend a higher CPU if you play MMO or RTS that are more demanding on it, though a gpu upgrade will also be beneficial as well.