How far could I upgrade without getting a new motherboard?

ShaShaBear

I currently have the P5Q Pro Turbo (Asus) motherboard, with:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550S
4gig DDR2 RAM
ATI Radeon HD 5770

It's obviously not keeping up with gaming any more and I'm not sure if I'd be best starting a new build or if it would be possible to get more life out of it yet (it was my dad's, so I'd prefer not to get rid of it).

Any chance that there's still room for improvement with a few new parts? And if so, what should I be starting with to oomph the performance? Myself and OH are pretty high-end gamers and like pretty things so we'd want to be able to play new games at a respectable FPS. Otherwise poor Chuck here is relegated to the living room for late-night WoWing

Lu Tze

ShaShaBear wrote: »

I currently have the P5Q Pro Turbo (Asus) motherboard, with:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550S
4gig DDR2 RAM
ATI Radeon HD 5770

It's obviously not keeping up with gaming any more and I'm not sure if I'd be best starting a new build or if it would be possible to get more life out of it yet (it was my dad's, so I'd prefer not to get rid of it).

Any chance that there's still room for improvement with a few new parts? And if so, what should I be starting with to oomph the performance? Myself and OH are pretty high-end gamers and like pretty things so we'd want to be able to play new games at a respectable FPS. Otherwise poor Chuck here is relegated to the living room for late-night WoWing

You could upgrade the graphics card - while a new one could be bottlenecked by the processor in some games, you should still see a decent improvement, as that 5770 is likely holding you back, and can always carry it over to a new build in the future if you go that way.

ED E

Its a later end LGA775 board, supports 16GB.

You could do:
8GB RAM
Better GPU (7870, R9 270 etc)
SSD - Wont perform at full speed, but will still be a lot faster.

That'd give it a new lease of life. Im on a similar enough setup but with DDR3 and I can play Star Citizen OK, skyrim etc just fine.

SterlingArcher

ShaShaBear wrote: »

I currently have the P5Q Pro Turbo (Asus) motherboard, with:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550S
4gig DDR2 RAM
ATI Radeon HD 5770

It's obviously not keeping up with gaming any more and I'm not sure if I'd be best starting a new build or if it would be possible to get more life out of it yet (it was my dad's, so I'd prefer not to get rid of it).

Any chance that there's still room for improvement with a few new parts? And if so, what should I be starting with to oomph the performance? Myself and OH are pretty high-end gamers and like pretty things so we'd want to be able to play new games at a respectable FPS. Otherwise poor Chuck here is relegated to the living room for late-night WoWing

Budget?

ShaShaBear

SterlingArcher wrote: »

Budget?

Budget isn't an issue as it would be done gradually. I've come into a bit of money so I'd like the ability to max out its potential before looking at another new build

Lu Tze

ShaShaBear wrote: »

Budget isn't an issue as it would be done gradually. I've come into a bit of money so I'd like the ability to max out its potential before looking at another new build

To be honest you would be throwing money down a dead end. There is no real upgrade path for the processor (as it was already near the high end of processors on that socket when it came out).

Similarly DDR2 prices arent that cheap anymore, so while you could get 8GB of ram, you wouldnt be able to use it in a new build down the line as they have moved on to DDR3.

The only things I would consider are the graphics card, and possibly and SSD (which will make it a lot more responsive starting programs etc.) as both can be put into a new build.

If the PC has sentimental value, consider a new build in the current case you have, assuming that its a standard case, so that it looks the same. You would lose out on some benefits of newer cases like front USB3 etc. but plenty of ports will still be on the back.

SterlingArcher

Think lu said what I was thinking, stay outta my head lu.

Keep the PC it has sentimental value. get an ssd.

Couldn't recommend keeping the case for a new build. It does the job for what it was made for. Will again hold back a new build USB wise also cooling and how loud it will be.

ShaShaBear

I'd be happy to get the SSD and new GFX card then, so at least it would be an alternative. We've a shared computer for gaming and the intention was to build a new one eventually. I can always make the small upgrade and then leave this one for FM and WoW and ESO and whatnot (it still manages them just fine) and start working on a newer build

TerrorFirmer

SSD and a GTX750 would be a huge and cost effective upgrade. Save the rest for a new PC! It very much depends on the game but in general that CPU is just too old now for a proper upgrade.

ShaShaBear

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

SSD and a GTX750 would be a huge and cost effective upgrade. Save the rest for a new PC! It very much depends on the game but in general that CPU is just too old now for a proper upgrade.

Yeah that would be great, I knew I was going to have to go with a new rig for proper gaming but it's great to get this old yolk up so that some of the games we play together both PCs will be capable of running if you know what I mean. At least for a while until there's enough money to work on a second new build