Upgrading a 2008 desktop

[Eejit]

Ahoy!

So I've decided it's finally time to upgrade my old rig. I'm not sure how to do it though.

Currently:
Intel E8400 Core2Duo
4gb DDR2 RAM
Nvidia 8800GT
250gb 5200rpm HDD
500W PSU


Options:

1. Just upgrade the GPU and one or two other pieces. A RAM upgrade would be limited to DDR2 by the mobo, or perhaps I'd get a SSD. ...I may in this case face a CPU bottleneck.
2. Upgrade the entire guts. mobo, CPU, RAM, GPU. This would be roughly twice as expensive. Potentially HDD upgrade too..?

The parts I'm considering are here: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/1eejit/saved/cRTZxr

What do you guys think?

 

[Aizawa]

not sure if there is currently a "never settle" thing going on at AMD, but if there is one I recommend buying from a shop which supports that and if there is no never settle i recommend waiting for one, because there will be definitly be
you can save a lot of money (if you would buy the games anyway)

Oh also: you HAVE to upgrade your CPU. With next-gen consoles games will be optimized for multiple cores, most next gen only games recommend 8 cores
and you need at least 8gb ram. Next-Gen makes devs lazy. Ram is cheap anyway isnt it.

And SSD is always worth it.

 

[Lolcomputer]

The 8800GT and Core2Duo is soon to be obsolete for current-gen gaming. Upgrade it all.

Newer parts are less compatiable with older motherboards, which will hit the performance of the computer in some way. Upgrading the HDD will also help with booting up windows and other programs faster, besides, 7200 rpm HDD's are relatively not that expensive nowadays.

 

[Eejit]

I suppose I should make it clear that I will upgrade the CPU eventually even if I don't do it right now. So if I only upgrade the GPU and buy a SSD will that keep me going for 6 months/1 year.

Will 8-core optimisation really be such a thing? It doesn't seem that big with Unreal Engine and there aren't many cross-platform games I'm interested in. Few Intel CPUs have 8 cores.

 

[Aizawa]

but intel has hyper threading or however its called. Im not an expert, but with 2 cores you wont be able to play ANYTHING. Even now how can you play games with 2 cores? (well if you play games like CSGO, LoL, TF2, thats fine)
I think the Intel core i5 2500k is a really popular choice. I have an AMD Phenom 2 X4 BE with 3,4 ghz (7950hd as gpu) and there are some games which I cant play on high settings! (but those are games which arent optimized well)
If you think you dont need a new CPU immediately you could wait for new AMD CPUs which will come out 2016, because AMD is cheaper. Dont know if the FX-8350 is worth it.
Im really not an expert, dont take the things I say as fact.

 

[Lolcomputer]

I suppose I should make it clear that I will upgrade the CPU eventually even if I don't do it right now. So if I only upgrade the GPU and buy a SSD will that keep me going for 6 months/1 year.

Will 8-core optimisation really be such a thing? It doesn't seem that big with Unreal Engine and there aren't many cross-platform games I'm interested in. Few Intel CPUs have 8 cores.

2-4 cores will do fine, and it will work for as long as your computer lives. The processor you picked, is just fine, and will most likely survive and run the most games for the next couple of years.

Also, if you're really hurting on cash, then consider choosing the R7 250X with 2 GB's instead. Very cheap, but doesn't run current-gen games very well above medium settings in 1920x1080. Take a look. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-r7-250x-graphics-card-review,3747-3.html

And yes, you will propably last another half year with a brand new GPU and SSD. But seriously, invest in a new CPU as soon as possible. The Dual Core models died years ago. You'll still have CPU bottlenecks.

 

[Eejit]

If I had a fixed budget it would be easy. In theory I could spend like 500 quid on it, but I'm also saving for holidays and we're thinking of Rome next. So how much do I allocate to each? Decisions, decisions.

I had thought of a r7 260x, but the 270x seems like a very good price.

 

[Eejit]

Well I got an R9 270X, an AMD FX6300, 8 gigs of RAM and a 120gb SSD.