Maximum PC

So i thought of a second question. Im looking to piecemeal build a new computer, I.E upgrade individual components of my current rig untill, VOILA, new computer. My concern, though, is the order in which i do so. On common opinion, would i be better suited upgrading to an SSD or upgrading my graphics card from a Radeon HD 5670 to a GTX 660, assuming that i do a good bit of gaming but still want to see a performance boost in day to day activities. The choices are http://tinyurl.com/aakggg5 for the graphics card and http://tinyurl.com/3gvbftg for the SSD, though the price gap between the two would mean that going with the SSD would also allow me to get the new PC case ive been lusting over (Fractal Design R4, Artic White with window, just if you were curious). Can any of my enthusiast collegues come up with an argument to sway me either way?

p.s, i promise the tiny-urls just lead to newegg product links

7870 over 660.

To better help us help you, please post your current rig information and where you'd ultimately like to end up (I know this may change, but give us an idea of where you're heading).

As for the SSD, if you can swing 256GB, I think it's the new sweet spot. This allows you enough room for the OS, a few apps and several games. You will be surprised at how quickly 128GB fills up. This Samsung 840 is twice the size for $80 more than the one you suggest.

As for the GPU, the 7870 and 660 trade blows depending on the game (check out this 7870 v. 660 comparison. Consider the game and resolution when comparing the charts. If you go 7870, I've always liked XFX.

Hope this helps.

Well, my current rig is an AMD Phenom II x2 560 in a MSI 870-G45 with 4gb of ram and a Radeon HD 5670, primary data storage is a 7200rpm (i think) hdd. The rig Ive been thinking of putting together is an AMD FX-8120 in a Gigabyte GA-970A-D3 board, 8GB dual channel ram, and a MSI GTX 660 and a crucial M4, as previously mentioned. While i agree that a 256gb SSD would be more desirable, im poor and cheap and am trying to keep the costs as far down as i can, so if that means cutting back on storage on my primary drive, so be it. I just cant decide if i want increased gaming performance or better general computing.

I was on here asking the same questions. I did research and here is what I came up with. You can go 660, 660 TI(step above 660) or go 7870 LE or XT (steps above both) the 7870 XT has same performance as LE but added coolers. The 7870 GHz version is overpriced and outmatched with it comes to the LE or XT.

Here is all you need to know about the 7870 LE.

7870 LE MYST(tahiti) vs 7870 GHz and 660TI

Go with the Power color 7870 LE MYST or 7870 XT. Both can overclock and be as good as the 660 TI and even the 7950.

Currently the 7870 MYST is out of stock as they put a damn promo code on it (13% off) and everyone went berserk.

PowerColor 7870 LE MYST

7870 XT

Im confused, how did this go to video card A over video card B? I just cant decide to upgrade my video card or move to an SSD first.

Well, if loading this quicker is more important to you then gameplay/eye candy, go with an SSD.

I just cant decide which i want to do and hope that someone will come up with a wizened and enlightened argument that will sway me one way or another. Or someone to tell me to stop being a p***y and go with one or the other. Either way really.

Went with a Radeon HD 7870 and the case. Not only am i indecisive, i also have commitment issues

The one very good point of piece-mealing a build is that you can price-shop and pick deals; you're not in a hurry. An entire build means you get what you get within a few days of each order and if it's not a good deal, you still eat it and just buy at cost.

The Samsung 840 and OCZ Vector are trading blows on pricing and are the best SSD's you can get. Just picked up a 128G Vector for $120, just $10 more than the Crucial M4 you have picked out. Samsung is doing this too but both may stop as it's probably a roll-out marketing plan. Either way, this would be my first purchase. If you're using a spindle drive, it'll be an immediate difference even on older S/ATA ports that cap it's bandwidth. I still have a box with my first 60G SSD and it's way faster than even the 1TB WD Raptor (probably the fastest commercial spindle). My point being here is that any SSD will be good, old or not, and will be used in the end build. Video cards and all that other stuff evolve and can feel out of date pretty quickly. An awesome SSD today will still be pretty darn good when the build is complete. I bit on the 256G Vector lately, and I don't feel I'll want another SSD for some time now; I see it honestly keeping me happy for at least 5 years and I can't say that for any other part in my computer.

Depending on how you want to pace this build really clouds the rest of the parts. If the next part is around July, then you'd probably want to forgo the video card still and think about a foundation that is Haswell capable (this thread seems split, so I don't see what foundation you're coming from). If you have a SB or IB, forget this as most improvements I see are aimed at laptops and video card would really be better money spent. I don't see GTX660's dropping in price by July, but AMD units very well may pull out the stops to undercut nVidia's pricing in order to move parts.

I love Fractal cases and reviewers are just now starting to catch on to the new beast in town. However, you have to think about buying an ATX tower now days. So much can be done in mATX, we usually only have 2 drives, and I really can't think of a reason for a tower anymore. Heck, I just replaced the i7 Fractal Midi with an iTX and still very capable. No, I know you want a graphics card that's worth a damn to fit in there...but it goes to show that smaller can be just fine. Check out the SilverStone TJ08 mATX case. With just a single purchase of a mATX z77 board, I took everything from that giant and have it now in a shelf. IMO, in a world of the Fractal Node and $55 WHS, that's the place you stuff all your drives. Each desktop only needs one 2.5" SSD and nothing else. No WHS, cool...then buy just one 3TB drive to partner the %root% SSD.

So that's where the fork in the road exists IMO. You'll have to make the decision on which direction you really want to go. Do you need to have a big case or can you go smaller? Do you need an i7 or would a fast i3 do just as well in your usage? Do I need a lot of graphical performance for the monitor I have, or should I upgrade both? I'm so slow on saying you need a new graphics card because you just might not have the display size that calls for these new fancy cards. I just usually upgrade my monitor to find a fault in the ability to push all the new pixels before looking into new video cards. Three 23.6's are happy with 560Ti's, one 27" really wants the 660 in there. And I only buy Ti's for the idea that F@H will someday utilize all those cuda cores, so it's fine to ignore those for just gaming. We can give opinions until our fingers bleed, but it's still all in your head at what your end result will materialize as.

If you take our advice blindly, you could end up with a Johnny Cash Cadillac.