The quest for a new gaming PC

[Quixote]

Hello people, pretty soon I have decided to finally start saving up for a new system again. I haven't gotten Skyrim, because decided I want to be spoiled with it as I can and run it as beautifully and smoothly as I can.

In lieu of this, the main goal: To be able to run Skyrim, with Bethesda's high-res texture pack, at or near Max graphics. I'm not a stickler for getting the best of the best, but I want to be able to run at or near max, pretty smoothly. With this I'll hopefully be able to run anything that comes in my path in the next several years.

Here's the basics of my system NOW:
Asus P5KC mobo
NvIDIA GeForce 8800 GT
Intel Quad Core 2 Q6600 @2.4GHz
3.3 GB of RAM (DDR2)
520W'er Power

Any tips on what I should get? I don't want to spend thousands of dollars but still want l33t performance. Lets say around $800 budget max. I want to get cheap, and I've been considering the 560 Ti, but I also want to be able to run close to max as I can, and some videos I've seen running it seemed a little too choppy for what I want to go for. Running max with smooth performance is my primary goal (as with everyone's I'm sure...but hey, easy goal!).
Thank you

EDIT: COMPLETE! With awesome results, and little expense. See my last post if interested in details. Thanks everyone!

[Sushiman]

Get a 560Ti, they're the best semi-budget card on the market.

[Fehnor]

i5 2500k $224
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
MSI mb $139
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130582
16gb 4x4 ram $89
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233143
OCZ 700watt $89
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341018
EVGA 560 Ti $249
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130604
WD caviar black $129
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284

Or... if you're using your current HD for storage, and have the monays, crucial m4 128gb $174
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442

If I were making a system right now, it'd be pretty much like this.

edit: chipset on that mb might not be able to use hdmi
This mb is almost exactly the same, with a better chipset. Use this one (same price, too!)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130596

If you get a new case, too... this is over your budget by about $200. The best way to save on a setup like this is to get a 460/470 instead, and do some thrify shopping. Find sales for things that are similar, and generic brands. The chip will not change in price, aside from $10 off sales. Intel is stingy. You might be able to find a sale on a similar motherboard for about $100, but not much less. Ram you could get for about $40-50. hard drives will drop in price to about 75% of current in about 6 months. You can reuse your current hard drive and case as well. If you did all this... about $600-650. Your system will be able to run skyrim almost maxed, but you might hit another roadblock in a year or so. With a 560Ti and skimping on the rest, this is $700-750, and you'll be good for a while. Be very careful looking for sales on motherboards. Lots of shit can slip through.

[Kevlar]

Looks good. You would not likely need that much ram so you could shave off some money by cutting that in half but that just depends on your needs (I highly doubt anyone uses up to 16gb on this forum, you would hit a bottleneck somewhere else first I bet).

Also, I would look for a bundle deal on the 2500k and a motherboard. Often times they will offer a motherboard with it for a cheaper price and if you aren't picky on color you can save even more money (usually blue motherboards which I don't like)

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http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/BDL_2500K_Z68AD3H

Depends what country your in as well since some products are not available in others and pricing is different anywhere you go.

For further cost savings you could even buy used on a hardware site (OCN as an example). Most people there sell off their CPU's just because it didn't reach a certain threshold or because a new one is coming out soon (ivy bridge is coming out soon and 2011 is out so many are selling 2500k's and 2600k's a lot cheaper than retail).

Edit :

Here is the latest graphs of the newest nvidia drivers (If you choose to get a 560ti), this will show you the performance you can expect at certain resolutions and settings. Not this is basically the max settings you can go and the 560 performs pretty well and they are on stock, so if you overclock it you can get even higher performance.

http://www.geforce.com/News/articles/nvidia-geforce-295-73-whql-drivers-released

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[Quixote]

Awesome, thanks for the help guys, and for shopping for me too. Those bundle sales sound juicy, but would I necessarily need a new MB? Mine was pretty good whenever I bought it, in early 2007 (whenever Vanguard:Saga of Heroes came out). It's an ASUS make (I don't know the model offhand), though I've had trouble with a few of their laptops in the past...I'm a newb and don't know, what would an upgrade on motherboard do for me? Is it necessary to achieve my goal?

And a new hard drive, I have 2 internal HD's with lots of room still, though they are pretty old. Would new one really benefit me?

Hmmm getting 4x4 16GB may be overkill, however, I expected that to cost a lot more, so I wouldn't mind spending 80 bucks so I wouldn't have to buy new ram for another decade

I do want something that would last me, I have had my eyes set on Nvidia's 560 Ti for a while, but would it be enough to play an Elder Scrolls VI pretty well too? I'm sure there may be no way of telling. In the long run (4-6 years from now) I'm sure it won't matter and I would be spending nearly the same amount anyway. /contradicts self

Thanks again

[Fehnor]

The q6600 was the best chip at the time. That mb will require ddr2, which will be hard (but possible) to find. I honestly don't know how much it will slow you down. It could be a negligible difference.

If you want, you could always get a video card and power supply, since you'd need those if you built a new machine anyway, and try it out. If everything works the way you want it, pick up some extra ddr2 and you're set for a couple years.

[Trevty]

Don't go DDR2, go DDR3.  Upgrade the motherboard, especially since it would allow you to get a new CPU.  Actually, may I suggest you take a look at this page?  They've got some good suggestions.  The site is under construction though, so things may change drastically.

[Caba`drin]

Definitely be sure your mobo takes DDR3, not DDR2.
Built my machine near 3 years ago now and was kicking myself for not future-proofing that part of it. DDR2 is more expensive than DDR3 in large sizes...would be foolish to build a new machine taking the older chips.

[Quixote]

Here I go revisiting this thread because I think I'm about to get ready to buy a few things to begin the new computer quest.

I had a last question:
1) I looked at my Mobo, and found that it is an Asus P5KC, and I saw it has slots for DDR3, as well as DDR2, does this sound right? Am I able to use DDR3, alongside my DDR2s?

2) Lastly, would I need a new power source to take on a GeForce 560 Ti? Should I get the SLI version? Am I able to stick with my 500w'er, or is it dangerous to do so?

3) What would harvest a better performance based on my current specs, upgrading my RAM, or my CPU?

Thank you again.

[Trevty]

1) No idea off the top of my head, but I would guess that first off, it would be silly, due to how cheap RAM is these days, and two, no, because the read/write speeds are so different.

2) Don't go with the 560 Ti, the 660 Ti will be out before too long and it will be much better.  If you really want good performance, I suggest the 660, assuming you can afford the price tag.

3) Well, to get a new CPU, you would need a new mobo, since the socket type is 775 and you already have a quad core processor.

[Kevlar]

There are a few motherboards that support both but no point in getting ddr2 anymore with it being outdated.

If you look up the gpu you can find out exactly how much you need or things they recommend.

New ram would be cheaper so it just depends on your budget.

[SvenssonHD]

I'd go for a 570 rather than 560 due to the very limited video-memory of the 560.

Good card nevertheless though, but I just think the 570 is a bit more worth for it's money.

[Quixote]

Hmm good points, thanks you guys, it all really helps.

Then for my first step I'll now consider getting two sticks of 4gb RAM, to fit in the two DDR3 slots on my MOBO. Take out the DDR2 sticks, and put in two 4gb DDR3.
Will they run fine with my Q6600 processor? I heard a rumor that it might not be compatible with DDR3. Or is this a silly idea all together...

If the RAM part is good, then I'll do RAM first. Then my next step will be to permanently pick out a Graphics card Was seriously leaning toward the 560 Ti, but now I'm hearing get differently? I'd like some l33t stuff, but I'm not looking for top-of-the-line stuff as I can't afford much else better. 560 Ti seems like the best deal for best quality for me.

[Kevlar]

I heard a rumor that it might not be compatible with DDR3. Or is this a silly idea all together...

 

[Trevty]

If the RAM part is good, then I'll do RAM first. Then my next step will be to permanently pick out a Graphics card Was seriously leaning toward the 560 Ti, but now I'm hearing get differently? I'd like some l33t stuff, but I'm not looking for top-of-the-line stuff as I can't afford much else better. 560 Ti seems like the best deal for best quality for me.

I own a 560 Ti, and, while it's fairly solid, it isn't what you could get for just a little more money.  Also, if you get more RAM, be sure to have a 64bit OS.