Hi Nate,

That's actually a great question, with a simple answer - do the GPU and SSD. A GPU will only give you so much more performance in games, and going from a GeForce 8600 GTS to even a GeForce GTX 660 Ti will gain you some serious performance improvements in every single game you play.

An SSD, will improve every single application on your computer from Windows, to your web browser, to your game load times. I would definitely suggest grabbing the mid-range GPU and a 240GB SSD.

Once you use an SSD, you'll never want to go back to a mechanical HDD for Windows/Games.

Hi Russell,

I would suggest starting off with upgrading to the GeForce GTX 670, as this should give you quite a great leap in performance. The GTX 680 is of course better, but the performance increase is not worth the added costs. Especially considering you'd like to go SLI in the future.

I checked Scan.co.uk for some local pricing since you're based in the UK, and you'd be looking at around £300 - £350 for a good GTX 670. This would give you a jump in performance, and then throwing another one in for some SLI action would give you an even bigger boost. Even sticking with the single GTX 670 is going to give you a nice performance increase.

On top of the increased performance, you'll notice it is much quieter, and cooler than the original GTX 480 GPUs, too.

Hi Rudolf,

If you're after the best mid-range GPU to play those types of games, such as Call of Duty, Battlefield 3, Skyrim and more, then you might want to lean toward AMD's Radeon HD 7770.

In games such as Battlefield 3, the HD 7770 definitely has the edge, by around 15-20% over the GTX 650 from NVIDIA. But it doesn't make the HD 7770 the clear winner at all. NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 650 is still a great mid-range card.

AMD's HD 7770 will be around 5-10% faster on average compared to the GTX 650, so either GPU will be a good choice. I would lean toward the HD 7770. As for the brand, Sapphire have a great Vapor-X OC Edition out that we gave 95% in our review.

Hi Kevin,

Will your Cougar 650W power supply hold up if you were to add a Radeon HD 7870? Yes, most definitely. Most people think that because their system has a 650W power supply, that you would use close to that with a video card installed - but in the real world, most systems don't even get close.

What that type of system, in a stressful game such as Battlefield 3, I'd be surprised to see you pushing past 200-250W of actual power consumption. You could even stretch out to the HD 7950 or 7970 and still find you'll have enough juice left to spare. The new 28nm-based GPUs are incredibly power efficient, as are the new CPUs that have arrived over the last 6-18 months.

Your 650W PSU will hold up, for sure - now go out and get the HD 7870!

Hi Michael,

A 1920x1080 @ 120Hz screen is great for gaming, but they're all based on TN panels which aren't really known for their great image quality when it comes to users who want to do anything involving photo or video editing. For gaming, they're some of the best screens out there because of their doubled refresh rate, especially when you're reaching 120 frames per second in games.

I personally run 120Hz screens at home, and I would never go back to 60Hz screens for games - they're that good. But, and this is a very big but, 2560x1440 @ 60Hz screens have their place in the market, too. For image- and video-related work, they're second to none. Especially with photos, as you're working with color and want to see the color on screen, as close to the color as you took, in person, so that you're working with the best possible quality.

Dell's new AH-IPS panels, the Dell UltraSharp U2713HM are probably the best to go for, if you haven't checked them out I suggest you do. They're not too badly priced, either.

Hi Woody,

The GeForce GTX 460 SLI setup that you currently run is definitely ample enough for today's games, but there are also benefits of upgrading, too. Let's say you were to grab yourself a new GEFORCE GTX 670, this would give you a reduced power consumption compared to your SLI setup.

Secondly, it would give better performance as the single GPU can go right up to 100% usage, compared to some games, where you might see maybe 75-80% usage per GPU, not maximizing your setup. Thirdly, you would drop any current issues you experience with SLI, as there are some issues, with some games with multi-GPU use.

For pure performance, you're looking at an improvement, that's for sure. Two GTX 460s are equal to around a single GeForce GTX 480, and a GEFORCE GTX 670 is around ~30-40% faster than the single GTX 480, all while using less power, and producing less heat and noise. I say go for it. It'll also give you the chance to upgrade to GTX 670 SLI in the near future, too.

Hi Carlos,

Both options are fine, you'll notice no performance difference between either option. I will suggest going for 2 x 8GB sticks of RAM, which is the more expensive option. This will allow you to upgrade in the future to 32GB, if that's something you're after.

Performance-wise, you will not see any differences. If you were to end up moving to a quad-channel-based system in the future, all you'd need to go is get another 2 x 8GB sticks and you're ready for quad-channel.

Hi Aaron,

Battlefield 3 is quite demanding, and is one of only a handful of games that truly uses your CPU and benefits from a faster CPU, or more threaded CPU. Your CPU is definitely your limitation, firstly, it's an ageing Core 2 Duo, secondly, it's only a dual-core chip.

Your GPU setup is more than good enough to run Battlefield 3 at medium-to-high settings at 1920x1080, so I would suggest waiting and upgrading to an Ivy Bridge setup. You could get a decent Core i5, 4-8GB RAM and CrossFire-capable motherboard for only a little more than what a GEFORCE GTX 670 would set you back.

Hi Parichya,

Gaming notebooks have their place in the market, and I would recommend the Alienware option if you were a gamer who moved around. If you were going to LAN parties, or friends' houses to LAN, then the Alienware notebook would be the way to go, but for you, I would recommend the desktop.

Power-wise, it will use a little bit more, but if you purchased power-efficient hardware, it shouldn't be too bad. You could get yourself a great Core i7 system, with a GEFORCE GTX 680, and have a much, much faster system, all while costing less!

Considering the system you're using is being used as a standalone box, with projectors and audio systems plugged into it, a notebook seems really out of place. A desktop on the other hand, would feel perfect, drop it down somewhere, plug it in and go!

Hi Duarte,

Good question, with a simple answer: no. Your GeForce GTX 560 Ti setup is still quite good right now, and would be close to the performance of a GEFORCE GTX 670 or 680 on their own. If you're after more grunt, I'd wait for next-gen GPUs, or look at upgrading your monitor setup.

Say you're running a 1920x1080 resolution, your GTX 560 Ti SLI setup is fine for virtually all games out right now. Your SLI setup would only need to see an upgrade as your resolution goes up. Your VRAM would be used up, and then you'd have a reason to upgrade your GPUs. I would suggest investing the money from a GPU upgrade into two more screens, giving you a Surround Vision setup.

Your GTX 560 Ti SLI setup would still be more than powerful enough to run the three screens, and as time goes by, upgrade to a couple of 670 or 680's when they get cheaper.