$800 to blow on upgrades...suggestions?

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Manzelle

Golden Member
Oct 6, 2003
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Here is my current system...

Motherboard / CPU / HSF:
AMD Athlon XP-M 2600+ @ 2.665GHz (205x13 - 1.9v)
EPoX 8RDA3+ Rev. 3.2
Thermalright SP-97 Heatsink w/ Panaflo H1 92mm & AS5

Memory:
1GB Kit OCZ PC3700 Platinum Enhanced Bandwidth Dual Channel

Video Card:
ATI 9800 Pro 128MB (441/792) w/ VGA Silencer Rev. 3

Case / PSU:
Thermaltake PurePower 480w
Cooler Master Praetorian

Hard Drives:
Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 SATA 8MB Cache 200GB
External Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 ATA 8MB Cache 120GB

Optical Drives:
Plextor PX-708A
Lite-On 52x32x52x16 Combo

Monitors:
NEC MultiSync LCD 1700M+
Samsung SyncMaster 997DF

Soundcard:
Onboard Realtek ALC655

Other:
Logitech Cordless MX Duo
HP PSC 2410


Now, I have already told myself that upgrading to an Athlon 64 is out of the question until nForce4 is released. Upgrading the video card might wait until then also so I can grab a PCI-E whatever with the nForce4. With that being said here is what I have put together thus far as potential upgrades...

Antec 480w NeoPower - $122
Audigy 2 ZS - $86
Logitech Z5300 Speakers - $133
512MB OCZ PC3700 Platinum Enhanced Bandwidth - $160

Total - $501

I still have like $300 to waste...anything you would suggest or change?
 
jpeyton

jpeyton

Moderator in SFF, Notebooks, Pre-Built/Barebones
Moderator
Aug 23, 2003
25,375
142
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Great picks so far. I'd suggest selling your 9800Pro and getting a 6800GT; you'd still come out with a couple hundred left over. Doom 3 never looked so pretty.
 
W

Warp00t

Member
Aug 17, 2004
42
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-psu
+6800gt

:)

Plus get the Evga card... 90-day trade-in... in case you decide you want a PCIe card ;0)
 
M

Matthias99

Diamond Member
Oct 7, 2003
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Originally posted by: Manzelle
Antec 480w NeoPower - $122
Click to expand...

Replacing one high-quality 480W PSU with another one for $120? Why?

Audigy 2 ZS - $86
Click to expand...

Better quality than the onboard, I'm sure, and likely better EAX and multispeaker support for gaming. Might be worth it.

Logitech Z5300 Speakers - $133
Click to expand...

Hard to say if this is worth it, as I don't know what you have for speakers now.

512MB OCZ PC3700 Platinum Enhanced Bandwidth - $160
Click to expand...

Unless you have a good reason to add more RAM (for instance, working with large audio or video files, or multitasking several large programs simultaneously), this is likely not going to help your performance much. And even then -- you're running a 205FSB! You don't need super-pricey PC3700. [/quote]
 
M

Manzelle

Golden Member
Oct 6, 2003
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Originally posted by: Matthias99
Originally posted by: Manzelle
Antec 480w NeoPower - $122
Click to expand...

Replacing one high-quality 480W PSU with another one for $120? Why?

Audigy 2 ZS - $86
Click to expand...

Better quality than the onboard, I'm sure, and likely better EAX and multispeaker support for gaming. Might be worth it.

Logitech Z5300 Speakers - $133
Click to expand...

Hard to say if this is worth it, as I don't know what you have for speakers now.

512MB OCZ PC3700 Platinum Enhanced Bandwidth - $160
Click to expand...

Unless you have a good reason to add more RAM (for instance, working with large audio or video files, or multitasking several large programs simultaneously), this is likely not going to help your performance much. And even then -- you're running a 205FSB! You don't need super-pricey PC3700.
Click to expand...
[/quote]


Well, I like the NeoPower's features...less clutter and probably much quieter too...
Right now I just use headphones...I have been planning on getting speakers anyway...
The super-pricey PC3700 is just because it is the same kind I have now...and later, when I do plunge into an Athlon 64 system I will have 4 slots as opposed to 3 and better overclocking results with the FSB...like I said...it's money to waste...
 
M

Manzelle

Golden Member
Oct 6, 2003
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Aganack1

Senior member
May 16, 2002
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dont get the ram... there is a good chane nforce4 is going to use DDR2... and if you are still thinking about ram... why not upgrade your mb and cpu your going to be replacing mb and memory then instead of the mb cpu and memory... i would just invest your money in some high risk stocks and if you make money great if you lose money it wouldn't be much different then the upgrades you suggest..
 
ponyo

ponyo

Lifer
Feb 14, 2002
19,688
2,810
126
6800GT is waste on his monitors. Most likely he's running 1280x1024 resolution and 9800 pro is good enough in most cases for that.
 
G

Gurck

Banned
Mar 16, 2004
12,963
1
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Sound card & nice speakers, and spend the rest on liquor and pot. Oops, wait, this isn't OT... :p
 
K

kd2777

Golden Member
Mar 4, 2002
1,336
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Does anyone know if when the nforce4 comes out if it will use DDR or DDR2 ram? If it uses DDR2 Ram you may be stuck with too much RAM.

I will say the Neopower is a nice unit, but I don't know if it is worth buying when you have a perfectly good PSU.

I have about your system (plus or minus a few parts) and I agree that I can't see much reason to upgrade yet. If I had to waste money on my system right now I would.....

1) Sell my Video card and buy a 6800GT
2) Keep my current HDD and us them to hold my "stuff" and buy a 74 GB Raptor to put my OS on
3) Maybe buy a side window for the Praetorian.

That comes to about $455 if you...

1) Get 150 for your 9800pro
2) Buy the CompUSA deal for $399 for the 6800GT w/Doom3
3) Buy the side window from newegg for @30 bucks
4) Buy the Raptor from newegg for about $175

And with the rest, I would recommend getting a set of Logitech z-680s. I have had a set for almost 2 years and they are one of if not the best purchase I have ever made. You will never regret it if you like music and good sound with your games. You may want to purchase your soundcard; I have the ABIT nf7-s 2.0 with the Soundstorm so I keep forgetting about soundcards.

You can pick up the z680s for about $256 from newegg now (I paid closer to 400 back in the day), and with your sound card ($86) that brings you up to $797. That?s pretty close to $800.


KD
 
Schadenfroh

Schadenfroh

Elite Member
Mar 8, 2003
38,416
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nforce4 will use ddr1, because the chipset has nothing to do with the ram type any more, its on the cpu now
 
M

Manzelle

Golden Member
Oct 6, 2003
1,396
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Originally posted by: Naustica
6800GT is waste on his monitors. Most likely he's running 1280x1024 resolution and 9800 pro is good enough in most cases for that.
Click to expand...


What are you talking about? Sure, the NEC only does 1280x1024 but the Samsung loves to do 1600x1200...
 
ponyo

ponyo

Lifer
Feb 14, 2002
19,688
2,810
126
Originally posted by: Manzelle
Originally posted by: Naustica
6800GT is waste on his monitors. Most likely he's running 1280x1024 resolution and 9800 pro is good enough in most cases for that.
Click to expand...


What are you talking about? Sure, the NEC only does 1280x1024 but the Samsung loves to do 1600x1200...
Click to expand...


If you run your 19" Samsung at 1600x1200, by all means get 6800GT. It's just that majority people with 19" run it at 1280x1024 or lower. Just like majority of 21" owners run it at 1600x1200 instead of 2048x1536 max.
 
Kaido

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,891
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go get yourself one of those 20.1" Dell 2001FP LCD monitors...like $720 on sale right now, check the hot deals forum ;)
 
G

GnomeCop

Diamond Member
Jun 17, 2002
3,863
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yeah I'd vote for the 20.1" LCD too. Its something that can carry over to your next upgrade.

the 480watt "upgrade" is a little inane, but hell if you have the money...
Id go for a PCP&C psu if I had that money to waste on upgrades.
 
jacktesterson

jacktesterson

Diamond Member
Sep 28, 2001
5,493
3
81
This all seems dumb to me. If your not going to get a new Nforce 3 or AMD 64 or Video card, all the upgrades you've listed seems pointless and dumb to me

Why not buy a nice TV or stereo or put a MP3 deck in your car or something else?

First off..with your PC...the most obvious upgrade is the 6800 Video card

or AMD 64/Motherboard combo...

My suggestion is buy something else thats nice
 
M

Manzelle

Golden Member
Oct 6, 2003
1,396
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I have thought about it and I think I am going to go with an XFX GeForce 6800GT and the NeoPower along with some useless cosmetic items for the case...I have been wanting to try water cooling also so I am going to pick up an Exos-Al with their CPU and GPU waterblock...after it is all complete it will be somewhere in the neighborhood of $875 but that is before I sell my old pieces...

$150-170 for my 9800 Pro w/ VGA Silencer Rev. 3
$35-40 for my SP-97 & 92mm Panaflo
$30 for my Thermaltake PurePower

After those items sell I am looking at roughly $650...not bad I guess...
 
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