A Little Help with Upgrade Please.

[J S Jackson]

My current rig looks like this:

A7N8X-Deluxe
AMD 2600+ (Barton) - Overclocked to 2.19 ghz, Can't seem to get much more due to 2700 memory
512 Megs Corsair 2700
Quantum Fireball AS 40 Gig ATA 100 HDD (2mb cache/7200rpm)
ATI 9600pro
Viewsonic PF790 19" CRT

So, as you can see things are getting a bit dated. I've got about 200-300 bucks and wondering everyone's view on how that could be best spent.

Should I try to hold out with the current cpu/mobo/ram, and just go for a new vid card? Perhaps a 6600gt.

I'm a little confused about how important PCI-E is. Obviously if I get a new vid card without replacing the mobo (and everything else) I've got to go AGP. But what I'm wondering is, 6-12 months from now I'll probably upgrade the mobo/cpu/ram, and by that time, the newer boards will all be PCIe only? Rendering my vid card useless?

Any suggestions appreciated. 🙂

 

[JBDan]

I think a 6600gt is a grande idea. Can be had for as little as 193$ @ Newegg. The 6600gt will carry you for atleast a year if not more. Your budget is limited I cannot think of a cheaper upgrade. 🙂

 

[biostud]

I'm pretty sure AGP boards will cary into 2006 and probably also 2007.

 

[gamerj]

i would definately go for pci-express....for instance the x850 ati cards are already not made(or very very little) in agp form....

in 12 months? well agp is going out, and its not gonna take another 2 years!

 

[winterlude]

Is the vid card your bottleneck? Do you play a lot of games? What about buying another 512 RAM and saving the rest of the cash for getting your next system a bit sooner. Then you'll be able to carry over the gig of RAM. Just an idea.

 

[J S Jackson]

The vid card wasn't a problem until recently, with doom3, HL2 it's starting to show it's age. I do use the computer for work as well, but the performance in that regard is more than adequate.

I'd like to get another 512 memory, but figured I'd just make due with what I have and get a matched pair of 2x512 when I update the mobo.

I guess my main concern is if I get an AGP card now, then when I update the mobo, I'm forced to get a mobo that still supports AGP. Will/do the new boards support both PCI-E *and* AGP, or just PCI-E? I don't want to be in a situation in 6-12 months where updating my mobo is going to force me to buy a new (PCI-E) vid card (yet again).

Thanks for all the input folks.