Help me upgrade my PC

[slayer202]

Well I built a computer myself for the first time about 2 and a half years ago, and it is time for an upgrade.

Right now this is my setup:

EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Manchester 2.0GHz Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3800BVBOX - Retail

(2x) - CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Desktop Memory Model VS1GB400C3 - Retail

Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 ST3250823AS 250GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM

EVGA 256-P2-N517-AX GeForce 7800GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

NEC 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE/ATAPI Model ND-3550A - OEM

Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450Watt SmartPower 2.0 Power Supply - Retail

Antec 75003 120mm Case Fan - Retail

I am running Windows XP. I think I will be moving to vista, mainly for DX10/crysis + whatever else in the future. Is this a good idea?

For hardware, what would be some wise upgrades without having to spend enough to build a whole new machine? Like I mentioned before, I would like to be able to play crysis on DX10, on decent settings.

I have never overclocked before, but I would be willing to try conservatively. I mainly use the computer for gaming/surfing the web. Not too much editing of any sort, but multitasking ability is always nice

 

[coldmeat]

what is your budget?

 

[slayer202]

well this build cost me about $1100 when I built it. I don't want to get near that, otherwise I figure I could build an entirely new system.

Looking for the most bang for the buck in terms of upgrades. Not sure what I can/should keep, and what I need to revamp

 

[bamacre]

Can you afford to wait a bit?

I ask because since you are on a skt 939 system, you're going to have to upgrade quite bit to see a real performance boost.

You can keep the case, hard drive, optical drive, and the fans, but the rest would likely need to go, assuming you want a gaming performance boost.

 

[slayer202]

yeah, figured I would need to get an AM2 motherboard + new cpu. Could I manage with the 7800gt though?

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: slayer202
yeah, figured I would need to get an AM2 motherboard + new cpu. Could I manage with the 7800gt though?

I would not go AM2. Go Intel. Q6600 is a damn good cpu for ~278.

DDR2 is cheap as hell, too. Check Hot Deals forum.

You could upgrade your cpu/motherboard/memory, and then hold off until new video cards are released in Nov/Dec. Or wait and upgrade everything then. Up to you.

If you need some further recommendations, let us know if you intend to overclock.

 

[slayer202]

Well I that's basically the whole system. Any idea what I could sell my old MB/cpu/memory/video card for?

 

[slayer202]

I guess I am going to replace the MB/CPU/memory/graphics card

any reccomendations? I guess I'll start reading up on what's popular around here. Not really sure on a budget, maybe around $7-800, maybe less? not really sure

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: slayer202
I guess I am going to replace the MB/CPU/memory/graphics card

any reccomendations? I guess I'll start reading up on what's popular around here. Not really sure on a budget, maybe around $7-800, maybe less? not really sure

Q6600 is $277.50 shipped at ZZF

For motherboard, I'd get one of the Gigabyte P35 boards.

As for memory, two of these will work well...
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php...ed47e5f20e97640e80b6d4

Then either a 320MB 8800 GTS, or the 640MB version depending on how much $$ is left.

OR, you could keep that 7800 GT and wait until Nvidia releases new cards in Nov/Dec.

 

[slayer202]

anyone else?