I have $400 to spend on upgrade(s)or should I envest...

[Azndude2190]

Current Rig and everything else:
Antec Plusview 1000AMG Case (5x80mm)
Antec NeoPower 480watt PSU
Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe Motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego(stock)
Corsair ValueRAM (2x512MB)
Maxtor 80GB SATA HD
Leadtek 6600GT PCI-E
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit 7.1
Lite-On DVD Burner
Samsung Floppy Diskette Drive
ViewSonic A70 17" CRT Monitor(old)
polkaudio 2.0 speakers (old)
Mouse(Weird brand name but i picked it up while in Taiwan)
Keyboard(same as top^)

So what should I buy that would benefit me even more in gaming?
I dont want to blow it all on one expensive part like a 7800 card or a really expensive monitor...

 

[aatf510]

I would get a faster HD, 250GB Maxtor SATA 16MB $120
or
it would best for gaming, 7800GT $380

 

[Hacp]

Don't bother reinvesting right now... Wait a few more years maybe . Or if you really want, you can upgrade the video card, but 6600GT should play most games 1024/2180 fine.

 

[biostud]

Originally posted by: Azndude2190

So what should I buy that would benefit me even more in gaming?
I dont want to blow it all on one expensive part like a 7800 card or a really expensive monitor...

Those are the two things that would benefit you most for gaming

 

[Azndude2190]

Originally posted by: biostud

Originally posted by: Azndude2190

So what should I buy that would benefit me even more in gaming?
I dont want to blow it all on one expensive part like a 7800 card or a really expensive monitor...

Those are the two things that would benefit you most for gaming

when i sed more i meant better gaming performace than my 6600GT is giving me(which is pretty good)...and i'm sure there are better monitors than the cuurent one i have but i shouldn't have to spend 400 dollars...should I?...i was thinking of spreading out that money like getting a better heatsink and fan...a 6800GT...more ram...

 

[theMan]

spend 380 on a 7800gt, sell your 6600gt, then you will have like 170 dollars left. or, just get a 6800gt. that will be a pretty good upgrade. then you will have even more money left.

 

[Sentinel]

hold off, your system is kickass.

 

[Azndude2190]

Originally posted by: Sentinel
hold off, your system is kickass.

lol yeah i like it but i would like sumthin like a LCD monitor improve the looks of the game

 

[MBrown]

7800gt is a no brainer...then pick up a better monitor later.

 

[Sentinel]

or hold off on the video card and get a Hyundai L70D

 

[dnuggett]

Having just $400 to do an upgrade and needing more RAM, more screen, and a better card here's what I'd do:

I would suggest a 19" CRT first and foremost. Maybe an LCD like the L90D+. (personal preference for me is CRT for gaming) I have a ViewSonic A90F+ and I am very happy with it (besides it being 5:4) That'll be about $200. I'd then add another 512 to 1GB in RAM. After that I'd save and upgrade that vid card to a 7800GT when they are widely available.

Get more desktop real estate first, that will bump your game a notch especially in the FPS arena.

 

[theMan]

for a CRT you should get a nice refurb Trinitron monitor.

 

[Fresh Daemon]

It's definitely a nice system, but:

Hard drive: do you find it adequate?

CPU: Why not overclock it a bit? You have a decent motherboard, CPU and RAM.

Monitor: Get rid of it. Nobody should be using a 17" CRT these days. A big LCD that's good for gaming would probably cost all of your upgrade budget. Big CRTs are good for gaming - I have a 21" perfect-flat Sony and it's great, sharp up to 2048*1536, nice colour and no response time. You can get them refurbished pretty cheap, but make sure you see the exact one you'll buy before you part with any cash - some can have bad screen burn, scratches on the antireflective coating, or brightness problems.

Graphics card: This is definitely the weak point as far as gaming is concerned. A 7800GT or GTX would be great, especially for next-gen games like Battlefield 2 or FEAR, but not until you upgrade that monitor - at the resolutions it can probably display comfortably, a 7800 will be overkill.

To summarize: spend your $400 on a 7800GT, sell your 6600 and put the proceeds into a good, refurbished 21" CRT. If you want to. You could also spend less and get an X800 or X850, they're good too.

 

[superfly27]

Yeah, if you have a Nvidia chipset, why not get a 600 watt power supply and overclock both video card and CPU? And add 1 GB to get a total of 2 GB of RAM.

I know, kind of stupid ideas. But, one thing that would be really cool is one of those wide screen LCD. Mmmmmm.

 

[valkator]

Originally posted by: superfly27
Yeah, if you have a Nvidia chipset, why not get a 600 watt power supply and overclock both video card and CPU? And add 1 GB to get a total of 2 GB of RAM.

I know, kind of stupid ideas. But, one thing that would be really cool is one of those wide screen LCD. Mmmmmm.

Well considering i have the dell 2405fpw aka widescreen beast, i would go for the widescreen monitor as well. NEVER going back to standard size. Even gaming just rocks with a widescreen.
Or you can spend the money to go to school and learn how to spell.

 

[Fresh Daemon]

if you have a Nvidia chipset, why not get a 600 watt power supply and overclock both video card and CPU?

He doesn't need 600W for that. His Neopower 480W will be perfectly fine for overclocking that rig. Don't let anyone tell you that a Neopower 480W is inadequate for anything short of two 7800GTXs and a heavy overclock on water, or something.

 

[deathwalker]

Everybody loves spending "YOUR" money...trust me...take advise from someone far older and wiser....

1. Forget the 7800...over priced...and far exceeds most needs

2. Looking into a more modest graphics upgrade will fit your needs for a long time to come (selling you current one and reinvesting with a little of your upgrade money not a bad idea). Stay under $300..your net out of pocket should not exceed around $200

3. Since you have a SLI board and already own a 6600gt....what about buying another and running SLI? That would give you 6800gt like performance at the cost of only one added 6600gt part..something to consider.

4. More HD space is always nice for those space hungry hog games of today and also for multimedia stuff

5. 1 gig of memory is plenty for almost all applications...but there are some that do benifit from up to 2gig...and it improves multi-tasking.

Do what feels right!!

 

[Bona Fide]

1. Buy a Thermalright XP-90, Panaflo M1A, and Arctic Silver 5. Your processor is MEANT for overclocking.
2. Sell the 6600GT, and see if you can get a 7800GT.
3. Don't bother with a new monitor unless your current one doesn't work anymore. CRT's scale resolutions much better than LCD's, so you should be able to play at 1600x1200 while maintaining a desktop of 1280x1024.

 

[Gooberlx2]

I''d get some 5.1 gaming speakers and a new soundcard (I hated my Live! 24-bit 7.1)...are the A2ZS's still on sale for like $40 (or you could get X-fi)?

or....hold off until the end-of-the-quarter deal and get one of Dell's ultrasharp LCDs for cheap, plus enough leftover for something else.

 

[Acanthus]

Id honestly say a 7800GT would be the best upgrade in that price range.

The rest of your system is fine, unless you want 2GB of memory.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2
I''d get some 5.1 gaming speakers and a new soundcard (I hated my Live! 24-bit 7.1)...are the A2ZS's still on sale for like $40 (or you could get X-fi)?

or....hold off until the end-of-the-quarter deal and get one of Dell's ultrasharp LCDs for cheap, plus enough leftover for something else.

A nice set of speakers would hold its value and enjoyment factor than a brand new videocard etc.

 

[yourdeardaniel]

only 80gb hd? do you store alot of files, download stuff? rip dvd? then get a higher capacity HDD, something like 250GB SATA 2 w/ NCQ 16mb cache
do you play games or listen to music? then get better speakers. like logitech or creative
speak alot of time in front of the monitor? ditch the CRT and get a <= 12 ms LCD, viewsonic, samsung

 

[dnuggett]

Originally posted by: deathwalker
Everybody loves spending "YOUR" money...trust me...take advise from someone far older and wiser....

1. Forget the 7800...over priced...and far exceeds most needs

2. Looking into a more modest graphics upgrade will fit your needs for a long time to come (selling you current one and reinvesting with a little of your upgrade money not a bad idea). Stay under $300..your net out of pocket should not exceed around $200

3. Since you have a SLI board and already own a 6600gt....what about buying another and running SLI? That would give you 6800gt like performance at the cost of only one added 6600gt part..something to consider.

4. More HD space is always nice for those space hungry hog games of today and also for multimedia stuff

5. 1 gig of memory is plenty for almost all applications...but there are some that do benifit from up to 2gig...and it improves multi-tasking.

Do what feels right!!

You may be far older but apparently not wiser. While on the surface your recommendation on the 6600 seems sound, it's really not. That card is already hurting in some games, and it will only get worse. You mention futureproofing then suggest another 6600GT, bad idea. A 7800GT would be the best decision. It does not exceed needs in gaming, no card does. Hardware performance = better playing experience and a sharper skill set when combined with practice.

While 1GB can get you by with *some* current games, there are a few that it will not. As I stated a RAM upgrade is def in order.

BTW "Net out of pocket not exceeding $200"... where'd you pull that out of? Sure the #'s work in this particular example but I'd like to see the science behind that idea.

And in case you didn't read the friggin OP he's asking for advice, genius. It's not people giving him unsolicited advice to "spend his money." If you don't like to see people ask questions and trade opinions ignore these types of threads.

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: yourdeardaniel
only 80gb hd? do you store alot of files, download stuff? rip dvd? then get a higher capacity HDD, something like 250GB SATA 2 w/ NCQ 16mb cache
do you play games or listen to music? then get better speakers. like logitech or creative
speak alot of time in front of the monitor? ditch the CRT and get a <= 12 ms LCD, viewsonic, samsung

Dismiss this post, if they mention NCQ as a useable feature for home use, they dont know what they are talking about.

 

[aatf510]

Originally posted by: Fresh Daemon

if you have a Nvidia chipset, why not get a 600 watt power supply and overclock both video card and CPU?

He doesn't need 600W for that. His Neopower 480W will be perfectly fine for overclocking that rig. Don't let anyone tell you that a Neopower 480W is inadequate for anything short of two 7800GTXs and a heavy overclock on water, or something.

Right, I was overclocking with a Neopower 480w with a FX-55 + 2 x 6800GT + 2 x raptors and watercooling, and it works great.