I need help! Upgrades!

[Fanon]

I'm in the position to upgrade some of the components in my computer. I don't keep up with technology as I used to, so I need some help.

My current rig:

AMD Opteron 165
DFI LanParty UT nF4 Ultra-D
2GB OCZ Plat. EL PC3200 DDR
eVGA 7800GT
OCZ GameXtreme 600W PSU

I'm in the position to upgrade either the video card to a DX10 card, or upgrade the CPU, mobo, and RAM to something Conroe-based. I'm stuck, because either upgrade will be beneficial. I'm currently leaning towards the DX10 card, but I would like to hear your opinion.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: Fanon
I'm in the position to upgrade some of the components in my computer. I don't keep up with technology as I used to, so I need some help.

My current rig:

AMD Opteron 165
DFI LanParty UT nF4 Ultra-D
2GB OCZ Plat. EL PC3200 DDR
eVGA 7800GT
OCZ GameXtreme 600W PSU

I'm in the position to upgrade either the video card to a DX10 card, or upgrade the CPU, mobo, and RAM to something Conroe-based. I'm stuck, because either upgrade will be beneficial. I'm currently leaning towards the DX10 card, but I would like to hear your opinion.

Have you overclocked? That is an option considering the fact you have one of the best socket 939 overclocking boards around. That, and your best upgrade right now is a DX10 card. However, I'd even wait for ATI's card and compare to Nvidia's. It shouldn't be that long until we see numbers.

I had a pretty similar system with my DFI Lanparty UT SLI-D, x2 3800+ @ 2.6Ghz, 2GB Muchkin DDR-500 memory, and a BFG 7800GT. I bought an ATI X1900XT(overclocked to XTX) in order to get better gaming performance. Then I upgraded to my C2D because I didn't pay for it, basically my father funded this upgrade for me. All I had to do was pickout the parts.

 

[Fanon]

I don't overclock much. I do a little bit, but I haven't spent much time finding the limits and finding the most stable settings. I know that's probably strange; I have one of the best OC'ing boards, and even the Opty is the right stepping for some nice overclocks. I generally buy overclocking parts because I think they're the best.

The video card is what I've been thinking of, and I probably will wait until AT.. err AMD comes out with their DX10 part. Thanks for your thoughts, cmdrdredd.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: Fanon
I don't overclock much. I do a little bit, but I haven't spent much time finding the limits and finding the most stable settings. I know that's probably strange; I have one of the best OC'ing boards, and even the Opty is the right stepping for some nice overclocks. I generally buy overclocking parts because I think they're the best.

The video card is what I've been thinking of, and I probably will wait until AT.. err AMD comes out with their DX10 part. Thanks for your thoughts, cmdrdredd.

If you don't overclock your cpu, don't waste your money on any 8800. Even the 8800GTS will be severely limited in framerates, and the GTX even more so, with a 1.8 Ghz Athlon/Opteron. That's why cmdrdredd said your best bet would be to upgrade your video card, and overclock your cpu to 2.5 Ghz or higher, which should be easy to do with your processor and motherboard.