In need of a friendly opinion

[jim1976]

Well I have a :
P4@2.8c
1gb of pc3200
gigabyte 9800pro 128mb
17'' monitor @16x12 max res

My dilemma is:
At the end of the month with bills paid etc etc, I will have a budget of ~250$ to spend)

1.I was thinking of buying a new psu and a good case for my system. (This doesn't play important role but I concluded at a 480w thermaltake and a black Coolermaster case)

2.On the other hand I'm itchy to get me a 6800gt (sell my 9800pro and pay the difference and have some money left)

I'm reluctant to decide,but I'm inclining towards the first choice. That is because I have a 17'' monitor and I mostly play at 10x7 or 12x10. I have no need for 16x12 on my 17'' monitor for obvious reasons,and at these res I'm cpu limited. I luv to play with all eye candy on so do you think that I would be ok for the future games with 9800pro?
Do you think a 6800gt would worth the money for these res or should I go ahead and buy the psu and case?
I would like your opinion on what would you do in my case.

Thankz

 

[gururu]

250 seems to be a lot to shell out for a case. If I absolutely had to buy, I would get a power supply (if your current is 300W or less), and buy the GT card. To be honest though, I'd either save the 250 for a bigger future purchase or spend it on something else. Your system is quite nice already and will likely handle HL2 very very well at the least.

 

[ponyo]

I would buy the case and psu unless you can get good deal on 6800 GT below MSRP. Or upgrade the monitor to nice 19" like Nec.

 

[nRollo]

I think your monitor is by far the weakest link of your rig. I wouldn't game on a 17" monitor now if I got a free one weekly, the best ever made.

Spend that cash on a 19" and thank me later. Better yet, put another $250 on your CC and buy a 21".

 

[jim1976]

Thankz for the tip, but I've promised myself that the next monitor would be a "perfect" 21'' LCD.
For a monitor I will not make exceptions and I will not care about the cost when I decide that LCD(TFT) tech is what applies to my needs.
I have many friends with big crts and lcds so I know what is like. Mine is sufficient for the time being. I find it a waste of money to buy one now, and not be completely satisfied with it.

So if you plz help me with my real dilemma...

 

[1ManArmY]

Hold off on the 6800 GT, the 9800 PRO will get the job done for now. If your thinking of getting a 6800 series card address the PSU. I would hold off on any video card purchase until the games you play are out on the shelves and real world benchmarks are performed on official driver's.

I myself am itching for a 6800 GT also, almost did the BEST BUY deal but I am going to wait and see how the card performs when the games DIII & HL2 are released. Let the 9800 PRO stretch its legs and enjoy.

You should be able to get a good Coolermaster case for 150 and a antec True 480W should be around 80 bucks or less

The jury is still out on PS 3.0, it appears to be a minor benefit until PS 3.0 games start shipping next year and by that time we will be in the next cycle of cards

 

[nRollo]

You are a strange man Jim.

Oh well.

I just bought a Thermaltake Xaser 3, a very fine case. I had an Antec 430W True Power, a pretty good PSU.
Case is way secondary in user satisfaction to display, IMO.

So get the 6800GT and wait for your $1000+ monitor I guess.

 

[GeneralGrievous]

Why not jump on the next dell 2001fp deal? And around October you can get a new video card once HL2 is out.

 

[jim1976]

Hold off on the 6800 GT, the 9800 PRO will get the job done for now. If your thinking of getting a 6800 series card address the PSU. I would hold off on any video card purchase until the games you play are out on the shelves and real world benchmarks are performed on official driver's.

I myself am itching for a 6800 GT also, almost did the BEST BUY deal but I am going to wait and see how the card performs when the games DIII & HL2 are released. Let the 9800 PRO stretch its legs and enjoy.

You should be able to get a good Coolermaster case for 150 and a antec True 480W should be around 80 bucks or less

The jury is still out on PS 3.0, it appears to be a minor benefit until PS 3.0 games start shipping next year and by that time we will be in the next cycle of cards

That's what I was thinking especially at such low limited res. The only problem is that if I decide to wait a little more then I will need 500+,cauz I'm not gonna upgrade eventually and wait for R500 or NV50.
I'm in the trick for years so I know how the story goes... It's not the SM 3.0 what makes me wanna upgrade. It's about the extra perf.

You are a strange man Jim.

Oh well.

I just bought a Thermaltake Xaser 3, a very fine case. I had an Antec 430W True Power, a pretty good PSU.
Case is way secondary in user satisfaction to display, IMO.

So get the 6800GT and wait for your $1000+ monitor I guess.

Somehow I feel you can understand me...
Anyway case is undoubtely under display in terms of satisfaction but as I said I waited so long for a good one, so why not a little bit more? I have a feeling that good LCDs are around the corner. Dell 2001fp is almost what I want from an LCD, but maybe not the one.
As for the GT do u think that it can help me that much? You have an idea since you have a similar product.

Why not jump on the next dell 2001fp deal? And around October you can get a new video card once HL2 is out.

I did think that many times... But I'm gonna wait for a better one. It was almost what I was looking for from an LCD.

Gururu's opinion seems more logical for now. Get a good deal for 9800pro and swap it for GT and take only the psu not the case