Need Upgrade Advice. =)

[Wiloden]

Ok, I've been debating on what to upgrade. Here's my current setup...

P3 @500mhz
Guillemot Ultra TNT 2
128MB RAM (100)

I'm seriously considering a Creative Labs GeForce 2GTS Card, but have thought about upgrading to a P3 800/100 (thus keeping my memory).

Based on what I've read, the jump from 500 to 800 is significant, but with the P4 on the horizon, and the potential for the 1Ghz+ to drop in price in the next year, I'm almost tempted to wait on that...

And go with the GeForce 2GTS.

What do you all think?

Thanks so much.
Wilo

 

[urbantechie]

Well..I think its time to jump on the AMD bandwagon. DDR boards etc are comming in a month or so (am i right?) and that is gonna be real good from what I hear. P4 I think looks good but again i've heard you need a special chassis to ground the motherboard and yadda yadda. So i'd be looking at AMD right now and maybe a V5.

 

[Dan]

Grab a good Socket A mobo and a Duron processor. (I like the KT7 but that's certainly open to debate.) You'll overclock to anywhere from 850MHz to 1GHz for under $200 with your current RAM and vid card. That positions you for price drops on 1GHz T-Birds that will come in the next few months.

 

[blurredvisionx]

If urbantechie is right, and you have to ground the motherboard and sh|t, I would grab a Geforce2 and upgrade to a 1ghz later. I don't agree with the suggestions to even go with AMD, seeing as how you already have a motherboard and everything, unless you want to spend the money, then definitely go with a socket A mobo for duron, tbirds, and the like.

 

[AMB]

I would get the Graphic Card first

 

[4824guy]

You should be looking at your video card aws your next upgrade. The Ultra tnt2 is fine, but there are more powerful cards out now if your into gaming.

The cpu is more than enough horsepower for now. Then you can upgrade that later when the prices drop and cpu speed is faster.

 

[Wiloden]

Thanks for the replies folks!

I believe I will go with the card now, and the CPU later. Considering the way things are going in the market, it makes more sense right now.

Wilo

 

[squirrel dog]

I concure with other posts.Sit tight on the cpu,go for the faster vid card.You could double your cpu speed,but without a better video subset you might not get double the performance.Also more ram is always good,up to 256,after that unless you are doing cad,ect you hit the wall.

 

[etech]

The first thing is, why are you upgrading? What program is running too slow for you now? If it is game then a new graphics card should give you more bang for your buck but which games and resoulution you run at also make a difference in whether you will see a noticable improvement or not.

If I remember correctly the P4 will take a new case and power supply. I can't find the link, to be sure about the case but I am sure about the power supply. I would also not advise buying a P4 until after the die shrink to 13u. The first P4s will have a different pinout then the later ones making your motherboard obsolete in 6-8 months.

As noted above, the athlons and DDR look like the best bet for a processor upgrade around the first of the new year.

 

[Syborg1211]

Well, if you are waiting for the new thing to come in and lower prices, wait for the geforce 2 ultra to come out. But then again, the Ultra will be so awesome, you might want that!

 

[Wiloden]

Etech:

I actually have a few games that tend to get choppy at higher resolutions and color depths.

Plus, I have a Celeron 500, networked with my P3-500 that could use the TNT2.

(The C500 has a Matrox Millenium PCI 2D + V2 12MB 3D in it).

 

[Noriaki]

I'd hold off on the CPU, a 500Mhz P3 is good enough for a while yet.
With the P4 and Mustang right around the corner along with new chipsets across the board (Intel, AMD, Via and ALi are all producing new 'sets) I'd wait a while.

I'm looking to get rid of my V3 now, and it's about the same speed as your TNT2.