Planning on upgrading with around $365...

[Sulaco]

Hey guys,

I know these topics are a dime a dozen, and up until about 15 minutes ago, I had my mind all made up on what I was going to do.
I have roughly $365 to spend, and was planning on an upgrade. Subtract about $60 of that for DOOM 3, so I guess a tad over $300 to spend.

First. here is my current system:
Current System
Enermax CS-003 w/300W Enermax PSU | Epox 8RDA+ | AMD Athlon XP 2000+ | 512MB Kingston 2700 DDR| Windows XP Pro | Sapphire ATI 9800Pro 128Mb | RealTek "Soundstorm" 6-Channel Onboard Audio | Western Digital 40 GB ATA100@7200RPM / 30GB Maxtor 7200RPM | Sony 52x24x52x CDRW | 56k V.92 Diamond PCI modem | 17" Sony Trinitron Multiscan 200ES | Altec Lansing 251 'Gaming Theater' 5.1's|

Anyway, I had originally planned on getting a Barton 2800+ for $120 at Newegg, maybe getting another 512RAM, and saving whatever I had left.

That is, until I saw the new price drops for the A64s. Now, I'm really torn on how to spend the money.

I haven't been keeping up too closely with the latest motherboards for the A64, so I'm still VERY open to suggestions and input.
But I was kinda thinking a combo deal from MonarchComputer.com might not be a bad way to go. Something like this:

Motherboard: Asus K8V K8T800 DDR-400....$99
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Retail....$179
Grand Total: $278 (before shipping)



Now, any input is great. But what do you think of this combo and its price? This is all prebuilt and tested as well.
Would there be any conflicts that you can see with the new Mobo/CPU and my exsisting components? This (along with DOOM 3) would use up my money, so if there were any other components like a new PSU I'd need, I couldn't cover it (not now anyway).

Do you also think an upgrade like this is worth it over, say, $115 on a new Barton 2800? Would this be a wise investment do you think? And what are your opionions on the Mobo and CPU?

Sorry about all the questions guys, but this is alot of money and I want to make sure I'm getting the most bang for my buck that I can.
Please post back soon! Thanks!

 

[Corporate Thug]

it is very competetively priced

i wouldnt even consider the 2800+. if i were to go the AXP route, i would get a 2600+ mobile and OC the $hit out of it

do you have the ram for the a64 setup though?

 

[sharq]

If you get A64 you won't have enough left over for ram. (I'm guessing you'll need 1gb min. for Doom)
I say get a mobile barton and OC it, also get another 512 in ram.

 

[Sulaco]

Thanks for the replies guys!

What exactly is the issue with the memory? My current memory is not the best (512Mb Kingston valueram 2700 DDR). Is this not compatibile with A64s?

Sorry for my ignorance, but what kind of RAM would I need?

 

[bob4432]

somebody correct me if i am wrong but i thought you need pc3200 for those ?

 

[Corporate Thug]

you can run it with pc2700 but you would be hammpering performance

you would have to use a CPU:Ram multipler

 

[bob4432]

just get an extra 512MB of ram, get pc3200, it will work fine with you pc2700, you may have to manually set the speed and timings, just do it for the slower ram and get either a mobile or regular xp. a 2800 will run nicely if you are not into o/c.

 

[Gurck]

get the ram & chip.

 

[Sulaco]

So you guys think it's probably best to go with a new CPU and RAM for now? And go the A64 route later on then?

 

[jacktesterson]

If your looking Doom 3 wise

I say grab a Barton 2500+ or Mobile 2600+ and OC it and buy 512MB of PC3200 DDR ram