Quandary

[agentsmith101]

Ok here it is...

I have AMD 64 3200+ s754 running with mobo ECS 755 a-2.

Should I do an agp video card upgrade now (x800xt)

Or a PCI-E full upgrade (cpu, mobo, video card) down the road

It must last me through college which is 5 years basically at least.

(Keep in mind that I am on a budget and would MUCH rather go with option a. Just seeking opinions)

 

[Kromis]

For some reason, I'm leaning towards full upgrade...

If that one X800GTO at newegg were to fall to $124.99 again, then I'd suggest you get that.

 

[agentsmith101]

New option: COuld get motherboard with s754 but still pci-e support. Is this viable in my situation? ALso if I go pci e route...what would be best yet cheapest card for me?

 

[jeebz]

new 754 mobo with pci-e is NOT viable. it cuts down on your ability to upgrade later on down the road......without having to re-buy another mobo. i'm guessing you dont have enough money to commit to a new cpu/mobo AND video card...so my advice is get an agp video card, then save up some money over the next few months or so then get yourself a major pc upgrade. not sure exactly which agp card to get but i've seen people advise the x800xl from ati (refurb for like $115). i just upgraded my wife's pc to an amd64 3400 with a s754 mobo ($99 combined at newegg) and am going to upgrade her video card possibly next month.

 

[agentsmith101]

Thats what I was thinking...x800 except i was going for the aiw xt. Will I notice a big difference from fx5500 oc?

 

[unfalliblekrutch]

Originally posted by: agentsmith101
Thats what I was thinking...x800 except i was going for the aiw xt. Will I notice a big difference from fx5500 oc?

huge difference.

 

[apoppin]

five years . . . 'till your NEXT upgrade?
:Q

Unless you are NOT a gamer, bite the bullet and do the FULL PCIe upgrade NOW . . . . in five years you'll need still another.

in other words, in 2011 you'll be stuck with an ancient AGP machine - with the equivalent of a Radeon 7000 in a PCI machine today. . . at least the PCIe route will give you video upgrade options way beyond G80/r600

edited

 

[agentsmith101]

Originally posted by: apoppin
five years . . . 'till your NEXT upgrade?
:Q

Unless you are NOT a gamer, bite the bullet and do the FULL PCIe upgrade NOW . . . . in five years you'll need still another.

in other words, in 2011 you'll be stuck with an ancient AGP machine - with the equivalent of a Radeon 7000 in a PCI machine today. . . at least the PCIe route will give you video upgrade options way beyond G80/r600

edited

Yes but you must realize that I was fine with fx5500 oc up till now...I dont ask for much just be able to play new games at decent settings.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: agentsmith101

Originally posted by: apoppin
five years . . . 'till your NEXT upgrade?
:Q

Unless you are NOT a gamer, bite the bullet and do the FULL PCIe upgrade NOW . . . . in five years you'll need still another.

in other words, in 2011 you'll be stuck with an ancient AGP machine - with the equivalent of a Radeon 7000 in a PCI machine today. . . at least the PCIe route will give you video upgrade options way beyond G80/r600

edited

Yes but you must realize that I was fine with fx5500 oc up till now...I dont ask for much just be able to play new games at decent settings.

think ahead FIVE years . . . PCIe is probably gonna be [just] replaced by then . . . . you won't be able to "play new games at decent settings" - then. Much WORSE than your [3 year old?] fx5500 does NOW.

:Q

don't be "pennywise and pound foolish".

it's your money . . . you can have all the regret later . . . with an AGP machine you are DEAD END . . .
otoh, with a PCIe machine at least you can upgrade your rig's video in 2010 - relatively cheaply . . .

 

[agentsmith101]

Good points thanks for your opinion. However, I have another factor to consider as well...if I go pcie route I wont get AIW video card. Is AIW really worth it?

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: agentsmith101
Good points thanks for your opinion. However, I have another factor to consider as well...if I go pcie route I wont get AIW video card. Is AIW really worth it?

you're welcome
. . . and not imo

get a separate card if you NEED the AIW features. . . . they are really cheap

i base this on my own experience . . . i am still 'struggling' with an AGP system [P4@3.31GHz/x850xt@PE/1GB PC3500] . . . actually it is NOT struggling as it still handles Oblivion at 11x8 . . . BUT there is NO further upgrade - EVER. When Crysis/Unreal3 games come out i expect to be at 10x7 with mid details. . . by 2008 i BETTER have a new kickass system or it'll be 8x6 or worse.

there isn't much price difference to get a PCIe MB + GPU over a AGP card. . . . there is a "premium" on AGP parts right now that half makes up for the MB's price.

 

[agentsmith101]

I also will have to get the cpu if i go pci e route

 

[CKXP]

Originally posted by: agentsmith101
I also will have to get the cpu if i go pci e route

why? there a several s754 PCIe motherboards, i have one, a DFI NF4x

 

[agentsmith101]

Originally posted by: jeebz
new 754 mobo with pci-e is NOT viable. it cuts down on your ability to upgrade later on down the road......without having to re-buy another mobo. i'm guessing you dont have enough money to commit to a new cpu/mobo AND video card...so my advice is get an agp video card, then save up some money over the next few months or so then get yourself a major pc upgrade. not sure exactly which agp card to get but i've seen people advise the x800xl from ati (refurb for like $115). i just upgraded my wife's pc to an amd64 3400 with a s754 mobo ($99 combined at newegg) and am going to upgrade her video card possibly next month.

Well I mentioned that option too...

So how good is your DFI? and any upgrade options down the line?

 

[agentsmith101]

Ok now I am thinking...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813135209 +

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102688

For a grand total of 183.22 shipped while the x800xt agp aiw is just 179.99 shipped - $50 with trade in?

So what do u think?

 

[BobDaMenkey]

Honestly, I'd go PCIe if you're looking to try and extend the life of your system by 5 years. You're going to need the upgrade path, and it won't be there with AGP.

 

[agentsmith101]

Originally posted by: BobDaMenkey
Honestly, I'd go PCIe if you're looking to try and extend the life of your system by 5 years. You're going to need the upgrade path, and it won't be there with AGP.

Yea, my earlier post actually has a s754 with pcie thats what I was asking.

 

[agentsmith101]

the x850xt JUST went out of stock

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: agentsmith101
the x850xt JUST went out of stock

you have to be *quick* . . . don't wait for us to confirm a good choice.

Keep checking Hot Deals . . . hourly . . . . you'll get something real nice in PCie that at least gives you some real *options* . . . later you can upgrade the CPU/MB/video . . . incrementally . . . so it is not so hard on a student.

Good luck!

 

[agentsmith101]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: agentsmith101
the x850xt JUST went out of stock

you have to be *quick* . . . don't wait for us to confirm a good choice.

Keep checking Hot Deals . . . hourly . . . . you'll get something real nice in PCie that at least gives you some real *options* . . . later you can upgrade the CPU/MB/video . . . incrementally . . . so it is not so hard on a student.

Good luck!

Worst part about it is that I had the cart saved in case this ****** happened but when i went to checkout it just dissapeared

 

[agentsmith101]

Worst part is that i had it IN my cart but it still just dissapeared in checkout.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: agentsmith101
Worst part is that i had it IN my cart but it still just dissapeared in checkout.

check back . . . early . . . someone's credit card may be refused.


and there are always other good deals . . . especially with a new top model from ATi due shortly.

try again . . . shows 'in stock' for me
:Q

 

[Falloutboy]

why do all you people not want to upgrade for 5 years?

for video cards Its so much cheaper sticking with a the last generation everytime you upgrade and do ita bout every 12-18months.

buying last years hot 400 dollar card for 100ish and then reselling 12-18 months later for 50-70 is so much better than paying 400 and playing games at crap settings 2 years later and not having money to upgrade.

and with CPUs I do the same thing buy the hot Overclockers deal of the month every 12-18 months.

useually end up spending 200-300ish a year for upgrades and sell my old stuff for 100-150 so over a 5 year period I spend about 500-600 dollars on my core components in my system and during this time can play all games well maybe not at max settings but normally with most options turned on short of high resolutions and AA.

if you would go mid-high now you would spend 800-1000+ and be better than I am for 2 maybe 2 and a half years but after that would spend the next 2-3 years with crap performance.

I would just get the x850 for 150ish and as long as you have 1 gig or so of memory that should last 18 months or so and then at that point just spend 300ish on an upgrade to whatever is the hot cheapish CPU/MB/Video Combo at that time