shall i upgrade video card, cpu, or both?

[fluxquantum]

hi everyone,

i was wondering if i should upgrade my video card, cpu, or both? i'm a pretty serious gamer and like to play a lot of BF2, half-life, fear, etc. any recommendations? thanks.

 

[Smartazz]

Neither, what are you talking about? Wait for the G80 or R600. I'd get a Core 2 Quad when they come out, unless you want to keep your motherboard.

 

[Ike0069]

I also say neither.

 

[Dethfrumbelo]

If you actually want to upgrade something start with the monitor.

Until the 8800GT is available, you have no reason to upgrade the video card, especially at 1280x1024.

 

[fluxquantum]

Originally posted by: Dethfrumbelo
If you actually want to upgrade something start with the monitor.

Until the 8800GT is available, you have no reason to upgrade the video card, especially at 1280x1024.

i actually thought about upgrading my monitor before anything else. i can only play at 1280 x 1024 on this monitor. the response time is also too high. i thought about the dell 2407wfp. i realize that BF2 doesn't support widescreen mode. is there a widescreen monitor good for this game? also, can my video card run @ 1920 x 1200 ok?

 

[Dethfrumbelo]

1920x1200 is a hardship for any single graphics card setup unless you're willing to sacrifice some of your other settings - AA/AF/shadows, etc. The higher the resolution, the slower the response time as well.

I think there's a patch out that allows BF2 to run in widescreen, not entirely sure though.

The two best widescreen monitors currently available for gaming, according to xtknight and many others are the NEC 20WMGX2 and Dell 2007, both at a resolution of 1680x1050 which your video card can handle fairly easily. The NEC will be the most impressive, but it costs around $600US. There are also some fast 19" LCDs out there at lower cost, like the Samsung 931C, but they're all 6-bit TNs, so the color tends to be poor by my eyes.

The other option is to wait a few months... LCDs with improved backlights are coming soon and some improved panels as well.

 

[Smartazz]

Originally posted by: fluxquantum

Originally posted by: Dethfrumbelo
If you actually want to upgrade something start with the monitor.

Until the 8800GT is available, you have no reason to upgrade the video card, especially at 1280x1024.

i actually thought about upgrading my monitor before anything else. i can only play at 1280 x 1024 on this monitor. the response time is also too high. i thought about the dell 2407wfp. i realize that BF2 doesn't support widescreen mode. is there a widescreen monitor good for this game? also, can my video card run @ 1920 x 1200 ok?

AFAIK you cannot use widescreen monitors with bf2.

 

[kuqdew]

hold off and buy a serious DX10 card when they get released