Should I just wait another year or upgrade now?

[tec699]

Ok, it's the dreaded upgrade question. I've been looking at a few of the small factor PC's and at the motherboard combos on Monarch's website. I'm getting the itch to make a purchase soon but should I do this or should I wait until I graduate from college next year? Money is a bit tight but I could manage to upgrade if I want to but I'd like to get your opinions before I dive in. Alright then here is my system:

Gigabyte Nforce 2
AMD XP 2600
Corsair 512x2 3200 ddr 1 gig total.
Geforce FX 5900
Audigy 2
120 gig WD hd 8 mb cache
40 gig WD hd
Dell 19" Ultra Sharp LCD monitor

Those are my main components. My games still run great at 1024x768x32 bit. When I go a bit higher to 1280x1024x32 bit I'll notice a slow down in my frame rates. Can't go much higher since I have a LCD monitor. I can play UT2K4 fine but I haven't really tried any of the newer games yet. I haven't played Far Cry, Doom 3, Half Life 2 yet and I'd like to purchase these games soon but my system specs worry me a bit.

So then:

1. Should I just hang onto my system until I graduate next year?

2. The AMD 64 looks great but I'll need to purchase a new motherboard and a new PCI express video card. Worth it?

3. Would I really notice a HUGE difference when upgrading from my current system to a AMD 64?

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Arcanedeath]

With that system I'd be tempted to just leave it as is or try and overclock the cpu and hold out a bit longer, if it can play the games you want at 1024x768 still then you should be good.

Edit: also you could get an AMD 64 system w/ an AGP slot (939 or 754) and just keep everything your using except the CPU and MB for a fairly good boost in performance in CPU bound tasks.

 

[tec699]

Originally posted by: Arcanedeath
With that system I'd be tempted to just leave it as is or try and overclock the cpu and hold out a bit longer, if it can play the games you want at 1024x768 still then you should be good.

Edit: also you could get an AMD 64 system w/ an AGP slot (939 or 754) and just keep everything your using except the CPU and MB for a fairly good boost in performance in CPU bound tasks.

The Doom 3 demo ran fine at 1024 but what about Far Cry and Half Life 2? Also, the new Battle Field will be out soon!

hmm...

 

[tec699]

Originally posted by: Arcanedeath
With that system I'd be tempted to just leave it as is or try and overclock the cpu and hold out a bit longer, if it can play the games you want at 1024x768 still then you should be good.

Edit: also you could get an AMD 64 system w/ an AGP slot (939 or 754) and just keep everything your using except the CPU and MB for a fairly good boost in performance in CPU bound tasks.

I thought all new AMD motherboards were PCI express only? That seems like a good upgrade and I could upgrade my video card before they phase out AGP cards?

 

[airfoil]

I'd wait. Maybe you could sell that 2600 and get a faster Athlon XP.

 

[CalvinHobbs]

i'd say WAIT till NEXT YEAR!!
you'll be vey happy when you upgrade then and maybe you'll have more money to spend..

 

[Ike0069]

Wait, and just OC your current setup.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Wait. Pay off any CC debt instead, put extra money into an ING account. Play a few games at 800x600 if you have to, or catch up on some budget-price old games you missed.

 

[DruidAllanon]

I would wait. Your machine should play HL2 ok. Doom might be ok, or you might need to scale down a bit.