Should I UPGRADE NOW folks?...your Opinion

[DarkFudge2000]

I posted this in another topic but I think this is actually a more appropriate group since it deals with CPUs and Motherboards exclusively.

Folks...I'm a very insecure person and always have that "have to keep up with the Jones" mentality. I've been wrestling with the idea of getting a new computer but have still been on the fence for the last few months

My current system is:

Intel P4 2.8 overclocked to 3.1ghz
Asus P4C800 Deluxe Motherboard
1 Gig of Buffalo PC3700 RAM
NVidia GeForce 6800GS AGP video card with 256 RAM
SATA 300gig Maxtor HD

I'm a big time gamer and currently play stuff like Supreme Commander, Stalker, C&C 3 Tiberium Wars, Test Drive Unleashed, Oblivion, ect , ect....

I've noticed that many of my games settings need to be really tweaked down to get them running at a high 60+fps so my big question is:

What system can I now build, with overclocking in mind to get the MOST BANG for my dollar and not still spend a fortune on the latest cutting edge technology?

I usually love to overclock my video cards and CPUs and try to keep my system parts between $1000 and $1400 tops when I do my periodic system upgrade

I havent been following the latest and hottest cpu trends since the P4 days so I could use a little help in building the affordable dream machine


What are all your opinions?...and do you think its worth it to upgrade from my current system now?

thanks

 

[SparkyJJO]

If you can wait a little bit longer, AMD's new chip will be out and you'll have a choice between that or C2D which should drop in price then as well I would think. Also R600 should be out then too so an 8800GTS should drop in price as well. If you can hold out for a couple more months I think you could get some good deals.

 

[m1ldslide1]

Originally posted by: SparkyJJO
If you can wait a little bit longer, AMD's new chip will be out and you'll have a choice between that or C2D which should drop in price then as well I would think. Also R600 should be out then too so an 8800GTS should drop in price as well. If you can hold out for a couple more months I think you could get some good deals.

agreed. And there are C2D revisions coming out that I remember reading about... the end of summer will probably be a great time to invest some cash. But now ain't bad either, depending on your timeline.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Cpu prices will drop a little in April, but not worth the wait IMO unless you have to have top of the line. And yes with an upgrade to midrange components you will see a huge improvement over your current rig. I would recommend something like this

Asus P5B-E $145.99
Core 2 Duo E4300 $169
G.Skill 2gb DDR2-800 $129.99
EVGA 8800GTS 320mb $259.99 AR

And you may need a new power supply

Corsair 520w $109.99 AR

Thats around $700 + shipping if you don't need a new PS and about $810 if you do, and of course this assumes you will reuse the case, hard drive and optical drive(s), and monitor. That will overclock very nicely and absolutely smoke the system you currently have. And if you want to spend more I would suggest upgrading to a nice widescreen monitor.