So what is the smartest upgrade for now?

[REDtoLINE]

So right now I have an AMD socket 939 system. I am looking to upgrade because I have a perfect opportunity to sell my processor, mobo, and ram to a friend of mine. So I have started to think about my options, but truly I just cannot decide.

1 - Core 2 Duo has taken control, but I am still an AMD fan. I feel I should just get an AM2 board, and a nice X2 processor. I looked at the prices, but I have no idea of the comparison between X2 and Core 2 Duos like I used to with the Athlon 64s and the Pentiums. So when I look at intel, it all seems so expensive.

2 - Since I have recently upgraded to Vista, I think I should upgrade to a DirectX 10 card. I have always been a fan of ATI, but I could not find any reasonably priced cards with DirectX 10. It seems NVIDIA has a very wide selection of cards, while ATI has fallen way behind.

Basically, these are the 2 questions I cannot answer. Now I know I just simply asked which side to pick for the 2 biggest rivalries, but try not to think of it that way. I want to know which route is better for expanding. Will AMD be keeping the AM2 socket for a long time? Or will intel keep their socket LGA 775 longer? And is ATI coming out with DirectX 10 cards anytime soon? Or is it just pointless for me to worry about DirectX 10 because I am missing something else I would need to actually get a benefit out of DirectX 10?

Any input is greatly appreciated. Thank You

 

[REDtoLINE]

Oops, I just realized I wasn't in the General Hardware section. Can someone move this please? Thanks.

 

[MarcVenice]

I'll try and answer anyways. Yes, AMD will be keeping AM2, the barcelona based desktop processors should be compatible with current AM2 mobo's. If you buy a current s775, p35 mobo, it will also be compatible with penryn from Intel, coming out later this year.

And, for a dx10 card, I went for the 8800gts, either you get that 1, or a faster one, or no dx10 card at all till the second generation comes out. DX10 games are barely out yet, but the time they do come out, there will be faster dx10 cards, and the current midrange, 8600's and 2600's from nvidia/ati probably won't hack it in those games. Not sure what videocard you got though, and how much of a gamer you are, and at what resolutions you play.

ATI did come out with a DX10 card, the x2900xt, 512/1024mb version, and the midrange cards, the 2400/2600's, which don't offer much if any performance over the current high-end dx9 cards like the x1950xt.

 

[bryanW1995]

get an x1950xt. j/k.

 

[REDtoLINE]

Well I used to be a big gamer, but I got out of it for a few years. Now I am going off to college, so I have a feeling I am going to have a lot of free time and will probably get back into it. Right now my resolution is 1280x1024 which is the most my card can handle. I currently have an X800XL 256MB PCIE. I guess it would be smart to keep my current graphics card, and wait until DirectX 10 games come out. Then I could probably get a much better card for less, and It would actually be put to good use.

So my question is, should I get an SLI motherboard, or a Crossfire? (Or does it not even matter because PCIe 2.0 will soon come into play?)