The $400-500 upgrade

[cKGunslinger]

Hi, I'm Troy McClure. You may remember me from previous PC-update threads such as "Building a WoW PC" and "Need to trim this upgrade down."


So anyway, money is in and it's much less that I had hoped for (naturally.) I'm thinking I can blow $500, tops. Closer to $400 would probably be better.

As a recap, here's my current sys:

Athlon XP 2400+
Shuttle AK35GT2 (VIA KT333)*
* (At least 1 memory slot appears to be malfunctioning on this board - that is, my system is unstable (won't boot or immediately crashes) if that one DIMM is occupied.) I intend to regulate this to the kid's PC after the upgrade.
768MB DDR PC-2700 (512MB + 256MB)
ATI Radeon 9600 XT 128MB
SBLive Value with Cambridge Soundworks speakers (4.1)
120GB / 8MB WD HD
52/32/52 CDRW (only works occasionally - has problems reading many disks)
17" Amptron GS17e CRT*
* (ancient, cheap monitor with horribly curved screen. 1280x1024x60Hz max res - I run it at 1152x864x72Hz)
ATX Mid-tower w/300W PS

With such a skimpy budget, I'm not looking at two choices:

1) Build a decent, but bare system, and reuse many, many older parts.
2) Make one final stab at upgrading this PC (RAM + AGP card)

So now I'm basically starting fresh and looking for suggestions.

For Option 1, I was considering Monarch Computer's Opteron 144 + ASRock Dual MB combo for ~$230, with a case, PSU, HD, and DVD/RW for a total of ~$460 shipped. This would give me a foundation for a decent machine, but since I'd be out of $$ for a Video and RAM upgrade, I'm not even sure if I'd see any difference in my gaming, and I'm not sure when I'd be able to fill those spots.

For Option 2, I'd be looking at a 1GB stick of RAM to put in one of my known-working DIMM slots (1GB + 256MB) and some decent, $150-200 AGP card. I'm looking at x1600s, 6800s, and x800s right now.

Suggestions and recommendations are appreciated.

 

[jdkick]

To be honest, I wouldn't bother doing anything at the moment aside from saving more $$$ for a new build. You'd really have to skimp to put together a system w/ $400, including components recycled from your current machine, and I don't think you'd be happy with the results.

 

[fire400]

754/939 CPU, Athlon 64 = $150
754/939 mobo, nForce series or similar = $70
RAM = 0
PSU 450w = $50
HD = 0
Video = 0
Optical: DVD-RW 16x = $40

Total = $310 so far

Monitor = $190 left to equal $500. For sure you should get an LCD monitor, 15" or 17" depending on how much head room you want.

Overtime you can just up the RAM, HD and Video. Use integrated video for now until you find a video card that suits you for the amount of money you may possibly have, unless you want to upgrade to an AGP 8x motherboard to continue to use that Radeon 9600, you will be able to get a 6800GS or 7800GS after you're done using your Radeon. But I recommend a PCI-e motherboard.

 

[cKGunslinger]

I guess the question is, how much of a bottleneck is my current XP2400+ CPU? Would I see more gain from getting an Athlon64/Opteron and keeping my 9600XT, or from keeping my 2400+ and getting a 6800/X1600 AGP?

In the long run, the 939 upgrade would be more beneficial, surely, but would the stop-gap upgrade to a decent AGP card and a RAM boost be effective with my current CPU?

Most GPU reviews always include the current top-of-the-line CPU configs. Are there any decent review sites that showcase "upgrade" benchmarks?

 

[Maxspeed996]

The man in black.......
and Cort......
Blaine the Mono....brings back crazy memories..

 

[alimoalem]

Originally posted by: fire400
754/939 CPU, Athlon 64 = $150
754/939 mobo, nForce series or similar = $70
RAM = 0
PSU 450w = $50
HD = 0
Video = 0
Optical: DVD-RW 16x = $40

Total = $310 so far

this looks like a good start (i'd recommend going the s939 route). for the $70 motherboard, you could choose the ASRock one. if you do, you can spend $70 on a 1 gig stick of value ram and play with your 9600. i would then save the $120 left over.

or you could keep your ram and just upgrade your video to a X1800XL for $169. if you play mostly games, i would go this route; just the ram upgrade would be best if you do mostly other stuff.

hope i helped

 

[acole1]

Originally posted by: cKGunslinger
I guess the question is, how much of a bottleneck is my current XP2400+ CPU? Would I see more gain from getting an Athlon64/Opteron and keeping my 9600XT, or from keeping my 2400+ and getting a 6800/X1600 AGP?

In the long run, the 939 upgrade would be more beneficial, surely, but would the stop-gap upgrade to a decent AGP card and a RAM boost be effective with my current CPU?

Most GPU reviews always include the current top-of-the-line CPU configs. Are there any decent review sites that showcase "upgrade" benchmarks?

I have a 2800xp and 9600pro and there is very little bottleneck with that setup (just how I planned it ). But with a 2400xp and a 9600xt I would definitely say your CPU would be your bottleneck.

The problem with upgrading to 939 is pcie which will render your 9600xt useless and force you to spend more money at one time (like what I am doing now).

what you could do is go to a 754 with agp... my friend got a 754 setup close to when it came out (a few months after my socket A purchase) and has now upgraded to a 3700+ and 6800GS on the same socket and it is quite a beast when it comes to gaming.

If you went with socket 754, cheap CPU and kept your 9600xt then it would give you plenty of room to upgrade as your budget allows i.e. 3700+, and 6800GS or higher video. It would cost 200-300 now and give you room to slide up the upgrade ladder instead of leap, which would be the case with 939.

Another option (my preference) is to just save up and get a nice 939 setup. Mine will cost me about $850 in upgrades but that?s only 350 over your 500 limit... just save up for a few months.

 

[cKGunslinger]

Well now I'm honestly thinking about getting:

$140 - 6800 AGP
$80 - 1GB PC-3200
$220 - 21" CRT (azatek)
-----
$440


That would definitely give the most immediate gratification, while probably not being the best future-proof purchase. Although, if I catch the cycle just right, I could probably still snag an ASRock dual AGP/PCIe + 939 deal when AM2 starts to ramp up in 6-9 months.

 

[acole1]

GS! get the 6800GS
its about $170-$190 i think but its def worth it