Ultra cheap upgrade?

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novice

Golden Member
Mar 9, 2000
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Been out of the game for a while, but was wondering which would be the better option for upgrading my wife's EMachine.
Currently has an XP3800 socket AM2 with 2GB of ram, an Nvidia 8500GT 256 mb DDR2 video card.
I am planning on switching out the stock 250W PS for a Rosewill 550W unit and trying to decide which additional upgrade would be a better use of $50 or so:
Athlon 64x2 5000 CPU or
EVGA 8600GT 256 MB DDR3 $40 AR
EVGA 9500GT 512 MB DDR3 $60 AR

I am assuming the socket AM2 can accomodate the 64x2 5000 cpu, since Gateway/Emachines won't acknowledge any upgrade options on their support site.
Thanks for any replies.
AS for how it is used, mostly internet, word processing, power points and some photo editing, and occasional light gaming mostly with older games. (wouldn't mind being able to try some left4dead, though)
 
AVP

AVP

Senior member
Jan 19, 2005
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For $5 more this seems like a much better deal and it is the same amount up front...

With that said, I would look into overclocking the 3800...not sure if it is possible on an emachine but hey ! maybe ...Also you don't necessarily need a 550w psu for that system unless you already have it, and it sounds like you do.

*edit looks like you can't overclock and emachine...not sure what is going to be better for you. But Definitely go with either a 4650/70 videocard if you go that route.

Its either a double-triple gaming performance upgrade vs. 600mhz and a handful of fps in games, not sure just pick which matters more for your wife! At worst scour for sale /trade I bet you can get a similar processor much cheaper
 
N

novice

Golden Member
Mar 9, 2000
1,169
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Thanks for the suggestions. I have always been more of an Nvidia fan, as I recall buggy drivers from back in the early Radeon Days. One of my sons had a 9800 Pro that ran well until its' fan died and the stupid manufacturer (Tyan) quit making video cards, and none of the other fans fit their board. Been kind of down on ATI since. What would the minimum suggested power supply be for a Radeon HD 4670, considering I am also running a AMD 64 3800 single core, 2 GB ram , 1 160 gb HD, and a couple of case fans?
 
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hans007

Lifer
Feb 1, 2000
20,212
18
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Originally posted by: novice
Thanks for the suggestions. I have always been more of an Nvidia fan, as I recall buggy drivers from back in the early Radeon Days. One of my sons had a 9800 Pro that ran well until its' fan died and the stupid manufacturer (Tyan) quit making video cards, and none of the other fans fit their board. Been kind of down on ATI since. What would the minimum suggested power supply be for a Radeon HD 4670, considering I am also running a AMD 64 3800 single core, 2 GB ram , 1 160 gb HD, and a couple of case fans?
Click to expand...

the 4670 probably uses about as much power as your 8500GT.


so you proably dont really need a new power supply.
 
cusideabelincoln

cusideabelincoln

Diamond Member
Aug 3, 2008
3,275
46
91
The HD4670 doesn't even need an external power connector. It draws it's power from the PCI-E slot, so it would be the best option without needing to upgrade the power supply. You will literally see gaming performance increase on a magnitude of... well I don't know exactly. It will be substantial. I'd say expect about 4-5x the performance over the 8500GT. And the HD4670 is roughly twice as fast as the 8600GT/9500GT.

An 8600GT would play older games just fine, though. It can max out Battlefield 2, play Crysis on medium settings, and handle Source games (like TF2 and L4D) well.
 
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ther00kie16

Golden Member
Mar 28, 2008
1,573
0
0
yea, get a 4670 and wait for am3. if you want to upgrade psu, don't get rosewill. look into the $30 after rebate 500w ocz.
 
alexruiz

alexruiz

Platinum Member
Sep 21, 2001
2,836
556
126
I would suggest to stay clear of the HD4650. Its performance is severely hinged by the slow memory (DDR2 500MHz, effective 1GHz, half of what the 4670 offers) and it shows in benchmarks, as it is about 60-70% as fast as the 4670. In fact, the 4650 is barely faster than a 9500GT.

I know it first hand, I just got one for my son. 3DMark 06 = 5071 with an Athlon 64 X2 5000+ at 2.8 GHz, XP Pro SP3. However, at the target price ($39 AR) it is a good deal. There is a galaxy 9500GT at the egg for $29AR ($50 MIR though) that might be a better value.

Having said so, the 4650 is a vast improvement over the 780g integrated. Now he can play Universe at War: Earth Assault with almost everything maxed out :) Don't buy a HD4650 for more that $40AR



Alex
 
S

s44

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 2006
9,427
16
81
Wow, excellent deal on that GS.

Don't buy that $30AR OCZ. I guess it's OK on lower loads, but you might as well get a well-built non-Epsilon unit (a cheap Earthwatts or Corsair).
 
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