Upgrade or wait?

[l33t]

Current system:

PIII 500mhz
Abit BH6-II Mobo
256MB Crucial SDRAM (pc133)
VooDoo3 3000 PCI
Win2000 Pro (SP3)
SB Audigy oem
Enlight case w/350watt PS

I'm looking to upgrade my mobo, ram, cpu, and vid card for a decent gaming rig. Not in a hurry though. Is it worth waiting for christmas to upgrade (what's coming out around then?) or should I just upgrade now.

 

[passign]

I'd upgrade right away as ram prices about to go through the roof.

 

[oldfart]

If you are upgrading to a P4 system, I'd wait for Granite Bay and DC DDR. Its only a few weeks away.

 

[microAmp]

Originally posted by: passign
I'd upgrade right away as ram prices about to go through the roof.

I would wait, if you buy SDRAM memory and upgrade to a Rambus or DDR system shortly later that money will go to waste.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Wait, and pick up a couple of games from the bargain bin to keep you busy.

P4 dual-channel DDR will give you the performance of Rambus for much less cost, and you'll be able to get a faster P4 for the same price if you wait. If you can wait until January then graphics card prices will take another drop as the Geforce5 gets closer to release (or is out in limited quantities).

If you have to buy something now, a Geforce4 4200 / 4400 / 4600 or Radeon 9500 / 9700 will give you a bump in 3D gaming speed and can be moved to the new system.

Ask over in the software forum if you want some good game suggestions that will run well on a 500 MHz, there are stacks and stacks of them at budget prices.

 

[GTaudiophile]

Wait. NV30, GB, and HT P4s will be here soon.

 

[Coherence]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
Wait. NV30, GB, and HT P4s will be here soon.

Ok, we all know what NV30 is, and "HT P4s" refers to hyperthreading P4s, I assume, but what is "GB"? Game Boy has been out for years!

Right now, I'm just waiting for SATA drives. By the time those are out, perhaps all or most of the other things you guys say to wait for will be out.

 

[Wolfsraider]

gb=granite bay

 

[Coherence]

Originally posted by: Wolfsraider
gb=granite bay

Erm, ok, I thought "Granite Bay" was Intel's codename for HT P4s, so that's why I got confused when they were named separately in the previous post. Are they two different things?

 

[oldfart]

Granite Bay is the dual channel DDR chipset due out at ~ the same time as the HT P4 3.06 GHz. It will have mem BW comparable to RDRAM.

 

[Markfw]

I think the first question should be "How much do you want to spend ?" All this new stuff everyone is talking about is expensive, and I almost allways go for generationx-1. If you wanted to spend less than $1000, you could get an XP2000, 512 mb ram, a 40-80 gb drive, and either a 8500 or 9700 Radeon today. (with money left over maybe)

 

[wizdum]

daaaaaang. is granite bay is the same thing as the dualddr on nforce2 chipset?

 

[Coherence]

Originally posted by: oldfart
Granite Bay is the dual channel DDR chipset due out at ~ the same time as the HT P4 3.06 GHz. It will have mem BW comparable to RDRAM.

Ah, ok, that explains why I've been confused. I tell ya, it's a pain to keep track of all these codenames. "Don't get Aardvaark because Zzyzx will be out soon!"

 

[fluxquantum]

oh i see. i've been wondering what granite bay was.

 

[oldfart]

"Don't get Aardvaark because Zzyzx will be out soon!"

Those aren't due till Q1 2003

 

[Hubes]

Hey l33t, when you upgrade can i buy your voodoo 3 pci card?

 

[l33t]

Actually, I want to keep this voodoo3 but I know someone who wants to sell a v5 agp if you're interested, I can get you his email. lmk via pm if this thread gets buried. I think he's asking 50 shipped anywhere in the US.