upgrading my primary setup for $100-200 plz help

[lordtyranus2]

My setup is:

Gigabyte GA-7NNXP
Barton 2500+ @ 12.5 x 183
2 GB (4x512) Centon PC2700 @ 8-3-3-3
Radeon 9800 flashed Pro @ 450/385 w/ 2.8 ms Samsung
2x 200 GB Maxtor HDD on RAID 0
Onboard Realtek 8201 LAN PHY Chip, Realtek ALC650/655 Audio AC'97 Codec
Chieftec AX-01 Black
some $20 Aopen speaker/subwoofer combo
Dlink 520+ wireless PCI card and 614+ wireless router
5x case fans (2 back, 2 front, 1 side)
Allied 400 W Dual Fan PSU
some random floppy drive

sorry, forgot to mention
Liteon 16x DVDROM drive
Liteon 52x24x52 CDRW drive


I got most of this stuff for really cheap, mainly by monitoring the hot deals forum. Total cost was around $750 to $800 for comp, and $80 for wireless parts.

So, with around $100 to $200, what would you upgrade? And why?

 

[nick1985]

i would go buy a pack of gum and some candy. your system is fine.

 

[lordtyranus2]

well, there are mainly 2 things I am slightly concerned about.

1, my IDE cables are rather old, used from previous computers. Would it really make a huge difference replacing them? My PCMark score was 7300.

2, I have a rather heavy load on the PSU. I do think 400 W is sufficient though.

 

[Ionizer86]

1) As long as data transfer works, it's all good.

2) That Allied PSU is awesome! I have one; most accurate line readings I've seen. It can power lots of stuff.

 

[Bonesdad]

Speaker system good for you? $20 is really cheap for speakers. You use headphones? You might consider an upgrade on the speaker system. What kinda monitor you have?

 

[Corporate Thug]

audigy 2

 

[lordtyranus2]

yea, the PSU line readings are great. 5V is right on the money, the +-12 V only differ by .06 at most. my 3.3 tends to hand around 3.28, but I don't think that's a big deal.

 

[lordtyranus2]

The speakers are decent. I'm not a huge music fan, I only rarely listen to MP3s and game.

 

[lordtyranus2]

Monitor is Sony Trinitron 200ES. 17" flat screen.

 

[nick1985]

the edit button loves you...

 

[randumb]

Audigy 2 + New Speakers

 

[EFinney]

Id go for a dvd burner or some nice speakers. Outside of that maybe try getting your fsb up to 200.

 

[littlebitstrouds]

Originally posted by: randumb
Audigy 2 + New Speakers

Can't stress how much a nice setup turns your pc from... the computer to the... chick magnet, pimp music playin, machine of your love life...

 

[Vonkhan]

audigy 2 zs + 5.1 speakers (logitech )

 

[JammingJay]

1) Get some rounded IDE cables from SVC.com $10 (cheap upgrade not for performance, but for looks, and less airflow restriction)

2) Audigy 2 sound card @ BB for $56.99 (if they have any left)

3) Use the rest for some speakers

If you have any cash left, use it for a night out on the town. :beer:

 

[lordtyranus2]

Efinney

I cannot get my FSB up to 200 with my current PC2700 RAM stably. I have tried, but it crashes after a few minutes of Prime. If I could run the ram at 83% memory frequency I suppose. Question: Would say 11.5x200 with 83% memory freq be better than my 12.5x183 with 100% memory freq? With the former option, I lose speed on the RAM, but I guess I could also lower timings.

 

[littlebitstrouds]

Originally posted by: lordtyranus2
Efinney

I cannot get my FSB up to 200 with my current PC2700 RAM stably. I have tried, but it crashes after a few minutes of Prime. If I could run the ram at 83% memory frequency I suppose. Question: Would say 11.5x200 with 83% memory freq be better than my 12.5x183 with 100% memory freq? With the former option, I lose speed on the RAM, but I guess I could also lower timings.

I don't think for the price performance ratio it's not going to be worth it. You're going to notice 5.1 surround sound speakers more than you're 3fps in your game. I think the general concensus is the smart buy would be in a better suited sound setup.

 

[lordtyranus2]

Well, the price is free to make the switch. All I have to do is alter BIOS settings.