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Upgrading

C

coreyos

Junior Member
Well, I've been saving up some money and I think it's time to give my comp a bit of upgradage. I've fallen behind on top of the line graphics cards, RAM, etc. over the years, so I'm hoping you guys might help me choose what to upgrade.

Specs:
ABIT UL8 Mobo
AMD 64 3000+ proc.
1 GB of RAM, I believe both sticks are PC3200 but I'm not sure.
ATI Radeon 9800 pro 128 MB
Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 (I don't care too much about sound quality, I turn quality down for better framerate.)
WD 40 GB and 75 GB HD's.

I only want to upgrade in the area of the Gfx card and/or the RAM. I have an AGP slot. I do NOT have PCI Express. I know AGP cards are starting to die out, but I don't feel like upgrading my mobo again for a little while.

As for RAM, I have 2 empty slots. I'd rather just fill up the empty ones instead of selling my current sticks for bigger ones. I'm moving more towards just upgrading my Gfx card, and getting the RAM at a later date.

Thanks in advance for the help guys. I appreciate it. 🙂

PS: I'm willing to spend maybe $200-300 for the upgrade total, part of which will be paid for by selling my current card.

And also, if you have a reason why I shouldn't upgrade now, feel free to tell me. I'd rather not waste money if it's not smart to upgrade now.
 
You can upgrade to an x850xt for roughly $150. Could even consider a 7-series Geforce card too, but I know they're more expensive and run you pretty close to your total budget. A 6800 ultra would work too.

I currently have an x850xt. It has run everything I've played in the past year or so without many problems. Of course, I've had to scale new games back a bit, but it's still a great card.
 
the x800gto would be a cheaper and excellent value too. however, perhaps with the impending coming of dx10, maybe you could wait and watch prices drop 😛

but now should be the time to get a new gfx card for agp anyways. the 9800 pro is an excellent card, btw. the ram, good luck on that. i know newegg has some ballistix tracers going for 200 dollars after 30MIR, w hich i dont consider too bad, because my regular ballistix cost 270 bucks. >😱
 
This is one of your best bets. It has very good performance and costs just over $210 w/MIR. If that is out of your budget, go with the x850xt.
As for the RAM, price are ridiculous. If you're not using pro apps like photoshop and dreamweaver and/or not playing the latest games like oblivion and such, stick with 1gb untill the prices go down a bit (maybe xmas?)

EDIT: Welcome to the forums!😀
 
@thegimp: Thanks, I'll look into that card. 🙂

@chubbyfatazn: Yeah, someone else told me it would be good to wait for DX10 cards to come out as well. I'll keep that in mind.

@acegazda: I've always been with the ATI series of cards, but I was thinking about trying an nVidia card for once. Looks good. And thanks for the welcome!

@dBTelos: I have an OKTA 420W PSU, I think that's good enough, right?

Thanks very much for the replies guys. It's appreciated! =D
 
I've been looking at the GeForce 7800 GS that acegazda suggested to me. It looks like a good choice, but many of the reviews say to make sure your PSU can handle it. Mine is an OKTA 420W PSU. Do you all think that would be sufficient?
 
One more thing: I found the same card on CompUSA's website, but it's $349! On Newegg, it says it's a weekend sale but does that mean it will go back to around Compusa's price after the weekend? I hope not =(
 
Are you sure it is not an OKIA no OKTA psu? In any case, I would not use it. Something along the lines of an enhance 5140gh would better suit you. That okia has a very weak 12v rail. something like 12a on only 1 rail. This will not power an athlon 64 and a 7800gs sufficiantly. The enhance is of top quality, has 28 amps on the 12v rails combined and is rock solid, it will probably last you through your next couple of builds. Despite its very high quality, it is pretty cost effecitve @ $67 shipped. Compared to other top 400w psus, this is very good. If you want an expert review, check out jonnyguru.com. He's the man with the plan for psus.
 
Sorry, I did mean OKTA.

Also, the Enhance PSU looks good, but it's kind of riding the minimum requirements for my card closely in the way of wattage. Is that ok?
 
Originally posted by: coreyos
Sorry, I did mean OKTA.

Also, the Enhance PSU looks good, but it's kind of riding the minimum requirements for my card closely in the way of wattage. Is that ok?
Click to expand...

To quote jonnyguru... "watts mean squat!" You need to concentrate on the amps on the 12v rail(s). It has 28amps combined on the 12v rails and the whole system might draw 18. The enhance will pretty much any single card rig you can think up.
 
Great. Guys, thank you SO MUCH! You guys rock! 😀

Now the only thing to worry about is replacing the PSU. I've replaced about everything except for one. 😛
 
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