Video or Cpu upgrade, that is the question?

[bozack]

Here is my question, I am just about to purchase an upgrade to my system which will be consequently followed by another, both the video and the cpu will be upgraded but I am just wondering in what order.

Currently I have a 300a celeron running at 450, I am going to upgrade to a c633 and attempt to run at 950

I have a v3 2000 for video currently, but am wondering if I up my cpu to a 950 celeron should I continue with getting an asus gf 2 mx or should I get something else.

Or will a cpu be a waste for now if I am just going to get a gf 2 mx since it can be a bottleneck

this is all in theory though since it is quite possible that my future 633 will not hit 950

any advice would be greatly appreciated thanks

 

[Tominator]

I built my son a computer with similar specs.

BX mb. I bought a pretested CII 566@850 from heat23 and used a V3 3000 from my upgrade on my comp to a V5.

Runs every game silky smoothe!

If you decide on a vodeo card, the 'MX' is a hard one to beat!

I'd go the pretested CII. Use the V3 2000 and OC it to 166mhz. Be happy!

 

[han888]

cpu upgrade for me u get fast everything with cpu

 

[GT1999]

It's all about frames. You could use both, but if you're a gamer you can always upgrade the video first, which is probably your frist priority, and then jump on the CPU later. For me, I like to upgrade video almost 2x as much as CPU. Call me crazy.

 

[Phuz]

Before, I had this exact system with a V3.

It was just fine to run Q3, and most other games.
Keep the card, upgrade the CPU.

Don't buy pretested, because you pay extra money for something that ISNT "for sure" unless the tester is running the same RAM/HSF/MOBO, ectect.. that you are currently running.

 

[TAsunder]

Personally I don't think any respectable game can truly tax a v3 when you have a 950 mhz machine. That is not to say that you won't notice a difference or that the v3 will hold up in the future, but it really depends on your current experience...

If you find that everything is fairly slow and some games are almost unplayable (as was the case for me with UT online and some of the later Q3 levels when I had a p2/300), a CPU will probably help a lot more. If on the other hand games play reasonably well but the graphic quality is not great or you just wish you could play 3d games in 32 bit color and all that jazz, a video card is a decent idea.

I'm running a v3 on a Duron 700@900 and have experienced absolutely no performance problems that I believe were video card related. Sure, the 32 bit stuff is missed, but I'm not about to plop down $250 for a video card now for something that won't really help me all that much for a while, and then in 6 months when the next gen of video cards come out and I finally NEED a new video card, I'll be stuck with something I bought 6 months ago that made little difference and now is inferior.

On the other hand if you are doing them both within the span of a few weeks, go for a video card because their prices seem a lot more stable than CPU prices. If you are talking one now and one 8 months from now, I'd go with a CPU .. in fact that is my plan .. hold out with my v3 until the "next" generation of video cards come in or some games start taxing my v3.

I am making no sense so I will now ramble in another thread.