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What are my best upgrade options right now?

A

Azndude51

Platinum Member
What I'm currently running (see sig for more details):
A64 3200 Winchester
MSI Neo2 Platinum (S939)
2x1GB DDR400
256MB 6800GT AGP

I have around $600 to spend.

I'm really feeling the lag in games nowadays trying to play them at 1280x1024 and want to upgrade. I don't have to play games with everything maxed out, just at moderate settings. The problem is that I'm still on AGP and S939. No matter what I do, I'll have to get a new motherboard. The 8800GTX/S are probably out of the question right now since I don't want to spend that much money, plus all it would be overkill for my CPU. What should I do? Get a new mobo, proc and 7950GT? then in a couple months get another 7950GT when i have more money? 7950GTs in SLI are just as fast as a 7950GX2 and the GX2 is almost as fast as a 8800GTS, iirc (I won't really care about DX10 until MUCH later).
Should I go for another S939 mobo, keep the RAM, then just get a X2 4400/4600? or should I sell everything and get a Core2 Duo, and RAM too?

I really don't know which would be the best way to go or if there are better options out there, what do you guys think?
 
The problem is that with a complete move to AM2, new ram, new mobo, new CPU, you leave little left for what's REALLY holding you back-- a good video card.

IMO, keep your chip (is it overclocked?), swap out to a cheap s939 mobo that has a pci-e slot (sell your other mobo to help with costs), keep your ram, and swap out that 6800gt for a good video card. For your playing resolution, an x1900xt 256mb would be perfect. Not sure about prices right now since the 8800 has arrived and might lower some prices. So look for a good deal on the x1900 or a 7900GTX or something similar. After selling your old parts (mobo and 6800gt), the upgrade shouldn't cost you more than $250-$300 or so, depending on which card you go with.
 
you could try this:

1. buy a s939 mobo with a PCI-E x16 slot; i believe the msi neo4-f is available for around $45 (on newegg, i think) and is a very decent board for the money (i'm using it now)
2. buy the best PCI-E x16 video card you can afford... if you spend < $50 on the motherboard, you actually COULD afford an 8800GTS (or even GTX if you push it), which will give you all the performance you need and then some; this will also future proof your system quite a bit, but make sure you have a PSU that can handle it. in the future, when you have money to change to a new platform (c2d or am2), you'd be all set with the video card.
3. sell your current mobo and the 6800GT to recoup a decent amount of the cost... you could probably get $100 for them

if you OC your CPU, this will give you all the performance you can handle all within your $600 budget. switching to am2 or c2d would probably not leave you with enough money to get a decent video card (at least, one that will last). getting a faster s939 CPU will also cut into your budget without giving that much more performance. of course, if you got an 8800GTS for ~$450, you could get an x2 3800+ (or opteron 165) for ~$150 and sell your current CPU for ~$40... if you OC the new chip (opterons and 85W x2's OC very well), you'll be less CPU restricted and have dual core... and only be a little over budget...
 
Like they said, spending $50 on a motherboard and $500+ on the video card will offer the most improvement.

You could also take into account what you'd get from your motherboard + 3200 and use it to also get a 3700+ - 3800+ for another $90.
 
I would like to get an 8800GTS, probably when it drops down the the $450 that it's supposed to sell at, but then I can't really afford a new CPU. Wouldn't my A64 3200 bottleneck my system too much?
 
Originally posted by: deadseasquirrel
Originally posted by: Azndude51
Wouldn't my A64 3200 bottleneck my system too much?
Click to expand...

Only if you play at 1024x768 with no AA/AF.
Click to expand...

yeah... OC that CPU, crank up the resolution and AA/AF and every game out there should run at ridiculous frame rates with an 8800gts 🙂
 
Originally posted by: brikis98
Originally posted by: deadseasquirrel
Originally posted by: Azndude51
Wouldn't my A64 3200 bottleneck my system too much?
Click to expand...

Only if you play at 1024x768 with no AA/AF.
Click to expand...

yeah... OC that CPU, crank up the resolution and AA/AF and every game out there should run at ridiculous frame rates with an 8800gts 🙂
Click to expand...

I'm not much of an overclocker, but I might give it a try if I do end up buying the 8800GTS
 
Pretty big pickle here. If you save the CPU, you waste about $50-100 on a board thats garbage a year down the road. If you lose the CPU, you may as well build a whole new system since Ram can't be saved. Guess the best idea is to get an el cheapo mobo and a new video card 8800 (if you must) or 7900GTX. That should last you a while, but now another problem: How much juice do you have?

Psh.. should add in that I also have a 3200+ with a 7600GT and 1Gb Ram. I'm planning on riding this for another year then just do a complete overhaul while holding on to sound card and video card. I'd have to change the PSU if I got a new CPU as 350W is just cutting it right now. Everything still runs high with no AA(jaggies don't bother me that much) at 1024x768.
 
I'd save another couple hundred and geting new memory(2gb DDR2),mobo,C2D E6300(o/c it) and a 7900GS(GT/O) if you can swing it. You should be able to get all of it for around $800 turn around and sell your current stuff for $200-250.

This is really the best(smartest) option since its more future proof.
 
Azndude51, all you really need to do is get a PCI-E board and like a 7900GT card for now, and you'll be good for now and hang onto some of that extra cash for after the DX10 hits the scene to make your next move.

ALOHA
 
Thanks for the advice so far, guys.


Originally posted by: Imp
That should last you a while, but now another problem: How much juice do you have?
Click to expand...

I'm running a 450watt OCZ Modstream, but the problem is that its 12v rail is 26A. I have enough wattage, but I have the bare minimum number of amps.


Looking at completed sales on eBay though, i'll probably be able to sell my RAM for $200 (which is more than I bought it for after rebates) and then I can buy some value 2GB DDR2 for around the same price. I can probably get $80-90 for CPU/mobo and another $100 or so for the 6800GT. That'll be able to pay for an e6300 C2D.
That means, I'll spend ~$450 for a $8800GTS (when it finally goes down to that price) and maybe $80-$100 for a mobo. As long as my PSU holds out, it all should fit under my budget. What do you guys think?

With this setup, it should last me a while, hopefully at least a year, before my computer becomes low ranged again.
 
Originally posted by: ProSlayer
Is there anyway to save up some money just for an entirely new rig?
Click to expand...

Yeah, but I don't really want to spend that much money. Maybe I will just go with new mobo and a 7950GT or X1900XT. Then just keep it until some DX10 games come out, maybe go SLI/crossfire if if I need something better before that or upgrade to a S939 X2 4200/4400 if i really need dual core.
 
Originally posted by: Azndude51
Yeah, but I don't really want to spend that much money. Maybe I will just go with new mobo and a 7950GT or X1900XT. Then just keep it until some DX10 games come out, maybe go SLI/crossfire if if I need something better before that or upgrade to a S939 X2 4200/4400 if i really need dual core.
Click to expand...

I really think this is your best option for price/performance. If you want to game at 1600x1200, don't waste money on a faster processor-- whether that be X2 or C2D. It won't benefit your gaming for the cost. Now, if you have *other* things you could use that processing power for, then it might make sense. Plus, like you said, you could always drop in an X2 later.

A s939 mobo with pci-e is cheap now (like someone pointed out above-- $45), you can re-use your ram and CPU, and afford to get a very good video card. The x1900xt is a great card and would be a good choice. But if you wanted to spend closer to your max budget, you could swing a GTS without a problem with that PSU.

So, sell your current mobo and video card and make yourself $100 or so, then buy that $45 s939 pci-e mobo, then decide on a video card. A GTS would be about $430 or so total spend after selling off your old stuff, and the XT 256mb is like $220 total spend (though I see it's OOS at Newegg right now). Either way, you're well below your budget and will increase your gaming performance dramatically.
 
Sell your motherboard and video card and buy a 100.00$ pci-e board, 150.00$ amd x2 cpu (overclock it) ,and a 8800gts for 450.00. Thats 700.00$ total. You can easily get 150.00$ for you old stuff. So your under budget by 50 bucks and have a high end gaming rig.
 
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