What Should I Do?

[thecoroner]

I'm in a crunch here!

I have a P4 3 GHz on a crappy Dell motherboard right now. I would like to upgrade it for Oblivion, but I know socket AM2 is right around the corner. Here are my thoughts:
1. Socket AM2 will be expensive.
2. But it would be great to have a dual core processor for Oblivion!
3. What about Vista?
4. Conroe, which is supposed to be much more powerful than AMD's current CPUs, is coming out in 6 months.

What, in your opinion, should I do? Clearly if I upgrade now, I'm screwed because of the new stuff coming out soon. If I go AMD, its needs to be AM2 because of my DDR2 RAM.

I was thinking of upgrading to this motherboard and OCing my processor as Dell motherboards do not let you OC:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131578

I would also have to buy a new CPU cooler and case. A mobo plus CPU cooler is a bit much though if I plan on upgrading though.

Could I OC this and have a decent processor?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819116001

So, what's the best course of action in your opinion?

 

[Bobthelost]

If you want to game then you're looking at the wrong parts to upgrade. Graphics cards are far, far more important.

 

[thecoroner]

Well, I already have a 7800 GT. Though video cards are important, CPUs are also important. For best performance, you should have a good GPU along with a good processor.

Oblivion's minimum recommended CPU is a P4 3 Ghz. I'm just looking for CPU help here.

 

[Smartazz]

The CPU should do it, I got a similar system to yours and it games fine, I'd keep it for a while.

 

[Bobthelost]

Hang around till AM2 pops up at least. Once that happens look around again and see if it's really worth the upgrade.

 

[markkleb]

I heard that the ddr for am2 is different (faster) than the ddr2 ur using now.

 

[Bobthelost]

It will be DDR2 800 compatible, but you'll still be able to use your slower RAM on it. Think of it as PC2700 and 3200.

 

[jpotter]

I'd also advise waiting a bit more- I think the fall looks like a much more interesting time to upgrade with the introduction of Intel's Conroe processors (which regardless of how it exactly stacks up with AMD it should at least start a decent price war!)
Also, like others have mentioned elsewhere DX10 compliant video cards will probably start shipping at about the same time, and those two developments will give you a lot more flexibility for next year's games too. Oblivion looks exciting, and I recognize I'm not going to be able to play it with everything cranked up, but I think with a P4 3Ghz + a 7800GT you should have a very nice experience with it already. That's just my two cents though, if you want more performance now, it's your $$$ in the end!

 

[NaOH]

IIf it ends up too expensive, you can also pick up some of AMD's s939 CPU for cheaper by that time.

 

[thecoroner]

Originally posted by: AMDUALY
IIf it ends up too expensive, you can also pick up some of AMD's s939 CPU for cheaper by that time.

I would but that would mean selling my DDR2 RAM and buying DDR RAM. Sounds pretty pointless with Conroe coming out.

I guess I'll just hold off until Conroe and AM2 come out.

 

[jdkick]

I'd hold out for a while as well. A P4 3.0 is no slouch and you've already upgraded the video with a very capable GPU. How much memory do you have installed? Do you find that this system isn't performing in any particular way?

Some new hardware is around the corner in oh, 6-8 months... as usual. If you wait it out you will either have a new wagon to jump on or you can take advantage of lower prices on what will be "previous gen" hardware. I usually stay about a year behind the trends anyway. It keeps the prices cheap and you really don't miss out on much... if anything, you'll get burned by buying the latest/greatest or the "bleeding edge" so to speak.

 

[thecoroner]

I have 1.5 GB RAM- more than enough. I guess I'll go out and buy a raptor or something then.