What should my next upgrade be?

[jonessoda]

See my rig link for details about my rig, but I'll just list what I'm going to upgrade eventually:

2x1gb RAM, DDR400 PC3200 (what my MoBo can support), thinking of adding another 2 sticks to make 4gb (the max my MoBo can support). ~$175 from Newegg (for identical sticks).

eVGA 7800GT, thinking of adding an identical card in SLI. Note: I would prefer not to upgrade to one GTX, and I can't afford two at this time. ~$300 from Newegg.

Seagate 300gb SATA drive, thinking of adding another identical one in a JBOD array. I'm not too sure about this, because while I've filled up 22gb in the ~2 weeks I've had this running, I'm not sure how fast the rest will fill up. ~$130 from Newegg.

Or, for software: Adobe CS2 Premium (currently using nothing on my home computer, just the lab computers), ~$380 from JourneyEd (yes, I'm a student).

Maya 7 Unlimited (currently using nothing for this purpose), ~$380 from JourneyEd. I'm wondering about this, because I may have to use a system with a different video card. Anybody know if I can use a GeForce with Maya? I know they say it's not qualified on the Alias/Autodesk website, but does that mean 'doesn't work' or 'doesn't work as well?'

 

[acemcmac]

Some sunshine :beer:

 

[leftyman]

Originally posted by: acemcmac
Some sunshine :beer:

a walk outside would be a nice upgrade :sun:

 

[FoBoT]

don't add ram, going above 3 Gb won't help

add the hd

 

[NathanBWF]

It looks pretty damn good to me already...

 

[jonessoda]

Wow. Thanks for assuming that I don't go outside. I guess my 3-mile daily walks don't count, huh? Or all that other time spent outside...

ETA: this was directed at acemcmac and leftyman, not FoBoT or NathanBWF.

 

[FoBoT]

i don't go outside, i don't like it

there are bugs and sunburn and other yucky stuff outside

 

[Krazy4Real]

What kind of monitor/monitors do you have?

 

[jonessoda]

Originally posted by: Krazy4Real
What kind of monitor/monitors do you have?

Samsung Syncmaster 913v, new as of 2 weeks ago, 19" flatscreen. I'm a little disappointed that it doesn't have DVI-in (I could have sworn it said it did in the product profile on NE), but it's still a very good monitor. It actually originally had a couple unfocused stripes, but now those are focused like the rest of the monitor.

 

[Krazy4Real]

Originally posted by: jonessoda

Originally posted by: Krazy4Real
What kind of monitor/monitors do you have?

Samsung Syncmaster 913v, new as of 2 weeks ago, 19" flatscreen. I'm a little disappointed that it doesn't have DVI-in (I could have sworn it said it did in the product profile on NE), but it's still a very good monitor. It actually originally had a couple unfocused stripes, but now those are focused like the rest of the monitor.

Well then the choice is clear. Get another for dual monitor goodness!

 

[jonessoda]

Why would I want 2 monitors? That seems like it'd be practically more annoyance than it's worth, with what I actually do with my system.

 

[meltdown75]

is GH broken?

 

[Trevelyan]

You should definately have posted this in General Hardware for much better responses.

 

[jonessoda]

edit: NM

 

[Fenixgoon]

save money FTW?