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Whats the best upgrade for < $600?

P

Penley

Member
I'm a college student who mainly cares about getting good performance on games. I was thinking about upgrading to be ready for HL2 and D3, so when my mobo started getting a little flakey last month I figured it was definitely time for an upgrade. My problem is that with all the choices out there for mobo/cpu combinations I'm at a loss for what would get me the most performance increase for my money. So any suggestions of what components to upgrade would be greatly appreciated.

My current rig specs:
AMD XP 2500+ Barton core OCed @ 2 GHz
Asus A7V8X-X
512 MB DDR (Crucial I think)
Samsung 160 GB IDE HDD
Radeon 9700 Pro
Onboard sound

I'm looking for an upgrade that is less than $600. Am I correct in assuming that I'm best off keeping the video card for a while and focusing on the CPU/Mobo?
 
I would say ram. Video card is fine, and so is your cpu. I have almost the exact same setup as you and when i put another 512 in my computer i noticed a significant decrease in loading times in levels and faster "alt-tabbing" to see who sent me an im.
 
Any particular RAM manufacturer you would recommend? I was originally contemplating going for an AMD 64 or P4 2.8 or 3.0. Would I be better off waiting a while? I mean, I'm going to have to upgrade eventually.
 
That's probably not worth the money to upgrade the CPU when you've already got a Barton.

So, you're sure your motherboard is dying? It would be a little upgrade to switch from a KT400 to an nForce2 dual-channel. Just get a $58 Shuttle AN35N-Ultra and some $79 Mushkin PC3200.

That leaves you plenty cash for a 6800GT, but you should definitely wait until you actually get HL2 or D3 and the prices/availability will get a little better on the high-end cards.
 
You've got a pretty good setup and i don't think it's worth upgrading now. Thing is, all your stuff is about the same level so if you just upgrade your cpu, your video card will hold you back, and vice versa. At least wait until doom 3 actually comes out to see what kind of hardware it will need. Hell I'm planning to run doom 3 on my xp2100@2gz and 9500 pro.
 
i'd probably grab another 512 mb ram, a 2500+ mobile 25watter, logitech mx510 (unless you have it or an equal quality mouse), nice set of headphones (again, unless you have some), new case maybe, slk heatsink + 120mm panaflo, just to name a few upgrades.
 
hi this is not realted to the topic but i don't want to create a new thread for this question i just want to know are all nforce3 250 boards include pci/lock or just specific ones?

thanks in advance!
 
Originally posted by: SuPrEIVIE
hi this is not realted to the topic but i don't want to create a new thread for this question i just want to know are all nforce3 250 boards include pci/lock or just specific ones?

thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

wtf?
 
1. High quality heatsink and fan (Thermalright SLK-900A + 92mm med or high speed Panaflo) - $50
2. 512MB PC3200 RAM - $100
3. New motherboard if you're sure that your motherboard is causing your problems. I'd recommend the Abit NF7-S - $85
4. That leaves $365 for a new video card OR some top of the line speakers OR save a few more bucks and get a 17" 16ms Samsung LCD display

If you'd really like to ditch your current motherboard and processor, another option would be:
1. MSI K8N Neo Platinum NForce3 250GB motherboard - $130
2. Athlon 64 3000+ retail - $223
3. 512MB PC3200 RAM - $100
4. Sell your current processor, motherboard, and video card for about $225 and you'll be left with about $372 for whatever you want!
 
Originally posted by: Dantzig
1. High quality heatsink and fan (Thermalright SLK-900A + 92mm med or high speed Panaflo) - $50
2. 512MB PC3200 RAM - $100
3. New motherboard if you're sure that your motherboard is causing your problems. I'd recommend the Abit NF7-S - $85
4. That leaves $365 for a new video card OR some top of the line speakers OR save a few more bucks and get a 17" 16ms Samsung LCD display

If you'd really like to ditch your current motherboard and processor, another option would be:
1. MSI K8N Neo Platinum NForce3 250GB motherboard - $130
2. Athlon 64 3000+ retail - $223
3. 512MB PC3200 RAM - $100
4. Sell your current processor, motherboard, and video card for about $225 and you'll be left with about $372 for whatever you want!
Click to expand...


ya I like that idea
 
I have a similar setup to you and all that can help you now is a next gen video card like the X800 or 6800. Yes, it will be CPU limited but even the fastest CPU's are limiting the new video cards just a bit. Sure, you could upgrade to an A64+ system, but you won't see as much of a increase in FPS that upgrading your video card.
 
I wouldn't really worry about the ram or anything to be honest. I would consider looking at video card upgrades and maybe... If you wanted more proc speed I'd look at a mobile barton some AS-5 and the ThermalRight heatsink.
 
Thanks for all the different advice, guys. PC3200 DDR should still be good in a future AMD 64 system, correct? If so, I think my best bet at this point is to get another 512 MB and see how performance improves, then wait until after HL2 and Doom 3 come out to see how much of a boost I'll need.
 
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