Which is better OVERALL? Upgrade CPU, Video or blend?

[bluemax]

What I have now: Socket 754 nForce4-X, Sempron 2600+64, 3x512MB PC3200, fanless 6600GT PCIe.

It's a pipe dream, but I could upgrade one of four ways with a certain budget amount:

Keep 754 mobo & CPU, spend entire budget on video card (~700) on a 512MB 7800GTX.
Keep 754 mobo, upgrade to Sempron3400+ or A64 2800+, upgrade video to 256MB 7800GTX (~600vid)
Upg to 939, A64 3000+, add 512MB for 2GB, upg to 256MB 7800GT (~450vid)
Upg to 939, A64 X2 3800+, add 512MB for 2GB, keep 6600GT

Primarily, our PC is used for music composition (CPU and RAM heavy, but the Sempron is "enough", more is just nice...) Office apps, web browsing, and some 3D gaming - not a great deal, but when I do game I like it to look good. My 6600GT may keep up better with a faster CPU, eh?

EDIT: I have tried overclocking this Sempron 2600+... maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I can't get it past 210FSB, a lousy 5% increase. True, the RAM bumps down to 333 when using all 3 sticks, but I need all that RAM - is that what's holding me back from a better overclock? (Or is it more complicated than just bumping the FSB?)

Of those four options, what would you do? I'm thinking options 2 or 3 are most sensible... the X2 processor is a bit of overkill, and although I love my fanless heatpipe 6600GT, a video upgrade may be more noticable....

Let's hear it! Maybe I should turn this into a poll...

 

[Hacp]

GTX 512. Oc your cpu.

 

[arcenite]

depends on what you use it for..

gaming: 7800gt
else: amd x2

 

[OdiN]

For gaming I'd say the Athlon 3000+ (overclock it) and the 7800GT.

The X2 will not help speed up games. It will help multitasking, but office aps/web browsing isn't enough to justify the X2...if you are satisfied with the Sempron for Music Composition and want to play games better, the 3000+ OC'd and the 7800GT will be best for good speed in games while getting better speed in your music software as well.

 

[bluemax]

Thanks.... added poll! Your input is sure appreciated.

I don't know just how big the difference is between 7800GT and GTX.... or should I consider the new ATI X1800 series? But I like the idea of going 939 for a future upgrade path, and maybe get into another motherboard more overclockable than my current Gigabyte K8NE nF4-X is. Seems I'd get the best of both worlds that way.... I don't think the things I multitask would benefit greatly from the X2 - until my music app takes advantage of dual-cpus, in which case they'll have gone down in price and I can jump on one when I need it..... and the ~$450 7800GT still looks awfully nice - the Gigabyte unit even has a nice, big Zalman fan on it! If I've gotta' be stuck with a fan, it better be a quiet one!!

 

[stevty2889]

The 7800GTX is an overkill I think especialy if you don't run at 1600x1200, I would go with the 7800GT, and get 3000+ or 3200+ and overclock if you want to, but the video card is far more important for gaming that CPU.

 

[bluemax]

Originally posted by: stevty2889
The 7800GTX is an overkill I think especialy if you don't run at 1600x1200, I would go with the 7800GT, and get 3000+ or 3200+ and overclock if you want to, but the video card is far more important for gaming that CPU.

Which is why it's tempting just to stick with the 754 board I have and load it up with an A64 2800+ (same performance as the 939 3000+) and put the motherboard money into video....
...but I suspect my current motherboard is a very poor overclocker.

back and forth bounces my weary brain...

 

[Davegod]

is the 6600GT and s747 mobo PCIexpress?

I'd suggest balancing fast CPU and fast video card, I wouldnt allocate a huge proportion of a limited budget on dual core cpu if you're gaming.

I'd probably stick with your 1.5gb and dump the cash on CPU/vidcard, though I assume that's 3 sticks - watch for mobos only being able to use 3 sticks at DDR333.

 

[bluemax]

Originally posted by: Davegod
is the 6600GT and s747 mobo PCIexpress?

I'd suggest balancing fast CPU and fast video card, I wouldnt allocate a huge proportion of a limited budget on dual core cpu if you're gaming.

I'd probably stick with your 1.5gb and dump the cash on CPU/vidcard, though I assume that's 3 sticks - watch for mobos only being able to use 3 sticks at DDR333.

Yeah... that would be my current board. Must be severely limiting my overclocking potential... I should yank one out to see what happens. Yes, I've already made the move to PCIe. My fanless 6600GT is nice... maybe I should get a speedy single-core CPU.... hmmm... I'm gonna change the poll to reflect that! Add the option of SLI?

I think the dual-core CPU is overkill, as I'm not doing severe multitasking.

 

[Crescent13]

You should buy the Zalman VF700CU for your 6600GT. You will be able to overclock it madly. I have one, my results...

Default Speed: 500/1000, 54C idle, 79C load
Overclocked w Stock Cooling: 530/1100, 56C idle, 85C load
Overclocked w Zalman Cooling: 615/1255, 43C idle, 50C load

You can see the difference.

 

[yosuke188]

Is the poll supposed to say X2 3800+ instead of 3700+? I think video cards tend to get old faster, so I'd say X2 3800+, upgrade video card later.

 

[bluemax]

Originally posted by: yosuke188
Is the poll supposed to say X2 3800+ instead of 3700+? I think video cards tend to get old faster, so I'd say X2 3800+, upgrade video card later.

I pulled the X2... I don't think I'll get any advantage of the dual-core... better for me to have one fast chip than two "average" ones.

 

[bluemax]

Great feedback, guys!

 

[bluemax]

Maybe I should say something controvertial to keep the conversation going?

Ummm... LIBERALS SUCK!

(On that, Canada's Liberal party just fell today in a no-confidence vote. Time for Palpatine to move in to the House of Parliament!)